Hello from South King County, WA

[Moose]

Hello hello! I'm 28, my pronouns are he/him, and I started my tank (15 gal fluval flex with an aquarium co-op nano sponge filter added to the main built in filter -- mainly so I can use it on my hospital tank when necessary) last November...I'll get a journal post set up for it soon I think, haven't gotten around to it mainly because I don't feel like I take very good pictures yet and it annoys me a little how much better my tank looks in person than in photos. 

I added the centerpiece fish to my aquarium today (a pair of peacock gudgeons!) and once I sort out what I want for a mid/upper level schooling fish and the tank's had some time to adjust to the increased bioload I'll probably make a trip up to the Edmonds store again. I'm really into more naturalistic planted tanks, and the efficiency of aquaponics is also very appealing to me...I'm planning out a nano (30 cm cube) tank attached to a DIY aquaponics system to grow salad greens and strawberries on my windowsill. I'd get a larger tank I could have more of a bioload in to feed the plants but space is a major constraint at the moment...I figure, I'm doing pretty well fertilizing my 15 gal twice a week so that can help the plants thrive even if the fish doesn't produce as much waste as would be ideal. I'm thinking of having a solo betta (...and maybe some snails. I mean, I've got bladder snails in my main tank so I'd be shocked if some didn't make their way in when I get the new tank set up) as the inhabitant in that one but I am very open to suggestions. 

I'm sort of interested in in-person fishkeeping events or groups? I don't know. I sometimes have trouble making friends when I don't have a structured event or activity as a way of meeting new people...I used to perform/do logistics stuff for a performance group at Ren Faires but I've got an autoimmune disorder and that activity has historically been pretty hard on my body. I've taken some time off of it for a while now and am deciding if or how much I can manage going back....Anyway. I love my tanks, I love staring at fish in general, while traveling over Christmas I binge read the last like, three years of Practical Fishkeeping (magazine's available through King County library's Libby app, if anyone else in the area is interested!), so if you've got a local club (preferably south of Seattle) you're involved in and would recommend, let me know. I know Aquarium Co-op does some member events, which I'm considering....haven't taken the plunge yet mainly because traffic up either I-5 or 405 is such a headache with the construction at the moment (classic Seattle problems). 

[tike]

Hello! Good to meet you. I am in the South Sound area too....Tacoma. There isn't any fish group/gathering in the area that i am aware of. Many years ago there used to be a fish swap every few months in the Auburn area but it faded out long ago.

[Whitecloud09]

Hello @Moose! And welcome to the #1 forum on earth lol.

[JE47]

Glad to have you join us can't wait to see and follow your journal 😀

[Schuyler]

Welcome fellow Washingtonian!

On 3/30/2024 at 2:58 PM, Moose said:

I'm sort of interested in in-person fishkeeping events or groups?

If you're interested in in person stuff you should definitely check out the local fish club GSAS.

We're having the big auction April 20th. You didn't have to be a member to come but if you are a member then you can auction stuff and get a portion of what they sell for. There's always some crazy deals and rare stuff you almost never find in stores. I got a gallon size ziplock bag of Süßwassertang for $5 once. More info here: https://www.gsas.org/?ID=197

I can't promise we'll be best friends or anything but I'd definitely say "hi". There are around six other people from this forum who are members of GSAS. They also have monthly meetings, a BBQ, and a holiday party.

@tike have you been to any of the GSAS meetings/events?

Edited April 1 by Schuyler

[tike]

On 3/31/2024 at 10:25 PM, Schuyler said:

Welcome fellow Washingtonian!

If you're interested in in person stuff you should definitely check out the local fish club GSAS.

We're having the big auction April 20th. You didn't have to be a member to come but if you are a member then you can auction stuff and get a portion of what they sell for. There's always some crazy deals and rare stuff you almost never find in stores. I got a gallon size ziplock bag of Süßwassertang for $5 once. More info here: https://www.gsas.org/?ID=197

I can't promise we'll be best friends or anything but I'd definitely say "hi". There are around six other people from this forum who are members of GSAS. They also have monthly meetings, a BBQ, and a holiday party.

@tike have you been to any of the GSAS meetings/events?

Nope. I work in Little Rock and get off at 6 pm , the drive from there is around 2 hours so it doesn't fit my schedule. I also don't have weekends off to attend any of the auctions. Very well aware of gsas just too far for me. Thanks for the invite anyway!

[Moose]

 

On 3/31/2024 at 10:25 PM, Schuyler said:

Welcome fellow Washingtonian!

If you're interested in in person stuff you should definitely check out the local fish club GSAS.

We're having the big auction April 20th. You didn't have to be a member to come but if you are a member then you can auction stuff and get a portion of what they sell for. There's always some crazy deals and rare stuff you almost never find in stores. I got a gallon size ziplock bag of Süßwassertang for $5 once. More info here: https://www.gsas.org/?ID=197

I can't promise we'll be best friends or anything but I'd definitely say "hi". There are around six other people from this forum who are members of GSAS. They also have monthly meetings, a BBQ, and a holiday party.

@tike have you been to any of the GSAS meetings/events?

Great to know and also, excellent logo. Not sure the auction is my speed at the moment but I'll definitely poke around the GSAS website 🙂