Webbed Feet Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Hello everyone, I'm a late boomer guy that has found himself returning to old loves. Back when I was around eight years old, I started keeping fresh water aquariums. By the time I was twelve I already had my first fifty gallon tank. It was wood on all sides with a glass front, for a kid the price was right. Surprising how long it lasted as I remember using it for my first saltwater setup for cold ocean critters collected from the Oregon coast when I was nineteen. Kept it in a basement where it stayed nice and cool. No fish, just tide pool animals. They successfully spent about a year with me and then I returned them all to their home in the ocean. Looking back on it, I have no idea how it was the tank didn't crash. I think I drove to the ocean and came back with some replacement water for them once. Things actually grew! Amazing huh? So two to three years ago I get a little fourteen gallon Biocube, and then a used 29 gallon one with a halide. I've had successes and failures. Through it all this one very stoic, and lovely, tube anenome has withstood it all. I've raised a baby clown that once balloned up like a puffer, but I rescued it after being told the wrong info by a saltwater shop crew on medicinces and turned my fourteen cube that I know use for a quarentine tank into pink jello. A water change, a great deal of web research, and a month and a half later the clown was back in fine condition. Today, just manually dosing, I am getting so many reproducing mushrooms I need to give some away. Local shop won't pay a thing for them or even trade some salt or anything, so perhaps I'll get on Craigs and give them away. It's time to get a larger tank and all the good stuff. But it is hard to learn what is good stuff and what is crap. Same as when I was a kid, the aquarium hobby industry still willingly, and knowingly as far as I can tell, sells a lot of crap disguised as good stuff. Learning the differnce takes quite a bit of time. So I very much look forward to everyone's posts about what they use and what you've all learned not use. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you have a lot of experience. Pretty impressive story about the cold water tank and the rescued clownfish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webbed Feet Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 Thank you for the welcome! Yes, I was pleased I managed to rescue the clownfish. But note to self, saltwater + light + Tetracycline = pink jello water. Would have been nice if the saltwater shop "expert" had known and mentioned that. But then several didn't seem to know very much about how to successfully rescue ill fish at all. Ten hours of internet reading had to stand in for shop staff knowledge. But, there is a lot to learn in the hobby and learning is good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Thank you for the welcome! Yes, I was pleased I managed to rescue the clownfish. But note to self, saltwater + light + Tetracycline = pink jello water. Would have been nice if the saltwater shop "expert" had known and mentioned that. But then several didn't seem to know very much about how to successfully rescue ill fish at all. Ten hours of internet reading had to stand in for shop staff knowledge. But, there is a lot to learn in the hobby and learning is good! Absolutely ! You have to be a chemist, mechanic, scientist and vet! It's a lot to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadySaber Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 welcome welcome....... good to have you here. yay for softies. Im a giant fan of mushrooms they are my fav. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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