Chemistry can be fun!

Chemistry can also be a royal pain in the...well, you get it.  I ran full tests this morning and was happy with the results (for the most part), and I am sure I will have to test again tomorrow once I get the aquascaping done and do a partial water change.  I find the fact that the tests state they are "Harmful, Corrosive, Irritant" very endearing.  Please use these caustic substances to make sure your fish are healthy!  That may be a slight exaggeration as you don't actually put the chemicals in the tank, but that bit of honesty doesn't sound quite as ominous. 

Yesterday was very productive, minus our forgetting when our fish store closes and as such arriving 15 minutes late to pick up smaller rock and new lights, along with talk about our sump.  That just means we need to do it today, before 4pm, though we will be heading over Tuesday or Wednesday to pick up our new skimmer and the pump. 

I always feel like a little kid in a candy store when we go to Southwest Saltwater, their store is really beautiful and larger than the other aquarium supply stores we have been to.  Last week when we picked up some live rock I went diving in digging around to find the perfect pieces while Frank grinned and placed his stamp of approval on each one.  We were both excited on the way home, unable to contain our giddiness.  This isn't terribly out of place as across from the tank we actually have a rock collection that we are hoping to expand again this year when we go to the Gem Show.  We really like rocks. 

Switching gears: we looked at prices and options for Battery Backup devices yesterday and cameras.  We are thinking of picking up a Nikon D3000 or a Canon EOS Rebel T2i.  We'll figure that out after the new year was the final decision, we were both lamenting the fact that we have very expensive taste as we browsed.  I'm putting my foot down however, we don't have expensive taste we have a taste for quality, which becomes pricey very quickly.  I'm okay with that, as there are plethora of uses for the camera aside from taking pictures of the tank. 

Today our goal is to finish off the rest of the list while doing the other things around our home that need to be taken care of before the new week.