In Birmingham for Memorial Day Events

The Todd family headed down to Birmingham to the Holliman residence (Christy's parents) for our Memorial Day events. We left after church and when loading our car / backing out of the garage, I heard a loud chirping noise. I checked the holly bush on the side of the house and discovered a nest of mocking bird chicks. I took a couple of pictures which turned out surprisingly well:



2004-05-30 Mocking Bird Chicks







The other picture can be found in the Other Pictures link on the right side of this page under "Links".

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Aquarium News

Well, I checked the aquarium and it looks as if the killifish have laid another batch of eggs. I decided not to take any chances this time that the female might eat them and purchased a Penn-Plax Aqua-Nursery from Fish Tails in Rainbow City.



I fully rinsed the "nursery" and placed it in the tank. I then took some of the hornwort and placed some of it in the "maternity" section of the nursery. I used some aquarium scissors to cut off the portion of the amazon sword leaf where the egg batch was visible. I then used a toothpick to scrape the batch off into the nursery. The batch was surprisingly "gellish." I thought that killifish eggs would be more like eggs... Well, I'll find out in 12-21 days (according to the American Killifish Association, that is how long killifish eggs incubate.)



I've also almost finished creating my *home-made* CO2 injector. Just a quick note: I did purchase some of the equipment and will note those parts in a separate post, when I show the injector (if it works!) later.

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Cute Pictures

Can the boy be any cuter? Mommy and Daddy certainly don't think so. This afternoon we took the little guy to the pool, but before we did, we played with him in his bedroom. Christian is getting closer to crawling: he can turn around using his arms and just in the last couple of days, he's started pushing himself backwards. That backwards movement resulted in a funny situation - one that he thought was funny too.



Here's just one of the pictures (and as usual, the rest can be found in the Pictures of Christian link to the right):

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Aquarium Changes during Water Change

During the water change, I removed the Jungle Lab's CO2 Fizz Factory in preparation for the placement for my *homemade* CO2 injector. The parts that I have purchased and used so far include:

• One CO2 Glass Diffuser purchased from Drs. Foster Smith
  
  
• Approx. six feet of Airline Tubing purchased from Drs. Foster Smith
  
  
• One Hagen 2-Way Ultra Gang Valve purchased from Fish Tails in Rainbow City
  
  
• One Hagen Plastic Check Valve purchased from Drs. Foster Smith
  
  
• One Plastic Needle Valve purchased from Gadsden Industrial Distributors
  
  
• Two Joiner Airline Fittings purchased from Drs. Foster Smith
  
  
• One Aquafina 1-liter bottle
  
  
• One small needle valve given to me by Fish Tails
  
  
• And finally, the Airline Connector and CO2 Reaction Chamber from the aforementioned CO2 Fizz Factory by Jungle Labs.
  
  

I'm waiting on silicon to cure on the joiner airline fittings that are now *installed* into the cap of the Aquafina bottle. The silicon should be cured sometime Monday afternoon, and when I get home from our family's Memorial Day celebration, I will be assembling and testing my homemade CO2 injector. I also plan to take some pictures and get some testing done as to the efficiency of the CO2 reservoir and the approximate pH changes.

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Friday Water Change

Performed the weekly water change. This time I was able to use the water that I had prepared a week ago - that had too low a pH. By using the Hagen Elite 801 airpump that I purchased from Drs. Foster Smith online with a Coralife Limewood Airstone, I was able to aerate the replacement water for about 20 minutes. I kept checking the pH periodically and only after the 20 minutes of aeration did the pH finally creep up to 7.0 (it initially tested at 6.2 pH).



Before performing the water change, I took a couple of pictures. Here's one picture of what the tank looked like beforehand:

Notice the almost complete lack of algae - I'm guessing that the combination of plant usage of nutrients and the snails in the tank have virtually wiped out the algae.

I removed 3.75 gallons of tank water and added back in almost 4.0 gallons. The following two tables show the test results of the water:

Replacement Water Sample

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	0 mg/L
CA (calcium)	3 drops = 3*20 = 60 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0.10 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	9 drops = 9*20 = 180 ppm = 10.08 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	4 drops = 4*10 = 40 ppm = 2.24 dCH
pH (low test)	7.0 pH

As you can see, the pH is lowered and the carbonate hardness is almost eliminated. I am a little concerned about that general hardness though and I might need to cut back on the amount of SeaChem Equilibrium being added.

Pre-Water Change Sample

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	5-10 mg/L
CA (calcium)	3 drops = 3*20 = 60 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	7 drops = 7*20 = 140 ppm = 7.84 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	8 drops = 8*10 = 80 ppm = 4.48 dCH
pH (high test)	7.6 pH

Wow! Finally, it looks as if the pH is starting to come under control. I'm thinking that with the addition of a CO2 injector, I won't have to use SeaChem Acid Buffer to lower my carbonate hardness, and my pH should stay much more stable

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Pictures before Water Change

I took three pictures before I started the water change. Here's one of the pictures:

As usual, the other pictures can be found in the Pictures of Aquarium link.

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A Wasted? Day

You ever feel that a day has just gone by and you got NOTHING done? I know that I got some things done yesterday, but it sure felt like the day disappeared on me... I guess it could be the result of a lot of time being taken to do very little. Almost like there's not much to show for the day... That was yesterday!



I'm hoping today is better...



By the way, I am still trying to catch up on the older posts...

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Charter Called Again...

Heh, Charter Communications called and left a message on my answering machine at the house. They called about my "interest" in cable internet that I had placed on the Internet ("The DUB (Dial Up Blues) Saga..."). I'm going to call tomorrow to see what they say this time. Of course, I'll report back here in this war of ignorance (Charter) vs. stubborness (me!)...



Later!

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What Morning?

I was going to title this "What A Morning!" but then I realized that I didn't have spend much time doing much of anything this morning. I did get to feed the little boy though: He just wouldn't take his post waking-up nap and with Christy still suffering from a lingering migraine, I held him for a while until he just wanted to talk (baby-talk) and get up. At that point, I took him to the living room and let him watch the end of The Wiggles on Disney Channel, and then Stanley. By the time Stanley was going off, Christian was ready to be fed - which I got to do. If you've seen the boy, you know he loves to eat, and this morning was no different. After he started to take his bottle, I started getting ready to get to work.



I've been needing to go by Gadsden Tool, Inc. for a while and I finally got by there shortly before 10:00AM. I finally got some of the work done there and then headed back to my "real" job at RainGard. By the time I had addressed the morning fires it was no longer morning!



I was able to finish getting a Jerry Well's prayer letter (can be seen here in Adobe Acrobat format) prepared, printed and ready for mailing - so the morning wasn't a total loss.



And when I looked at my watch next... It's after noon...

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The DUB (Dial Up Blues) Saga...

Well, I just went to MSN.com and click on the "High-Speed 'Net Deals" link. Now, MSN.com is showing broadband is available again through Charter Communications. So I placed my order (again).



Hey, if Charter Communications cannot provide me with cable internet or if they don't want me ordering it, then they need to make sure that they correct their online information! Until they do so, I will continue to order it, and will be hoping for the best!

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Pictures from Second Pool Visit

Christy and I took Christian to the GCC pool again on Sunday afternoon. The boy had lots of fun then too. He even enjoyed getting splashed in the face - usually by his cousin Forrest. Here are two of the pictures (with the rest available in the Pictures of Christian link):



Christian Is Ready to Go to The Pool!





Christian in Pool





Enjoy!

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Water Testing...

I didn't test the "48-hour" water, so I'm going to test the water from today - which represents 3 days after the water change. The results should give me a good feel for what the water is like mid-week, if you will. Meaning that this water is halfway through to the next water change - due this coming Friday.



The water testing results:

"72-Hour" Water Sample

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	0-5 mg/L
CA (calcium)	3 drops = 3*20 = 60 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0.25 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	7 drops = 7*20 = 140 ppm = 7.84 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	8 drops = 8*10 = 80 ppm = 4.48 dCH
pH (high test)	8.0 pH

Again, that pH looks (and is!) high. However, it does represent the end of day pH - meaning that the aquarium water is probably saturated with oxygen. That notion is confirmed by watching bubbles appear and escape off of the bottom of some of the leaves on the plants. I still need to get the pH lowered. I've tried the water change method, but I don't think that that alone is going to work. I'm still going to add SeaChem Acid Buffer to the replacement water, but I wonder if I should start adding it directly to the tank. I am also planning to make a homemade CO2 injection system. I'll report here with progress and pictures.

Oh, I almost forgot. The japonica amano shrimp has molted again. (You can see a pre-molting picture of the fella here). The molted skin didn't freak me out as much this time - though I was still a little anxious about the fella - since it molted about two weeks ago too.

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Recording of Picture Handling Information

I just wanted to use this post as somewhere to record how I sort, edit, scan, and print the pictures that I have taken with my wife's Minolta Dimage F100 or have taken with my Nikon N70 SLR 35mm camera. With the F100, I usually take images in the 1280x960 format at a "fine" setting. This results in an digital image that is 1280x960 x 72 dpi and a 24 bit depth. If I scan in a developed picture taken with the N70, I scan it with my Epson Perfection 2450 Photo scanner at 240 dpi. A scan of that picture results in an image almost in the exact same format as the digital images.



For publishing on this weblog, with scanned photos, I simply thumbnail the photo down to a 480x360 format, and with a digital image, I edit the image for red-eye, and any other edits, and then also thumbnail it down to a 480x360 format. I primarily use Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 and Photoshop Album 2.0 for these tasks. This results in a thumbnail image that is decently fast on broadband and a normal image that is suitable for digital printing.



Anyway, the above represent the basics of my photo handling...

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Christian's First Time at A Pool

We visited the Gadsden Country Club pool yesterday. It looks as if Christy and Christian are going to be spending a lot of time at the pool this summer. Christy has already told me that I can play golf on Tuesdays and Thursdays after work, and again on Saturdays - as long as I meet them at the pool afterwards...



Anyways, here are two of the pictures (as always, the rest of the set can be found in the Pictures of Christian link to the right):



Christian "Chilling Out" before Getting into The Pool





Christian Playing in The Pool







Christy also recorded a short movie clip of Christian in the pool. You will need Quicktime to view the clip. Make sure that you install the Quicktime player before you try to view the clip. Here's the clip: Christian's First Pool Visit



Hope you all enjoy!

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Pool Pictures and More...

Christy and I took the little boy to the GCC pool last night. I can already tell you that Momma and Christian are going to spend a lot of time at the pool this summer. Christian loves the water! I will attach a picture or two here and add the rest to the Pictures of Christian link to the right.

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Aquarium Pictures (Killifish Eggs?)

Here are a couple of pictures from the tank from this morning.



2005-05-22 Aquarium





2005-05-22 Killifish Eggs?

I think that these are killifish eggs in the center of the java moss. You might have to click on the picture and look at the larger image to see them well.

Send comments to me at byron-port@toddcomp.com if you think that they are something else or just want to confirm that they are eggs. As always, there are more pictures of the aquarium that can be found by clicking on the Pictures of Aquarium link to the right.

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Added New Aquarium Plants

Today, I received the order of aquarium plants from AquariumPlants.com. After cleaning the sides of the tank and removing what was dead and/or decomposing of the temple - narrow leaf, I started a water change - removing 3.75 gallons of water and adding back almost 4.0 gallons of replacement water. After adding back the replacement water, I placed the new plants in the areas where I want them to stay: the hornwort floating in the upper leftmost area of the aquarium, and the java moss on top of the SUV. Within six hours of placing the new plants into the tank, I found what I believe to be killifish eggs in the java moss. I will take pictures tomorrow morning and post them here.



For now, I am going to record the water tests here. The water taken out of the tank tested:

Pre-Water Change Sample

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	5-10 mg/L
CA (calcium)	3 drops = 3*20 = 60 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	8 drops = 8*20 = 160 ppm = 8.96 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	11 drops = 11*10 = 110 ppm = 6.16 dCH
pH (high test)	8.0 pH

And the replacement water tested:

Replacement Sample

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	0-5 mg/L
CA (calcium)	4 drops = 4*20 = 80 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0.10 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	10 drops = 10*20 = 200 ppm = 11.20 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	8 drops = 8*10 = 80 ppm = 4.48 dCH
pH (low test)	6.8 pH

That low pH is going to be a temporary low since the pH was lowered when using the SeaChem Acid Buffer. This number should fairly quickly get to the tank pH - but slightly depress it. The water test in 48 hours should tell me more about the pH readings.



The replacment water was mixed as follows:

• 4 gallons tap water
• 0.4 ml of SeaChem Prime
• a little less than 1/2 teaspoon of SeaChem Equilibrium
• 1.0 ml of SeaChem Flourish
• 2.0 ml of SeaChem Flourish Excel
• 1/4 teaspoon of SeaChem Acid Buffer

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How Long Does It Take to Create A Post?

I've been alternately accused of spending too much time doing this and then by other people for not spending enough time doing this. So for the record, I wanted to throw up a quick post just to show how long it took to create and post this entry - even when working over a dial-up (slow as molasses) connection. I started this particular post at 10:09PM, and am now just about finished at 10:10PM.



However, that said, whenever I need to add a picture, and the thumbnail of that picture, I do have to take some time: first, I have to process the picture by copying it off of the SD card that Christy's camera uses, I then have to rename the picture to something that makes sense on my local computer (sort of like filing it), then cleaning/fixing the picture, and finally making the thumbnail version of the picture. If I have to upload the picture, then dial-up really adds some *processing* time.



Well, it's now 10:15PM, and I am for all purposes finished with this post. Which means that the bottom line is that a text only post (even those with tables) takes very little time (less than 10 minutes), but a picture related post can take up to an hour or more but usually at least 30 minutes per picture.



Good night!

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Christian in His New Duck Bathtub

Christy took a couple of pictures and a video of Christian when he was in his duck bathtub for the first time. There are only 4 pictures, so only one is shown here (while the rest can be found in the Pictures of Christian link to the right).



Christian in Duck





Christy also took a movie of Christian while he was in the duck. You will need Quicktime to view the clip. Make sure that you install the Quicktime player before you try to view the clip. Here's the clip: Christian in His Duck Bathtub

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Picture Post on Its Way...

Just a heads up for those looking for new pictures of Christian. Christy took a couple of pictures, and one short video of Christian taking his first bath in his new duck bath tub. I've got to edit one of the pictures - Christian didn't like using the washcloth for modesty.



But before I post the pictures and video, I've got to get sales taxes reports and remittance ready. As soon as those are done, I'll try to get the pictures post and another blog done...

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Another pH Test

Just checking to see if my "replacement water" is anywhere near ready... It was not: the pH still tested below 6.0...



I guess I do need aeration to raise the pH...

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Ordering More Aquarium Plants

I just spent 45 minutes on the phone talking to Mark at AquariumPlants.com. I have been ordering most of my aquarium related stuff from Drs. Foster Smith. However, they don't have a great collection of freshwater plants - hence my looking for somewhere else to order.



I know that I really have one major problem with my tank - pH. Mark suggested that I use an airstone to stabilize pH. He suggested that I tested using an airstone to stabilize pH for a while and let him know the results. Since I've been checking the internet for information on how to stabilize my tank pH, I have an idea how to create a carbon-dioxide injection system on my own. I'll report here on how I make it and if it actually works.



I ended up ordering four things from AquariumPlants.com: java moss (vesicularia dubyana), hornwort (ceratophyllum demersum), a book, "Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants" by Peter Hiscock, and plant anchors. The two plants I ordered are listed in another book on aquarium plants that I have as low light needing plants - which means that they should do well in my tank. As a bonus, both plants should serve as a spawning medium for the killifish in my tank.



Mark at AquariumPlants.com could not have been more helpful, and I am looking forward to getting my plants and putting up some new pictures of the tank after they are planted.

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Dial Up Blues Saga Continued...

I was wrong. The Dial Up Blues continue.



I received a call from Charter Communications this morning concerning my cable internet order. First I was asked whether I would be leasing a cable modem or would I be providing my own. I told the lady that I would prefer to purchase one and she suggested that I check Best Buy or Circuit City for one. I explained that that was just ok with me, and that I would be happy to do so. But then, she said that she couldn't set up an appointment for installation, but that I should call another number to take to a local Charter service office. The number that she gave me belongs to the Birmingham, Alabama Charter office. When I called there, I was told that the internet information was wrong, that cable internet is not and would not be available in my area for some time.



I guess I can't get too mad, I mean I am upset that I can't get high speed internet. I am almost resigned to the fact that for all the grandstanding that the government has made about broadband and "widspread deployment", cable and telephone companies in this area just don't give a rip and aren't going to make high speed internet available. On top of that, despite what the local Charter Communications people say, if I (or anyone else) goes to MSN.com and clicks on the "High-Speed 'Net Deals" link, inputs my home address, the listed plans include ones from Charter Communications. I wonder if I should continue to *order* it in the hope that they will actually expand the cable internet service into my area.



Oh well...

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pH Readings

I took a sample of aquarium water and tested the pH. This pH reading should represent the low of pH as it represents a night without any oxygen production in the tank. The reading was 7.6-7.8. I then tested the replacement water that I prepared last night. I received a pH reading of < 6.0. This water is definitely not ready for the tank. It looks like I'll need to get some sort of airstone and peripheral equipment to raise prepped water pH back to neutral...



But I've got work to do and to go to...

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Getting Replacement Water Ready

As per SeaChem's recommendation, I added 1/4 teaspoon of SeaChem Acid Buffer to the 4 gallons tap water and then tested carbonate hardness. Carbonate hardness tested to 60 ppm. I added an additional 1/8 teaspoon Acid Buffer, and retested carbonate hardness at 50 ppm. I then added 1/4 teaspoon more Acid Buffer, and the carbonate hardness then tested at 0 ppm. Finally! Before this replacment water can be added to my tank, I need to make sure that its pH is at least neutral - however, the pH tested at well below 6.0. I can't use it!!! I'm going to wait and see if the replacment water will oxygenate (and therefore pH will rise) without the use of an air pump and aeration.

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Another Family Member

Here is a picture of another family member. She used to think that she ruled the house, but now with Christian around, she's not so sure. I caught her napping (I don't know that she does much else!) and snapped four pictures of her tonight.



Thumper in Chair





Thumper in Chair





I'm sure that Christy will enjoy this post...

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Aquarium Information

I just finished talking to a technical support rep at SeaChem. As a result of that phone call, I've got a better idea of how to fight and stabilize the pH problem in my tank.



The bottom line is that the plants are really utilizing the CO2 and I need to plan around that *problem*. One way that was recommended to help get the pH down with the small water changes is to dose the water with enough SeaChem Acid Buffer to eliminate all carbonate hardness in the water. I was told that I should let this water sit for a while (overnight) to allow pH to climb back to neutral (by the natural addition of CO2) before adding it to the tank. I should also look at using my CO2 Fizz Factory midday to provide CO2 during the day for photosynthesis, and possibly using an airstone at night to bleed off excess CO2 when photosynthesis cannot take place.



I will be trying to perform these changes to the aquarium schedule over the next few days and will report here about the results.



Thanks again for all your help at SeaChem. [I forgot to write down your name, so if you'll drop me a note, I'll give credit to where credit is due.]



Later!

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Working...

Ughh.. Got behind the eight ball yesterday. I didn't post anything - though I need to post some information on my aquarium. One of the reasons for getting behind the eight ball was because it was my birthday (Thanks to all that called and wished me a happy birthday, thank you too for the thoughtful gifts, and thank you especially Mrs. Annette Campbell for the Chocolate Trifle - which was absolutely wonderful - you went beyond the call of duty ).



Well, it's another day, and I still need to get caught up... If you're a customer, I should be getting those bills out this week, as well as catching up with you to make sure that I am caught up with IT work at your locations. And as for the blog, well, I'll catch up the later posts ... LATER!



For those of you looking for more pictures of Christian, I'll post a short notice whenever the pictures have been updated.

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pH Readings

Tested the water this afternoon - before doing a small water change. The existing water tested as follows:

Pre-Water Change Sample

Test	Results
GH (general hardness)	7 drops = 7*20 = 140 ppm = 7.84 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	10 drops = 10*10 = 100 ppm = 5.60 dCH
pH (high test)	7.8 pH

Again, the pH reading is sort of high - which is why I'm doing this partial water change.

I tested the replacement water before I added it to the tank. It tested as follows:

Replacement Water Change Sample

Test	Results
GH (general hardness)	7 drops = 7*20 = 140 ppm = 7.84 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	8 drops = 8*10 = 80 ppm = 4.48 dCH
pH (low test)	7.0 pH

I will test the tank water for pH in the early morning to see what if it will change for the better.

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pH Readings

Yes, I know these are boring and they don't add much to the *content* of my blog, but it's easier to put it here than to put it anywhere else...



I took a pH reading of the tank before I left for work. I ended up testing with both the high and low tests - both resulted in a pH reading of 7.6 - which, of course, is still high, but not as high as it has been in the past.

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Pictures of My Boy Christian

I took a few pictures of the boy tonight before he had his before bed bottle. Here are two of the pictures:











There are a total of 9 pictures from tonight (found in the "Pictures of Christian" link to the right). Enjoy!

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Early Morning - Getting Ready for Church

The Todd household is getting ready for church this morning. For us, getting ready for church is usually a big production. Little Bits - Christian - has to be fed, washed, put down for a nap, and dressed just so Christy and I can start to get ready. It's usually a tag team effort with one of us doing one of those things while the other tries to get ready as fast as possible. Even so, I don't think we've been on time to church but two or three times...



Everything is still alive in the aquarium - including the snail that didn't look so good last night. It still hasn't moved that much, but at least it is still alive. The male killifish still chases after the female pretty hard. I'm hoping that that is not a bad indication, that it is normal behavior. I really just don't know though.



Oh well... Later today, I should test the water pH and KH, and then probably perform a small water change to try to continue to bring down the pH slowly.

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The Dial-Up Blues Coming to an End?

Hmmm. Something has changed. I went to Charter's website just to check on cable internet again, and now it shows that cable internet is available in my area. Yippee! Of course, I ordered it immediately. I even got to print out a confirmation page for the order. I'm supposed to be contacted by phone to setup the installation sometime soon. I'm hoping, but not holding my breath on this.

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More Aquarium Maintenance...

Nothing new to report on the aquarium front. Although my wife is upset with me for messing with the tank at all. She sort of blames me for the death of the elephant nose fish - because she warned me not to add anything else to the tank after the clown loaches died.



I tested the sample of tank water taken yesterday before the water change:

Pre-Water Change Sample

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	10 mg/L
CA (calcium)	3 drops = 3*20 = 60 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	7 drops = 7*20 = 140 ppm = 7.84 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	11 drops = 11*10 = 110 ppm = 6.16 dCH
pH (high test)	7.8 pH

I'm bothered most by that pH reading. I've been trying to lower the pH (trying to get to somewhere around 7.4 pH) since it spiked a few weeks ago. To that end, I was performing partial water changes daily last week. I guess I stopped too soon. It also looks like the plants are taking ALL of the available nutrients but cannot utilize them well because of the high pH, high alkalinity causing a low CO2 availability.

I checked the 24-Hour water (water from 24 hours after the last water change):

"24-Hour" Water Sample

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	0-5 mg/L
CA (calcium)	3 drops = 3*20 = 60 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	7 drops = 7*20 = 140 ppm = 7.84 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	10 drops = 10*10 = 100 ppm = 5.60 dCH
pH (high test)	7.8 pH

The above pH reading caused me to do another partial water change - I removed 3 gallons and added back 3 gallons. This time I used replacement water dosed only with SeaChem Prime and SeaChem Acid Buffer. While doing the water change, I ended up removing the last of the temple - narrow leaf in the back right corner of the tank. It was decomposing and none of it was really alive.

After the water change, I went ahead and fed the killifish some frozen brine shrimp. I also noticed that the last japanese trapdoor snail was not moving too well. I'm afraid that that snail may not make it... Oh well, I guess that I can take solace in a statement that a friend of mine made (and this friend is the head of an Aquatic Science Department at the local college): "You're not a real aquarist hobbyist until you've killed a bunch of fish." Not that that makes me or my wife feel any better.

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Bad News Again...

I came home from work and found the elephant nose fish in distress. I could tell that the fish was rapidly breathing and was listing to one side. I'm guessing that the pH spike seen in the last couple of weeks has finally taken a toll on the elephant nose. I tried giving the fish a salt bath to see if that would improve the breathing but it did not. I finally removed the fish when it completely stopped moving.



This pH problem is beginning to bother me big time. I know that the pH is high, and I don't want to stress the tank inhabitants by dropping it extremely fast. To that end (and in the interest of plant care) I purchased something called a CO2 Fizz Factory by Jungle Labs from Drs. Foster & Smith and I'm trying to lower pH using SeaChem Acid Buffer. The problem, I guess, is that the pH is really moving to that recommended environment for the aquarium inhabitants.



Anyway, I did go ahead and perform a water change - removing 3.75 gallons and adding in 4.0 gallons of recipe replacement water. I took a sample of tank water before the change for testing later. I will post those results here when I catch up.

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New Look Finished?

I think I'm through for the time being. The links to the right should be working now. I think they are self explanatory, but.... If you do have questions, just send me an email or call me.



Later!

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A New Look...

Well, as I continue to blog, I've realized that I'm kicking some *important* pictures down the page and making them somewhat harder to find. I guess that means that I need to figure out how to make some permanent links (in a frame???) and how to better organize this blog. Look for changes soon!

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The Dial-Up Blues

I wish I had broadband at home. I'm to the point that I check EVERYDAY at BellSouth's website for DSL availability. Since I have been checking, the result has been the same: "BellSouth FastAccess Service Unavailable." I've also tried to get cable internet, but that was an exercise in futility.



What does it say about the corruption of government - especially at the local level - when only ONE cable company is *allowed* to operate in your area? Furthermore, what does it say when this ONE cable company doesn't even locate any sort of office in your home area? Less you believe that I live in Podunk USA, let me state that my hometown ranked in the top 20 per-capita income in the state of Alabama. That may not mean much to you, but my hometown was ranked the highest in this section of the state! And yet, people who live just across the Coosa river (in Rainbow City, Gadsden, even Hokes Bluff!!), and have a *decent* cable company, have not only the choice of getting cable internet, but also can get DSL!!!!



Meanwhile, I write and complain and respectfully request a time frame for the possibility of getting cable internet and I receive this stupid response:

High speed Internet service requires a two way fiber optic plant. In order to provide this to service to you, we would need to either upgrade the existing cable system or construct new cable lines. Construction of such projects requires a significant capital investment. While we would love to offer advanced services to all our customers and provide our services to everyone who wishes to have them, we must determine if the capital investment will produce a reasonable payback.



At this time, based on many specific details which we do not have, there are no plans to upgrade the cable plant in your area.

What!?!?! "based on many specific details which we do not have...."?!?!?! How can anyone make a decision based on many specific details which you don't have? I work at a small business, and if one of the employees made that kind of statement, I'm scheduling a random drug test ASAP!



I thought about NOT making the name of this monopolistic cable company public for a short while. For a VERY short while! Charter Communications is the company. My customer service location is a town over 120 miles away!!!



These guys are living in some fantasy world. Just a few weeks ago, a wind storm caused the cable line from the utility pole to my house to disconnect from my house. Since I don't have cable (I'm a loyal DirecTV customer), I called the Charter Communications customer service office (in Russellville, AL!!!) to inform them that their cable was laying in my back yard and something needed to be done. The customer service rep said that she would send someone out to re-attach their cable to my house. I told her that I didn't want their cable attached to my house - not unless cable internet was available. I was told that the only way that they would do anything with the line was by them re-connecting the cable to my house. "FINE", I said. "Send someone out." The contractor arrived in a short while to re-attach the cable to my house. I told him that I didn't want it attached to my house. I told him to do something with it so that it's not laying across my yard. He said that it would be no problem and I left him. The next day, I checked to see what he had done. Great Job -> he wrapped the excess cable around the bottom of the utility pole.... I hope I don't offend anyone when I say "MORONS!"

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My Little Boy Christian

I took some pictures of the little guy last night. He's a happy boy, at least most of the time. He's not crawling yet, but he's thinking about it.... :)























I know, I know. These pictures take forever to get on dial-up, and I'm probably overdoing it by putting this many up at one time, but I don't care. I get to upload them on broadband (but not from home - that post I am leaving for another time...)



Enjoy the pictures of your grandson "Nana", "PawPaw", "Grandmama Candy", and "Big Daddy"...

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No News Is Good News...

Or at least it seems that way with my aquarium. Looking back on what's happened in the last few days to a week, it seems that if anything of note happened to the tank, it was something dying.



Well, I guess I'm happy to report that all inhabitants of the tank were ok (alive and moving) last night! I'm considering to get some sort of floating plant to provide an egg laying and hiding area for the female killifish. In the hierarchy of my tank, the Elephant Nose is definitely the top fish, followed by the male killifish, then the female killifish. The shrimp would be at the bottom of the totem-pole, but only the female killifish seems to bother him - the other two fish ignore him. And as for the snail? I don't think the fish pay any attention to it, nor does the snail seem concerned with the fish.

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Blog Status

If you've been reading my blog, you might notice (or might not!) that some posts are just showing up mysteriously and before these *newest* posts. Well, that's because I documented what I was doing to my tank in a text file on my laptop. And I am now trying to move that information over to my blog... Ergo, the funny posts showing up...



After I've *caught* up, I'll blog a quick note that I've done so and all new blogging will be in sequence.

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Tank Update

Well, I lost another tank inhabitant last night. One of the japanese trapdoor snails died. I'm not sure what happened to it, because the one that died was the one that was thriving from its introduction into the tank. There is one possibility that I have not ruled out: there is another new snail in the tank now. The new snail is much, much smaller (the japanese trapdoor snails in the tank are approximately 3/4" to 1" in size - whereas this *new* snail is less than 1/4" in size). I am wondering if this new snail is the offspring of the snail that died... I will try to capture an image of the new snail as soon as I can get a decent shot of it.



It is also looking as if more of the temple - narrow leaf in the back right corner of the tank is in trouble. If I have to remove any more of it, I'll end up with a blank back, right corner. Since I really only ordered one group of temple - narrow leaf and only one group is really surviving, I can't be too upset. I guess I am going to try to find something else that can fill that void - or maybe the water wisteria will grow into that area...



I performed a partial water change (I'm still trying to get pH lowered without doing it drastically - I have an acid regulator that I could use, but I don't want to stress the fish any more than they already have been stressed.) I removed 3.5 gallons of tank water and added in 3.75 gallons of my recipe replacement water. I then tested some of the water that I had removed:

48 Hour Water

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	5-10 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	7 drops = 7*20 = 140 ppm = 7.84 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	12 drops = 12*10 = 120 ppm = 6.72 dCH
pH (high test)	7.8 pH

I call the above water my "48 Hour Water" because it represents the status of the water 48 hours after my last 30% or greater water change... I will post an updated picture of the tank in the next few days.

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Tank Update with Pictures

I noticed yesterday that the freshwater clam has come up out of the substrate and is now oriented with its hinge facing straight down. I have also noticed that whenever something makes contact with the clam that an air bubble or two seem to escape. I called LiveAquaria.com and at their recommendation, I opened the clam - finding the clam deceased. I removed the clam and will perform another partial water change tomorrow. I also removed some more of the temple - narrow leaf - at least what I could find was decomposing.



Here is a picture of the tank after the maintenance...

If you compare this image to the one from just 6 days ago, you can see how much of a difference the two snails have made. They have not just dented the algae population, they have decimated it on certain leaves!

I was also able to capture a pretty decent picture of my golden lyretail panchax killifish...

Also notice the two japanese trapdoor snails in the image, one on the leaf to the left of the killifish and the other just barely in the image, on the wreck to the right of the killifish.

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Water Changed...

Shortly after coming up with my replacement water recipe and then testing it, I performed my weekly water change, removing 4.0 gallons and adding back 4.0 gallons of the replacement water. I tested a water sample collected from the aquarium from before the water change. Below are the results:

Pre-Water Change Sample

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	5-10 mg/L
CA (calcium)	2 drops = 2*20 = 40 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0.25 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	6 drops = 6*20 = 120 ppm = 6.72 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	12 drops = 12*10 = 120 ppm = 6.72 dCH
pH (high test)	7.8 pH

The pH is high, the pH is high... but so is that stupid carbonate hardness. Am I still paying the penalty for adding the baking soda that one time? Probably.

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Water Changes!!

Heh! I actually like changing the water. Yeah, it can be time consuming, but I think it's worth it. To try to get my water to match the needs of the tank, I have come up with the following *recipe* for my replacement water. (Remember, my tank is only 12 gallons, so this 4 gallon recipe represents a minimum of 33% water change).

• 4 gallons tap water
  
  
• 0.4 ml of SeaChem Prime (to dechlorinate and condition)
  
  
• a little less than 1/2 teaspoon of SeaChem Equilibrium (to increase total hardness)
  
  
• 1.0 ml of SeaChem Flourish (a comprehensive plant supplement - including trace elements)
  
  
• 2.0 ml of SeaChem Flourish Excel (a source of bioavailable organic carbon)
  
  

I tested the replacement water with my water test kit and I got the following results:

Replacement Water

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	0-5 mg/L
CA (calcium)	3 drops = 3*20 = 60 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0.25 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0.25 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	8 drops = 8*20 = 160 ppm = 8.96 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	10 drops = 10*10 = 100 ppm = 5.60 dCH
pH (low test)	7.4 pH

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Testing Tables

I'm trying to use this blog to keep track of what I've done to my aquarium as well as keep information about the aquarium inhabitants. To that end, I need to use some HTML code to get things to look right. Since I've never been much of a coder (just ask my bud Al... :) ), I'm going to do some testing in this post:

Aquarium Inhabitants and Recommended Environments

	Temp Range			pH Range			dH Range
	Low	High		Low	High		Low	High
Elephant Nose Fish (gnathonemus petersii)	72°	82°		6.0	8.0		5	19
Freshwater Clam (corbicual sp.)	65°	85°		6.5	8.0		8	10
Golden Lyretail Panchax Killifish (aphyosemion australe)	73°	79°		6.0	7.5		5	8
Japanese Trapdoor Snail (viviparus malleattus)	68°	85°		6.5	8.0		8	10
Japonica Amano Shrimp (caridina japonica)	60°	80°		6.0	7.6		3 dKH	10 dKH

Based on the above parameters, the recommended environment for the live animals in my tank should be between 73° and 79° Fahrenheit, between 6.5 and 7.5 pH, and somewhere around 8 dH.

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Aquarium Update

Of the animals that I received on April 30, 2004, all had looked like they were ok except for one of the japanese trapdoor snails. One of them started moving and eating within minutes of being put into the tank, but the other did not move so well. I was a little concerned until this afternoon. When I came home from work, I found that the second japanese trapdoor snail has started going to work. It's funny - the first snail seems to zip around and over everything just lightly touching and eating what it comes into contact with, while this one that just started moving is very deliberate and seems to cover areas more thoroughly.



What of the other animals? Well, the golden lyretail panchax killifish are always on the move, hiding from the elephant nose fish. (So much for Lang's Tropical Fish telling me that the elephant nose is "peaceful" fish. She seems to be terrorizing the killifish, swimming after them any time she catches site of them.) The japonica amano shrimp seems to hide from everyone, and the freshwater clam has almost completely submerged itself in the substrate.



So it looks like everything is ok, but looks can be deceiving so I'll be continuing my weekly water changes, as well as the water testings.

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Small Water Change

Another day, another partial water change. Removed 3.5 gallons and added back 3.5 gallons of replacement water.

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Small Water Change

As I blogged earlier, I performed a small water change in the hope of reducing pH over time. I removed 2.0 gallons and added back 2.0 gallons of tap water that had only been treated with SeaChem Prime.

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Water Testing...

Tested the two water samples collected earlier - the water from before the water change and the "48 hour" water. Here are the results:

Pre-Water Change Sample (2004-04-30)

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0.1 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	5-10 mg/L
CA (calcium)	2 drops = 2*20 = 40 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0.25 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	6 drops = 6*20 = 120 ppm = 6.72 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	12 drops = 12*10 = 120 ppm = 6.72 dCH
pH (high test)	8.2 pH

Oops. It looks as if I added too much baking soda as per Hugh's directions. That carbonate hardness is excessively high, and probably is contributing to the high pH (as well as the CO2 consumption by the plants). I also think that the nitrites detected are probably as a result of the new additions to the aquarium as well as the temple - narrow leaf that is dying off slowly.

"48 Hour" Water Sample

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	0-5 mg/L
CA (calcium)	2 drops = 2*20 = 40 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0.25 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	6 drops = 6*20 = 120 ppm = 6.72 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	14 drops = 14*10 = 140 ppm = 7.84 dCH
pH (high test)	8.0 pH

Ok, so I really am going to back off the use of baking soda - that carbonate hardness is HIGH! With a high carbonate hardness, I already know that I'm going to have a hard time getting the pH down.

After these tests, I decided to call for help. I was able to talk to Greg at Drs. Foster Smith and he recommended that I get away with trying to increase carbonate hardness and instead increase total hardness - which won't have the undesired (in my case) effect of buffering pH to the high that it is now. He recommended a product called SeaChem Equilibrium. I plan to order the Equilibrium tomorrow and perform partial water changes daily or every other day to try to drive the pH down. I think I might need to look at getting some other aquarium inhabitants to help drive down the pH naturally.

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Quick Picture of Aquarium

Just wanted to show a picture of my Marinenland Labs Eclipse System 12 setup. This picture was taken May 1 around 9:00PM. I turned on the aquarium light for the picture and that probably explains why the elephant nose fish is hiding in the SUV [If you click on the picture, to get the full size picture, you can see one eye of the elephant nose shining below and to the right of the flash from the camera.]

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