The start of something good

A rush for product:
Friday night we got to my dealer late. Tony closes at 7, and we got there at 6:50. There were already some other customers in the store, and we waited our turn. It was already 7:15 when he got to us, and I really didn't want to keep him late, but I wanted a shrimp to get rid of my pest. He suggested that I get two, and "If you're going to add a shrimp or two, it wouldn't hurt to add a fish". This was music to my ears. I've been waiting for this. I picked up my stuff and ran out the door.

The follow up:
I knew I would go back the next morning. In my rush to leave the store, I didn't ask my questions. I needed to know more about why he suggested two shrimp, and not one. Why one fish, and not two. I wanted to know about feeding, cleaning, and water changes. As always Tony has answers that sound really reasonable, and so far he hasn't been wrong. He gave me some brine(sp?) shrimp for feedings. The minimum purchase (when using a credit card) is $10, so I also picked up a few snails. I couldn't be happier with everything right now.

Keeping Track:
I need to sit down a tally up the total I've spent so far. I'm sure it's nearing $500. I'll add that as it's own post later on. I may be paying a little more with Tony, but I can go and ask him questions, and that is invaluable to me right now.

Tank Status:
I'm starting to see purple on my rocks. I didn't know what it was that makes your rocks purple, until I saw this posting. Seems like coraline algae is the magic. My glass is still very clean, but the I'm seeing a brownish algae on the back wall and on the pump output thingy. The water is clear, but the food particles tend to float around a bit.

Aptaisia:
My aptaisia is gone. Less than 48 hours after I put in the shrimp it was gone. But because of the way the snails attached to the rock (the locations they picked), I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they eat it too.

Lighting:
A friend at the office gave me two timers to control my light. I haven't had a chance to put them inline yet, because I need the 3 prong to 2 prong socket adapter first. that will allow me to control the big lights automatically. I'm still going to have to figure out a way to control the smaller 'night' lights. If I put the ballest on the timer, then when the main lights are off... so are the night lights. may have to bust out my wire cutters and electrical tape :)