The Ugly SIde of Beautiful Reef Tanks

With all of the stress of moving and acclimating the new adoptions, the thought of "the ugly side" never came to mind.  But I was reminded all to quickly when my wife got home from work.  The previous owners of the new inhabitants had dropped off a little present:

The box of chemicals, food, and other miscellaneous equipment they needed to run their tank.  What a shocker.

I have a personal flaw - the gut-punch word is "ignorance".  I believe the French have a nicer word for it - "naivete".

I have the unenviable contention that I can outmaneuver fate, against all odds.  This contention even trickles down to reef tanks.  I believe that if I provide the correct environment, I will not have to use such chemicals.  As I type this I can see just exactly how naive this is.  But I also have a strength to offset this weakness - compromise.

Here's the game plan.  Research the chemicals, see what they provide and how to use them effectively.  If at all possible, I will find alternatives to some of the chemicals, I hope...  I have a glass box, not 2/3rds of the Earth to play with.  I'm not so naive to not realize that.

There must be hundreds of dollars in that styrofoam box...