Tank Thread Tank reached 38 years old...in 2009!

[Paul B]

I get it in a aquarium store. I never get anything online.

 

[Timbo]

Timbo, if you are following my lead, follow it all the way. No quarantine, no medications, no Rap music.
Live bacteria in food like fresh or freshly frozen clams or live worms. No dry foods including pellets.

White worms culture is in. Used some organic potting mix for substrate to avoid any chemical fertilizers. Will let you know how it goes once I can begin feeding.

 

[Paul B]

This morning I finished this cool Steam Punk lamp. It is "really" Steam Punk because it was made from an oiler from a 19th century steam Locomotive. It is solid brass and weighs about 10lbs. It has "firelights" and those glass tubes have fluorescent liquid in them that I made from the stuff in highlighters. They have ultra violet LEDs under them.

 

[Paul B]

My tank is running excellently. All the fish that were spawning are still spawning and I am happy that my new long nose butterfly and my copperband are getting along like brothers, or sisters.

They hunt together and hang out like best friends. I like that. My Janss pipefish is past his lifespan but still looks great as does my little blue stripe pipefish.

All the other fish look great, better than I do.

I know so many people have so many problems and I feel for them. I am not sure why there are so many problems. Maybe I have been doing something wrong.

My DIY algae scrubber is scrubbing perfectly and my 25 year old DIY skimmer is skimming nicely.

I would imagine my reverse UG filter is doing what it is supposed to do but I can't see it so I don't know.

Brittle stars are doing the macarana and I assume dancing with the bristle worms of which I have many.
No problems to report so far but I hear after 51 years problems start to pop up.

 

[Paul B]

This morning like every morning I took a walk. I walk about two miles so it's not like I will be entering the Olympics or anything. It was 23 degrees and it was just before the sun came up.

All of a sudden I got this uncontrollable urge to do the Macarana and I twisted my knee. One of my knees was replaced a while ago with aluminum or "Mastic". (some kind of fish food copperbands are supposed to like but I am guessing)

I almost fell down as it was a little painful and I contemplated calling the paramedics just because I wanted to see if they had a helicopter. Then I realized it wasn't that bad so I limped home and put some of that "heat rub" stuff on the knee.

Now everyone knows none of that stuff ever does anything for pain but it smells so good. I have a few different kinds, some smell like pine trees, some like cedar and some like camphor so I use all of them at the same time.

I am still in pain but I smell like a forest filed with mosquito repellent which is kind of refreshing.

 

[Koyfam16]

I’m assuming that pic wasn’t from this morning. Lol. At 23 degrees, I think You’re just a tad underdressed.

Feel better.


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[Paul B]

Nope, this computer doesn't have any recent pictures and that one on the beach was the first one that I could find.

 

[Paul B]

So today we had an appointment for my wife at the DMV. She can't use her right leg so I installed a device in her car where she can drive with her left foot.
The thing extends your gas pedal to the left side of the brake and the device just lifts out when I use that car.

When she got this thing I went to the Police station to ask them what I was supposed to do and they said, just put it in and don't tell anyone. They never heard of the thing.

That didn't seem right so I went to the town hall and they also had no clue and said to do the same thing. I figured I had to go to the DMV and tell them something, so I did. They also had no clue about it and sent her to a larger DMV who also didn't know the procedure so they gave her a written test, eye test and a road test even though she went to a special needs driving school for this which was a $1,000.00 and the device is another $300.00.
(I think they used Salfert test kits)

So all they did was give her a new license with a restriction on it. She is not allowed to drive a stick shift.
There goes her dreams or driving a tractor trailer cross country.

And on our way home Walgreens called her to tell her to come in tomorrow for her second Covid shot.

 

[Paul B]

I was able to donate another $500.00 to The MS Society in my wife's name which is 100% of the profits from my book.

Thank you.

 

[Paul B]

I made another video. It's not exactly Steven Speilberg. The butterflies are best friends and that 6 line is spawning.

 

[LongIslandAndy]

Tank looks good Paul, where did you get the aiptasia eating filefish

 

[Paul B]

Hi Andy. That was that place on 112, not our friend, the place all the way South of there with the fish pond and the duck.

I don't really like that place but my wife goes to a doctor on the next block. After I left there I went to Aqua Hut and got the long nose butterfly. He practically gives them away. I think it was like $25.00

How are you doing and when are you visiting?

 

[Paul B]

I just got back from my favorite LFS. It is a very old, filthy place but he usually has some interesting stuff and he practically gives it away.

Unfortunately I came back empty because he had more dead and dying fish than healthy, or at least breathing fish and nothing interesting. There was a tank with about 20 small Bangai Cardinals with about half of them dead. Purple anthius mostly dead and a lot of other deceased fish.

I don't mind a few spots but I would at least like the fish to still be alive long enough to put them in the bag.

I really hate to see dead fish. I didn't stop to chat as my wife was in the car so I don't know if all those fish came in like that or they died in the store.
Really sad.

Andy, this is our friend near Home Depot.

 

[Paul B]

Today is "Viet Nam War Veterans" Day.
(I made a mistake is was not 50 years ago. I was there 50 years ago it is only I think 48 years ago that the war ended)

National Vietnam War Veterans Day, we recognize the many men and women who served and fought during the difficult conflict, giving them the appreciation they deserve.

It was on March 29, 1973, after nearly two decades of conflict, when the U.S. withdrew military forces from South Vietnam. The Vietnam War was one of the longest wars in U.S. history, spanning several presidents and affecting many generations.

However, those who served in the war haven't always gotten the support they deserve. Some of them, History noted, were even treated with disrespect and hostility when they returned. Some were spat on, heckled, given the middle finger, or threatened. This despite the horrible experiences and "unspeakable horrors" they lived through in Vietnam.

In 2017, National Vietnam War Veterans Day was established to finally give those who served the honor they deserve. Since then, the day has been celebrated every March 29.

 

[MIKE NY]

Thank you Paul for your service!


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[Paul B]

I just went to Calverton National Cemetery to visit my Buddy Tommy who is buried there.

It is the largest military cemetery in the US. I didn't even know that.

 

[Paul B]

I really don't know what so many people are spending so much money on. It boggles my mind as so many people keep saying this is such an expensive hobby. It could be, just like playing golf, especially if you want to play in Hawaii every week and you live in Ohio.

I can see you need to buy all the stuff, a tank, some lights, rocks etc. But after you do that, all you need is some electricity, food, some water and additives.

For decades I used "Instant Ocean" I don't know what it cost but I didn't change water every hour and a half like so many people do. I used to buy that salt and I think it was enough to make 50 gallons and maybe it was $25.00 or something like that.

In my 100 gallon tank I changed about 20 gallons every 3 or 4 months so that $25.00 of salt lasted me 5 or 6 months.
That is not even a half a tank of gas, a dinner for one in a cheap restaurant or a fake eyelash for a Supermodel for a year.

I used to make my own alk and calcium from driveway ice melter and baking soda. The stuff in the box you buy with the healthy looking orange spotted filefish on the box is made of driveway icemelter and baking soda.

I used to get driveway ice melter and draw a beautiful picture of a Moorish Idol on the box to make myself feel better that the stuff is basically free.

Now I buy the 2 part stuff because I am to lazy to get ice melter and I don't want to buy fifty lbs of the stuff but even that is cheap. I have a 2 gallon bucket of both calcium and alk that I mix with water and I don't remember what it cost but I have been using that same bucket for probably 3 years.

I use some LRS food which is expensive but I also feed clams that I can get in a bait shop for practically free or I can get them in a supermarket. I eat clams all the time so when I buy clams for clam chowder, or linguine and clams, I buy a few extra clams as they are like 20 cents each.
I raise white worms which are also basically free and they eat stale bread and maybe 50 cents worth of yogurt a year.

I also don't get dosers. I have to stand next to the tank anyway to feed them so while I am standing there waiting for the food to defrost and I am going "Doot Da Do, Doot Da Do" I fill a small container with calcium or alk and dump it in. Eventually like in a couple of weeks I test it and then put in a little more or less. Trust me, the corals don't care if the alk is 7, 8 or 9. They also don't care if the temperature is 76, 78, 79, 80, 81 etc.

It's the same with salinity. I once went to Germany on one of those riverboat cruises. My tank sitter let the water level drop 7". Of course all the corals above the water died, but the rest of the corals sitting in water with so much salt in it that the Lord would have no trouble turning me into a pillar of salt like he did to Lotts wife when she turned around to fix the strap on her Prada high heel shoe.

These forums make us feel like we need an abacus or the Hubble telescope to measure our parameters. We are not building space shuttles or those little things on the end of our shoelaces. (aglets)

Yes, we want our parameters close to some measurement but we don't have to go nuts.

Livestock is also cheap if you know how to keep it alive. If you need medications, quarantine and all that, it could be expensive and if you need that, you are doing it wrong.

I have this bottle of copper and formalin since the 70s and it is still almost full. I only keep it for nostalgia as it was made in Brooklyn like I was.



My fireclown is about $30.00 years old. He was probably $15.00 so he cost me 50 cents a year. Corals also. You buy them and corals are immortal like Thor. I also can't keep them forever but I can get at least 5 or 6 years out of them, some I have for much longer and most of them I have no idea how old they are. They grow and fill the tank so why are we constantly buying new corals. What are we doing? Eating them?

If you keep losing fish, do the oceans a favor and get a new hobby. There are many interesting hobbies around, my other hobby is collecting those little packets in electronics that say "Do Not Eat" and think up recipe's with them.

 

[Timbo]

Fish love the white worms! I take a spoon full every day or two and it’s like candy to them.
I can’t believe I have not been doing this before. $6 container from Lowe’s, $20 for a culture from eBay, a piece of bread with yogurt and some yeast every few days....thanks for the tips Paul. Oh, and the live clams cost about $1 for three and fish go crazy for them too.

 

[Paul B]

You doubted me!

 

[Koyfam16]

Fish love the white worms! I take a spoon full every day or two and it’s like candy to them.
I can’t believe I have not been doing this before. $6 container from Lowe’s, $20 for a culture from eBay, a piece of bread with yogurt and some yeast every few days....thanks for the tips Paul. Oh, and the live clams cost about $1 for three and fish go crazy for them too.

That’s amazing. How big is your tank?


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