CattMarpenter
New Member
Hi fish folks, my name is Matt. I'm just starting my second fish tank, and since I'm sure I'll have a ton of obnoxious questions that I'm hoping some of you all might answer, I thought I might as well say hi first!
I only had my first fish tank (10 gallon) for about a year, it seemed very healthy when I entrusted it in the care of a friend to live in my van and travel for a while. Fast forward three or so years and the tank I get back has nothing left alive that was intended to be kept alive. I'm not sure what was living in there but the tank had been dry for a long time but not cleaned.
So here I am now, trying to revive my dead fish tank. I'm also hoping to do it correctly, with science! Speaking of science, I am literate in such language if it's helpful in answering any of my dumb questions. The problem is, although I am educated in science, I'm still not very good at it (read: I'm just a school teacher, not a real scientist).
As a science teacher, I'm genuinely interested in learning how to create a balanced ecosystem with plants and animals, and I'm hoping to be able to learn from the experiences of the community.
Just a warning, another one of my hobbies is growing house plants. I pretty much have a black thumb and all my plants look like ****. And I mean I have a lot of shitty plants. I really enjoy growing them and learning how to keep varieties of plants growing and I love having them in my house. And maybe they don't look like total ****, but lots of people grow way more lush looking plants much easier than I do, and I've killed many a plant in the past trying to learn which ones I can grow without killing (I still can't grow a croton to save my life!). I expect my aquarium to go about as poorly as my plant cultivating did for many years in the beginning.
Apart from being a teacher, I am also a dedicated rock climber, a citizen of my great tiny town in West Virginia, an adventurist, and a dreamer of dreams. Maybe not that last thing, actually.
I look forward to meeting you guys on here and thanks in advance for any shared experience!
I only had my first fish tank (10 gallon) for about a year, it seemed very healthy when I entrusted it in the care of a friend to live in my van and travel for a while. Fast forward three or so years and the tank I get back has nothing left alive that was intended to be kept alive. I'm not sure what was living in there but the tank had been dry for a long time but not cleaned.
So here I am now, trying to revive my dead fish tank. I'm also hoping to do it correctly, with science! Speaking of science, I am literate in such language if it's helpful in answering any of my dumb questions. The problem is, although I am educated in science, I'm still not very good at it (read: I'm just a school teacher, not a real scientist).
As a science teacher, I'm genuinely interested in learning how to create a balanced ecosystem with plants and animals, and I'm hoping to be able to learn from the experiences of the community.
Just a warning, another one of my hobbies is growing house plants. I pretty much have a black thumb and all my plants look like ****. And I mean I have a lot of shitty plants. I really enjoy growing them and learning how to keep varieties of plants growing and I love having them in my house. And maybe they don't look like total ****, but lots of people grow way more lush looking plants much easier than I do, and I've killed many a plant in the past trying to learn which ones I can grow without killing (I still can't grow a croton to save my life!). I expect my aquarium to go about as poorly as my plant cultivating did for many years in the beginning.
Apart from being a teacher, I am also a dedicated rock climber, a citizen of my great tiny town in West Virginia, an adventurist, and a dreamer of dreams. Maybe not that last thing, actually.
I look forward to meeting you guys on here and thanks in advance for any shared experience!
