11/08/2026
IT ALL STARTED WITH 5 FREE GUPPIES…
(Please read this.. took a while to complete 😂)
This wasn't supposed to become a hobby.
And it definitely wasn't supposed to become another “ecosystem project.”
It started with something very simple.
Someone on Facebook was giving away five guppies.
FREE FISH?
Of course, we (specially my wife) said yes. 😂
At that point, there wasn't some grand plan to build a beautiful planted aquarium. There wasn't a spreadsheet, a project roadmap, or a carefully designed system.
There were just…
5 little guppies. 🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠
And suddenly we needed somewhere for them to live.
So we found a white Ecostyle 47 aquarium.
It wasn't exactly showroom condition.
Actually…
It was pretty dirty. 😂
But it worked.
We placed on the aquarium instantly! No cycling! No heating! and Guppies lived!!!!
Hardy!
And sometimes that's enough to get started.
We cleaned it up, got everything running and suddenly those five little guppies had a home.
We thought:
“Nice. That's sorted.”
It was definitely NOT sorted. 😂
Because shortly after that, a friend Raymon Camacho Quitalig gave us another aquarium - a black Ecostyle 37.
And because apparently having one aquarium immediately makes you think you need more fish…
We bought some Albino Corydoras.
Now we had two tanks.
Then another friend Nomer came along and gave us another white Ecostyle 47.
At this point, things were escalating quickly. 😂
But this tank was different.
This time we decided: Let's try live plants. 🌱
And that's when things started getting really interesting.
We begin learning about substrate.
- Lighting.
- Filtration.
- Water quality.
- Plants.
- Fish compatibility.
- Beneficial bacteria.
- Nutrients.
- Water changes.
- And approximately 47 other things you didn't know existed when you happily accepted those five free guppies. 😂
Suddenly, we weren't simply keeping fish anymore.
We were learning how to maintain a tiny ecosystem.
And eventually…
We decided to go bigger.
Much bigger.
We purchased a 148L open-top aquarium.
We purchase a dirted substrate from Coastal Landscape Supplies 2025 LTD
Also added Silica Sand
Added live plants.
Added 2 Bristlenose Plecos.
Added 5 Angelfish.
And connected a huge HW-303B canister filter that looks like it could probably filter a small swimming pool. 😂
Then one day, while looking at everything running together…
The fish.
The plants.
The substrate.
The lighting.
The filtration.
The water.
The microorganisms we can't even see.
Something clicked.
THIS IS ACTUALLY VERY SIMILAR TO BUILDING A BUSINESS!
At Excelin Web, we started by building websites.
And websites are still at the heart of what we do.
But over time, we've learned something important.
A business doesn't operate with a website alone.
Just like an aquarium isn't simply:
Tank + Water + Fish.
You can buy the most beautiful aquarium in the shop, put water and fish inside it, and technically you have an aquarium.
But without the right ecosystem supporting it, you're going to have problems.
A business website works the same way.
You can have a beautiful website…
But what happens after someone visits it?
- Where do the enquiries go?
- Who follows them up?
- How do customers make bookings?
- How do they receive confirmation?
- How do you manage invoices?
- How do you communicate with customers?
- How do you build your presence on social media?
- How do people find you on Google?
- How do you protect customer information?
- How do your staff access the systems they need?
- How do all these different pieces communicate with each other?
That's why our thinking at Excelin Web has gradually changed.
We're not interested in simply putting another website on the internet.
We're increasingly thinking about the entire business ecosystem surrounding that website.
- Your content helps the business grow.
- SEO and social media create visibility.
- Automation keeps information moving.
- Your website becomes your digital home.
- Booking systems connect customers with your services.
- Email keeps communication flowing.
- Portals help manage operations.
- Cybersecurity protects the ecosystem.
- Maintenance keeps everything healthy.
And just like an aquarium…
Everything affects everything else.
But perhaps our favourite lesson from this little aquarium adventure is this:
YOU DON'T NEED TO BUILD EVERYTHING ON DAY ONE.
We certainly didn't start with a 148L planted aquarium.
We started with…
five free guppies from Facebook. 😂
Then we added something.
Then we learned something.
Then we made mistakes.
Then we improved something.
Then another opportunity came along.
Then we upgraded.
Then we learned some more.
And slowly…
Something that started very small became an ecosystem.
That's how we believe many small businesses should grow too.
You don't necessarily need the biggest website.
The most complicated CRM.
Ten social media platforms.
Twenty automations.
A giant customer portal.
And every possible piece of technology from Day 1.
Start with what your business actually needs today.
Build the foundation properly.
Then grow.
Add another component when it makes sense.
Connect another system when you need it.
Automate something when doing it manually starts taking too much time.
Improve your marketing when you're ready for more customers.
And gradually, all those individual pieces begin working together.
That's when you've stopped simply building a website.
You've started building an ecosystem around your business.
And perhaps that's one reason this aquarium hobby became so fascinating to us.
We apparently enjoy building ecosystems even when we're supposed to be relaxing. 😂🐠
From 5 free guppies…
to multiple aquariums…
to live plants…
to Corydoras…
to Plecos…
to Angelfish…
to a 148L planted tank…
And we're pretty sure this story isn't finished yet.
Although our wallet is hoping it is. 😂💸
So if you're building a business and you're looking at everything you could be doing - websites, social media, SEO, automation, portals, bookings, cybersecurity, email, customer management - and thinking:
“Where on earth do I start?”
Remember the five guppies.
Start small.
Build properly.
Learn.
Improve.
Connect the pieces.
And keep growing.
Eventually, you'll look back and realise you've built something much bigger than what you originally imagined.
At Excelin Web
We Build Websites.
We Build Businesses.
We Build Ecosystems.
…and occasionally, apparently, aquariums. 😂🐠🌱
If you want to get started visit our website [https://excelinweb.com]
