I finally got someone to help me move the 29-gallon fish tank from the living room to the bathroom onto the stand. The water had virtually dried up to nothing, and I figured I'd pull all the decorations out and clean out the tank real well since all the fish were gone now. Surprise! One of the weather loaches is a survivalist. I haven't cleaned the tank in nearly a year, due to being out of the house all last spring and into the summer, and then moving. After we moved, the tank was left behind at the old house well into the cold season, the water level dropped below the heater, and the only thing that kept the water from freezing was a space heater in the basement to keep the pipes from freezing. Then it was moved here and left to sit for another two months or so in the living room. Some how this one singular fish has survived the most neglect and abuse I think anyone could put a fish through. I am impressed with this fish. **Please note that I thought the tank was empty and would never have intentionally left living fish in these conditions. Had I known there was a survivor in there, I'd have moved the tank with us right away and had it set up immediately.
So I spent a couple hours today filling the fish tank one left-over container at a time, then siphoning it out as I refilled it to keep the water level up while cleaning out all the gross crud from a year without maintenance. Yikes! That was a nasty dirty job! But the tank, though not perfect, looks a lot better. Over the next couple of days I will try to get a hold of a new air pump for the filter, or maybe just work on sanitizing the old rocks and set up the aquaponics bed. That should help filter out the remaining bits I couldn't get out with the siphon. I'm hoping the cats will leave it alone and not lay on the plants, but it is in the window, and we all know how cats feel about sunny spots in windows.
When I was finally done with the fish tank, I cleaned out under the kitchen sink again, tore up the laminate that was under there, and then bleached the wood underneath. The kitchen sinks both broke, one after the other (second one broke a day and a half after we fixed the other one). Underneath got wet. Sopping wet. As in, dripping down into the basement. So tonight I scrubbed it all out, and now have the heater back in there again to dry it all up. Once it's all dry again I think maybe a coat of polyurethane would help water proof it in case the drains leak again.
Earlier today Tony replaced the outlet up in our bedroom. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, but it works now!
And to top it all off, today Violet went to her new home! Yay for Violet! That just leaves Vesuvius from that litter still looking for a home. He didn't seem to mind the car trip. I hope he finds his home soon.
So I spent a couple hours today filling the fish tank one left-over container at a time, then siphoning it out as I refilled it to keep the water level up while cleaning out all the gross crud from a year without maintenance. Yikes! That was a nasty dirty job! But the tank, though not perfect, looks a lot better. Over the next couple of days I will try to get a hold of a new air pump for the filter, or maybe just work on sanitizing the old rocks and set up the aquaponics bed. That should help filter out the remaining bits I couldn't get out with the siphon. I'm hoping the cats will leave it alone and not lay on the plants, but it is in the window, and we all know how cats feel about sunny spots in windows.
When I was finally done with the fish tank, I cleaned out under the kitchen sink again, tore up the laminate that was under there, and then bleached the wood underneath. The kitchen sinks both broke, one after the other (second one broke a day and a half after we fixed the other one). Underneath got wet. Sopping wet. As in, dripping down into the basement. So tonight I scrubbed it all out, and now have the heater back in there again to dry it all up. Once it's all dry again I think maybe a coat of polyurethane would help water proof it in case the drains leak again.
Earlier today Tony replaced the outlet up in our bedroom. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, but it works now!
And to top it all off, today Violet went to her new home! Yay for Violet! That just leaves Vesuvius from that litter still looking for a home. He didn't seem to mind the car trip. I hope he finds his home soon.
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