It took about 10 hours, was surprisingly intensive and complicated, but I think we’re turning the corner on our 40-gallon fish tank. I didn’t realize until yesterday that the thick vegetation at the back of the tank was rotting and the feces and waste beneath the gravel were growing rank and fouling the water.

Have had fish for much of early life, I recognized the signs of trouble, and sounded the alarm. Last night, while Maria was working in her studio, I removed all the plants and put them in a big pot.

The tank was almost black from all the dirt and waste I kicked up.

This morning, Maria and I removed all of our 14 snails and put them in a bowl of water from the tank. Then we went to Petco and got new filters (I was low) and a 20 lb bag of gravel and some new plants.

Talking to Maria on the way, I said I had this idea of using the occasion to simplify the tank, make it simpler, more graceful. She balked at first, she hates the idea of getting rid of plants, but I could hear those gears turning in that creative mine.

She and I went out and gathered a big bag of stones, mostly small and medium ones.

We scraped out all the old gavel, unleashing a storm of dirt, feces and rotting plants. Cleaning like this was way overdue, I’ve been so busy lately I just blew it. I knew it would take a whole day, and it did. Until today, I didn’t have a whole day, neither did Maria.

But we woke up this morning determined to take it on. I got a new filter as well, and it’s a good one and the tank is settling down. The new gravel is in, so are the snails and some new plants.

I may have lost focus before, but I found it today. This tank would be saved.

By mid-afternoon, the fish table was shrouded in towels, there were pots filled with water, plants, snails, and gravel all over the house. I was hauling buckets of gravel and water around all afternoon.

It started out as a mess but turned into one of our creative projects, we really got into the idea of a new look for the tank.  Maria balked at the outset, as she often does, and then ran with the stone sculpture idea.

She has been fussing with the rocks all night, moving them around trying different angles. This is Curator Maria.

You won’t see plain rocks like this in fish stores, because they are usually free for people to pick up.

But all kinds of fish live with rocks all the time. And the ones we picked out seemed graceful and interesting in our new tank – new gravel, new plants, new design. I love Maria’s creations, and the fact that they are hers makes the restored tank all the better.

I love the two lovely and simple stone sculptures.

And I loved doing this work. I’m a little tired, but it was great fun.

I took a photo of one of them above. The snails are all over them already. Tonight the filter will work to finish clearing up the tank, and I think snails and fish will settle in. For them, it isn’t really a new tank, it’s the same water they were in last night.

Everything else is new and different. Good day, all around. The fish are  a Godsend for meditators.