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An Epic Review of the Back to the Roots Water Garden Fish Tank

Back to the Roots Water Garden all set up

Aquaponics for All

Every now and then it’s nice to change things up. A few months ago, Peter recommended that I get a fish tank. He purchased one for his office and it was a big hit. The tank that he got for his office was from a company I hadn’t ever heard of called Back to the Roots. At first I was skeptical. I remember when I was a young child the ordeals of trying to take care of a betta fish. I thought it was inevitable that I would kill whatever it was that I put into the tank. Fish seemed like fragile creatures. But what Peter told me was that this company had taken care of all of the difficult parts of keeping a fish alive– the kit was fully stocked with food and even a coupon for a free fish. Additionally, the tank was set up as an aquaponics system with a grow bed at the top. The plants in the grow bed would extract the harmful nitrogen from the water and clean the tank. So, I figured I would give it a shot. How’d my tank turn out?

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An Epic Review of the Dyson V6 Trigger: A Supercharged Handheld Bagless Vacuum

The Backstory

We have two really cute cats, Percy and Portia. Unfortunately, I’m mildly allergic to them (although I’m dangerously allergic to trees and grass, a problem I developed after my first Iraq deployment… something about the trees at Fort Bragg). My doctor told me to get rid of the cats, but they’re definitely part of the family and there’s no way I could ever give them up.

You can follow these two cats on Instagram
You can follow these two cats on Instagram

So I decided to place several more portable air filters in the house, increase the filtration in our A/C system, start immunotherapy for all of my allergies, and buy a serious vacuum to help reduce the amount of cat dander floating around. We’ve had some not-very-effective vacuums before, even from well-known brands like Daredevil, so I wanted to do my homework and avoid repeating those experiences. How did my vacuum search go?

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How Much Does it Cost to Own a Dog? (Medium Dog)

It was just about Christmas time back in 2010 and I didn’t get a gift for my sister yet. We were living back in Edison New Jersey, our parents had moved back to Taiwan, and we had the house to ourselves. It wasn’t like we didn’t have any pets before. We’ve had goldfish (boiled to death because we mistakenly put the tank near the fireplace), parakeets that flew away, turtles that “ran” away, and hamsters that lived to their max lifetime of 5 years. My mom was deathly afraid of any furry pets. I’m not sure how she put up with the hamsters but now that it was just my sister and I, why not get a dog like we always wanted? Read More

Our furry friends: the cost of pet ownership (Part 1: cats)

Welcome dear reader
Welcome dear reader

Man’s best friends

Most Americans have an animal of some kind in their home. Cats and dogs are the most popular. According to the Humane Society of the U.S., 62% of Americans have at least one animal, and in total, there is something around 83.3 million dogs and 95.6 million cats living in homes around the country. Many of you readers love your pets! There’s no doubt that many of us feel like we can’t put a price on the companionship that many of our animals provide (and some studies have shown that we’re more empathetic to animals than fellow members of our own species). What we’d like to cover here on Buys With Friends is a calculation of the true cost of animal ownership in an objective fashion. We know full well that many of the emotional benefits provided by our pets are incalculable, the vet bills and the food costs are very real!

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