The Doberstein's Saltwater Tank Adventure

Last weekend was the Tropical Fish Show, where local fish breeders get to set up small tanks to show off their "best" fish for everyone to see. This year, Derick had two tanks of fish in the show. The Rainbows got 3rd place in their category!! At the show, there are raffle tickets that you can purchase in hopes of winning small or large prizes. the top prizes this year were two 55-gallon tanks with stands, and a 29-gallon BioCube Oceanic tank - saltwater ready. Derick and I bought tickets to throw in for the BioCube, thinking it would be really cool if we won that - to think more seriously about starting a saltwater tank. That was the LAST drawing of the day for the raffle. And we WON THE TANK!!! So, to make a long story and many running-around errands short, today we set up the tank to begin our saltwater tank adventure! We have the "live rock/sand" substrate in there as well as the RO-saltwater in the tank. You need to let that cycle through the tank for about a month before you can add your "live rock," let that sit a couple of months and then you can slowly start adding anenomonies, corals and fish. Slow and steady are the keys for this project - as any mistakes you make could prove to be very costly!!

The tank and the stand are ready for action! 

5- 5gallon buckets of RO/saltwater mix ready!

Tucker isn't so sure about this...

Tucker inspects the first bucket about to go into the tank

first bucket of water!

First batch of salt/rock goes in.

Then comes the "live sand" - it was like toothpaste!!

We see the LIGHT!!!

So, now, we wait! A few weeks and then we can add our "live rock," let the tank cycle awhile and then start to add living things slowly over time.

We are thinking we want to add the following types of things to our tank:

an angelfish

an anemone

a cleaner shrimp

one pair of clownfish (regular or black clownfish) 

And maybe 1-2 smaller fish as well. Over the years we hope to add more coral to the tank as well since we have a very awesome light fixture on the tank! It will take time, but the patience will be worth the end result!

-LD

Bus Adventures Update

So, awhile ago I had posted a Bus Adventures Blog. Of those items, the following items have also happened to me:

1. Get asked what time it is
2. Get thrown-up on
3. Get sneezed on
4. Get sat on
5. Get used as a pillow by a sleeping seat-mate
6. Get asked to borrow my phone
7. Be asked to change/move seats
8. Be a witness to a bus/car accident
9. Be on a bus that hits another vehicle or building
10. Miss my stop
11. Fall asleep on the bus

And ALSO, I got to kick one thing off my Bucket List!

Travel to Paris

Go Hot Air Ballooning

Buy a decent camera

Take a cooking class

Take a cake decorating class

Be promoted in the workplace

Get another dog

Move into a single-family home

Alaskan Cruise

Travel to see more of the West and East coasts

Travel to Hawaii

Travel to Australia

Live on or near a lake

Host Thanksgiving Dinner at our home (must obtain home with larger kitchen first...)

Ride in a Limousine

Road Trip with Derick

Take a get-away vacation

Host a Holiday Cookie Baking Weekend at my home (must obtain home with larger kitchen first...)

Start a retirement account

Rebuild my hard-copy and electronic portfolios

See my work in print

Pay for the meal or dessert of a prom couple anonymously while at the same restaurant

Eat more fruits and vegetables

Serve food/meal at a charity during a major holiday

Re-read a book series

Read or review all of the design books I own

More seriously discuss if and when to have kids

Find an Endocrinologist whom I interact well with

Snowboard again

Go Scuba Diving

Skype with my Twitter Twin someday

Work more closely with or for the ADA

Organize my digital pictures

Obtain my education degree to teach art or design

Learn how to play acoustic guitar

Worth 1,000 Words

So, if a picture is worth 1,000 words, then I would have 1,600,000 words to describe my trip to Arizona this past week. That's right - I took just over 1,600 photos while on my trip. I bought my new toys - new digital SLR camera, lens, and bag just before our trip after having my arm twisted into getting it before we left. I am SO glad I made the purchase before we left. I got to try out a lot of different things and cannot wait to try out more of the new camera features. In the words of my Twitter Twin, "New cameras are SO. MUCH. FUN." For real.

I went through and the following are some of my favorites from the trip. Enjoy my photographic journey:

Chihuly art in the botanical garden!

Ghost Town 

Tortilla Flats Area

Yep, that's an old VW bus that was driven off the long cliff - you can't really tell from the photo, but this was a LOOOOONG ways down!

The small town of Jerome, AZ

Don't you want these for YOUR front steps?!

12ish to 5ish

One Man's Junk...

Grand Canyon - South Rim

So much wildlife at the Botanical Gardens!

I  called this one the lil Mr. Peanut Cactus.

And there you have it! I whittled it down to 40ish for you!

-LD