Sometimes bigger is not always better

My husband has always loved fish.  Having an aquarium has been part of his world since high school and our world since just about the moment we started dating.  The dream was always to have this monster tank, filled with corals and bright beautiful fish.  And that dream was realized.  We added beautiful fish and glow in the dark corals.  We bought the lights and filters and sterilizers and...you get the idea.  It was beautiful and it was J's haven, his therapy if you will. I loved to sit and watch the fish and fell in love with his cowfish - Chopper.





The kids loved it and my FF loved showing it off when we had company.


And then the fire academy came.  I was left alone with 4 kids ages 10 - 2.  I was setting up a new classroom, two counties away, with 4 kids in tow.  I did not have time to maintain his tank.  It succumbed to algae and neglect.  J graduated from the academy and was so ready to get his tank back on its feet.  He tried a few times, but it was never the same.


So, our recent move came and I asked what his intentions were with this monster tank.  Was he going to move it and bring it back to life?  Was history going to repeat itself and it fall into neglect?  Was he prepared to get rid of it?  It was a bit of a heartbreaking discussion, but it needed to be had.  We got the room set up, without the tank and I liked it.  So did J.  We decided to sell it.  Posted it on Craigslist and a few of the reef boards in the area.  J was so sad.


And then, as we were in a fish store, the solution came to him - a Biocube.  It was small and self-contained.  He could still have his clown fish and corals and it would not have to take up an entire wall of my living room.  But, I was not going to move this tank and after countless thousands of dollars that we put into this tank, I was not going to put more money into it.  He became very motivated to have me sell his tank.  We took out the rock he wanted to keep.  We took out the crustaceans and fish.  I got the ads up and running.  I answered the emails.  So far most of it is gone.  The tank and stand goes to its new home on Friday, to be reunited with the 80+ pounds of live rock it has housed for so many years.  The new and upcoming hobbyists get a break on this expensive hobby and this tank does set foot in my new home.  And my firefighter gets a new, condensed version of his therapeutic haven.  He has a 48 that started today and on Friday, we will go pick up his tank and the new stand.  14 gallons of self contained pleasure for my hubby.