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

[Paul B]

Someone asked me this morning about using water from Tampa in Florida.
I posted this:

I started my tank with this water and you can see the bottom if you put it in a shot glass and mixed half of it with RO water and boiled it for 20 minutes. But the "dark" water is alive with life, tropical waters are basically dead.
If you look at a glass of tropical waters you will see nothing except maybe a pair of sunglasses or bikini top. . If you look through a glass of northern water you will see all sorts of life. (along with other things) In NY and other Northern places the water isn't dark because it's dirty. Well,,,, some of it is, But that darkness comes from mud. That mud is full of organics that feed bacteria, which become pods, fish fry and eventually sushi.
It is also dark because the tides here, in New York vary by as much as 8' every 6 hours. That means that water is moving very fast back and forth stirring up the bottom and moving those hot dogs that fell off the dirty water dog carts. The closer you get to the equator the less tidal movement there is.

All of the worlds great fisheries are in northern waters, guess why!

If I take NY water and let it sit for an hour, it becomes crystal clear and all you see is life swimming around trying to get out so they can go to Times Square on New Years day.

I don't worry about oil because that floats and you can see it. The hypodermic needles sink and you can pick them out.
This picture in the East River is called Hells Gate. Most of the water in the Long Island Sound go through here making it very rough and many times oil tankers crash here. I dove here and that was a big mistake. Before I went to the bottom I was hurtling and rolling around many times and emerged 100 yards from my boat. I almost lost my Speedo. :bigeyes2:And the visability is zero.

 

[SIReefer]

Hi Paul - A belated Happy Birthday to you. Good luck with your move and I do remember Charlett Ruses - basically a sponge cake with whipped cream and a cherry on top. They were sold in the subways back in the fifties and early sixties. My father and I would each have one while waiting for the subway which by my recollection was a nickel back then. I also remember Belgian Waffles which we first discovered at the 64/65' Worlds Fair at Flushing Meadows. You don't have me beat much in years Paul.

 

[Paul B]

So your a Geezer too! :biggrin:

I grew up near the Worlds Fair in Flushing and would go there every day. We would go near the Silvercup factory and jump the fence and run in different directions. It was very expensive to get in but once inside a lot of things were free.
I almost never had the $3.75 admission as that was what many 16 year olds made in a week then.

We used to go to places that sold hot dogs and hamburgers and fill our plates with sourkraught, pickles, onions and relish and have a meal.
Of course the main reason we went there was to meet girls. Which was basically the only thing we did.
Then we had to make sure they liked sourkraught, pickles, onions and relish. :biggrin:

 

[XTDRAGON]

You are a good man.

 

[Paul B]

Everything is a battle which is why I never hire anyone for anything if I can help it. I am trying to get this contract to sign to sell my house and I want to sell and the buyers want to buy but the lawyers make a big deal out of everything and complicate it to no end. There is no need to have any lawyers around when you buy a house. You should be able to go there with an M-11 wheelbarrow full of cash, dump it on the lawn and move in.

My real estate guy is from India and it is very hard to understand him. The buyers are from China and their real estate agent is from Hong Kong. Their lawyer is also from China and can't barely speak English. When these people get together with my lawyer who has no communication skills so the conversation, if you can call it that goes backwards, so much so that I can't tell If I am selling my house, buying my house or setting up an aquarium to raise Godzilla larvae.

We were supposed to get this contract 2 days ago but there was something written in there, probably in French that both lawyers had a problem with. So they called each other and now I am not sure where I am or if we will go back to the cold war.

My neighborhood here in New York is a mix of every nationality and culture and it is becoming mostly Asian and Indian which is fine. It's kind of interesting that I can go into the stores and buy stuff from all over the world. One of my Neighbors was born in China and he translates stuff to me that I sometimes find written in Chinese. My other neighbor is from India and he takes care of my house when I am away. The people behind me are from Sicily which is where my family is from and he barely speaks English so when we all get together on the corner to chat, it's like the league of Nations but we are all good friends. I love it.

But it doesn't help sell a house. :tired:

 

[Paul B]

We were on an interesting tiny Caribbean Island last week and I started a thread about it in the Lounge or whatever they call Off Topic here.

 

[Paul B]

I have been packing for the move which is supposed to happen at the beginning of May. My tank looks particularly lousy as I have not touched it in quite a while. I have broken montipora all over the place and my nice large frogspawn has been shrinking. I can't remember when I added calcium so the thing must be starving. But on a better note, the fish are great, no ich, no psorisis, no nothing and the fireclowns still spawn whenever I walk in front of the tank in my underwear.

I just about finished building our new bed which looks like a huge industrial pallet with big steel wheels. I built the lights for over the kitchen Island and ordered parts to build the track lights over the rest of the kitchen. I really looked for lights I liked but can't find any. I prefer "different" and don't like the normal run of the mill stuff on Houzz, Amazon, Dirt Bags R Us or any other sites and Home Depot is way out of the equation. I go there for fertilizer.

Everything in the house will be industrial or steampunk looking and you have a hard time buying that stuff so you have to build it yourself, besides, I like building stuff.

I made most of the pieces for my new tank stand but I can't put it together because it won't fit in my car so I may have to assemble it there. I am not sure of the logistics of how I am going to move my tank as that all depends on the timing. I am sure I will lose the corals but I will try not to. If the fish don't jump out and they don't get a stroke in new NSW they may be OK. I have a huge room with one light in the center and one outlet 15' away from the tank. No drain and no fresh water near by so I will have to hook my RO up to a hose temporarilly. I don't think I will have more than a day to set it up, collect 125 gallons of water 20 gallons at a time, warm it, drive 60 miles, carry all my livestock, clean my gravel in the ocean and get it all in the tank. Remember I still won't have lights in my house and I have to assemble the bed and help my wife put away dishes, and everything else I accumulated in 40 years. Our boat is being moved there the same day but I can let the marina plug it in and wax it so I don't have to mess with that.
I will probably have to light my tank with a temporary something until I can manage to get my Water Cooled LED light over it. I will also have to put in a bunch of heaters because that space is not yet heated.

That will also be my workshop and that will take me about 2 years to finish building. I need to build my work bench, closets, storage and drawers all over it. I also will order 10 LED, "flourescent looking" lights from Amazon. I need to install a big exhaust fan, heat and AC the place, install a bathroom, water, electric. Before all that I wanted to install a floor (It's concrete now) but I may only have time to install it under the tank until I do the rest of the stuff.
My wife has MS and can't really help too much so we hope to have a few friends there to help.
If I had a week to work there before I moved, I would sleep there and complete all the important stuff but the builder won't let me there until I pay for the place and that can't happen until I get paid for my house and the people want to move in right away. I will get it all sorted out in time.

 

[Paul B]

I started building my new stand today for the 125 gallon tank for my new house. I will probably start a tank move thread when it gets a little closer to the move which should be in a few weeks. I am building this stand out of red wood because it warps the least of all woods except cedar which is much to weak. Redwood is almost as strong as pine but costs a lot more. These 2X4s in redwood were about $15.00 each. In the summer they are much easier to find because no one makes decks here in the winter. The legs are regular pine, non treated 4X4s. The hardware is all hot dipped galvanized and it is also glued with Gorilla Glue as it is somewhat water resistant. It is bolted together with 3/8" X 6" carriage bolts and nuts.
The 2X4s are dadooed or grooved into the legs for additional support. I still need to put in the lateral supports and bottom shelf If I decide to use one. This stand will be behind a wall so none of it will be visible.

 

[TUSI]

I am amazed you were able to find redwood. Great idea

 

[Paul B]

I had to get it on Amazon, no lumber yards have it this time of the year.

 

[Paul B]

I finished the stand for my new tank in my new home. It is redwood but I also coated it with Thompsons Waterseal just for fun. The front 4X4 is doubled. The thing is functional, very simple and very strong and stable. Now all I need is the tank. In a few days I should get my Undergravel filter. They are rare now because of that "Nitrate Factory" thing. I hope to make the reverse UG filter manifold before I move and I decided there will be no sump so I don't need to worry about that. It will basically be the same set up as I have now in a little higher tank. I will transfer everything from the old tan to this one.
I think my water cooled lights will work with a little tweeking.

 

[Paul B]

So yesterday I had to go to a Hand Doctor. For some reason I am susceptible to this trigger finger thing (maybe I got that in Viet Nam) But as you get older, you are susceptible to all sorts of things which is why it is so exciting to wake up.
For instance last night I slept in my Grand Kids bed (with my feet hanging off the end) and my wife slept in our bed. It's OK because after 44 years married we know what each of us looks like. We do this occasionally because I "may" sometimes snore. At least my wife tells me. She doesn't exactly tell me, she kicks me and says OOOOOOoommm, go somewhere else. Thats my cue.
Old people also don't sleep during the night, they get very tired in the day but can't sleep at night so I met my wife at 2:30 this morning in the kitchen looking for melatonin and other things that are supposed to make you sleep but really don't. We both had some and went back to "beds".

But as I was saying about the thrill of old people waking up, you never know what is going to hurt. I had a dream last night that I was dancing with Christie Brinkley, but it could have been Govenor Chris Christy, my memory is foggy.
I was swinging her around and I think I also picked her up a few times to throw her over my head. On second thought I am sure it was Gov. Chris Christie because this morning I can't move my wrist. At my age, even dreams cause injury.

I didn't go to the doctor for that because those dream injuries generally heal by the next nights dream where I may be an orthopedic surgeon working on Evel Kneval .
I went to that hand guy for the trigger finger. I told him I am moving in a few weeks and really need my right hand so what are my options. For people who don't know what trigger finger is, it is when you open your hand to like slap yourself awake or block your wife's hand from slapping you and one of your fingers stays closed. Then you have to take your other hand and use that to open your finger.
It is an easy operation and I had it done on other fingers 3 times, but I still have 8 more that will probably get as we are not supposed to live past about 37.
But he said ,after the operation you can't lift anything heavier than a tea cup and I also have mugs, platesand coral banded shrimp to pack so the operation is not an option right now. So we decided to do a steroid injection.

This didn't work on my other three fingers but it was free so I said, what the heck. I also forgot how it feels when he sticks this needle into the palm of your hand. I was lucky because this time he didn't have that cute assistant there so I could scream without being to embarrassed. The last time I had to go all the way to my car and close the windows before I screamed.

This Monday I have to go and have a tune up on my knees. I probably need new knees as industrial construction is not kind on your knees. When I get my new knees I want those good Home Depot Pressure treated ones so I can go through metal detectors. The same thing happened yesterday at the Knee guy. Instead of operating (for the 6th time) he will inject me with this grease mixed with Prixapro after fresh water dipping them.
I also may have to quarantine one knee from the other one for 72 days. The needle that they inject this Goo into your knee looks something like a turkey baster and it has a crank on it. Not a pleasant feeling either.

The whole point of this story is when I was driving home there was this gray foreign car in front of me going very slow. About 50 feet from the corner the car makes a right turn. Of course this was a sidewalk and he crashed into a "no parking sign" and bent it over. I put on my emergency flashers and got out to see if he was OK. At first i didn't see anyone in the car and figured it was parked and started moving. But I remembered following him for a while. I looked closer and this ancient little guy was in the drivers seat looking through the steering wheel. He looked to be about 100, (I think he was texting) I asked if he was hurt and I assume his wife, but it could have been his nurse, BFF, heart doner, driving instructor or Karate teacher was in the passenger seat. He put the car in reverse and backed up into the oncoming traffic. I ran to the back of the car to stop the cars because i don't think this guy could hear me yell STOP!.

I ran to the front of his car and took a picture of his license and he drove off at two MPH.

I called 911 even thought I felt real bad for the guy, but he was going to kill himself, me or the Rock singer he had with him.
Unfortunately there is no age limit for driving but I think they should at least give you a test to see if you can remain conscious long enough get to a corner before you make a turn.

 

[Paul B]

Sponges must love nitrates. It is getting hard to keep trimming this almost 18" blue sponge I have on one side of my tank. It started creeping up my bed last night. I thought it was my wife so I hugged it. But it was all cold, slimy and spongy smelling unlike my wife so I just said EEwe and threw it back in the tank

 

[editour2]

Very funny......enjoyed reading your thread.

 

[Paul B]

You didn't read this entire thread, did you!

 

[greenstreet.1]

Good one

 

[Paul B]

I just had to change 5 water cooled LEDs on my tank as the blue lights went out and while I was fixing it, I must have shorted the white LEDs out and had to change some of those. But I have a bunch of old ones around and I wanted to take the thing apart to clean off some corrosion anyway.

It's a pain in the neck testing 62 LEDs.

 

[Paul B]

I am moving soon so I had to trim This sponge, I have about a pound of the stuff. It is photosynthetic and I think may be the reason my water is so clear. It seems to love high nitrates as mine are off the chart. Must pick it up soon. I won't mail it, ship it, Parcel Post it or put it on my bicycle and drive it to your house. I have it in a little compartment in my reef and if it starts to croak I will need to throw it out. The stuff is like leather. I just clipped it now. Any reasonable FREE offer accepted.
I am on long Island NY

 

[Paul B]

So today I had to go and get a shot in my knee. You need 3 of them so I have two more visits. I had this a few times before and I know it doesn't work. I just like to me a real man so I go for the pain.
I went to the Dr's office for the shot and I felt bad because everyone in the office was sicker than me. I am not even sick, just worn out knees. If you work all your life and don't wear out your knees you probably had a Sissy job or didn't do it correctly. I think a lot of the people were there for eating too many of those little packets that come with electronics that say "Do Not Eat".

The Dr, has a very pretty, very young assistant, about my Grand Daughters age which disappointed me because now I can't scream and look like a Wuzz.
The Doc comes in and he is a friend of mine so we talk fish for a few minutes. Then he brings out the "Needle". I try not to look at it because it isn't an ordinary needle. He is injecting this gel in me that I think is a combination
Of Vaseline and Rowaphos with a little Prizapro to keep parasites off the injection site.

The two of them had to wheel the needle in on a dolly because this thing is so big, it has a crank a foot pedal and a ground probe on it. (I may be exaggerating just a little) I am not afraid of needles but this is more like a Javelin on steroids.
The assistant takes out this little tiny container which I thought was that stuff you use in cold climates to defrost a lock, either that, or lipstick, and she uses it to chill my knee. I said, "Is that it?" Don't you have like a fire extinguisher or a case of Novocain to use first? She just smiled and took something out of her eye. ;Cyclops

So he says "Little Pinch". I love it when they say that. Little Pinch. I said to him, Have you ever tried to stick this thing in your leg? He just smiled as I left.

So I limp to my car, close the windows so I could scream in private and I went home. My wife was there doing something at the sink. We have this insinkerator that you can put food scraps or fish in that died from Whopping cough so it goes down the drain. She turned the thing on and I hear, GGGGGGGggRRRrrras%%%%%%"GnnAAsshhhhhh, or something like that. Now water starts coming out the cabinet door under the sink.
I hobble over to it and look down in it with a flashlight and see the problem. The Goomiseguam that grinds the food up, ground itself up and made a hole in the side of the thing. Great. I sold the house and didn't want to replace this thing just now. Like it couldn't last a few more weeks!
So I go and order another one from Amazon because my knee won't allow me to go to Home Depot. It will arrive tomorrow. I am all excited because now I can jam myself under the sink and replace the thing.
It never ends.

 

[Paul B]

I built a Sulfur Denitritor for kicks. I won't install it until I move. I just want to experiment to see how they work.