Tag Archives: cleaning out the aquarium

January 4, 2021 · 10:11 am

Can Fish Grin?

I don’t really know, but my fish SHOULD be. Their water is sparkling clean. They have nice decorations in the tank. New filter innards….

They have made it clear over the years that the only thing they really care about is getting fed twice a day. They see me coming, jam themselves into the corner of the tank, wriggle their bodies and blow bubbles at me until the flakes come raining down. Then I am forgotten.

Our aquarium is on the divider between our kitchen and our dining area. This is a high traffic area in our house, so it makes me happy when the aquarium is bright and shiny.

I have made lots of changes on how I take care of the tank and what I put into it, but the fish remain goldfish – and seem to take pride in their reputation as ‘messy fish and champion poopers.’ I used to have a 40 gallon tank with lots of fish. It stayed looking good with relatively little work. THOSE fish didn’t react to me at ALL, so I finally gave the fish and the equipment away. I’M not easy to live with, either, so this is a good match. :0)

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August 23, 2020 · 9:51 am

Freewheeling Fish

I am still trying to find a solution to my goldfish messing up the water in their tank extremely quickly. The latest change was the filter system. It has three media in layers to help keep the water clean. You change the charcoal layer each month, the foam layer every two months, and the biomax pellet bag every three months. So much for what the directions say.

I changed the charcoal part last week. All of a sudden yesterday their water was greenish. YUCK.

The foam layer, which is supposed to be white, was pink.

I cleaned out the tank, changing all three layers and now the fish have sparkling clear water again. I have no clue why these two sweet fish continue to be able to make their water so yucky so quickly with seeming so little effort. Speaking to them about it doesn’t help.

At least, with all the practice I get, I’ve gotten down to about half an hour from start to finish on changing everything in the tank.

 

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August 15, 2020 · 4:21 pm

Yes!

Honest to Paws

I spent two hours in the yard, cleaning up today. I used the leaf blower to clear the concrete areas first, and then tackled the front yard. It took me quite a while, but I finished it. I did short sessions, resting and drinking a ton of water in-between. I will do more tomorrow, but that’s it for today.

 

I also cleaned out the aquarium. This is an experiment, really, because the filter system says to only change the charcoal filter part this time. I did this, but the water still turned cloudy. I’m hoping that with the fresh water and decorations today, we can go another month before having to clean out again. Next month the schedule says to change the charcoal part again, plus the foam part. We’ll see.

Meanwhile, the fish have sparkling clean water to swim around in. They didn’t say anything about the changes. They are just interested in feeding times, but “I” am happy that we seem to be making good progress on coming up with a better system to keep my fish healthy.

I have now taken a shower and feel MUCH better. I’m planning to veg out the rest of the afternoon, enjoying the air conditioning, my recliner, my book, and maybe a nap.

Hope you’re having a fine day.

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July 31, 2020 · 6:15 pm

Happier Fish?

The cleaning out of the aquarium today resulted in its designation as ‘project of the day.’ We changed from a more regular filter system, like you can buy at Walmart, to a more expensive, fancier type filtration system. It came in a lot of parts with three different things acting together as the filter. I got a bit intimidated while reading the directions, so I asked for my husband’s help.

At least half an hour later, we finally had the filter ready to go into the tank. We put it aside while we did the regular clean out. I like the fact that the majority of this filter system is on the outside of the tank, giving the sweet fish more room to swim around. If you look carefully at the top of the picture above, you can see (above the blue) the outside of the filter.

 

This picture gives another view from the other end of the tank. You can also see the filtered water going back into the tank. When we got it back together, the top didn’t fit anymore, so my husband took it out to the shop and cut off part of it to make it fit.  There are three filters in this one: a foam piece on the bottom, then activated charcoal, and then a bio filter of a bunch of pellet like things you put into the provided mesh bag. You have to work to get these rinsed and into the filter. This filter is made to handle tanks from 5 to 20 gallons. Since ours is a 5, this should be MORE than adequate to do the task.

You change out each part of the filter at a different time. We’re supposed to replace the foam filter every two months, the charcoal every month, and the bio filter every three months. (I have the directions on the table beside me so that I can mark my calendar with when each thing is supposed to be changed.)

So far, I haven’t seen any reaction from the fish – yea or nay. I really hope that this new style of filter keeps the water cleaner for longer.

 

So the aquarium clean out and filter installation turned out to be the project of the day today.

 

 

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July 11, 2020 · 10:17 am

Scrubbing the Fish

Yesterday I scrubbed the aquarium, taking everything out, washing it, changing the filters, decorations, etc. and then filling it back up with treated water. I did everything EXCEPT scrub the fish, though I thought about it.

Due to the things I’ve learned and the changes I’ve made, I have to clean the aquarium every 1-1/2 to 2 weeks now, rather than absolutely every week. I have talked to the fish about the alleged pooping contests that I have read that goldfish have, but they don’t seem impressed with my arguments. Apparently, that is just too much fun…

 

Both fish seem healthy, and they continue to welcome me at feeding time by getting into one corner, wiggling their bodies and blowing bubbles at me until the flakes start raining down. I like it. :0)

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May 15, 2020 · 2:17 pm

Feisty Fish

My two feisty gold fish have a new lease on life since my husband pitched in and helped me clean the aquarium out today. I usually do this alone, but my husband is feeling sorry for me since I caught my toe on the corner of our bed and am limping around.

Together we can do the whole job from start to finish in half an hour.

The fish don’t complain when the water needs to be changed, and they don’t praise us when the water is squeaky clean, but I KNOW they appreciate having new decorations, as they check everything out thoroughly each time we change the water.

They both got in the corner of the tank, wriggled their bodies and blew bubbles at me until I fed them again – even though I fed them as usual this morning.

Happy, feisty fish are a lot of fun to have in a family.

 

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August 2, 2019 · 9:36 am

Happy Fish?

Because of life getting in the way lately, I’ve gotten behind on my responsibilities around the house.   Yesterday I finally vacuumed our first floor – first the tiled areas and then the carpeted ones. I have a very nice vacuum. The only thing it could do better would be for it to run itself. (We actually HAD one of the round turn-it-on-and-it-runs-around type thingies at one time. It would regularly get stuck under something or wedge itself into a corner, or choke itself to death on the dog and cat hair, so we gave it up.)

Another thing I had neglected was the aquarium. I finally cleaned that out yesterday, putting in different decorations, clean water, new filters, etc. The fish didn’t say anything, but breathed sighs of relief when I put them back in their now clean home.

 

Here you can see all four of the fish. We have one that has gotten huge – they were all about the same size when I bought them – about an inch long. The largest one is now at least three inches long in the body, and then has a long tail. All seem to be doing fine.

 

Somehow, the girl-in-the-bathtub’s feet broke off quite a while back. I glued them back on and the fish don’t seem to mind it that she isn’t perfect.

I’m not sure if the weather will cooperate and I can finish getting the garden back in control or if I’ll have to tackle more projects in the house today.

The best thing is that we have Lunch Bunch – our every Friday meal with long time good friends in about an hour. Our son will go with us today, and it’s been years since our friends have seen him. I look forward to the reunion.

Have a happy day!

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March 23, 2019 · 12:34 pm

Happy Fish

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Today I finally got off my duff and cleaned the aquarium. All told it takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, so it isn’t that much to ask. The only thing my fish actually get excited about, though, is eating time, twice a day, when they bunch up in the right front corner of the aquarium and wriggle their little bodies, opening and closing their mouths rapidly. So it’s easy to walk by and ignore the fact that I should be cleaning out their digs and providing some different decorations to stimulate their imaginations.

Things look much better now. They’re exploring a bit, but no wriggles, gaping mouths, or other signs of real interest yet.

This doesn’t happen at our house, although we have two cats who would probably eat our fish given the chance. They seem to prefer birds.

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January 24, 2019 · 12:52 pm

Massage, Fish, and Tax Prep, Oh My!

Groupon

My day started super-nicely with a massage by my massage therapist, Lynn Moody. She’s absolutely the best. She tackles an old lady with lots of aches and creaky bones and I emerge smiling and relaxed. I just wish I could afford to have massages more often!

My Aquarium Club

My poor fish are swimming around in cloudy water, so on my list, as soon as I finish this post, is to go vacuum out their tank, change the decor, and get them back into a clean, fresh tank.

Get It Back Campaign

Most of the rest of the day will be spent continuing our tax preparation. I’m making good progress. Today is medical stuff and extraneous things, and then I’ll be on the finish line, adding my information to the booklet our CPA provides. I’m hoping I’ll be finished with everything, waiting on our info from Schwab, by the end of the week.

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