Katie: The Saltwater Saga, Part III: Expanding the Kingdom

           My Husband is a powerful negotiator and savvy saltwater buyer. After the initial set up of the tank and the first few fish and fauna purchases, Husband applied his considerable intellect and abounding poisson passion to finding the right coral to round out the tank. And not just any ‘right corals’; these had to be the right corals at the right prices. Thankfully, Husband has 10 years of experience in the saltwater world, backed by an enthusiasm for researching of all kinds – especially marine related – and an unerring determination to find the greatest possible deals for the best possible prices.

The xenia

The acan heads 

            First, the small corals: to start, we figured we would go to Sea Life Fish and Aquariums, our favorite saltwater store run by a father and son who would be on a first name basis with us at this point if we had ever told them our names. As always, they had an interesting selection of fish and corals to choose from. The thing that almost immediately caught my eye was the xenia – mainly because they pulse! Which would be why they are called pulsing xenia…. But these were a soft purple with delicate feather heads similar to flowers that open and close in a rhythmic, soft pulsing that is echoed throughout the small colony, creating a continuous wave of motion that swirls through the bunch in a gentle entrancing movement that captures the eye in mesmerizing moments. Suffice it to say they are hypnotic and I could stare at them for hours. They are apparently ‘lower corals’ in that they are more common and grow very fast, but I was hooked so in the bag they went. Also going home with us were a few heads of green acan that Husband was drawn to.

The stunner chalice

            This concluded our dealing with actual store owners, and we moved on to private sellers. This is the area where Husband truly shines, and in a short time we had acquired several small corals for a killer price, including green star polyps that I had been hoping for, a tiny neon green leather, a similarly small but very green mushroom, some more monty caps, a birds nest, some accordia, a head of hammer, a baby frogspawn, a softball-sized stunner chalice, and a few more zoa varieties.

     

 
                           Unfortunately, once we brought home our new salty subjects and began processing them through customs and boarder control (a.k.a. freshwater dips and careful inspections to make sure they weren’t carrying any unwanted pests that could overthrow the tank) we found a few unwelcome additions on a zoa plug. Hidden beneath the tiny heads – which only closed up after the freshwater dip – was a mini army of bubble algae. Ever the optimists (yes those who know us can laugh here) we originally endeavored to scrape off the algae and save the plug, but it soon became apparent that it would be impossible to get it all. We reluctantly tossed those zoas into the saltwater buck that doubles as the holding cell and chalked it up to experience. We now know not to buy from that seller any more, and Husband found such great deals on everything else, the loss of the cost of that zoa was barley felt in the financial sphere.

Kenya tree and star polyps

The toadstool is the small white disk, sans neon tendrils

             Intruders dealt with, we were ready to move on to the last coral on the list that we (Husband) were really hoping to find: a neon-green toadstool. Another private seller was soon found by Super Husband, and a meeting was quickly arranged.  This particular seller lived a daunting distance from our house, but we were able to set up a meeting in the parking lot of a local fish store. We gathered our supplies and arrived early, excited for this deal to go down. And I have to say – standing there in the parking lot, leaning against our car while sporting sunglasses to shield us from the burning Florida sun, waiting for our contact to show up - we felt pretty hardcore. This feeling was reinforced when our seller showed up and handed off little baggies full of saltwater goodies. In addition to the beautiful toadstool he had, we also got a few more small heads of xenia, some kenya tree, and some used magnets. The magnets were thrown in because Husband and I realized we may have acquired more coral than we had rock space for, and we needed to get creative with the landscaping. In return, we handed over a small bill and our own baggie with the algae-infested zoa plug. We had told the seller about the algae problem, but he wanted it anyways and we had no use for it, so in the end we were able to hand it off and still see a nice coral-value return.                   

The cotton candy

         
        We then had one last category of acquisitions to explore; macro algae! You may recall from a previous post (I like to pretend people actually read these) the dragon’s breath that began our love of macro algae. Though nothing can match the original in awesomeness, Husband and I were determined to find more. A little Husband-magic and we found the whole-seller of macro algae for pretty much any major store or hobbyist in the area. Though mostly an online business, the seller agreed to meet us at his house where we could peruse his collection in person. After some scenic driving (we got lost because though Husband is a great navigationalist, neither of us like to drive, and finding new places is hard) we found the algae homeland.  The owner was amiable and a great connection to have, and though his set up was small, he had a large variety of different algae, snails, a few fish and some of the more unusual plants. We picked out a few varieties, including a gorgonia, halimeda, some cotton candy, and red grape, which is now our second favorite macro algae. The seller also threw in some fuzzy algae, a branching red algae, and a few small snails for free.

The fuzzy algae 

           Happy with our purchases, we headed home to get everything organized in the tank and find all the new things their own home. As previously mentioned, once we began allotting rock real estate to our new residents, we quickly became aware of the fact that we may have been a little enthusiastic in our acquisitions. There was only so much room left on our shelf rock, and many corals need not just their own space to sit, but also space around them so they don't get grumpy and start trying to kill off their neighbors for more food or growing room - or just because they are in a grumpy killing mood. While corals do often have their own personalities, they are not usually very nice ones - of course when their place of original is the ocean where the law of the land is pretty much 'kill or be killed', you can't really blame them. Fortunately, Husband thought ahead and acquired some old magnets so we could glue some of the smaller corals onto them and place these around the tank. The magnets are actually  glass cleaners - there is a slightly abrasive surface on one side of the magnet that goes against the glass inside the tank, and you can clean the glass off by moving the paired magnet on the outside of the tank, thus being able remove dirt and algae inside the tank without ever having to put your hand in the water. 

Gluing the corals to the magnets

           
                We proceeded to pull all of the small corals out of the tank so we could properly arrange some of the larger things like the stunner chalice, the hammer, the frogspawn, and the macro algae. Once those were placed, we began the process of gluing things to magnets. It was a bit tricky, as super glue doesn't always work well with water and unusual textures, but we were successful in the end and managed to get enough coral pieces onto the walls that the rest could find homes on the remaining rock space. 

               We are very happy with the progress of the tank so far, though we are still moving things around to see who is happier where - each coral has its own preference for light/water flow intensity, so it will take some doing to find the right location where each coral will be happiest. We also think the tank might be a bit on the crowded side now, so some re-landscaping (re-rockscaping?) might be in the near future - stay tuned to find out!               

Katie: The Saltwater Saga, Part II: Finding Nemo (and Other Ichthy Things)

The tank progress 

             The days following the initial set up of the tank were filled with a flurry of final touches and fishy research as we finished the tank arrangement and started contemplating what corals and fish we wanted to add to our soon-to-be kingdom in the salt. 

Unfortunately, while we were contemplating rock arrangements, Aiptasia reared its ugly head. One lone stalk had snuck past our initial inspection of the rocks, and had started to waive its sinister tentacles in anticipation of overtaking our newly-established dominion. Thanks to Husband’s keen eyes (and slight paranoia of all things saltwater-pest related) we were able to catch it early. We considered trying to remove it, but due to its virulent nature and heart of pure, infectious evil, the entire rock it was attached to had to be banished to the nether-realm of a plastic bowl on our bathroom floor. We carefully inspected every inch of the remaining rock with a small LED flashlight and found a few foreign growths on another small rock. We weren't 100% sure they were Aiptasia, but unwilling to take chances, that rock quickly joined the other in plastic-bowl prison. Eventually, we are going to move them to a better location where all things living on them will die off, and maybe in a couple years we can re-introduce them to whatever tank we have at the time. They will no longer be considered ‘liverock’, but can still be added to a tank if you don’t mind waiting a while for your chemical levels to balance back out (incase all you fishly-oblivious people – like myself – didn’t know).  

After re-settling the remaining rocks, we put the whole tank on Aipsia watch.When a week went by and there was no discernible sign of our nemesis’s return, we figured it was safe to go ahead and start stocking the tank. The first order of business: fish!

Specifically clown fish. Now before you start thinking “Clown fish, how original” (a thought I of course did nothing to encourage with the title of this post) let me explain why almost every saltwater or reef tank owner has one: They’re pretty much the perfect reef fish. Most of them don’t take up a lot of space in a tank, but they do grow and can hold their own, so they can be kept in almost any size set up. They are also extremely coral friendly; other than occasionally trying to adopt a coral in lieu of a proper anemone – which most corals don’t appreciate at all and get rather grumpy about – they bring almost zero negative effects to their coral co-residents. They are also extremely hardy fish who don’t die easily, and they can be very personable. They’re also extremely cute!

Interesting fact: Finding Nemo was semi-accurate in a lot of ways. ‘Dori fish’ - Blue Tangs – can actually co-exist well with clown fish, and Gill - the fish that was always orchestrating the escape attempts is a Moorish Idol, a breed of fish that notoriously doesn't do well in captivity, as they just can't handle or adjust to the glass walls. Who knew!

 But back to the search for our own Nemo: many varieties of clown fish were considered. There is of course your traditional clown fish made popular by the movie, but there is also a plethora of alternate varieties, including designer clown fish (yes, it’s a thing!) that can range from your traditional orange and white, to black and white or maroon, with anything from stripes to patches to almost full-cover white, and everything in between. Some also have electric blue outlining their patterns. One particular pair that caught our collective eye were the Phantom clown fish: black and white irregular patterns outlined with the electric blue, they were stunning fish. Unfortunately they were accompanied by a price tag that left us a feeling a bit stunned as well.

Wanting to keep the over-all price tag fro the tank as small as possible, we decided to keep looking as we mulled it over. It was then that Husband found them: The Solomon clown fish. So named because they hail from the Solomon Isles, the pair he came across were wild-caught with the traditional orange with white stripes patterning, but the orange was an unusually bright, vibrant orange, reminiscent of the flames found in the heart of a fire. His patterning fit Husband’s desire for a more traditional clown fish, while his unique coloration fit my desire for a more unusual fish.

I was at work when Husband made the discovery; he sent me a picture, of which I approved, but wanting to wait to buy the pair with me – because he’s a loving and thoughtful person like that – he waited till I got home that night to talk about it. In the meantime, he called other fish stores to check on the availability of Solomon clowns. It turns out that they are somewhat rare, and ordering any in could take at least - if not more - than 3 months.  

You wont be able to see the blue due to lighting and my camera

          Considering the uniqueness of the fish and their perfect fit for us, their comparative rareness, and how much Husband liked them, we decided to buy them the next morning. When we got there, we realized that one of the fish had sold already, but there was one Solomon left. Lucky for me though, the store also had some Picasso clowns – a variety that I was partial too, with traditional orange, but with white patches in patterns unique to each fish. Upon inspection of their available selection, we found one adorable one that had some of the electric blue lining the intersection of the white and orange. Since the blue was the one thing I hoped to find most in the clowns, we declared our picks to be perfect and bought the two. It’s our hope that they will become a mated pair, and already we are happy with how personable they are. They love to swim right up to the glass and say hi, and they move around enough to provide some tranquil watching and animation to the tank (though the moving makes it very hard to get a good picture). They seem to be settling in quite well, and are making themselves at home – we think the Solomon might be already adopting the output valve since we don’t have an anemone for him.             

The Duncan

Our Hermit Crab that came with the tank and the Duncan

Clown fish don’t actually need anemones, though they are very cool. They were on the top of the list when Husband and I started looking at things for the dream list. Unfortunately, anemones have a tendency to get pissed off and go on a killing rampage. They have a foot and will literally uproot themselves and move when they get grumpy, killing everything in their wake as they go. Since we have a small tank and not a lot of room for one of our corals to go on random killing sprees, he was off the list. We did get a small Duncan, which has a lovely color and the same general shape and wavy tentacles as an anemone, only with much less of a penchant for death and destruction. He’s a bit small for the clown fish to live in, but we’re looking into getting some macro algae which might be a good replacement – plus, there is always the output valve.

Dragon's Breath

Ochtodes

We did already get two types of macro algae, which has sealed our love for this plant type. The purple stuff is Ochtodes and adds some nice color and shape to the tank. Our favorite though is the Dragon’s Breath. It’s the beautiful red algae that literally looks like dragon flame suspended in water. The best part is; as it grows, the tips will turn orange, adding to the coursing                    flame effect. This is definitely one of our favorite things in the tank!  

We also found some lovely mushrooms – Husband picked out the orange one on the left, while I picked out the purple and blue one; thankfully they were a good price and we were able to get both!  

The combination Zoa rock 

We found a great Zoa rock as well from what is quickly becoming one of our favorite stores. The rock came with the two types of Zoa, which are encrusting, meaning that over time they will spread out and cover some of the rock surface, creating a beautiful floral-pasture-esque landscape.

         

        The future of the tank will hopefully include more awesome macro algae, a few more fish varieties, and lots of coral. Husband is busy researching options and contacting dealers, so I’m sure the tank will soon be filled with an abundance of  all kinds of  exotic and stunning saltwater life!           

Katie: Finished Editing my First Book!

Just a short celebratory post to say: I just finished editing my first book!

Bound by Fear, Freed by Grace by Emmanuel Olumobi is an intriguing read about the connection between Voodoo practices and the trafficking of Nigerian women to Europe for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Its already in print, but I was given the opportunity to go over this book for additional editing!

I have edited several academic documents and currently am employed as an editor and English tutor, but as a wanna-be future editor and writer, I am excited to have finished editing my first real book!

Ok, that is all, carry on people, thank you for your time!

Yay!!!    

Alicia: Let's talk about creepy visitors that WON'T go away!

I drove across the country from Norfolk, Virginia to California when it came time for me to change duty stations. My ship was on deployment, so I flew out from the Seychelles and days later I was driving across the country with our pets in my SUV.

Justin met me in Texas and drove the last few days with me. It was a great reunion after being apart for almost a year! When I got to California, it was late at night and I was still dealing with the weird jet lag and the surreal feeling of not being on the ship anymore. When we got to our new home at 2200 at night and found black widow spider in the back yard! Justin took care of it while I went into over protection mode with our dogs. Spiders really creep me out - add poisonous spiders and it just takes it over the top. I had put the incident out of my mind until last night when I found this:

 Yuck!! I tried to kill it, but it skittered away and is hiding somewhere near the outdoor outlet. No sir, that is not cool! I am happy enough to let bugs do their own thing, but not when they want to do their thing near my house.

Sam is true to her German Shepherd nature and it always trying to go after anything that she thinks doesn't belong in our house. She is a master at chasing shadows and laser dots! (They never stood a chance) I am going to keep the dogs supervised outside until I can find the spider again and kill it for good. I just hope this isn't an indication of a bigger spider infestation problem!

Katie: Fish Flop and Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

       Yesterday Husband and I actually had a chance to cook some of the meals we've been wanting to try. First up was an oven baked red snapper. I will say right now that this falls under the 'flop' category, but I decided to include it anyways for two reasons.

1) I think it was a good cooking method, and we plan on trying it again with a different fish that we like, like maybe a trout. We just don't like red snapper and didn't know this ahead of time. 

      2) Sometimes with Pintrest and Facebook, it starts to feel like we only post the things that turn out well, the good stuff we like to brag about. I think its important to admit once in a while that not everything we try turns out gold, that we are just as human as the next person, to stand in solidarity in our mistakes, figure out what went wrong and use that to make it better the next time.  

Yes its on a pizza pan. Its the only pan-like thing we had.

The Cooking Method:

        When Husband and I were in Publix doing some grocery shopping, this lovely red snapper caught our eye and begged us to take it home. Since we had been wanting to incorporate more fish into our diet, we gladly complied. As the kind old man behind the fish counter prepared him for us, he offered to add the lemon slices. He then recommended that we use the following steps:

1) Take one orange and cut it into slices, and lay that on the bottom of the pan.

2) Cut up an onion into large slices and arrange that likewise with the orange.

3)  Lay the fish on his lovely bed and season. We sprinkled salt, pepper, thyme, and dill over ours. 

4)Sprinkle olive oil over all.

5) Place in the oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees, and let cook for 30-45 minutes. (I always forget to turn the oven on till the food is prepped, hence why 'preheat' is at the end of the list... we're going for honesty here). 

The actual seasonings tasted wonderful in the fish, which is why we want to try to method again. Plus its super easy and only as expensive as the fish you buy. Our problem is that snapper is not our fish. It is way too oily and 'fishy' tasting. If there are people out there who like 'fishy' fish than this might be for you. We did not like the base fish taste, and it didn't sit well on our stomachs, so no more snapper for us. Though in all fairness, we did let the fish sit in the fridge a couple days before we cooked it, so that may be partially to blame. In any case, if anyone out there tries this fish or this cooking method, good luck to you, and let me know how it goes!    

Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

        I will start by saying I make an amazing traditional lasagna. My mom April makes the best lasagna in this world, and I was trained by Italian chefs during my university studies in Europe in the ways of the homemade meat sauce and pasta dishes.
       Unfortunately, Husband hates traditional lasagna. So when I stumbled across this recipe I figured I would give it a try in the hopes it could be a nice alternative.
     
        I used This Recipe as the basis for my dish. I of course made a few of my own modifications. For the puree, my mother-in-law had given me a butternut squash she couldn't eat, so I pealed that, chopped it up and boiled it. When the pieces were soft, I drained the water, added some half and half (because that was again all we had in the fridge), and some salt, a dash of pepper, and some cinnamon to replace the nutmeg we didn't have. I then blended it all together with my hand mixer (that we went out and bought because we're civilized like that, even though we don't have a proper baking sheet or lasagna pan).  

       For the spinach I bought a bag of the organic stuff from Publix, and wilted it down in a pan. for the cheese I shredded a block of Mozzarella from Aldi and added half of that to the spinach. I also threw in the rest of a tub of real Parmesan I still had in the fridge. The recipe calls for a lot more cheese, which I would recommend for cheese lovers. I was trying to find a happy balance between my cheese love and Husband's cheese hate. I think I managed.

       I pre-cooked the noodles as the recipe called for, but left mine a little al dente since I was worried about over-cooking. I then layered everything mostly as the recipe called for, except for an extra layer at the top with the puree and some bacon that Husband had cooked earlier. I know the recipe says 'vegetarian', but Husband and I are carnivores, so we couldn't resist throwing some meat in there somewhere. I baked it for 20 minutes with foil on and about 15 without, at 375, and it turned out really well! It even has the shape and consistency of lasagna, which surprised and impressed me.  

     I really love how this dish ended up tasting. Definitely one of my favorites. Husband said it was pretty good, and after some intense evaluating of the dish, we decided to try it with un-wilted spinach next time, and with layered rotini noodles instead of lasagna noodles. We will probably throw some ground beef or some other meat thing in there too next time. It sounds a little strange, but marriage is all about finding things that work for both of us!

        Feel free to try this recipe anyway you like, and let me know how it turns out for you! 

         I also thought I would leave this recipe here for Bacon, Spaghetti Squash, and Parmesan Fritters  which I have been dying to try, but I can't get my hands on a spaghetti squash to save my life! If anyone else tries it first, let me know how it works out, I think it could be truly decadent! 

Katie: The Saltwater Saga, Part I: The Finding of the Fish Tank

        The story of how we ended up with a 28 gallon saltwater fish tank sitting in the bedroom of our already-too-small apartment is in some ways a complicated one, and in other ways, is quite simple.

        It all started a week or so before Husband's birthday weekend. We were sitting at our computers, side by side as always. I was doing something on the internet or playing RIFT when Husband casually says "can we buy a (insert large monetary amount here) fish tank?"

       "No!" I scoffed, thinking he was joking "where are we going to put a fish tank in this tiny space? Plus that's a lot of money we don't really have... and if we move at the end of the summer as we are planning, then what will we do with it?"   

       "Ya, I guess you're right" he said with a shrug and the customary side-to-side movement of his head, classically indicating that he has weighed the odds and come to a decision, reluctant or otherwise. 

       I went back to killing rift creatures and trying to hit my attack combos just right, assuming we had made the responsible choice and that was the end of it.  

      Now don't get me wrong, I rarely say 'no' just out of hand, especially since Husband is very financially conscious, almost to the point of miserliness at times, and rarely asks for big purchases. Having said that, it isn't uncommon for him to throw out a random question about spending money on a big, pipe-dream purchase. Just as I do with asking if we can have random animals like red pandas, foxes, and falcons as pets (turns out the falcons are a distinct possibility we looked into and likely will try once we settle down a bit more). We do this to express a desire, share a dream with the other no matter how ridiculous or unfeasible it is. And sometimes, like with the falcons, its not really as unfeasible as we may have first thought, its just not for now in this time in our lives. I knew that Husband had kept saltwater tanks extensively in the past, I would even say its his favorite hobby or really thing to do in general most of the time. However, we had discussed fish tanks before, and while I always assumed we would get one eventually, we had both kind of decided it was a 'not-for-now' thing, for all the reasons I gave to him when he brought it up. Which is why I assumed he wasn't really serious about getting this particular one right now. 

       Fast forward a few days, and the set up that he had seen on the reef aquarium forum that he browses for fun  had dropped even further in price, and he started thinking that maybe his mom would like the tank. She enjoys the hobby almost as much as he does, and this way he could still play around with it. At some point during the preparation and planning for his mom to come down for his birthday weekend and look at the tank, I realized how much he really wanted this for himself, how his eyes lit up with happy wonderment and innocent, child-like delight every time he even mentioned anything to do with fish or coral.  After a very helpful conversation with his mom where she agreed to potentially buy the tank from us if we moved at the end of the summer - effectively solving two major concerns - and some measuring of precious wall space, I sat down on the couch with Husband who was watching House, turned down the volume when it got to a commercial, and told him the good news. 

The fish tank and stand

       Lets just say he did not respond in anyway I expected him too. Immediately he narrowed his eyes at me and asked what changed my mind - after explaining the results of the conversation with his mom and that I wanted him to be happy and saw how happy this made him, he abruptly pulled out his phone and called his mom, demanding to know what kind of 'conspiracy' the two of us had going on. After about 15 minutes of both of us laughingly trying to convince him there was no conspiracy, he decided I was 'easier to crack' and hung up with his mother. Another 10-15 minutes of couch interrogation ensued, where he would put his face close to mine, and with eyes as wide as they could go, ask 'whats going on?' in a funny voice. With a lot of giggling and innocent, sincere facial expressions, I managed to convince him to buy the fish tank. 

The fish in my laundry bucket blocking the bathroom door 

       

Two days later, we hopped in the car and started our saltwater excursion. After seeing the tank in person, Husband verified that it really was as amazing of a deal as we thought it was, and we loaded up everything in our little car and brought it home. Now, saltwater tanks are incredibly complex - a hundred things can go wrong, and literally everything is alive; the fish, the rocks, the sand, the coral, even the water. And everything has to be carefully transported and stored separately. So once we got the the house, we quickly unloaded, leaving tank parts and containers of rocks, water, supplies, and two little fishies all over the floor, before hopping back in the car and driving the 3 hour round trip to his moms house to get his old supplies he had stored there. While there, she agreed to come down that night and help us get everything set up. Not only did all the live stuff have to be carefully taken care of, there was also a Reverse Osmosis system for making clean water to turn into saltwater that needed to find a home somewhere, and some rocks covered in hair algae that needed to be scrubbed.                   

Assembling the framing

So that night, we went to Home Depot, picked out a long plank of framing wood, and had it cut to our specifications. We had decided to build a frame that would go over the back of our toilet to attach the RO system to, so it could pull water from the sink, and the bad water could drain out into the tub - my idea! Though it was Husband's brilliant mind that figured out the best practical design. We're just awesome like that. It took us a while and more than a little frustration and a few unpleasant words - because we're human like that - but we finally managed to assemble our contraption, with turned out quite well, in my opinion. It wont be winning any beauty contests or Most-Well-Constructed-Furniture-of-the-Year awards, but it's pretty stable and it works in our space constraints.     

This is my bathroom now

   We weren't able to get the RO actually working that night, but by then it was midnight and we were all more then a little tired, so we called it a night. The next day was the day to celebrate Husband's birthday, and we had already planned to spend the day perusing fish stores with his mom, since, as I mentioned before, he loves everything about the saltwater hobby. Now that we had the tank, we had an extra mission: find new liverock and sand.

       Though the tank had come with some liverock and sand, the rock was covered in hair algae, and the sand was pretty dirty. We realized that just buying new stuff would be worth saving us the hassle of trying to clean off what we had. We were also worried about getting the fish back in the tank before too long.

Flame Scallop. Picture from: www.nano-reef.com 

       We saw a lot of cool fish and coral that day. My favorite thing we saw was the Flame Scallops. The little blue lines are flickering bio-luminescent lights that dance around the edges of their 'lips' like tiny bolts of underwater lightning. Its breathtaking and mesmerizing to watch! Unfortunately, we can't have any right now as they are too hard to keep alive, but maybe one day!

       We did manage to find a good price on live sand, but we were striking out on the rock. Liverock can carry good algae, like Coralline, which you need for your tank, and very very bad pests like Aiptasia which can over take your tank in a week, is virtually unkillable, and will destroy everything you ever loved in your salty world. Unfortunately, Aiptasia is everywhere, and many rocks we checked were suspect. Also, the prices in the stores were high, and though we found some nice rock pieces in the last store we went too, there was no good algae on it.

       As we stood there contemplating our options, Husband remembered that private sellers often sell liverock on the same forum where he found the tank. A little searching, some grace from God, and a phone call later, and we were on our way to look at some privately owned rock. On the way, we realized that we should try to sell the old rock that came with the tank as weren't going to use it, and it would help recupe some of the cost of the new rock we were getting. Husband messaged an individual which had expressed an interest in the livestock from the tank, who promptly messaged him back saying he would take the rock, sand, and coral, as long as the fish were included. We were already beginning to worry about keeping the fish alive in a bucket long enough to assemble the tank again and let the chemical levels balance out, so we agreed. It was sad to see the fish go, but it was best for them, and made way for Husband and I to pick out a pair of clowns together.  

      There were a few chaotic moments as Husband tried to decide how much to ask to guarantee the livestock would be gone that night (besides the fishes' health, my own mental health was becoming a concern with all the buckets clogging up every walkway space) while still getting a descent monetary return. Meanwhile, Husband's mom was racing through the streets of Tampa, trying to find the rock seller's house, not get hit by crazy drivers, and attempting to follow the directions on the phone Husband was using to message our buyer.

        Being the awesome people we are, we managed to reach the rock house in one piece, and found awaiting us some extremely nice specimens for a killer price, most of which had Coralline on them. When we returned home, the buyer agreed to come pick up the livestock for a descent price (excellent for him, good for us as our alternative was to give it all away) and after saying goodbye to the fish, I finally had my floor back! Well, most of it anyway, but enough for breathing room and mental sanity.

        Before saying goodbye, Husband's mom helped us arrange the new sand and rock in the tank, further freeing up floor space. We got the RO system working that night, and the next few days were spent picking up the last few pieces we needed for construction purposes and tank maintenance, and going to a lot of fish stores to start getting ideas for the kind of fish and coral we wanted to buy. All in all, we were well on our way down the path of our salt water adventure.                    

The tank with the new rock and sand and old water in it. The sand is still settling and it needs more water, but its a good start. 

Alicia: Participating in Winter Shape Up 2015

I have been reading the the fitnessista blog for almost 2 years now. I found it when I was looking into way to get in shape, and I stumbled onto it through a google search. It is actually the first blog I have ever read and the only one I have consistently followed since I found it. If you are looking for a blog that focuses on fitness and food and good times, this is the one to check out. 

Gina is hosting "Winter Shape Up 2015" and this year I am going to participate with my own little modifications. It's a four week program that encourages you to work out and eat in a healthy way that hopefully shakes up your fitness routine and helps you to make better choices. I have the time now that I am in a training program. I think that this is going to help give me the motivation to get out of the house and tear myself away from the books and video games that I so prefer to spend my time with. 

If you want to participate, head over to fitnessista.com to find the workouts listed and a suggested eating program. I will be focusing more on the workouts than I will be on the eating plan. It's hard enough to get out of the house super early in the morning and the work schedule does not support fancy lunches! I do think that some of the dinner recipes look really good. I will be trying a few and will let you know how they taste!