Well, I have a bit of a dilemma.
Let's start at the beginning and tell you the story of the innovative Marine
Nuvo Encore. But before we start, I'm looking over and it's really disgusting.
I haven't dusted or clean the glass in a long time.
So let's do a super quick cleaning. And then I'll tell you the story of the day.
I got this from, from Marine Depot.
They gave this to me so that I could make some videos for them.
This is when we just started our collaboration together.
The 10 part series called saltwater aquariums demystified.
I originally made this 10 part series five years ago.
I think when I first started and it was inspired by a
YouTube person named New York. Steelo,
I'm sure some of you know exactly who I'm talking about.
He hasn't been active for years, but his videos, I mean, he,
he has over 30,000 subscribers.
I think his videos have been watched millions of times.
And all he has is like his phone or a simple camera. And he just places it,
you know, in front of the tank and he just talks,
but he has this infectious voice that's contagious.
And you have those little catchphrase that started. He was like, hello,
all you tubers. So I was like, wow, that was really cool.
I'd like to make something like that.
So one of my first video projects I ever made,
and it was a 10 part series and the 10 part series,
I think I just called it how to set up your first saltwater fish tank or
something like this. And I was a total beginner myself.
I'm going to do a New York Steelo did, he seems to be pretty popular.
So I took my iPhone and you should check out some of these videos. I mean,
they're, they're terrible, but they have good content.
And I literally just like take my iPhone and I set it up on a tripod and I start
to talk. I was working full time. I was a campus minister theology teacher,
an all girls Catholic school. Right. So I didn't, I didn't do this very often.
Anyway, I made this, this 10 part series. Right.
And then I watch it like a year later and I'm just like, Oh, that was so bad.
I've learned so much since then.
So I started to do a redo of the 10 part series and I only made it like
three or four episodes through and I just got, I was like, Oh my God,
this is taking so long. I hate it. I started making videos again.
We moved down from Seattle down to Palm desert now,
which is in the Palm Springs area. And so I went, I went into it, right.
I started watching tons of YouTube videos and getting some of the gear.
I needed piece by piece as I started making a little bit of money. Right.
And then Marine Depot came along and we decided to work together, you know?
And at first it was just going to be like a 10 part collaboration.
That's what we decided. And we were going to see how that went. Well,
we did the 10 parts and it was a ton of work. I mean, it was so much work,
but I knew that if I was able to like keep myself to that schedule to
make a video every week, it would be like my first year of teaching,
which is just total trial by fire. And I did, you know,
I kept that schedule once every week I shot it style.
And I went to all these different locations and I tried to find like a location
that made sense. So like when I was talking about Aqua skipping a rock,
I went to this place down in Coachella Valley called ladders Canyon,
which had these beautiful rock walls. When I talked about fish and fish disease,
I took a trip out to long beach to the long beach aquarium.
Karimov aquarium of the Pacific, you know, and I filmed there all day. Uh,
it was exhausting, but it turned out really well. And not only did I do,
I think the videos turned out well, but I had to up my editing game,
I learned how to do all sorts of new things. Watch all sorts of new videos.
This tank was supposed to be a part of that 10 part series.
And it was because in order to make this 10 part series,
I needed something to show you guys on. So if I'm like, Hey,
how to set up your tank or what kind of tank you're going to get,
or like how to do maintenance. I needed a tank,
innovative Marine have this brand new tank.
It's the innovative Marine Nuvo Encore. We decided to do a freshwater side,
which I have zero experience doing at all.
And then we decided to do a saltwater side, which obviously is kinda my thing.
We start setting it up.
And the whole point was we were going to build it as a part of this 10 part
series and then break it down.
I was going to give it back and then probably move on to something else.
So I went out and I bought fish, clownfish, a dark fish,
and I bought a Rose, no, a green bubble tip anemone. Right? Huge mistake.
I mean, I broke, I broke rules that, that I always say don't break.
And I broke them. I don't have an excuse for it. I just did.
The first thing was this tank was cycled.
But obviously when you add new livestock,
oftentimes it does like a second mini cycle. Right.
So I added in all these things after I had cycled it with the dr.
Tim's like fishless method took a couple of weeks and I put everything in here.
And of course what happens, the ammonia spikes, again, not only that,
but me being a complete idiot at the time, I was like, Oh,
I'm going to treat this like a quarantine tank.
So I'm going to do a little hypo salinity.
I have the salinity down at 1.0 to zero,
like a complete idiot because what did I put in there?
I put an anemone in there and I have no excuse for it.
Other than I had a momentary brain lapse that lasted an entire
day. And I didn't realize it until after it was in there. What do I do?
Panic mode set in. I'm like, I need to adjust the salinity.
I drain water out of this. And I add salt water in,
and I quickly increase the salinity up to 1.0, two five.
What, like, what was I thinking? And as soon as I did it, I'm like Matthew,
you were being such an idiot right now.
Like you're killing all of your livestock.
You are super stressing everything out. But by that point it was too late.
So what happened in a few days, of course the fire fish dies, you know,
no visible signs, but probably totally stressed out. I pulled them out,
but the ammonia started spiking and the anemone never recovered.
Then around that same time, my clownfish got spots all over it.
I don't know if it was Brooklyn, Ella, if it was Eric, if it was velvet,
but of course he died. Well, we finished up with the 10 part series.
Then we decided we're going to go onto something else. I came up with this idea,
that reef show, and that's what we're making right now. But here's the problem.
What do I do with the Encore tank? I mean,
the point was never to keep this heart of that reef show.
And part of the content I make for beginners is to, is to get in new tanks,
to set them up, to showcase new products. You know,
I also don't feel like I did enough content to really do this Encore tank
justice. I just don't know what to do with it.
And I'm feeling a little frustrated with it because it's such a wonderful tank.
And I think it's time to move on to the next thing.
So if you guys have any suggestions, let me know. I think that's it.
I don't think I have anything else for you guys. So.