It's been awhile since I've done a proper update so here goes.

I spent a lot of the warm weather days out at the archery range. More this year than most others, I think just because my father is finally getting back into it too. I took a few photos of some of the competition targets... which were interesting to say the least

The Yetti


And my personal favorite: The Graveyard Zombie




The River Croc... the summer drought left very little water behind. Where we stood was usually knee high or deeper.




This used to be the river dam.


Despite the loss of the river, it was still a lovely day.


I've also been spending a lot of time taking care of my saltwater aquarium. We recently downsized from a 90 gallon to a 40 gallon breeder. The shorter, wider dimensions just work much better to light the reef. In the 90g, a lot of the light from the T5HOs were lost before ever reaching the corals.



There's probably about 50 pounds of rockwork I assembled in there. I didn't use any pins to hold it, so each rock has been perfectly balanced within the flow of the current. There's also a ball of chaeto macroalgae growing in there to help filter the water.

I was on this really big all-natural kick with the tank for awhile. I used algaes, rockwork, sand, and a self-made refugium to filter the water. I also used a gravity pump to move the water so I used less electricity when it was operating. Basically, I only had to pay to keep the light on. I was also planning to create a top-off system that would suck the humidity from the air (like a dehumidifier) and deposit it into the tank when it required it. However, I couldn't quite work out a method to make it function when the air was too dry

Now that it's down to the 40 gallon, I don't have a proper place for the refugium so I'm back to using a normal filter. We'll see if I can work something else out. I really like the idea of trying to recreate a natural environment in an unnatural setting - go figure.

Here's some of the inhabitants:

An angry Toadstool coral (this was just after the move, so it's polyps aren't out and it's a sliming a bit).


A Pencil Urchin. One of my favorite non-tentacled sea critters. (They have really cool little calcium structures and leave a pretty neat skeleton when they die - which this guy won't hopefully for a VERY long time).


Beneath the crab shell (one my friend caught, ate, and sent me from Norway) is the spiky remains of an Urchin.


My tank is primarly a clown species tank. However, when they get older they may pair off. If they do that, I'll have to watch closely to make sure the female isn't trying to kill any of the non-paired clowns. Girl clownfish can be really bitchy. But right now they are all juvie males (they can change gender).

The majority of my fish have Captain names. Captain Ahab, Captain Nemo, Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain Kirk, etc.


The tentacles of my serpent star can be seen reaching out in this picture. Once one of his limbs separated from his body and it stayed alive, severed and twitching (still even wrapping itself around food particles) for well over a month. I lost track of the limb, so I don't know how long it kept moving. The starfish grew a new limb in its place.


Aquaculture is really important to me. I refuse to buy any coral or fish that isn't specifically tank raised to prevent over-harvesting in the ocean. A lot of times they catch those fish using cyanide and other harmful means. That means your fish are less likely to survive too. I research and cross reference everything beforehand. I even harvest excess coral growth from my own tank which I can sell to keep the aquaculture cycle going. I love studying wild reefs and learning about their ecosystems. There are very few left that haven't been negatively impacted by human contact.

As for what else I've been up to...
Enjoying the Halloween season!



Watching lots of this...


My cat was being a dick so I stuck him in this Halloween devil sweater. Ha-ha! Sweet revenge.


My guy and I rented some Halloween flicks (you know I had a lot of Tim Burton and horror movies on the list!), then sat down to some pumpkin carving.


The paper with the pattern we wanted to use ripped, so I ended up freehanding the design onto the pumpkin with a marker... Not really as good as the original.


But it turned out okay with us both cutting it to pieces


And of course I had to pick out all the pumpkin seeds and bake them for a yummy snack!


Hope everyone finds some fun ways to enjoy this holiday. It's my favorite

(P.S.)

and...

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