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

[oh207]

Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas!

 

[Paul B]

Thanks Andy. I finally found out what that phone call you got was about when I was there. I will be there for some corals soon

 

[Paul B]

My book party is today. I have a big poster of the book and it should be fun. We couldn't get the New York Aquarium because it is still closed due to Hurricane Sandy. Why knew? But we are having it in an Italian restaurant that I go to often and know the owners well. It should be fun. My Daughter will read the foreword and I will read part of the introduction, but if no one is paying attention, I will punish them and read the entire book

 

[Paul B]

I just love making typhoons with my diatom filter. I am not sure how the fish and corals like it though. But they will thank me later.

 

[lnevo]

I bet it's much brighter than their previous diatom storms

My copy of your book shipped! Can't wait to receive it!

 

[LongIslandAndy]

I bet it's much brighter than their previous diatom storms

My copy of your book shipped! Can't wait to receive it!

Hi Lee, mine also shipped, should be here Monday, I wonder what Paul is going to charge to autograph it!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Paul B]

You have no idea, but better start saving up now.

 

[Paul B]

This morning when the lights came on in my tank I said to myself, "Self" this tank is gorgeous. Not because I have the nicest corals, fish, aquascape, lights or anything else but because my tank, and "every" tank is a work of art. Especially today after I stirred up everything with a diatom filter and sucked every thing out. The fish seem to be suspended in air as there is not a particle floating anywhere. I am sure the corals enjoyed the typhoon as they all seem to be smiling and extending their tentacles, probably only to be disappointed that they are not collecting anything. But that will change at dinnertime when I cut up some clams for the fish, but more importantly for the clam juice that the corals seem to enjoy. My tank depends on this treatment because I run a reverse undergravel filter. I am not sure how other people maintain their tanks as I have always ran this type of system. I like it because I can maintain it and truth be told, I enjoy doing it. Seeing the clouds of very fine detritus floating over the gorgonians (with the pumps off) and their tiny tentacles pulsating with enjoyment as they ingest this stuff. The fish flitting about trying to catch something that they hope is food. I realize many people would think of this as work. But if maintenance is work, why would you be in this hobby? "Work" or maintenance, feeding, cleaning, scraping, changing water etc. Is "all" fun to me. I had a job all my life where people threw money at me every week and every five minutes for forty years I looked at my watch to see if it was time for me to go home, partly to see my tank. That was work. Tank maintenance! That is fun. Every part of it. If it were not, I would go back to work, God Forbid.

 

[Paul B]

Happy New Year everyone.\my kids.

 

[Paul B]

My dopey air pump for my home made skimmer croaked. Even though it is a venture skimmer it needs an air pump because it is 5' tall and my home made venture valve needs a little "help" getting air that far down. I don't remember when I got this pump but I know I didn't buy it. Someone must have gave it to me many years ago. I can normally fix these things but the silly little one way valves cracked as did the housing they are in. It is a "Luft" air pump which puts out 7lbs of pressure which is what I need. They sell repair parts but of course not the parts I need. That would be silly because then, you could fix the thing. I ordered a new pump but fixed the old one just to spite the company. I repaired the cracks in the valve housing with Goop glue and attached acrylic, spring loaded one way valves to the diaphragm to by pass the damaged valves. The thing works "almost" as good as new. The air pump is behind the white "controller" ($8.00 light timer) on the very neat shelf. Try not to comment on my phone wire. Yes I do have a wireless phone there but that one is just covering the hole in the wall for now. It is also from the 70s.

 

[lnevo]

I really appreciate the phone cord not being tangled. Especially since it's from the 70s.

 

[Paul B]

Its probably the 10th cord

 

[Paul B]

Today I saw on another forum someone had a "smart" watch that they could use to check on their tank and change the colors of their lights, see the temperature and a number of other things which I have no idea of. My day consists of getting up at about 5:30 and "if" I decide to go to my finished basement to do something I will walk past the tank and put my finger on the front glass. That is my temperature check. Then.........Well.....That's about it. Of course I will hear if the pumps are running and while my finger is on the glass if the tank leaked all over the floor, I will hear the squishing but if I don't hear that I will go about my day knowing that my fish will be fine. If there is a problem, they may text me.
Then I will go about my day exploring the meaning of life, drinking coffee with friends while searching for Supermodels until I again come home.
I am not quite sure what my fish do all day but they are almost all spawning so I assume they are dating. I go to the freezer and remove a clam, scrape off some paper thin pieces, add some live blackworms and, after turning off the pumps, squirt it in the water. I squirt some on the right side so the copperband goes over there, then I squirt some on the left side so the bangai cardinals can eat, then, the copperband goes over there so I squirt some over to the right side again so the wrasses can eat and so on. Of course I have to fill my mandarin feeder with new born brine shrimp and maybe clean the glass with a DIY magnet thing but that's about it.
My RO unit has a piece of white electrical tape on it and it reads 4/15/07. It seems like yesterday that I changed that membrane but I guess it is time to replace it. I am surprised the thing still makes water. Every six months or so, If I think about it or if something seems off, I will bring some water to a LFS to test it. And of course I do change some water. If it is the summer I may collect 10 gallons at a beach but usually I make it like everyone else. I don't do that very often but I do change some water. That's my maintenance for the most part.

 

[Paul B]

So I went to the surgeon today who did my hand and knee surgery a few weeks ago. My right hand is not healing because I am using it to much. Like Duh, it is my right hand.
So I am not allowed to use it "especially" with tools. On the way to the Doctor's office I noticed a loud screech coming from my front right wheel. When I got out I checked it out through the wheel and I can see a big groove in the rotor.
So now I need to jack up the car, remove the wheel, take off the rotor to have it cut and change the front brake pads. Simple, but not by using only my left hand. I used to be a mechanic and can normally do this in 15 minutes, but without using my right hand, this is going to be an interesting repair. Oh, I forgot, he also operated on my left knee at the same time so I can't kneel down on it. I am going to see if I can do this using osmosis.

 

[rookie07]

Paul,

I'd bet you could find someone to come and do the work for free, with you telling them how to do it (they learn how to do it and you get it done for you just by teaching someone). If I were in NY I'd do it just so I could learn how to do it.
Good luck!

 

[Paul B]

Phil. I would be glad to teach you. Now I will look for someone with a good right hand to help me with this.

 

[Paul B]

I recently acquired this beauty, the coral, not the fish. (thanks Aquarium Village) It's a blue "something" I don't normally remember names and was married to my wife for about 6 years before I stopped calling her "Hey".
I know by the color that it is not photosynthetic so it needs to be fed. Most tanks are far to clean to keep something like this (mine probably is also) so a couple of times a day I take one of these squeeze things and stir up a nice place in the gravel that I have not touched for a while and make a storm. The coral seems to enjoy this and I am hoping it is getting some nutrition out of this along with the clams with their juice I feed daily.

I use one of these to do the stirring.

 

[lnevo]

I believe it's a gorgonian

 

[Paul B]

Blueberry gorgonian.

 

[Paul B]

Today I had to replace my brakes because of a horrible grinding noise. I was very surprised because I just replaced them last year. The problem was on disc brakes the calipers which hold the brake pads "float" back and forth on the rotor. When you step on the brake, the pads squeeze the rotor stopping the car. One of the pistons that is supposed to slide freely in the caliper rusted tight so only one of the pads would contact the disc causing the other one to do most of the stopping. Also, maybe because of that, but maybe not, the disc cracked. But it was an easy repair and even with replacing both rotors and installing new pads it was less than $100.00. I had to have my Son n Law help me because my Dr who did my hand and knee operation said I wasn't supposed to use any tools. Good thing I don't have any hair because if I did, I would have to comb it with an egg beater.
I like working on my car but it could have been a bit warmer.