Day 1:
Welcome to the first day of the 31 Days to Build a Better Saltwater Aquarium Challenge.
Your First Challenge
Your first challenge is to analyze your tank. Use every test kit, gizmo and device at your disposal to create a baseline and diagnose what your tank needs the most.
Don’t go out and buy new kits today—just use the tests you already own. After you get the results, be sure to write them down.
Do you accept today’s challenge?
If so, please go run those tests now and come back. I’ll enjoy a cup of coffee while I wait.
Ok, welcome back. What do your numbers tell you? Are there any water parameters that are sub-optimal?
…maybe your salinity has drifted, or perhaps the temperature is low or high?
Is your calcium low?
Are you nitrates high?
In addition to running the tests you have available to you, I also want you to spend a moment or two today observing your tank. I know, you probably look at your tank all the time–after all, that’s why you have one, right?
Observe your tank with a critical eye. What are the strongest aspects of your aquarium—meaning, what is working very well? What are the weakest aspects of your aquarium—what isn’t working well? What are the opportunities you have to improve the tank? What are you not prepared for that could potentially devastate your tank?
You know your tank better than I do (of course). While my goal is to inspire, give good advice and to challenge you to improve your tank, you are the one who knows what will make the best improvement to your aquarium.
Determine what the best things are that you are aware of and that you can do today to improve your saltwater aquarium. If you don’t have time today, hold onto that thought–because you can do that task on a day where you don’t want to take the challenge.
Thanks for taking the challenge. I look forward to connecting again tomorrow for Day 2.
What did you decide on? Be sure to share what you’re doing in the comments section, so we can follow along and benefit from your advice and experiences.
Leave a Reply