Moving 47 year old reef 60 miles. OMG

[DMan]

Very interesting as always. Just one question. They still make parts for Oldmobiles?. Lol

 

[Swoody]

Can't wait for more!!!........

 

[ellenRN]

You are the funniest storyteller ever!

 

[RajV]

How are you holding your rock together? What kind of cement is that?

@Paul B joy reading it and id say just ss you held on to that pretty woman for 44 years . You know how to make it work. Good luck

 

[Humblefish]

I know I don't chime into your threads as much as I used to, old friend. But whenever I'm having a rough day reading some @Paul B always makes me .

 

[lapin]

I got to tell Patrick to read this when I see him. He will laugh his head off.

 

[mta_morrow]

I think between all of Paul’s threads, there is a movie somewhere in there waiting to be made.

And perhaps a prequel and a couple sequels!

I truly admire your attitude towards life and family. [emoji106]

 

[Mark Gray]

Can't wait to see the new tank set up for the next 47 years

 

[mmw64]

May be best thread ever! More please.

 

[dieselkeeper]

lol, you took Tylenol PM in the morning not having your glasses on. Im almost 60 and can relate. Looking forward to some updates.

 

[Daniel92481]

Nice read Paul B. Your Crocodile Dundee sock reference was hilarious. You should write a book on whatever lol.;Joyful

 

[klp]

To move a mature tank as old as yours is quite a task. Very interested to see what happens. Wish you the best on this one.

 

[Michael Naegeli]

So about six months ago our closest friends got a new Grand Son and he lives in Long Island right near where I live. Of course they wanted to see him all the time and they moved to Key Largo a couple of years ago so they bought a condo 60 miles east from my home out on Long Island in wine country about 90 yards from the Long Island Sound. We went to look at their new place and on the way home, I said to my wife. You know, I could live there. To make a long story shorter, we bought the place next door.

OK now we sell our house and after a few months of paperwork, and legal nonsense we go to closing. What Jiboni invented a Title Search and Title Insurance. That is the stupidest thing some Lawyer ever came up with. If I am paying for a Title search, why do I have to pay for Title insurance? Shouldn't the Title Search Company pay for that? Anyway, I was instructed to bring three bank checks to the closing. Of course I screwed that up and shorted them $2,000.00 so I had to find a "Bank Of America" to get the other two grand. Naturally they wouldn't take a personal check, cash, stamps, gold bullion, World Series Tickets or a signed picture of Nancy Pelosi.

As everyone at the closing is waiting for me (It was a Friday afternoon)I take off to go to the bank following my GPS because this was not my normal stomping grounds. After a few minutes the GPS "Lady" tells me You have reached your destination. There was a Bank of America there but it was closed and looked like it was boarded up since the Great Depression. Great, I put in another Bank of America and follow the GPS Lady there in the opposite direction. Now a half an hour has passed and my wife keeps calling me saying how the lawyers, bankers and real estate people were tying a rope to the rafters to get ready to hang her if I didn't get back with the check.

The "Lady" says "You have arrived at your destination". All I see is a Seven Eleven and I doubted they would lend me $2,000.00.
Otis the town drunk comes out of the Seven Eleven and asks me why I am banging my head against the brick wall. I tell him I am looking for this bank. He says it was a bank a few years ago but if you want a Bank of America, go this many blocks here, and turn so many blocks here, then bear right or left and you will be there.

I figured what the heck, the GPS Lady is crazy anyway so how far off could Otis be.
The bank was right where he said, I run in a minute before the place closes and get the check and fly back to the closing just as they were going to light the sticks under my wife who was tied to a coat rack.

We close on the house and have a week to move out. I run to my favorite LFS and order a tank.
It sits there a couple of days and I rent a 16' truck for two days.
They load the tank on the truck and I drive it out to the new place.



The stand I built a few weeks before out of redwood because it warps less and the color matches my eyes. All the hardware is galvanized steel and it is also glued together with waterproof glue. I purposely built the legs out of 4 x 4s and not sandwiched 2 X 4s like many people do because I wanted to minimize places where two pieces of wood are together because those areas will get water in between and it will never dry, eventually, that wood will rot. This will also go behind a wall so you won't see any of it. The back of the stand (in the foreground) is built of sandwiched 2 X 4 redwood pieces sealed together for strength because I didn't want a support there that would interfere with that space in case I end up sleeping there or storing Oldsmobile parts.


Two days before my actual move I go out to the new place with the truck and drive up to the water at a boat ramp armed with enough containers to take about 40 gallons of seawater.
(I also collected the week before and carried that water out there with the truck)


I am in back of the truck with my 50' hose connected to a bilge pump and I am pumping water into the truck.
(actually the thing clogged with shrimp, hermit crabs and hot dog wrappers) so after a while I had to pump it into containers, then dump it into the truck)
I am actually a lot taller, skinnier and hairier in person, the camera adds 50lbs to how you look.

You trip me out bro. All well said! Haha. U should write a book. Sound like a day in my shoes too.

 

[Paul B]

Thanks guys. Of course they make Oldsmobile parts, best car ever. I was an Oldsmobile mechanic in the 60s when Toronado came out. It was the first American made car with front wheel drive.
The tank looks surprisingly good after the move and not having any lights on for a few days, no thermometer, (I still don't have one), the tank is only 3/4 full until I get back to the sea to collect and I only have food enough for tomorrow. I didn't hook up the skimmer yet, UG filter, or the ozonizer. No algae scrubber and about half of my gravel is in buckets in very cold, dirty water from the old place. I found a working diatom filter but I am painting my garage and workshop so I can hang steel shelving from the ceiling so I can't work on my tank. I did get my old water cooled LED light working last night. I can't yet find my soldering stuff so I borrowed one from my friend to fix the thing, fill it with water and get it working. I do not yet have a sink in there or a drain so I cut a big hole in the sheetrock and removed a 4" plug from the main sewer line and put in a 4" pipe with an elbow facing up. Now I can use that for a drain and I can put the plug back in when I am done. I may use that for my RO drain hose if I ever get it hooked up. If not I will have to use tap water.

I know a lot of people have problems with ich, mini cycles or Godzilla larvae when they do something major to their tank but I don't seem to have those problems as of yet. The fish are doing fine and seem to be enjoying their larger home with real water.

 

[Rispa]

Nice read Paul B. Your Crocodile Dundee sock reference was hilarious. You should write a book on whatever lol.;Joyful

He has written some books. I've got "The Avant-Garde Marine Aquarist" and it's as colorful and delightful as these posts. I wish school book sellers hired people like Paul. The entire world would be smarter in a decade or two.

Paul I hope this move continues to go smoothly. I've been enjoying your tirals and tribulations will continue to read about them happily.

 

[Tautog]

Congrats on your new home!
I can’t help laughing about the state trooper and their antics . I was questioned by a Bay Consulate while collecting water. He didn’t know if it was illegal, but figured it was because no one else was doing it. As he starts writing a ticket, I tell him it rained last night, and I’m only collecting the rain water. The officer stopped writing, said nothing, and just walked away shaking his head. I never had a chance to tell about my aquarium.

 

[Jim Fox]

Great story on the move all the Murphy's Law stuff that goes with it!!!

 

[Paul B]

Rispa, I am very happy you enjoyed my book, I had fun writing it.

 

[reefwiser]

I hope the new tank is not in the basement. As one get's older stairs are not our friend.

 

[siggy]

Paul, I am enjoying your thread and sense of humor, Reminds me of Nelson DeMille, ironically he rote a book Plumb Island set in the very same Wine country you now live in, If you don't already know about it you will. I also like your position on american cars and tools. BTW thanks for buying a jeep.