Ripper Hollow

I’ve been getting lots more traffic to my blog since I started writing more about my aquariums, so I figured I would start highlighting my most popular pages and posts.  I use two analytics sites, Google Analytics and Woopra.  So here they are, February’s most popular pages and posts.

From Woopra:

• My Planted Aquarium CO2 Setup
• Product Review: Fluval 205
• Product Review: AquariumPlants.com Electronic CO2 Regulator
• 26 Gallon Bow Front Planted Aquarium

From Google Analytics:

• My Planted Aquarium CO2 Setup
• Product Review: Fluval 205
• 26 Gallon Bow Front Planted Aquarium
• Product Review: AquariumPlants.com Electronic CO2 Regulator

Popularity: 2% [?]

Popularity: 8% [?]

Blue Mystery Snail

One of my favorite aquarium inhabitants is my group of blue mystery snails.  I only have 4 or 5 of them.  Since many snails are grouped as Mystery Snails, I’m not sure what exact species mine are.  Water temperature should be kept between 70 and 82 °F.  Most care sheets and websites say that the pH should be kept around 8.  My pH is around 7.4 and the snails seem to be very happy.  Most mystery snails are active at might, but mine are active throughout the day.

Unlike most snails, mystery snails are asexual.  That means there must be a male and a female snail for them to breed.  In the two years that I’ve kept these snails, they haven’t bred once.  They lay their eggs above the water level, so if you want them to breed, you must leave some room above the water line.

They feed on algae, dead plant matter, and other uneaten fish food.  They also eat vegetables, such as zucchini and cucumbers.  Did I mention they love vegetables?  They do.  I should note that these snails are very safe in planted aquariums.

Since these snails can grow to the size of a golf ball, the general rule is 2.5 gallons per snail.  Most websites also reccomend that the aquarium be covered.  My aquarium is an open top and I have had any snails escape.

For more detailed information, check out the Mystery Snail Care Sheet at petfish.net.

Popularity: 17% [?]

I’ve been wanting to be more green at home. I’ve already looked at solar, which would make me at least 50% independant from PG&E, but is way over my budget and wouldn’t pay for itself fast enough.

I’ve changed all of my light bulbs to CFL’s. That’s great on energy savings, but it definitely isn’t near enough. I’ve considered going with LED lighting, but I think it’s a bit more expensive than the CFL’s. I’ll have to look more into that.

I need to start replacing my appliances with energy saving ones. Appliances such as my refridgerator, dish washer, washer and dryer. I’d also like to replace my water heater with a tanless water heater. I’d also like to replace the hvac system with a multiple zone system. But that’ll have to wait until after I have the room addition over the garage, which probably won’t be for another 5-10 years.

Being a computer geek, I have several computers. In my office, I have my main computer running Ubuntu Linux (also my file server), and my media machine that runs Windows 7 Ultimate. I rarely turn these computers off. I’m going to start turning off the media computer when not in use. I also have a 24″ iMac in my bedroom.

As for outside the house, I’d like to get a rain barrel connected to a gutter downspout and water my trees and plants using rainwater. That way I use less water from the water company and it’s environmentally friendly.

I’m already being green when it comes to mowing the lawns. I have a battery powered lawn mower that I charge once month. My next yard project is to install sprinklers.

What are you doing to be green and reduce energy usage?

Popularity: 23% [?]

I’ve never successfully made a budget before, and I really need one. I make plenty of money, but I over spend a lot and don’t keep good enough track of my bills.

My father keeps asking me if I’d like help making a spreadsheet for my budget, but I’ve been thinking about using Intuit QuickBooks. I know it isn’t a free product, but I want to try it out and see if I like it. I can have it automatically connect to my banks to download my transactions, and then create a budget for me.

From there, I can fine tune the budget, and track my bills better.

Have you set up a budget? Did you stick with it? How did you set it up? Did you use something like QuickBooks? Leave me a comment.

Popularity: 11% [?]