aquarium

This is no longer just a dream.

I now have an aquarium!

I bought a 20-gallon long tank, secondhand and went through a few frustrating days trying to get it all set up. Spent more than I'd planned on, because although stuff was tested before I purchased it, some of the equipment failed when I got it home and had to be replaced. Also, I had it at first situated on my kitchen countertop

but it was not level so I moved it to the heavy dresser that sits off the side of the living room, next to my bookcases. I was concerned that the dresser top sags a bit in the center and the middle of the tank is not flush on the surface. I got these plastic/wood composite shims at the hardware store and jammed some in there.

Moving it was an entire day of work to empty and then set it all up again. (It would not really take all day but I have two kids who need attending to as well!) I think it looks very nice and really brightens up a dim corner of the room.

I put some sheets of white paper behind to hide all the cords and stuff.

There are no fish yet- I have to cycle the aquarium first, to get the good bacteria established. So I'm testing the water and keeping track of the fluctuations until it stabilizes. Lots of reading up on this process. Reminds me of doing chemistry in high school!

I do have some live plants- not very many yet but I hope they will grow. These are supposed to be easy plants to start with. This one is Jungle Val (also called eel grass or tape grass)

this is Water Sprite

and the last, my favorite, is Rotala Indica

I have a learning curve to go through with live aquarium plants. I am giving them liquid aquatic plant food and have changed the light in my hood to a full daylight spectrum. I might need to change the substrate and get sand or finer gravel so they can root well? Not sure but will do more reading on that, too.

And now while I wait for the tank to stabilize I have more research to do. The fun part is "window shopping" at the pet store and reading books, trying to decide which fish I like best, and which will do well in my mini-habitat and water conditions.