- Messages
- 161
- Reaction score
- 0
This may be a bit of a stretch, but I never want to under estimate the generosity of this club, as you have greatly impressed me in the past. With that being said, here's the situation: (I'll try to keep this as short as possible)
In 2005, a good friend of mine, Heather, was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer, which rapidly spread to other regions of her body, including her lungs. At the time, the doctors gave her a mere 20% chance of survival, and she had to undergo multiple rounds of severely aggressive chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants, as well as numerous surgeries.
After spending months in the hospital, Heather was finally able to return home, but she needed to stay inside her house due to immunity concerns. It was during this time I decided to donate my 20 gallon tank, consisting of a skunk clownfish pair and their long-tentacle anemone, as well as a few other corals and misc inverts. I knew from personal experience (as I'm sure many of you do) the therapeutic effects of saltwater aquariums, and I desperately wanted to do something to help her, so I agreed to set up and maintain the tank for her on a regular basis.
Since then, Heather has made an amazing recovery, and the cancer was even thought to be in remission for a while (recent scans are bringing up some concern again, though). She has fallen in love with the clowns and is always so appreciative of the tank, but some problems with the system are arising. Mainly, the anemone has far outgrown the tank; its tentacles are getting stuck in the powerheads and filter intakes. Also, due to the tank's small size and lack of a skimmer (and frequent feeding, which I have advised to curtail), hair algae has accumulated on the live rock and refuses to leave, despite my installation of a HOB refuguim. To make a potentially long story short, she needs a bigger setup, which would include a larger tank, stand, live rock, skimmer, and potentially another light. Unfortunately, I just don't have the funds right now to buy her all of these items, so I was hoping this is where you can step in. If you have any spare equipment, tanks (larger than 20 gallons!), and especially</em> live rock, this would be a HUGE help to Heather and myself. I know this is asking a lot, as tanks and live rock aren't cheap, but I'm not sure what else I can do right now to help the situation.
In 2005, a good friend of mine, Heather, was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer, which rapidly spread to other regions of her body, including her lungs. At the time, the doctors gave her a mere 20% chance of survival, and she had to undergo multiple rounds of severely aggressive chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants, as well as numerous surgeries.
After spending months in the hospital, Heather was finally able to return home, but she needed to stay inside her house due to immunity concerns. It was during this time I decided to donate my 20 gallon tank, consisting of a skunk clownfish pair and their long-tentacle anemone, as well as a few other corals and misc inverts. I knew from personal experience (as I'm sure many of you do) the therapeutic effects of saltwater aquariums, and I desperately wanted to do something to help her, so I agreed to set up and maintain the tank for her on a regular basis.
Since then, Heather has made an amazing recovery, and the cancer was even thought to be in remission for a while (recent scans are bringing up some concern again, though). She has fallen in love with the clowns and is always so appreciative of the tank, but some problems with the system are arising. Mainly, the anemone has far outgrown the tank; its tentacles are getting stuck in the powerheads and filter intakes. Also, due to the tank's small size and lack of a skimmer (and frequent feeding, which I have advised to curtail), hair algae has accumulated on the live rock and refuses to leave, despite my installation of a HOB refuguim. To make a potentially long story short, she needs a bigger setup, which would include a larger tank, stand, live rock, skimmer, and potentially another light. Unfortunately, I just don't have the funds right now to buy her all of these items, so I was hoping this is where you can step in. If you have any spare equipment, tanks (larger than 20 gallons!), and especially</em> live rock, this would be a HUGE help to Heather and myself. I know this is asking a lot, as tanks and live rock aren't cheap, but I'm not sure what else I can do right now to help the situation.
