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

[Paul B]

The sand timer takes a minute to turn over. It is a 2 minute timer but I took half the sand out to make it one minute. It actually runs out in 57 seconds, then it turns over after exactly a minute.

 

[Timbo]

You are a mad scientist Paul. Very nice job.

 

[Paul B]

So this morning I took my walk on the beach and so far in the 3+ years I have lived here this was the longest walk I did. It was 3 miles. Remember I am old and have an aluminum knee.

I started my walk and was immediately met by a friend and her spotted baby.

They were so close I could have gotten them in a Ricky Nelson. (Google him)

Anyway I went down the 176 steps and started walking east.

The sun was just coming up. It was warm, about 78 degrees which is warm for 6:00am.

As I walked, off in the distance I could barely make out a structure near the shore.

I was hesitant to go there because it was getting hot and now the sun started blaring.

It started to get hotter and I was far from any help, fresh water or an LFS.
I was thirsty even though I was drinking plenty of seawater.

I started hallucinating. "It was good to be out of the rain, in the desert, you can't remember your name for their ain't no one for to give you no pain.
I set free the horse with no name. But I named him first".

I was getting closer to my goal. Just a few hundred yards more.
Cicada's were screaming all around me and fish were jumping. Seagulls were yelling and I know they couldn't wait for me to drop dead of ich or worse, Uronoma and the fact that I was not quarantined or medicated.

Closer, closer until, until, I made it.

Now I could tell what it was . I am not going to say it was Noah's Ark as that would be just conjecture and I never like to conjecture.

But there were some very strong, albeit inconclusive clues as to what it was.

I am not sure and I am not saying this definitively, but on the stern, painted with orange acrylic paint were these words that were partially or almost completely missing most likely from being eons old.



SS NOA*H'S A*K
REG - Mo*n*t Arr*o**t Tu*key
9,223 BC
Plea*se Wat*h yo*r step
Have a nice day

 

[Timbo]

Love The Doors quote Paul.
Not sure how many these days know who The Doors actually are. And yes, they are called The Doors….

 

[Paul B]

I think most of those pictures disappeared.
Probably 3/4s of the people here never heard of them.

 

[Paul B]

Captains License and that was the hardest course I ever took.
It's not just navigation, that is a small part and no electronics are allowed. It's all with a compass, paper and pencil. (and of course whatever you can write on your arm before the test)

They give you questions like:

"You are leaving buoy #6 in Chesapeake Bay at 0400 hours on a Tuesday. There is an 8 1/2 knot easterly current and the wind is out of the north at 15 knots.

A Russian trawler is 7 points off your port bow traveling at 6 knots and you can hear "In a Godda Da Vita" blasting from the Captains quarters while a 9 year old child wearing a fedora, drinking Vodka seems to be steering..

You are heading through the Bermuda Triangle while 7 US Air Force plans from the 40s circle overhead obviously running out of fuel.

You see something in the water ahead of you and think it's a blue whale, but it is the Nautilis nuclear submarine that sunk decades ago and it still has remnants of giant squid tentacles stuck to it's hull.

The Captain of that Iconic boat is screaming at you for help but all you can do is offer him some cold chicken wings from last nights Superbowl game. His ship sinks back into the darkness.

Now you are heading toward your goal on the southern coast of France and it is eerily quiet. Too quiet. So quiet that you can't even hear the humming bird circling around your head.

The plastic garbage in the water is gently swirling in a counter clockwise direction.

Nothing to see. You can't even see the water between the empty bottles of Perrier water and your ship seems to be floating on a mist so fine as to not even be there. Your depth gauge tells you the water is 800 feet deep and as you look over the side you can see the linoleum on the bottom as if it is right under you....... All of a sudden something blue comes into view.

It gets clearer and clearer and to your horror, it is an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. A 1968 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser with bumper guards and a child's seat in the back.

What could this mean?

Just then,,,,,,,,The instructor tells the class it's time to take a break.

 

[Koyfam16]

Hey Paul, hope all is well. Any new updates?


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[Paul B]

Good Morning Koyfam. Actually this wasn't a good week. two of my very close friends died. One, two days ago who I have known about 45 years and one last week who my wife went to Kindergarden with.

Last year another very close friend of 50 years died of Covid. WE went to a wake last night.

AS for me, I am doing great. feel good and I lost 24 lbs so now I am down to my fighting weight.

My tank is also doing great, I have almost 35 fish in there which is to many but most of them are small.
Not coming out in that video is a long nose butterfly, pair of mandarins, Janss Pipefish (who is way past his lifespan) and maybe 15 others.

When they see me with a camera, they hide.

I very rarely visit this forum because it seems I am talking to myself most of the time. Where did everyone go?

 

[Koyfam16]

I am very sorry to hear.

The forum is quiet as I think most folks buy/sell so the marketplace is the busiest.

I don’t even have a build thread mainly cause my tank is small - ~40 gallons but I do enjoy reading your posts


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[LongIslandAndy]

Paul, its always good to hear from you, the tank looks great and I think I put on the pounds that you lost lol . Have a great week

 

[Timbo]

Sorry for the recent loss of two friends Paul. Life is not fair some times.

I agree with this forum being quiet and not much like it used to be all those years ago.

Tank looks amazing as always!

 

[Paul B]

Andy when are you coming to visit? You are the only person with in 347 miles from me who has or knows anything about fish. :p

Koyfam, I don't have a build thread because very few members here were born when I started my tank.

 

[Paul B]

Happy Veterans Day to all the Veterans here. Remember, if it were not for Veterans we would all be keeping Artichokes instead of fish. ?

A lot of people think it’s “Veteran’s Day” or “Veterans’ Day,” but they’re wrong. The holiday is not a day that “belongs” to one veteran or multiple veterans, which is what an apostrophe implies. It’s a day for honoring all veterans — so no apostrophe needed.

Veterans Day is NOT the Same as Memorial Day.
A lot of Americans get this confused, and we’ll be honest — it can be a little annoying to all of the living veterans out there.

Memorial Day is a time to remember those who gave their lives for our country, particularly in battle or from wounds they suffered in battle. Veterans Day honors all of those who have served the country in war or peace — dead or alive — although it’s largely intended to thank living veterans for their sacrifices.

 

[Paul B]

Today on Veterans Day we will first go out to my free Veteran breakfast. Then I will drive through Calverton National Cemetary and pay my respects to all the soldiers burried there. Although we honor them on Memorial Day, they are also part of Veterans Day as they are all Veterans.

Then later, we will go to a restaurant that gives half price dinners to all those who served. I can afford to go to any restaurant but I like to patronage restaurants that honor Vets. It's just me.

 

[FMF0331]

Thank you for your service Paul B

 

[Paul B]

I had to move some more corals around after my partial re-aquascape because some of them ended up facing down or in the back of the tank. I removed some to remove encrusting sponge and under the sponge is loaded with amphipods. (not copepods that are all over the place)

The amphipods I added from the sea a few years ago and I am glad to see they are still reproducing. I can't really collect them easily here but I am always looking for collection places.

I like the new look of my tank as it is more open and I can see all the way to the back in many places including most places under the reef because very little of it is actually resting on the gravel which is the design I was going for when I built the new back bone rock before I moved here.

My gorgonians filled the tank and are all over the place reaching up almost out of the water which I am happy about.

I think the fish are also happy because I have been finding fish in there I didn't even remember I had.

Fish can, and do hide in my tank for months. My Janss pipefish is still kicking and I think way past his lifespan.

Yesterday I got ambitious and collected and changed about 30 more gallons of NSW. I just like collecting the stuff because it is right down the block and on a beautiful beach.





I also thought this urchin was going to croak due to the poisons from the sponge but he may just have had an upset stomach because he is fine.

 

[Timbo]

How about an updated pic of the tank for us?

 

[Paul B]

There are over 30 fish in there somewhere.

 

[Paul B]

I am playing with the camera.

 

[Timbo]

Looks good Paul.