- Joined
- Jan 22, 2019
- Messages
- 446
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- 969
(long ago)
My father and I wait patiently at the PetSmart checkout line on a cold, cold February afternoon. Among the smells of dog food, dandruff, and wood shavings I manage to keep my focus on the prize. Friends and family have dogs and cats, but fish is the only color I see. That 10-gallon tiger barb tank at your grandma’s house with a 15 month old hang on back filter pad? I wish I was your grandma cause that sounds cool. But I’m making a purchase so big it will make golden retrievers old news. The 75 gallon saltwater tank.
It had been two hours since we had first entered the store. My decision to get a 75 gallon -- all improvisation, for I had originally set out for a second 55 gallon tank to house an array of the finest freshwater petstore fish. Midway through choices my father asked me the question that every aquarist eventually comes to, "Why don’t you do a salt tank?"
I had never seen a saltwater tank before, nor even knew you could even keep corals. But everyone knows that clownfish are cool.
My dad always told me stories of when he had kept emperor and koran angelfish, triggers, and tangs during high school and college during the 70s and 80s. How hard could it be?
I had come a long way from that 55 gallon I got on my birthday years ago. With the knowledge of the nitrogen cycle, I was unstoppable. As an avid fisherman, I spent years keeping local pond minnows, very small arrays of catfish, bass, bluegill and sunfish. I had a choice, freshwater petstore fish, or saltwater petstore fish. Without hesitation, I proclaimed salt!
After handing 300$ in cash to the clerk, the sliding doors opened and the cold air filled the store. Together we loaded up a 75 gallon tank onto the truck and embarked on the reef keeper’s journey.
The end.
(can write more about this tank or how I comically set it up if anyone is interested.)
My father and I wait patiently at the PetSmart checkout line on a cold, cold February afternoon. Among the smells of dog food, dandruff, and wood shavings I manage to keep my focus on the prize. Friends and family have dogs and cats, but fish is the only color I see. That 10-gallon tiger barb tank at your grandma’s house with a 15 month old hang on back filter pad? I wish I was your grandma cause that sounds cool. But I’m making a purchase so big it will make golden retrievers old news. The 75 gallon saltwater tank.
It had been two hours since we had first entered the store. My decision to get a 75 gallon -- all improvisation, for I had originally set out for a second 55 gallon tank to house an array of the finest freshwater petstore fish. Midway through choices my father asked me the question that every aquarist eventually comes to, "Why don’t you do a salt tank?"
I had never seen a saltwater tank before, nor even knew you could even keep corals. But everyone knows that clownfish are cool.
My dad always told me stories of when he had kept emperor and koran angelfish, triggers, and tangs during high school and college during the 70s and 80s. How hard could it be?
I had come a long way from that 55 gallon I got on my birthday years ago. With the knowledge of the nitrogen cycle, I was unstoppable. As an avid fisherman, I spent years keeping local pond minnows, very small arrays of catfish, bass, bluegill and sunfish. I had a choice, freshwater petstore fish, or saltwater petstore fish. Without hesitation, I proclaimed salt!
After handing 300$ in cash to the clerk, the sliding doors opened and the cold air filled the store. Together we loaded up a 75 gallon tank onto the truck and embarked on the reef keeper’s journey.
The end.
(can write more about this tank or how I comically set it up if anyone is interested.)