melev

Over the weekend, I had a mishap and twisted my ankle. It's eye opening to realize how much we use our feet to every single mundane or important task. I live in a single level home, fortunately.

Friends came over hours after my injury, and took me up to the local pharmacy to get an ankle brace to immobilize it for the time being. Even with it on, any kind of pressure would not only hurt, but impede the healing process. As I sat on the sofa watching pre-recorded tv, I was able to look at my reef, which is mostly automated with the Apex controller:

The lights turn on and off by themselves.
The heaters come on at night without interaction.
The calcium reactor doses 24 hours a day, so alkalinity and calcium levels are maintained without effort.
RO water is topped off as evaporation occurs, without having to lift a finger.
Even feedings are done twice a day with the Eheim Auto feeder, so the fish can get by without me for the time being.

That being said, to feed the fish some Nori, I'd have to squeeze between the frag tank and the temporary reef tank, which is a very narrow gap. I can't hop through, and have to be very careful how I shift my weight to the weakened ankle. I only did it once to add a little extra bulk to what the auto-feeder provides.

It's nice to be able to check the reef via the Apex app on my iPhone, and fortunately the skimmer collection cup hasn't needed to be drained quite yet.

Moving about the house has been a little tough, as I don't have a pair of crutches. So every trip any direction counts, including carrying stuff. Pockets are useful, and I've kept my iPhone on me just in case. Getting breakfast was a little tricky (ever tried to hop on one foot with a cup of hot coffee?), but I moved the rolling desk chair to the edge of the carpet between the living room and kitchen tile to roll back and forth as required for food, drinks, medicine and to toss out trash. Reaching stuff from a chair that you usually get while standing makes on appreciate one's legs as well as get a small perspective of what those in wheelchairs have to manage daily. I've not bothered trying to go anywhere during the healing process, and by happenstance my fridge is stocked up with plenty of food. Nothing is getting cleaned up - it's on hold for the time being while I give my ankle a few days to fully heal since I have a nice vacation starting this Thanksgiving.

If you've not automated your tank's maintenance yet, do so while you can do it conveniently. Otherwise when accidents happen, that frustration will only add to your worries - and all you should be worried about is regaining your health, right?