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 State of the Tank: (cont.) |
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Just in case though (you have to understand the Greenwich area's idea of 'fixed'), I went out and got a gas powered auxiliary generator that could power the tank for several hours if this kind of emergency ever happened again. It won't of course, but if I didn't have the redundancy, we both know it would.
The moral here? Get yourself a generator. Obviously, it doesn't have to be a giant whole house unit rated to run for several days but except for those in the path of a hurricane [and SW CT], who loses their power for several days anyway? Nevertheless, you SHOULD get something. Go now, while your power is on and they haven't jacked the prices. You know, as reefkeepers, we've already got a lot of time and money invested in our tanks. A little more invested to preserve them then, simply makes good sense, right? Then get a generator.
Oh, and if you've got one already, have the thing checked out every once in a while. You don't want to find out it has a problem at the time you need it most.
And finally this month, I had the pleasure of hosting my daughter's entire 1st grade class as part of a field trip in their study to learn about coral reefs  . This was truly some of the most fun I've had with the hobby in quite some time as I got the chance to reacquaint myself with many things |
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in my own tank that I'd begun to take for granted; things such as watching the amazing dexterity of an Emerald Crab's claw or how quickly a fuzzy mushroom can fold over upon itself when it captures a morsel of food or the comical antics of my Flame Hawk as he polices the tank from its many hides and perches. Hopefully the kids got something out of it too. They certainly asked some intelligent questions; including a few on topics such as camouflage, symbiosis, and competition for space amongst the corals on the reef. Now, maybe it was just my generation, but a good day in first grade for me meant coming home just as dry as I went in. These kids were so amazing that I'm now hesitant to host a second or third grade class for fear of being caught in the middle of a debate on the methods of biochemical calcification! And you know how I hate those.
Anyway, the morning didn't end there. As soon as my little presentation was over, the real entertainment began as my wife, augmenting the reef theme wonderfully, served various fish shaped snacks and sandwiches on blue and turquoise paper plates (who would think of that stuff)! Then, last but not least, one of the teachers read the class a story of the whale that got lost, wandering up the river from San Francisco Bay several years ago. Exciting enough, but I would've liked to hear the scene when the whale got back home and tried to explain this absence to his wife. But then again, this IS only first grade. |
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