But anyway, this was all last week, and I'm starting the blog today, so fuck it.
Today's activities have involved swearing at the gravel for clouding up the water so abysmally, pestering the hot guy in Pets at Home to let me have some free wood (LOLOLOLOL) and making bogwood tea.
YUM.
Right now I face several problems: water quality, new gravel, newty amateur dramatics, and a peewee filter.
See how there's only about 6 gallons of water in here?
That's because the filter can only handle 5 gallons. A herp a derp derp.
Yeah it would be logical to buy a bigger filter, but these newts actually hate currents. I only had one in the smaller tank out of necessity - smaller bodies of water heat/foul up more quickly that bigger ones. At any rate, I'll be taking that filter out and topping up the water from the old tank when all the bacterial goodness has circulated. Mmmm, taste that clear water on the horizon.
If anyone reading this has the remotest idea about aquatics, you'll notice that I'm not doing a very good job of cycling this water. By rights I should have filled the tank and left it standing for a few months. However, look at this.
HOW TRAGIC DO THIS TRAGIC COUPLE LOOK?
I'm sincerely worried that something's wrong in their tiny Wagnerian minds, so I need to get them moved pronto. The new tank is full of all the bacteria-covered items I could move from the old one, and has been treated with every anti-ammonia/nitrogen chemical of dubious effectiveness that I could safely buy. It's also been sitting overnight, and is about to be topped up with balanced water from the old tank. ODIN WILLING, IT WILL BE ENOUGH.
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Siegfried and Brunhilde are Oriental Fire Bellied Newts, Cynops Orientalis.