About Me

Silica (They/Them)

I'm a 20 something learning code on the fly. I love my partner and pets most of all. I HATE WRITING BIOS. This entire website is meant to be an "about me" personal project, so look around and I'm sure you'll learn more!

I dont consider myself an expert on anything.

I refuse to set timeframes or restrictions for myself here.

diatom /dī′ə-tŏm″/

Any member of a large group comprising several genera of algae, specifically microalgae, found in the oceans, waterways and soils of the world. Living diatoms make up a significant portion of the Earth's biomass: they generate about 20 to 50 percent of the oxygen produced on the planet each year, take in over 6.7 billion tonnes of silicon each year from the waters in which they live, and constitute nearly half of the organic material found in the oceans. The shells of dead diatoms can reach as much as a half-mile (800 m) deep on the ocean floor, and the entire Amazon basin is fertilized annually by 27 million tons of diatom shell dust transported by transatlantic winds from the African Sahara, much of it from the Bodélé Depression, which was once made up of a system of fresh-water lakes.

wikipedia.org

Why DecomDiatom/Silica?

What is leftover when a Diatom Decomposes? Silica!

When I got an Ostracod infestation in my fish tank and saw my Tetra eating them, all I could do was learn about the food web. The more I learned, the deeper I realized it was. The smaller I realized it was.

From there I switched to a fully planted "natural" aquarium and got a microscope. I discovered Rotifer, Ameoba, Paramecium, and a kaleidoscope of microalgae coating itself in Silica. So many different organisms, all in my tank. An ecosystem.

Now, I try to put samples under the microscope when I add water to the tank to record the findings. Diatoms are an integral part of helping my tank run, as well as a visual representation of the cycle of nutrients- if I take samples from the upper portions of the tank, I am more likely to find alive, free floating, moving, Diatoms. If I take a sample from the detritis, or debris, I am much more likely to find the dead, empty, Silica shell left behind, ready to be broken down and reused by another plant in the tanks ecosystem.

I find this to be an overall representation of the things I like to focus on such as ecology, diversity, and death positivity.