reflections

[equidae9854]

i learned that hotwheels and starwars figures are GREAT tank accessories... but that going pee in the tank is not a good idea even if someone is in the bathroom for hours

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ROFL.

Oh yeah, my friend and I carried 5 gal buckets (two buckets each, four total) to fill my 120 gal tank...

Then I realized that I could just use a hose...

 

[Arachnar]

Mine really wasn't that bad, plus I started actually learning about tropicals through the net fairly early.

So in elementary school my hamster died of smoke inhalation after my dad left a pot of chile on the stove. I decided I wanted to keep fish and cleaned out his old cage which was a ten gallon and filled her up!
Bought a filter,heater ,and lighthood and my dad told me a week was enough to cycle. Started with a few fish ,alot died in the first year, got ich a couple times.

That was probably 5-6th grade and here I am years later. I am still learning about new fish and other's experiences everyday. Too bad I don't have money for more tanks at the moment but give me a year.

 

[Arachnar]

My (well, the family's) first tank was a 10 gallon with goldfish.

My mom would net the fish and put it in a bowl, get a bucket, empty the water out of the tank with a cup, carry the tank over to the sink, and wash everything out really well with soap and hot water. The tank had a hob heater and an air driven corner filter. She would replace the carbon and filter floss. This happened once every two weeks. Then she'd put the tank back on the entertainment center, fill it up, plug the heater and air pump in, throw in some kind of water conditioner tablet, and plop the goldfish back in the water.

I relate this to you because for the longest time I couldn't figure out how people with "big" tanks, like 55 gallons, cleaned them. I thought they must haul them into the bathtub every other week and clean them out there. All I thought was how much it must have sucked to do that, how heavy the tanks must be, and how it couldn't be worth it.

Then, when I was about 12, I was a fish store when the owner was cleaning the tanks. That was the first time I'd ever seen a siphon hose. I thought it was amazing, no buckets (she had the hose drain into the basement of the shop, into a sink), no carrying a tank to the sink (or bathtub!), and the gravel got cleaned at the same time!

Suddenly I finally understood how all those "big" tanks were getting cleaned, and was a lot less work then my Mom's way of cleaning tanks.

The rest is history!

Yikes poor goldfish!