In the beginning...

This is what I have, so far.

I have been itching to start my rig for well over a week. Unfortunately, my husband was not quite so enthusiastic. supportive, but unenthusiastic. That's okay. I downloaded a couple of books to my kindle. I read through a number of websites about aquaponics. I looked into vacant land near my house, for installing a greenhouse. I talked with my mother-in-law, about demolishing her dilapidated yard shed and letting me put a greenhouse there.

Then we went to KMart, and I decided to pick up a couple of small plastic containers, which should be of a sufficient size to hold a few fish and a couple of plants. I got a clear sweater box, and a clear shoe box. KMart didn't have much in the way of fish supplies, though, not that I browsed too closely, at the time. The boxes were an impulse buy.

The next morning, I went to PetSmart, where a nice guy helped me find a pump. I had already tossed a medium-sized bag of neutral gravel in my cart, some goldfish water conditioner, an air bubbler, 2 decorative Arc d'Triomphs, and a plastic plant. The plant is for the fish to hide in, the arcs are for holding up the plant bed above the aquarium, so the water can drip straight in.

I rinsed off the gravel in my utility sink (so glad I have one!), using a cotton pillow case to hold it, and let the gravel sit in the case, in the sink, for 2 days (mainly because I got sidetracked by other things in the meantime).

I put the plant and the arcs in the sweater box, and put the bubbler in the center. I then started to assemble the water pump... and discovered that the pump unit itself is too tall for the shoebox. I'm going to have to get a pond/fountain pump instead. I'm keeping the filter pump, though, to use for my son's aquarium (I promised him a small aquarium once we're settled into SoPas).

Alas. No pump for the water. Good thing I didn't buy fish, yet. I plan on getting 4-6 fancy goldfish, size "small," for the tank. I just started a small pot of strawberries, sweet peppers, and tomatoes on my windowsill over the sink. we'll see if those start to grow.

So, below is a pic of what's already been done, as of today (Star Wars Day).

From Blogger Pictures