Well, summer has fully kicked in and with it has come much change. While too much time has passed since my last blog past I can assure you I have many tanks yet to fill.
For now enjoy a few other pictures of this Laurel Mansion series. The title image is from the same lot as this series.
One of many sculptured gardens at Lyndale Park in South Minneapolis
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Happy Birthday Dad!
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PBS Video - CLICK HERE - A Native American reservation in northwestern Montana is not a place you would expect to see a 24-foot-tall Buddhist statute. But it turns out that Tibetan Buddhists and Native Americans have quite a lot in common.
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Fourteen dollar win and highest straight flush to date.
Hello and happy spring to you all! Thanks for visiting my blog and checking out the latest news with my aquariums.
During my daily search on Craigslist for aquarium stuff, I came across an ad for Crystal Red Shrimp and jumped at the opportunity. Very nice guy from here in town and the quality of the shrimp is top notch. These guys should get around 1 to 1.5 inches. Right now they are about and 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch.
These shrimps are a blast to watch with their constantly moving legs and arms! Videos are coming soon when I can get them in focus on my camera.
Life is what you make so make it a great week everyone. When was the last time you asked "what's in MY tank and do I like the fish I am looking at?"
-Andrew
PS>
Went to a fish show this past weekend at the VFW in Fridley MN. I love the irony of visiting a Tropical Fish Show and seeing this on the sign above the entry door, "Fish Fry"! Seriously! LMAO!
It's beginning to feel like Disc Golf weather! Very exciting! As so many of your may know, this is my warm weather hobby. If you have thought or would like to learn, it would be my pleasure to show and teach you one of my favorite games. Just in case you wanted to see what's in your neighborhood, check out this Google map of the location across the United States. Google Map of all the Disc Golf Course in the US
I'll just briefly touch on news and current events from last week.
Glen Beck no longer has a daily show on Fox News; rejoice, rejoice, rejoice!
Judicial referendum in Wisconsin has prevailed and is most wonderful!
And to leave on the funniest new story one can even think of. Quote "...it appears from the paperwork, we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that does not.” (web link to article click here).
Hello friends, family and fellow humans around the world!
Thank you for visiting my blog and sharing in the fun of my hobby.
Over the next few weeks you will be seeing this tank. I had to split up the fun.
This tank was setup in the most wonderful home I rented a few years ago with my fiancée Jennifer in the Minneapolis's Bryn-mar neighborhood. This home was ~5,200sq ft and Victorian from 1889 (originally).
With Jennifer's photography, this tank becomes one of my favorite tanks. Thank you again, Jen, for taking such wonderful photos. (As you browse the images clicking on them enlarges the photos.)
Enjoy!
Andrew
Aquarium Setup:
37 gallon tall aquarium
Eclipse 3 hood (no filter) (2, 18w 10k bulbs.)
(10 hours with timer, 15m breaks 3 times)
CO2 reactor with latter disperser
Canister filter
PS> You may have noticed I didn't have a post last week and this one is a day late. A lot has been on my plate and the little down time I had I didn't feel like working on this bog. The reason I relate this info is to share some of my new found wisdom. For me to enjoy my hobby and have my eyes focused on the tank I put the fish that please me most.
I've kept my head out of the news lately; it's been getting me down just turning on the radio. I haven't denied myself of news however. Living with politics sometimes mean you have to pick sides and that's asking for much right now. I contributed my FIRST $20 for 'Obama 2012' yesterday. Now it's only $999,999,980 to go!
The Office Experiment tank is coming along well. I've added a piece of drift wood and java moss. The extra plants must have taken the nutrients the algae blooms were consuming. Right now the algae are at the lowest point since I started the tank in January.
There is a big giant tank in the office now. That is 72 gallons of birthday excess. This glorious tank sits inches away from my chair and offers a four feet wide view. The Legacy Tank is now this. Soon it will be a simple hard-scape with may fish. The reason behind this change is the realization that I want an easier tank to manage.
PS> No-fly zone has been established in Libya, we’ll see how this turns out. State military should never be used on its people.
I did my taxes two weeks ago. When you do your duty be happy to pay for streets, emergency services. Be proud of the government you support that keeps your children educated, food safe and keeps news from not being controlled by a private corporation.
I have a few endorsements this week.Nissan Thermos Mug has been a great Christmas gift. I’ve had tea and coffee keep warm for up to three and four hours.
I have gone completely digital with my final frontier, books. Audible.com had peaked my interest for a while. I’ve always like the concept of audio books and finally signed up. I’m always reluctant to use my credit card for monthly services. With no commitment and the monthly credit encourages me purchase and listen to a new book every month. Great selection helps too!
The auto show was this past week and I went on the 16th of course. The MB S550 and Chevy Stingray, what's not to love. One American car that caught my eye was the Ford Mustang Boss 302.
Went all out on and indulged in my Friday lunch. Doesn’t get much better that Chipotle. BTW, Fajita burrito without rice, black beans, barbacoa, green salsa, pico, sour cream, cheese, side of gauc with chips and a can of coke.
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There are two wonderful music pieces to share this week. American Beauty Soundtrack by Thomas Newman. Second is a very moving orchestral piece, adagio for stings.
Before I ending with a joke, take care of you this week. Do something you love at least once a day.
A DEA officer stopped at a ranch in Texas , and talked with an old rancher.He told the rancher, "I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs." The rancher said, "Okay , but don't go in that field over there.....", as he pointed out the location. The DEA officer verbally exploded saying, " Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me !" Reaching into his rear pants pocket, he removed his badge and proudly displayed it to the rancher. "See this badge?! This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish.... On any land !! No questions asked or answers given!! Have I made myself clear......do you understand ?!!" The rancher nodded politely, apologized, and went about his chores.A short time later, the old rancher heard loud screams, looked up, and saw the DEA officer running for his life, being chased by the rancher's big Santa Gertrudis bull...... With every step the bull was gaining ground on the officer, and it seemed likely that he'd sure enough get gored before he reached safety. The officer was clearly terrified.The rancher threw down his tools, ran to the fence and yelled at the top of his lungs....."Your badge, show him your BADGE........ ! !"
This photograph was taken around 2003, give or take a year. This week’s post is more about me than aquariums and fish tanks. The photo below shows the collection of me and friend’s contribution to the teenage tapestry we called The Wall. As you can see this wall is very colorful. Turning thirty on March 16th, I figured this was a great time to reflect on who made this wall art and how it made me who am I today.
PS> My birthday is in two days! FYI, I like red or yellow paint on my Ferrari's!
It was an incredible news last week from around the world. The strongest earthquake in 1,200 years of recorded history hit Japan on Friday. The subsequent tsunami with damaged nuclear plants; whoa! Continued strife in Libya dominated the news. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed legislation that strips the majority of the states workers there collective bargaining rights with a shady, illegal, mid-night, back handed action.
On a light note; progress to cherish life in Illinois is shown this week. I read this article then ran into this quote a few days later. Normally this topic isn’t something I share however the thought is powerful and worth reflecting on. “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Buddha said “The tight string breaks and there is no music. The relaxed string doesn't make any sound and the music stops. The focus of life should be how to achieve balance.”
I’ll end with a highlight for International Woman’s Day. This video clip (1m30s) is Tina Fay in last week’s 30 Rock.
Welcome! This week’s tank is a revisit of ‘102: Isn’t it Grand’ from week one. I’ve rearranged a few plants in the tank. Enjoy the video too!
This week’s post is simple. For many reasons, the main one is I lost a couple hours of work by not using correct writing platforms; more about this later in the blog. This rookie mistake is deflating. You’ll see, next week’s post will be fun. It’s a tank with some history so I want to do it right. I’m not going for perfection and keeping it to want I like.
New! Haiku of the week:
five pieces of glass
hold life in
just keep swimming
PS>
Hello everyone. As many who visit this blog know, this blog is more than aquariums for me. While I like to share my hobby this gives me a chance to share my point of view. I hope you enjoy and I would love to start a discussion with anyone of you should you like. Some of life's favorite people share opposing views.
I wanted to start the PS this week and share the empowering wise thoughts of Don Miguel Ruiz “You don't need to know or prove anything. Just to be, to take a risk and enjoy your life, is all that matters. Say no when you want to say no, and yes when you want to say yes. You have the right to be you.”
To continue a thought from last week, I was talking about seasonal effectiveness disorder. The people of Finland have an interesting insight on the suns daily absents in the winter time. Check out this funny story on CNN about Finish Light Problems.
Not too sure how many times I have lost content writing this blog. How do all those writers trust technology with your craft? I noticed the preverbal balloon that keeps me afloat gets quickly popped when the trust of technology to keeps your words safe fails or is mismanaged. I had to make a different post just to get past the frustrations it created. Not that I lost much content but I couldn’t revisit that topic without thinking how much I hated working in the ‘cloud’. So I’m back to a word processor with data on only one computer. Fine.
It was a very interesting work week. I cover the east coast area. Working with schools and churches, last week about 80% of the schools had winter break in mid-February. It was slow. Not a big problem just went a little stir crazy. Starting on Monday, thinking this week would be back to normal, the Mayor of Road Island has given pink slips to 2,000 teachers. Check out the story here. Instead of asking ‘how was your break and what do you think about this project for next year’ the conversations are ‘do you think you will be employed next year?’ Ridiculous! I’ve learned from Stephen R. Covey to only worry about things I have control over. All I can be is grateful for what I have and pray this insanity is resolved in a timely manner.
Breaking down an aquarium this past week end, pictured below, it was setup at my friend Nichol’s for the past year or so. Pictured is my friend Rocky and son Harley. While filling the 5 gallon jug, Harley was holding the hoes. Harley not paying too much attention I got him wet a little and we laughed. No more than 30 seconds later he looks at me sternly and say “hey, this shirt was ten dollars” and we all erupted. What a great kid and parents.
Make it a great week everybody! You’ll see me next Monday! Same time? You got that right!
Welcome aquarium hobbyists, aquascapers, fish keepers, Andrew followers, Internet people and fellow humans!
As you read this week's post check out the added information to the site. Pages have new information with bios and links.
This post may look short. My PS section is now after the entire tank. There was entirely too much side chat. By separating the two I feel better about my rants. As always, I’d love to hear your input. You're welcome to send a comment or email.
This was a setup I had in Hopkins MN. It's a 30 gallon tall. The setup and colors of the photos make these one of my favorite tank of the past. If I had the peace of mind and experience I could have done many adjustments before taking this photo to improve the quality. This was about 2 or 3 years into my hobby. You'll see the background is a mix of images spanning the years of 1999 to 2001 from Juxtaposition Magazine. Looking at the background today I'm intrigued at my choice of pictures. Simple in layout the design has balance with seven different plants in the tank.
Enjoy!
-Andrew
105: Hopkins 20g Tall 'Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.'
If you look closer, there are a dozen Krib fry with the mother on the right hiding behind the leafs.
More fry images here with the mothers tail in the center.
PS>
Hello everyone. Here is my chance to add a little more than aquarium topics. Check out the pages like talks a little about my post scripts.
Week two of Wisconsin’s union struggle. The state congress passed a union busting bill. It's now on to the state senate. Humor helps. I’ve been listening to a lot of Dylan and Springsteen this week and that’s seemed to have helped too.
I'm always learning about the internet and the various ways to use it. I wanted to suggest a use I have found to be very useful. RSS feeds allow you to stay connected with many internet sources by managing the information they post in a convenient way. Once you have a RSS reader, subscribe to all the www’s and .com's you want to stay in touch with. I use Googles Reader. An example of how the feeds work are this list on this blogs are feeds.
I ran across an interesting tool thatGooglehas come up with. Simply tell it a recipe search and it'll give you options to add or take away certain ingredient, change calorie count or cook time as well as a bunch of other filters based around cooking.
I had some good times with music this week.
Talking with a friend about how bad reggae music is and I forgot to express a bigger point about the music style. With substance greater than style, words have a great impact with simplicity. Take a few minutes to check out a song from my man Bob Marley in music and word.
Thom Yorke's Black Swan (explicit) Thom Yorke is an excellent artist I ran across the other week while listening toPandora’s station for Radiohead. I've been a fan of electronic music most of my adolescent and adult life. This style is a simple beat driven music that offers a darker side. This inter-perspective, melody educed trace that is easy to get caught into. I haven't seen Black Swan yet but from the reviews this song match's well. It's an interesting video too.
A few more links I can across over the week that’s worth sharing.
Marvin Gaye sings American National Anthem uTube Video
Beck’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Music Video
Hello everyone and welcome to another Andrew Slaikeu's Aquarium Blog post. Thanks for checking out my aquariums that I've setup through out my years in this hobby. This tank is so new it's still waiting to be fully setup with water or any plants or fish.
Are you a Criagslister? Have you gone out and dealt with the both posting and responding to ads? The lighting equipment and CO2 ($150 for both) on my tank is from a Craigslist ad. When I went to pick it up, the seller warned my about the algae build up that would occur. Looking at the rig to make sure it worked properly I noticed he had the lights on a twenty four hour cycle; yikes. Blue atinic was on twelve and the 10k was on twelve. I didn't have the heart to tell him, figuring he was already ditching the hobby. A good idea for future projects, if your going to have an expensive rig, do a little reading on the internet.Wikipedia and wikiHow are internet research staple sites.Where do you go on the internet for research? I would like to know.
I've picked this tank as a challenge. Expanding on the limits set to my previous post, The Office Experiment, just on a much larger scale. There won't be an aquarium care discipline missing on this tank.
The questions I hope you answer with this build are can I sustain a tank with high lighting and CO2 at this capability. The other question is with the tank two feet behind me, can I work next to it with a chance of it being a distraction and will this help rationalize putting some extra hours in at work.
At work, management is very understanding that I have no windows in sight at my desk. With this monster of a life support aquarium, I get some sanity. I'll reflect on a story I heard during the miners rescue months ago that study show depression may occur with prolonged lack of sunlight. The lights in the tank show similar frequencies to sunlight and are exactly the same used in light therapies (10K light bulbs can do wonders for people with seasonal affective disorder that can be common when you live in an arctic tundra for 5 months or work long hours without being exposed to sunlight).
The CO2 and bulbs and lighting system all are found on Craigslist. Some of the lessons learned are stated above but here is one more. The light bulbs are freak'n expensive. There just aren't two ways to say it. At $45 to $65 a bulb you've got to get creative like go online. I've never been the person to pick the lowest rated seller on Amazon to get the best price so I got lucky by running across a post on Craigslist. This guy had 8 bulbs. I got four 10k bulbs for $40! Here's the bummer. When I talked with the guy and sent emails I could tell I was working with a business guy so it was pleased. When I met him at a local food spot there was a magnetic door sign on his car. He was a contractor and I recognized the logo. Perfect. We exchanged and I went to the office to check them out and sure enough one of the bulbs was broken. Sending an email and not expecting to hear back I learned a valuable lesson. The glass fragments were fine enough that it could have been my fault. I didn't take the time to look at them so who's to say.
Being there isn't any driftwood or large rocks, I want to grown in thick healthy plants throughout the tank.
Purchased as my very first fish tank, this 37 gallon tall aquarium dimensions are 30"H x 12" W x 24" T. The stand is the bottom half of a hutch that Jennifer had.
The lighting system was a great find on Craigslist. The setup has two 21' CLFs 55w 10k with two fans. I had to perform surgery on this light. The fan was incredibly loud originally. I purchased two quite 55mm fans online and re-wired them to two power supplies purchased at Axeman Surplus. A digital timer ($30) is going to provide power to the tank. This timer is digital and is the bee's knee's. Eight outlets total, four have separate timers which it perfect for power-heads and the solenoid CO2 control. I'll document the timing element in a later post once this tanks up and running.
This CO2 rig is the real deal. Far from the DYI yeast and sugar packet of my past tanks. An electronic solenoid controls the release of CO2 flowing into a power-head to disperse it in the tank.
You'll see in the pictures below I have installed a substrate heater from Red Sea called Root Therm ($50). This unit promotes a small amount of water current where plants absorb the most nutrients, the soil.
You might be asking, why there isn't water or anything in it. Great question, the reasons are many. Most of them being centered on the time and energy that will be put into this task. I can't be distracted so I'm waiting to hit a few goals at work. This is going to be my personal reward though I've been given the go-ahead from management to get it 'watered-up'.
Well all the components are in place for a very nice planted tank. Thanks for looking and have a great week. We'll see you next Monday for another post! If you have ideas for plant life please let me know, I'm open to ideas and don't have plans set in stone.
PS>
Real quick, I want to say hello to a fish store that's helped me throughout the years. Sea Level in Hopkins MN has hard working enthusiasts/hobbyists that can help with any setup you're looking for whether it's salt or freshwater. Ask for John or Rob.
PPS> Recognizing the teachers and supporters in Wisconsin this past week. I stand with the teachers, nurses, and all public employees of Wisconsin who are fighting for their rights. Please know this protesting has a greater stake for the entire country. Do your part to help keep the ability of collective bargaining rights for teachers and state employee unions. Keep up the good fight! Should it come to MN, you'll see me on the picket lines!
Post Post Post Script> To sandwich method my political thoughts, have you seen Conan's show lately? He is funnier than ever before! Team Co-Co!
Now. On to the tank!
Here is the full setup as is sits right now.
I just brought the tank in the office.
Here is my first attempt at the substrate heated wire layout. I wanted the wires to hang off the left side with everything else.
Here is the final placement for substrate heater wires.
