“Cloudy Waters” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！Hi!
This evening we set up Bay’s new aquarium, which is actually our old aquarium, but since we got a new 20-gallon tank, Bay wanted the 10-gallon tank for his room. I was happy to give it to him because I remember when I was his age I also had an aquarium in my room. 🐠
Yesterday I helped him clean the tank, by taking out the old gravel and rocks and then he scrubbed the glass to remove the algae that has built up over the years. He also cleaned the filter pump and aquarium hood. It’s looking good!
And today we went to the local fish store to buy some new substrate and a couple fish. Since I kept the old biological media, the water should be cycled pretty quickly. I recommended Bay start out with a couple of Siamese algae-eaters, and then do some research as to what kinds of fish (and how many) would do well in a 10-gallon tank. He also wants to put some live grasses in it, which should be pretty cool.
I remember when I was in middle school I had a 10-gallon tank in my room… it may even have been smaller. Perhaps an 8-gallon? Anyways, the filter system we used was very different back then. We used one of those vibrating pumps that drove air through a tube and into a plastic filter box. The bubbles would create a current that would keep water flowing through the filter material. It was a loud system! But I loved that little aquarium and it gave me years of enjoyment. Our guppies lived long happy lives and we raised a lot of little baby guppies!
When I was in high school, I had a larger aquarium, maybe a 12 or 15-gallon tank, using the same filter system. But I was able to get some different kinds of fish – platys, mollys, plecos, and tetras. I loved that tank as well! I remember spacing-out looking into that aquarium for hours while listening to Environments records… ☺️
During college I had another aquarium in our dorm room. It was a cool plexi tank and I think I had a couple mollys and a little frog. This tank had an under-gravel filter system, but still used that loud pump.
These days, the pumps and filters we use are the impeller-type which are quiet, efficient, and easy to maintain. I’m sometimes tempted to get one of the air-pumps so I can have some cool bubbles in the aquarium, but I’m satisfied with how the aquarium is set up now.
I’m really happy that I’ve had an aquarium in my life since I was young. It’s a fun and relaxing hobby that can be so much more than “just taking care of fish”. I hope that Bay and/or Koa continue with the tradition!
おやすみなさい！Good night!
– B 
