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Thursday, March 29, 2012

growth

Our fish aquarium.  What is its purpose?  It doesn't feed or clothe or shelter us.  It's not particularly interactive.  It doesn't cook or clean or change the oil.  Perhaps it's just one extravagance amid my minimalism. 

I luxuriate in its humming, bubbling presence.  Its meditative spirit fills the room with a certain calmness. The ritualistic cleanings and arrangings make it a sort of zen garden for me, along with the daily practices of feeding and turning the light on in the mornings and off at bedtime.  I would love to have a bigger one or a more exotically shaped one rather than the 30-gallon rectangular, but it'll do. 

Currently, however, its zen presence is being messed with.  We have an intruder.  The intruder is pond scum.


A few weeks ago, the fluorescent bulb in the hood blew out.  I sought out a replacement and selected one that was specifically categorized for plants and aquariums, and then there was light.

Followed by pond scum.

I noticed my zen garden aquarium becoming cloudy and greenish.  It was hard to see the fish when they went to the back.  Cleaning it only makes it a little less cloudy and greenish for a day or so.  

Just my luck.  I've never been particularly good with plants. Seems like all of the houses we've lived in just didn't have an area that provided the right amount of sun, and my plants have struggled.

And yet here I am, procreating a bumper crop of pond scum. 

So I'm calling on the experts:  fish keepers and/or pot growers.  Should I

(a) leave it and realign my zen values?
(b) go without a light in the hood and just rely on nature?
(c) start up a small pot-growing operation?
(d) a and c?
(e) b and c?

I'm thinking if I choose (c), while it won't cure the problem, I just might not care anymore.
.

14 comments:

terri said...

Did you get a brighter light? My sources say that too much light and overfeeding will cause this problem.

My sources = my husband so if he's wrong about this, I won't be surprised.

Abby said...

HA! I do suspect the brighter light-ness. I had a 17W before and this one is 20W. Your "sources" might actually be correct!

D.Shawnte said...

I really wish I could help you with this one but I'm not an expert on fish and aquariums Dx. I really hope you'll be able to solve the tank scum problem soon :s.

Also, fish are so peaceful and fun to look at :3.

Linda Hensley said...

I forwarded your post to a friend who had this problem. Took her a lot of trial and error to solve it too, but I can't remember what the solution to it was. Kind of ironic you're having the aquarium problem during "swamp" week. Love your post for that :)

Abby said...

Oh, thanks Linda! That would be great if she could take me passed the trials and errors. Maybe it is the fault of "swamp". Hopefully next week will be something like "clarity" week, and this will all be gone :)

Judy said...

I am almost positive it is your lightbulb. You need a weaker one. We had this happen. You can treat with chemicals that don't necessarily hurt the fish (except they might grow a third eyeball)...

ShadowRun300 said...

We tried to keep fish once. The cat ate them. We're probably not the ones to ask.

Scott said...

Hilarious!

agg79 said...

Except for that fish sandwich I had last week, I have haven't had fish since I was knee high to a grasshopper, so any advice I could give would be dated. Although, Judy & Terri's recommendations make sense to me.

Anita said...

Okay... So when my kids get around to asking for fish/aquarium, my answer should be no. I'm already mommy to the dog; guess I'd be mommy and caretaker of the fish and its habitat, too.

We had one during my teens, and it was comical to see my step-father's "maintenance."

But they're sooo cute and fun to watch. Hmmm...

Abby said...

Thanks Judy, I think I'll try a different bulb, although 3-eyed fish would be way cool!

Mary Lou Rosato-Caine said...

Linda informed me of your fish issues. So when this happened in our tank, it was much trial and error to get the water back to normal. From changing lights to new filter system, nothing worked. When all was said and done it was the brand of food I had been feeding them.(or so I believe) I went back to the old food and it cleared up. Also one of the fish I think was carrying a disease so that may have added to the issue. It's been a while so that's the best I can offer up. Good Luck. There not as easy a pet as one would think. I've gotten much education that I never really wanted.

Rebecca S. said...

Just because you have succeeded in growing pond scum by accident, that's no reason to get all excited about trying your hand at hydroponics :) How about starting with a Chia pet?

Coreopsis said...

You know, I have never read any of your non-art blog posts, but I have quite enjoyed these, and I just want to say that your aquarium ought to equalize in a couple weeks, with the new higher light level. We keep our fish tank it he bathroom, where people who are inclined to spend a long time sitting on the can have something to look at (when they,re not reading Calvin and Hobbes or National Geographic), and all of our overgrowth problems have worked themselves out. Whatever you do, don,t change out all the water or you,ll have to start you ecosystem all over again....