Monday, November 16, 2009
Goodbye, Fish Tank
After almost 9 years in service, I'm finally decomissioning my 4 footer tank. This is my 3rd marine tank; I started off with a 1 foot tank back in the days when I still kept Titan, my oscar fish, followed by a most precarious 4 footer right outside my bedroom. This was finally upgraded to the system as we know now, and in her heydays she was a full-fledged reef. Unfortunately, due to multiple and very costly equipment failures, she is now out of service. This morning, one of her pipes sprung a small leak, and I have now shut off her circulation system. The house now seems very quiet (almost disquieting) without the familiar sound of running water. It will be a few weeks yet before all her presence is gone from the house.
Will I get a new tank, in the new house? I can't say right now. Reefs take an extraordinary amount of effort to upkeep, both in monetary terms and in the time invested. And even if I do eventually get another one, it'll be a nano system, no more than 2 feet in length.
Reefkeeping has evolved much, even from the first years of my venture into them. During my 1 foot tank era, the Jaubert Plenum system was all the rage. This evolved into a period of deep sand beds, massive amounts of live rock, and all of a sudden, we've reverted back to the very basics of little/no sand and aggressive protein skimming. Then came the technology. New wavemaker technology, lighting technology and complete reefkeeping computer systems that measure the Redox potential, pH and whatnot. Still, after seeing the real stuff during dives, I've come to realise that no matter what I do at home, it will be but just a feeble imitation of the great reefs out there - a bonsai reef, if you will. The reef tanks of today are but a hard-fought battle to bring into control an equilibrium that has existed for millions of years, a laboratory glass box filled with probes and pumps, but woefully still lacking the biological processes and planktonic life that sustains the seas.
I still relish the thought of bringing back a minuscule slice of a reef in my own living room, but until then, I concede defeat.
Wenky
1:35 PM
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