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Back in the Saddle


Steve G

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Hello WAMAS friends,

 

As sometimes happens to us hobbyists, about 9 months ago I had a catastrophic tank fail, with mass die-off and subsequent tank upkeep morale problems and I basically checked out of the hobby and stopped checking WAMAS forums or going to meetings. All of this coincided with work and home life getting way too busy for me to deal with the tank grief and fix the numerous problems upon problems that got me in this situation. Even my digital camera broke (and then my replacement camera broke!) so I have not been able to document the misery.

 

Month after month I would pass by my tank every day watching the algae bloom, the aiptasia multiply, and the remaining snail and crab populations dwindle. Somehow my hardy surviving fish (ocellaris pair, a royal gramma, and a mandarin dragonet) all hung in there and I continued to feed them. Those pathetic little creatures finally inspired me to give a darn and get back into it. I've been cleaning and upgrading equipment, focusing on water quality and parameter stability, preparing for a new cleanup crew, and eventually, once things get under control, back to corals.

 

I'm also planning to check back in to the forums and stuff, so I look forward to rejoining, finding a weekend when I can catch up on the many months of posts and come back to club members with questions. I feel like I'm starting over, even though I'm sort of not. My deep sandbed and fuge are in great shape. I have some super-hardy fish in there, and a good base of equipment. Looking forward to the re-birth of my tank and reconnecting with WAMAS buds and meeting some new ones who have entered the hobby and the club since last summer.

 

Cheers,

Steve G in DC.

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WOuld like to see pictures of "The Clean Up" if you have them.

 

Sure thing. Um, let me go buy a camera! (Know of a good one that pairs with an underwater housing for scuba photography? SOmething <$400 for the whole rig?)

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Welcome back! We always need more people in DC. Don't miss the frag fest on 7/11

 

Thanks for the quick reply and warm welcome. On July 11 I will be on my way back from a Caribbean cruise where I'll be diving Cozumel and Roatan. It seems like I always have bad luck with the schedule of these meetings!

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Thanks for the quick reply and warm welcome. On July 11 I will be on my way back from a Caribbean cruise where I'll be diving Cozumel and Roatan. It seems like I always have bad luck with the schedule of these meetings!

 

Welcome back. I wouldn't call diving in Cozumel bad luck!

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Welcome back, can I have some of that bad luck. :)

 

Sorry I didn't mean to gloat, well, ok, I did. :biggrin: But I am sorry to miss the fragfest, since I'll be in the market for frags when I get back. And, no, I'm not taking any from the wild. Leave only bubbles, take only pictures.

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You are looking for a Canon Powershot D10 if you dont go under 33'. Welcome back!

 

Thanks. Actually, I'm going well below 33'. My basic Canon with a Canon-made underwater housing worked great. Until I lent it to my 12 year old niece. I actually have the incriminating "black box" pictures of my nieces and nephews mugging underwater just before the housing flooded. Looks like they were having fun. Good thing I love them dearly and only blame myself for sharing with pre-teens. Lesson learned.

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