a little salty

We have a 75 gallon salt water aquarium in our office lobby. This was something that I arranged for through a trade agreement with a client. Although we have a fish service that handles cleaning, general maintenance and fish replacement, I am taxed with the day-to-day care such as feeding, making sure it's running, etc.

I was told by our receptionist this morning that one of the blue damsels had somehow gotten out of the tank and into one of the resevoirs that sits behind and outside the tank.

the perpetrator

This little resevoir is filled with hoses and filters and other equipment. I couldn't get to him with the net, as there was so much in the way. So I pulled up the u-tube that connects the inner filter box with the outer resevoir (more than likely this is what he swam through to get there in the first place).

There is a five-gallon water tank that sits in the stand underneath, and feeds the main tank with salinized water. When I pulled the tube up, it broke the filtration cycle. All of the water in the bottom suddenly rushed to the main tank. Water started pouring over the top of the aquarium. Now, our office is rather ill-prepared to deal with water flowing into our lobby.

I freak for a second and then realize that I need something to contain the water that's going everywhere. I run to the kitchen and the only thing I can find is a coffee cup. Have you ever tried to displace five gallons of overflowing water with a 6 ounce styrofoam cup? Yeah... right tool for the right job does not come to mind.

Through manic scooping I managed to finally get the tank from overflowing. It now sits there with all the equipment turned off. The floor in the lobby is decidedly soggy. So am I. My cashmere sweater smells like fish water and I am salty in more ways than one.

The damsel is still in that back tank. He's going to stay in there awhile... probably until this afternoon when I have the patience to deal with him.