I love having a fish tank in our home. I was very young when my Mom got me my first fish and tank….it was positioned in my room so that at night I could watch the fish swimming around, playing with each other , or languidly floating with their fins only moving ever so slightly. The plants gently swaying as I sleepily observed their unique ways and lives…it calmed me. It helped me to fall asleep with no worries at the front of my little mind . This aquarium was at the suggestion of a children’s psychiatrist. ( I still remember his name and him fondly because he was so kind.) And ever since that first aquarium I’ve enjoyed having them and giving that gift of fascination and calmness to my children. Each had a tank in their rooms. Plus the “family aquarium” in the livingroom. It is usually not too difficult to maintain a healthy tank. I’ve always had freshwater fish, usually tropical warm water fish. We have had well water for many years but even with city tap water all was good as long as you “vacuumed ” your tank and replaced 1/4 to 1/3 of the water frequently, had a working aeration system, and a heater, plus a few live plants , and only feed them enough to be eaten up before it hits the bottom only once a day. This becomes habit and is pretty easy to do. Usually. But this tank I have now has been so frustrating! Angel fish kept dying, so do snails, frogs, plycostomus, and other algae eaters. I finally had success with tetras and mollies! Perfect. Until the tank developed staghorn algae. Sheesh! Got medicine to control that ( neither hurts the fish but it does cover everything and can quickly take over a tank) mmmmk……so that’s working pretty good but it was rather expensive. So I stopped at the pet store and picked up a cheaper ” recomended” algae treatment plus activated charcoal filters. Yeah….well…. all of a sudden my mollies all died off, one at a time , day afterday, after day. The babies in the hatchery as well …. so daily I was heartbroken. I noticed there wasn’t any sign of the staghorn algae…..but also my live plants were dying off. Well my dang…. and low and behold I’ve got green algae absolutely every where, on everything. Say what?! I’ve never had so much trouble with an aquarium before!
Well… nearly at my wits end I buy a new water aeration/ filtration system with additional filters plus “healthy bacteria” to add to and maintain my tank with. I then proceeded to swoop up my 3 remaining tetras with a net and put them in the old water in a glass jar while I once again cleaned the tank and siphoned out most of the water. It was risky because that big of a water change could easily shock the fish to death…but they were dying off anyway. Replacing green dirty water with tepid clean well water I refilled the aquarium. One of the 3 fish had died while this process was going on. 😦 ok. So I knew enough to go get a new gallon plastic bag, put some old green water in it…then the two remaining fish, then slowly add the clean tepid water to this bag and gently prop it on a tall fixture in the tank to submerge most of the bag so that the water in the bag and the tank water will slowly reach the same temperature while the fish acclimate to the cleaner water. 20 minutes later I let them re-enter their freshly cleaned tank. I added the recommended amount of good bacteria . They have survived the night and most of today. Fingers crossed all this will work. Very long weird story right? True. But it applies to an artists life. When you are trying to create something special and well executed it may take more effort than was originally expected. There may be snags or hitches with either your materials or your process. You may make a mistake or run into something ( like a client changing their mind or wanting to add something or take something away) Perhaps it just doesn’t feel inspired. Possibly you will after all have to start over from the very beginning. With new materials which is an unexpected additional cost. As well you may feel that such time has been wasted without a finished peice to offer or show for all your work. This is completely frustrating. But you are determined. You must double up your efforts to complete this project well and within your deadline. Therefore you must persevere. In the end it will all matter, to your client, to your experience, and you will gain great satisfaction from the end result. Considering all your efforts, your doubled time, the extra cost… is there actually a benefit to it all? Ofcourse. Your brand has been expanded and re-enforced, your client is pleased and word of mouth is still an amazing free advertising strategy. And your knowledge has been enhanced. Your new perceptions of time and supply cost will now reflect the possibility that things can go wrong,through no fault of your own and these must be taken into consideration when quoting a price and setting a realistic deadline. As Scotty the engineer on the Original Star Trek Series once alluded to…you allow yourself say three times what your expert projections of time to complete is …get it done in less time and you are considered a miracle worker! :)…. yes I’m a Trekkie…and quite a nerd. I’m good with that. It’s my individuality at work. We are all unique which makes for great diversity in creating our art work. You have a brighter day!!
Julia Baker-Waite Art 