Stubborn

My husband has been after me for a long time, probably several months, to ‘dump’ the gravel in the bottom of the aquarium when I clean the tank. I have a nice aquarium vacuum that works really nicely, so I’ve been putting him off. I didn’t want any problems with a leaking tank. I also had visions of his dropping the tank mid procedure, and our having to rush out and buy another while the fish waited impatiently in the small bowl of water.  I admit I’m really stubborn about accepting his suggestions many times.

Dumped the gravel into the largest colander I have. My husband rinsed it in the sink, using our spray attachment, while I cleaned the glass inside and out. We carefully put the gravel back, then added the treated water, then the decorations, lights, filters, oxygen thingie, and finally, the fish.

For awhile, the water didn’t look any better than it does when I clean it the regular way. But then things settled down.

And though I cleaned up water everywhere and keep finding small pieces of gravel, I have to admit my husband was right. It DOES look better, and DID make a difference, and the tank and water ARE cleaner than they were.

As usual, the fish aren’t saying anything much. They are happily swimming around, bunching up in the corner every time I pass the tank, dreaming about feeding time.

My husband DID admit it was a lot of work – even though the only part he participated in was the gravel cleaning. He said I should order more gravel so that we can ‘start with a clean batch’ next time.