More stuff!

Yesterday I posted some pictures and commentary about the completion of my stand and the addition of my light fixture. Today I'm going to update you all on the rest of the hardware that goes along with my tank. I know most of you, including me, can't wait till I start adding the biological load to my tank, but unfortunately that will have to wait a bit longer...

So on the same day that I received my aqualight, FedEx delivered a bunch of other goodies to my door. I got my filter, protein skimmer, powerhead, heating element, testing equipment and a couple small decorations.

It's like Christmas all over again!

After coming home from my job yesterday I got to work on putting all the pieces together and attaching them to the tank preliminarily. That way I could figure out how everything fit and could start laying things out strategically.

If the shoe fits...wear it!

From left to right we have:

1. The Powerhead - Used to move water around the tank to create a current
2. The Heater - Used to, duh, heat the water
3. The Filter - Used to filter larger contaminates out of the water
4. The Protein Skimmer - Used to remove dirt from water's surface (think sea foam)

All of the components are very important to the use of the aquarium. They work together to condition and clean the water to ensure that none of the tank's inhabitants will get sick or die. Most, like the protein skimmer, use natural theories to mimic the function of the ocean. Adding air to the water creates a bubbly foam which rises to the surface carrying all of the waste up with it. You can then collect this foam (waste) and dispose of it.

Aesthetically I've added a bit to my tank as well. I bought 2 plastic anemones that, when water is added, will act just like live ones and sway in the current. Maybe one or two of my future inhabitants will make an anemone their home. They also glow in the dark and receive quite a charge from the lighting system I have.

I live in an amenemenoemeoemene...

Looking ahead I got the tracking number for my live sand today (the Oolite), so that is on its way. I also came up with somewhat of a solution for my live rock issue. Instead of going with a ton of expensive cure live rock sent all the way across the country I'm also going to include some "not-so-live" rock. This rock, also referred to as "base rock" will eventually become live rock after being in the tank for some time. I will talk some more about this in a later entry. Until then...

~Paul Out

Mine?