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(I hope I've posted this in the right forum; feel free to move it if not.)
Hello All,
I've been mostly MIA for the past year or two due to the demands of college and other related commitments, but I'm home for the summer and therefore have lots more time--that will largely be spent on this hobby, of course.
This post is not about my aquariums, though. As some of you may remember, I worked with the Reef Club a few years back to get a tank set up for my good friend Heather who has been battling Ewing's sarcoma. Amazingly, most of the cancer has been eliminated from her body, and doctor's say she's now in uncharted territory in terms of her recovery. Through this tough time, her family has found the aquarium offers both a means of escape and unity, as they have all adopted roles to assist in its maintenance and care. Plus, I'm a huge advocate of its therapeutic potential as well.
While the tank has been established for a few years now, they are having problems with recurrent hair algae. We tested the water and found no detectable nitrites/ates, but the alkalinity was on the low end (2.5 meq/L). In conjunction with some other changes, I've suggested that she try another sea hare (which worked well in the past) and finally get a good skimmer, as the tank has been skimmer-less this whole time.
This is where you all could be of great help; funds are tight for her family, and while they are willing to buy the aforementioned suggestions, any good deal that could be offered would me MUCH appreciated. The skimmer would have to be a HOB, as the tank does not have a sump/overflow. If anyone has a sea hare she could simply "rent," we think this would be the ideal situation as well. In addition, her tank could certainly benefit from more live rock as added filtration (she has about 30 pounds in a 55 gallon), but I realize that such a donation would be hard to make.
Below is a link to her old website, which hasn't been updated in a couple years but does provide some background to her situation: http://www.caringbridge.org/ga/heatheremery/">http://www.caringbridge.org/ga/heatheremery/</a>
As always, thank you all for being so generous and supportive. If the timing is not right or you do not have such supplies available, then no worries at all.
And, of course, Happy Reefing!
Kayla
Hello All,
I've been mostly MIA for the past year or two due to the demands of college and other related commitments, but I'm home for the summer and therefore have lots more time--that will largely be spent on this hobby, of course.
This post is not about my aquariums, though. As some of you may remember, I worked with the Reef Club a few years back to get a tank set up for my good friend Heather who has been battling Ewing's sarcoma. Amazingly, most of the cancer has been eliminated from her body, and doctor's say she's now in uncharted territory in terms of her recovery. Through this tough time, her family has found the aquarium offers both a means of escape and unity, as they have all adopted roles to assist in its maintenance and care. Plus, I'm a huge advocate of its therapeutic potential as well.
While the tank has been established for a few years now, they are having problems with recurrent hair algae. We tested the water and found no detectable nitrites/ates, but the alkalinity was on the low end (2.5 meq/L). In conjunction with some other changes, I've suggested that she try another sea hare (which worked well in the past) and finally get a good skimmer, as the tank has been skimmer-less this whole time.
This is where you all could be of great help; funds are tight for her family, and while they are willing to buy the aforementioned suggestions, any good deal that could be offered would me MUCH appreciated. The skimmer would have to be a HOB, as the tank does not have a sump/overflow. If anyone has a sea hare she could simply "rent," we think this would be the ideal situation as well. In addition, her tank could certainly benefit from more live rock as added filtration (she has about 30 pounds in a 55 gallon), but I realize that such a donation would be hard to make.
Below is a link to her old website, which hasn't been updated in a couple years but does provide some background to her situation: http://www.caringbridge.org/ga/heatheremery/">http://www.caringbridge.org/ga/heatheremery/</a>
As always, thank you all for being so generous and supportive. If the timing is not right or you do not have such supplies available, then no worries at all.
And, of course, Happy Reefing!
Kayla
