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#205 - 5525 West Boulevard
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6M 3W6
Canada

The Dirtiest Tank I Ever Saw

by Ruben Neria, of El Paso, Texas
Aquarticles

Too many times in my lifetime, I have been asked to perform arduous tasks for which I may or may not have ever gotten paid for. Luckily aquarium keeping has always been a source of both pleasure and enjoyment for me. Keeping this in mind, I was on a day trip to the local library with my daughter when to our dismay we noticed a beautiful seventy gallon tall aquarium in a total state of disarray. The glass was thick with algae, filters clogged and water foul with the pungent odor of ammonia and other toxic chemicals that clung to the surface of the water like some unearthly soup. Needless to say, I quickly inquired at the front desk and was told that a local company was being paid a good amount of money to service the aquarium every month. Unfortunately, they were probably overloaded with work and had somehow forgotten this tank in their busy schedule.

The next step of course was to try and remedy the situation. The library staff had reported the problems to the company to no avail. Incredibly, I was in the driver's seat, and as the library director asked me if I knew of anyone that could do a better job, visions of dollar bills went leaping into the far reaches of my mind. The money I would make here could buy me a stereo, or even a new aquarium for my home. Then suddenly the bubble burst and I fell back to reality. The city was not doing well financially and the money saved here could go to more important things like books! I heard myself telling the director that I would do it for free, and with a handshake she was mine.

I know what you're thinking. Big deal, It's just an aquarium. Let me tell you that you have never lived until you have a setup in the public eye with advice and feedback from all watching you. People told me to start salt, community, cichlid, real planted, plastic planted, colorful, natural, rocky, grassy. The funny thing is, I never asked anyone for advice, It all sort of landed in my lap. Well, I had already made up my mind that this would be an African cichlid tank with plenty of rocks to hide in. I found a local pet shop that would take in the old fish still surviving in the muck, and that same shop donated a whole group of healthy mixed Pseudotropheus zebras at no charge to me. The tank is still running today and it has been over two years now. I proudly display the logo of the pet shop that sponsored me and they see some returns in the form of people who draw interest in the tank and go to them for advice.

A few of my acquaintances in the hobby have criticized me for volunteering my time saying that they would never do anything for free. I say that if you do anything, do it because you love it. And if you really love it, then it's a pleasure to do for free! Volunteer, teach, lead, and you will never go wrong.