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How to Do a Partial Water Change

Aquarium cleaning can be a messy chore — despite all the water involved! A partial water change is a good way to clear the water in your tank without destroying all the good bacteria that keep your fish healthy and happy. When doing a partial water change, you only want to remove twenty-five to thirty percent of the water. This leaves enough good bacteria behind to help repopulate the tank and keep harmful chemicals out of the water. Take too much water away and you run the risk of having to start the nitrogen cycle all over again. There’s no … Continue reading →

Common Saltwater Fish Diseases

Saltwater fish are susceptible to some of the same disease you see in tropical aquariums. As always, determining the cause of the illness is the most important thing! Many diseases are caused by stress in the fish, whether from transport, water quality, or trouble acclimating to the tank. Quarantine tanks are even more useful for saltwater aquarium hobbyists than they are for tropical aquarium hobbyists! Your saltwater fish can live in your quarantine tank for a few weeks before entering the main tank; this gives them time to acclimate and time for you to make sure the new fish are … Continue reading →

Cloudy Aquarium Water

If the water in your aquarium doesn’t look quite right, you may have something wrong! Your tank water isn’t supposed to be cloudy, white, green, or yellow. White or gray cloudy aquarium water could be caused by dust from gravel or sand. Always rinse your substrate thoroughly before adding it to your aquarium. With sand, this can be tricky! Give your tank a day or two for dust particles to settle. White or gray cloudy aquarium water could be caused by a bacterial bloom or by adding too many fish too soon (before the nitrogen cycle has finished). Give the … Continue reading →

Common Freshwater Fish Diseases

Yes, even fish can get sick! Here is a list of some common freshwater fish diseases, symptoms, and treatments. Before you treat your fish, be sure you properly diagnose your fish and figure out why they are sick. There may be water quality or food issues that need to be taken care of before you can cure your fish! Many diseases are a result of the stress of transport, so take time to acclimate your fish to your tank. Ammonia poisoning — symptoms include red or inflamed gills. You may see your fish gasping for air at the surface of … Continue reading →

Week Night Menu: Crustless Quiche, Home Fried Potatoes, and Pineapple ‘Muri Sonando’

Thanks to a recent reader suggestion, here is a new feature I’m introducing to the food blog. One reader writes: I have such a hard time coming up with something quick enough to make in the middle of the week. Do you have any ideas? One trick to planning a healthy and complete meal in the middle of the week is planning ahead. You have to have your pantry well stocked, your meals planned, and your prep work done. However, it is possible! To help you, and others, work on your endeavor, I am going to write one blog per … Continue reading →

New Disney Animation Resort Opens

It’s finally here: this Thursday the first phase of the Walt Disney World Art of Animation Resort opens. That means that starting in two days you can only stay in rooms in the “Finding Nemo” wing. But have no fear: by the fall the themed rooms for all of the movies will be open. The “Cars” family suites will be unveiled on June 18, August 10 sees the opening of suites from “The Lion King,” and on September 15 “The Little Mermaid” standard rooms will open for business. You can book reservations for all of these rooms right now. The … Continue reading →

Are You Over-Washing Your Clothes? I Am (Sigh)

I am a serious over-washer of our clothing, sheets, even the couch cover! I’m trying to work on this, though, since it is costing me money. Not only does it bite into the budget with the cost of laundry detergent, hot water cost and electricity, but it also costs me money in terms of replacement costs for the clothing. I suppose I can probably also include the replacement costs for the washer and or dryer, assuming that more use shortens the life spans of these appliances. Why then do I do it? Well, partially it might be the way I … Continue reading →

Why Choose Cloth Diapers?

Loads of laundry, full of stinky brown diapers. Who wants to sign up for that? Well, we did. And it wasn’t too bad at all. There are some very persuasive reasons to use cloth diapers. Here are a few of them: * Cloth diapers take up less landfill space. Yes, they do require washing, and those in places where washing water is very scarce may want to choose a compostable alternative like G-Diapers. One of our pre-baby investments was a front-loading washing machine, essential for all of those baby items. * Cloth diapers are a fabulous tool to use with … Continue reading →

Aquarium Maintenance

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Very few pets are of the “set it and forget it” variety. They need constant care to stay happy and healthy! Keeping an aquarium clean and safe for your fish can take quite a bit of work… but it’s worth it! Daily checks should include: Observing the fish. Watch for signs of illness, including breathing difficulty, discoloration, and weird growths. Watch how your fish interact with each other. Check temperature and filtration system. A thermometer stuck to the glass or hanging from the top of the tank is a quick and easy way to make sure the water is comfortable … Continue reading →

Building a Paludarium

If you want to combine land and water habitats in your tank — create a paludarium — the best bet for a beginner may be a paludarium kit. However, after poking around various shopping and search sites, it seems like it might be difficult to find one! Terrarium kits are far easier to find. Educational suppliers like Carolina do offer “river tank” ecosystems for classrooms that can support aquatic and land animals and plants. Don’t be put off by the lack of kits available at the moment — you can still make your own paludarium! The first think you need … Continue reading →