Whew!

Setting up the aquarium was a job. See, the water evaporated rather than me taking it down last time I had it running. So there were a lot of salts in the dry aquarium. I took out most of the gravel, washed it with clean water, wiped down the glass, placed the decorations (which I also rinsed off) inside, and filled the tank. The water is cloudy but I'm hoping the filter will take care of that; I have it running now and it seems to be doing fine.

I'll treat it for chlorine and wait about a week before I add fish, assuming the chlorine meter and temp are good. I did try to vacuum the small amount of gravel in the aquarium, but that involves siphoning with your mouth, which is just icky when you don't know what might be in the aquarium. I really need to get a self-siphoning one. But hopefully soon I'll have fish, either from Brenda or bought. I prefer live bearers like swordtails, mollies, platies, and guppies. I usually throw in some catfish and a plecostomus, too, for cleaning the aquarium, plus some Java grass and other plants for the fish to hide in, especially the babies.

I'll clean the floors later--I figured I'd just mess it up with the aquarium cleanup anyway. They're not too bad, anyway, and really just need to be swept a little . The trick with cleaning the gravel was not getting any gravel in the garbage disposal, no mean feat, since I have to pull the stopper out with a pair of pliers--it makes a very good seal. I used two large bowls and a colander (which I will wash very, very thoroughly, let me tell you) to do the actual washing but I put the decorations and large rocks in the sink.

Now I'm going to get ready, take out the trash, and go to the pharmacy. Then it's over to socialise with a movie with some friends. Hope your New Year's Day is going well.