“Fish Tank” Games Addicted To

Well on to a new hobby, saltwater fish tanks. I have always loved the ocean and wonderful colors of life the ocean has. In my early 20s I lived in Florida and fell in love with the tropical fish that were so easy to see with just a snorkel and fins. I have traveled to the Bahamas several times and saw many enticing views. As a youth I had always had freshwater tanks, with actual good luck at raising the fish. The keyword is “luck”, in that; I never really did too much to keep them alive, I was lucky.

This will document my experiences to creating and bringing to life a salt water fish tank. There are several different versions of saltwater tanks.

• Fish Only. A tank with fish and/or invertebrates in it. The tank can also contain dead corals and other decorations.
• Fish Only With Live Rock. A tank with fish and/or invertebrates in it. Live rock actually have life growing on them will be need to sustain a proper balance
• Reef Systems. Reef tanks contain live corals, Live Rock, invertebrates and fish.

I am creating a Fish Only with Live Rock tank.

First and foremost, saltwater tanks have a higher cost to startup, operate and maintain than freshwater. The fish are more expensive as well. So, it is best to plan on spending some good money to get started, $400-$700. It sounds like a lot, but remember it is better to get a good working system, than lose fish. Saltwater fish are expensive and you don’t want to go through them because of cheap short cuts.

So here are some keys to success. Patience, do not rush into purchasing a saltwater system. Read up on saltwater tank and marine eco systems. There are plenty of good websites and books available. Here is a list of good sites that I have found so far.

DIYAbout.com
Reefcentral.com
ratemyfishtank.com

Find yourself a good saltwater fish store; try to avoid the large chain stores. You are going to need some specialized help and education. You will need someone that specializes in saltwater fish and not every pet available.

List of items needed for saltwater fish tank.

I am not going to go over the technical details of all the items required, this information can be found easily online. I will list what I am using and what has worked for me or not. I will also list my current costs per item/s

• House space
• Tank
• Tank Stand
• Hood
• Light
• Heater
• Filtration
• HOB Filter
• Protein Skimmer
• Substrate
• Live Rock
• Salt Water
• Salt, hydrometer and/or refractometer
• Test Kits
• Food
• Powerheads

House Space:

Seems simple, but tanks/stands and associated hardware take up room. You will also need room to clean and take care of the tank. And lastly, you want it in some place that you can enjoy it. Hiding it in a corner or in the basement out of view will be the first step in not having a well maintained system.

The Tank:

With a little bartering this past weekend, I acquired a 29 gallon fish tank from a good friend, thanks Brooke. She is moving up to a 79 gallon freshwater tank. For saltwater or freshwater, bigger is better. More water volume helps regulate the quality of water. Remember that the Qty of fish, fish food, and waste products from the fish, put pressure on the eco system of the tank.

• Tank Items
• Tank Stand - Sturdy, I have a 29 gal tank @ 8.3 lbs per gallons = 240 lbs, this does not include the Liverock, 10 lbs and 30 lbs of substrate(coral/seashell mix)
• Hood - A must, fish love to jump.
• Light - I am purchasing a 50/50 bulb. This is a full-spectrum lamp which provides the tank inhabitants, fish, live rock, coral with the proper light required.
• Heater
• Substrate - CaribSea – Live Aragonite Reef Sand, this come in water, no rinsing needed.

Costs

• Tank - Free
• Tank Stand - $50
• Hood - Free
• Light - Free
• Heater - Free
• Filtration
• HOB Filter - Free
• Protein Skimmer - $110
• Substrate - $60

“Minnesota Outdoor” Games Addicted To

You just have to enjoy the outdoors; otherwise you are just addicted to the couch and this is not a good thing. So we have a collection of the beautiful northern woods pictures.

“MS Access” Games Addicted To

This is the current Created databases in Microsoft Access2003 and 2007. Here are the current and past projects. Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007.

Current Projects Are:

• Site Survey – 75% Complete

This database is used to track both a site survey, with questions and answers, but also inventory tracking as well.

• Site Survey - This is database gives the user the capability to create the question, the answers and the follow up questions. Once the location/sites are created the user then select an standard, create by the user. Then the user create questions and answers
  
• Site Audit - This is database gives the user the capability to create the items to survey and the peripheral items that is present.
  

Past Year's Projects:

• Event Tracking –A simple DB to track events. Multiple events and users,a s well and reports.
  
• Project Billing – Billing a multi-project, keeping the money flowing between invoices and receipts.
  
• Stock Market Timing
  
  • Using the data from the DOW500 for the last year, calculate the MACD, RSI, Fibonacci Indicators, Aroon Indicators, Candlestick, Moving Averages, etc, etc.
    
    • No matter what indicator used and combinations. Life's Games, makes it difficult to predict something by mathematically calculation. Yes, the database calls out buys and sell, but, alas, man and his greedy/scared/compulsive ways, makes it impossible to pick the next winner.