Moving 47 year old reef 60 miles. OMG

[Rispa]

I finally filled my tank up almost to the top, now it will be easier for the fish to jump out. I collected some water when we were watching fireworks on the beach. Everyone was looking up at the fireworks and didn't notice the Geezer in the water with a bucket.
I just had to strain out the bottle rockets and roman candles.

I have to clean the glass every day because of diatoms as the Long Island Sound water is loaded with "Stuff". I am sure it will grow red algae also but I kind of like that stuff. I have my diatom filter running on the tank all night because when I initially added water to the tank I used a defective diatom filter which dumped a bunch of diatom powder in the water. I didn't see the tank yet this morning so it will either be very clear, totally empty or the pump went on fire and looks like a lump of coal. It's so exciting to wonder about these things. Eventually I will finish hooking up my UG filter. It had all the tubes connected but one of the big rocks I added separated the tubes and they are now laying on the bottom housing bristle worms and God knows what else. It is so nice to have a clean glass in the back where I can see everything but that is short lived. Algae is starting to grow there and there is no way to clean it. I need to re-connect the tubes before it gets totally covered.

My new (garbage) China lights are still working and I didn't smell any smoke yet but they are still about 18" above the tank. I need to get some chain to lower them. The fish are all doing well which is surprising being I don't know what the temperature or salinity is. . I know many people feel those things need to be right in the middle of the line that someone said it has to be and they stay up at night measuring those things with laser beams and what not.

The tank looks much to sterile to me and I don't like it yet. I need to add more rock (which I have probably 100 lbs left in buckets) and more gravel. But most importantly it needs life. Microscopic life that I will collect as soon as I go out in my boat during low tide. I keep going out high tide and it is hard to collect anything during that tide.

My blue sponge which covered about a third of my tank shriveled up and turned white. It was thriving on nitrates and now there are none so it is croaking. Better it than me. But my other corals are really enjoying the new NSW. I need more corals, a lot more because this tank is bigger and so far has a lot less rocks in it.

I moved the door in my workshop and the electric base board heater because they were in the way of my new 10' workbench that I built yesterday.
The place is coming along. I need to finish installing the floor tiles and paint. There is still vats of rocks and gravel along with enough tools to build the stage for Lady GaGa concerts so I need places to put all that stuff away . I will be tossing out a lot of tools as I just have to much
I did too many things in my life and no longer need a special wrench to adjust the tailgate on 1969 Vista Cruiser Oldsmobile station wagon or adjust the points on Toronado's. Yesterday I threw out my timing light and dwell meter. As soon as I find it I will dump my valve grinding tools as well as my ring compressor and cylinder and brake cylinder hones. I can open a Sears with all the tools I have, a small Sears but a Sears none the less. I am expecting NASA to call looking to have some extra tools.

I hung an 8' LED light in the middle of my workshop on string temporarily because the 7 watt bulb the builder supplied just wasn't cutting it.
I need to permanently install lights and outlets. But I know an excellent electrician

For special car tools you may want to sell them online or give them to a mechanic. I have a friend working on an old Cadillac and he has a heck of a time finding specialized tools when he needs them

 

[kgk]

I enjoyed this thread so much, I bought a hard copy of your book, Paul B. It's the first actual paper book I've bought this decade, at least... maybe longer. My kindle is full, but I wanted this one on my office shelves, most likely snuggling between Patick McManus' They Shoot Canoes, Don't They and Clive Cussler's Raise The Titanic.

 

[Paul B]

For special car tools you may want to sell them online or give them to a mechanic. I have a friend working on an old Cadillac and he has a heck of a time finding specialized tools when he needs them

Tools are heavy and hard to ship. I don't know many mechanics being I do my own work and all the guys I knew who had vintage cars were vintage themselves so they are dead.
I threw most of them out already. If someone lives near eastern Long Island they can come over and get them. I am not sure what I have left. I know I just threw out my timing light and dwell meter.

 

[Paul B]

I enjoyed this thread so much, I bought a hard copy of your book, Paul B. It's the first actual paper book I've bought this decade, at least... maybe longer. My kindle is full, but I wanted this one on my office shelves, most likely snuggling between Patick McManus' They Shoot Canoes, Don't They and Clive Cussler's Raise The Titanic.

I would have put it between "War and Peace" and "Horton Hears a Who" ;Smuggrin

I have to take a 2 hour trip on a bus into Manhattan today to see my kids. Maybe I will take my book to read since I forgot what I said.

I have not taken a bus since I had hair but it's 100 miles from here and I don't do traffic well. I used to drive from our old house but that was only 20 miles. This will be an adventure. The Bus, The Hampton Jitney is very cool looking and looks comfortable. There's a bathroom, Jacuzzi, movie theater, restaurant, hardware store etc. At least that's what my wife told me so I would go.

 

[Captain Quint]

I would have put it between "War and Peace" and "Horton Hears a Who" ;Smuggrin

I have to take a 2 hour trip on a bus into Manhattan today to see my kids. Maybe I will take my book to read since I forgot what I said.

I have not taken a bus since I had hair but it's 100 miles from here and I don't do traffic well. I used to drive from our old house but that was only 20 miles. This will be an adventure. The Bus, The Hampton Jitney is very cool looking and looks comfortable. There's a bathroom, Jacuzzi, movie theater, restaurant, hardware store etc. At least that's what my wife told me so I would go.

You good sir would be awesome to hang out with. Your wit keeps us in stitches. lol

 

[Servillius]

Tools are heavy and hard to ship. I don't know many mechanics being I do my own work and all the guys I knew who had vintage cars were vintage themselves so they are dead.
I threw most of them out already. If someone lives near eastern Long Island they can come over and get them. I am not sure what I have left. I know I just threw out my timing light and dwell meter.

I believe you’re supposed to refer to things that are too old to be vintage as antique, Paul!

 

[Rybren]

Let me get this right... You're calling Paul an antique?

 

[Servillius]

Let me get this right... You're calling Paul an antique?

Nah, I’m pretty sure he beat me to it anyway.

I’m just pointing out our dearly departed can be thought of as valuable. Old. Furniture? I don’t think that works either!

 

[Paul B]

You good sir would be awesome to hang out with. Your wit keeps us in stitches. lol

I was in stitches for much of my life as I have had 16 or 17 surgeries. All for Fun, Manly things like injuries, broken bones and things like that, no Sissy things like Hair implants or Liposuction.

The trip to our Daughters was uneventful for the most part. Except that I really hate Manhattan. I was born in New York city (brooklyn) and worked in Manhattan all my life but after I retired I figured I would never even have to see it on TV any more. Then our Daughter married a guy who grew up in the West Village so I have to go and see our grand kids. But I would rather jump off a huge pile of quarantine tanks full of ich infected fish into a very shallow lagoon in the center of an Atoll with 3" deep water filled with long spined urchins dancing on a plateau of fire coral while wearing nothing but my "Best Grand Pa" shirt while sipping a slurpy. Some day I will mention how I really feel about Manhattan.

We slept there and I had the horrors all night in between the tractor trailer horns, sirens, gun shots and filming CSI. They have a leak in their ceiling and I discovered it is the air conditioner on the roof. The condensate line was clogged and went through the ducts all through the house. (or apartment that they own on the 16th floor) He is looking at many thousands of dollars in repairs to the finished walls..

Anyway, I made coffee this morning there and he likes strong coffee so he only has Boustella coffee which is like tar. I made a pot and had to scrape it out of the pot with a spoon. It not only looked and tasted like tar, but it also smoked like hot tar. They were repaving the street downstairs so I couldn't tell if it was the coffee or the road. It didn't seem to matter.
We couldn't drink it or eat it with a fork so I scraped it into the garbage shoot and went out to buy some coffee and breakfast.

They live in the West Village (NYC) and nothing is a real bargain there. The coffee shop is next to their building and I ordered a paper cup of oatmeal and my wife wanted something healthy so they gave me a piece of toast with a little avocado and "grass" on top. That came to $21.00. Where I live now is mainly sod farms so the next time we go, I will bring my own grass.

They are very ecology minded there so they have a bunch of garbage "slots". One is for cans, one for bottles, one for cardboard, one for paper, but specifically marked, "not napkins", one is for napkins, one is for food. There is also one for garbage but there isn't much left to put there.
You spend so much time sorting out recyclables that your coffee gets cold and your oatmeal clumps up by the time you leave. There is a longer line at the garbage than the food line.

Well it is time to go home so we call an UBER and go to 44th street and Lexington Ave.
WE board the Hampton Jitney which is a big beautiful bus that gets us all the way home, 100 miles in an hour and a half .

As soon as we get out of Manhattan and through the Midtown Tunnel. The thing gets stuck. We pull over to the shoulder of the road and the driver gets out and I can hear him talking on the radio. All I heard was "Overheating". I thought we were going to have to get out and push or empty all our little bottles of water they gave us into the radiator but something happened and the thing got going again.

Now we are home and all is well.

 

[Paul B]

My tank now is full of diatoms. I could say I am "Battling" them but they really just sit there and don't fight back. Normally I would like this as it is a challenge, but I don't have time now and the front glass looks like sheet metal 10 minutes after I clean it.
This is from the Long Island Peconic bay water which had more diatoms then water, but it is fine and makes the hobby enjoyable. If it didn't do these interesting things, I would take up golf. (God Forbid)

6 years old yesterday. My Grand Daughter, not my tank.

 

[Captain Quint]

LOL about your adventure. None of my grown children have made me a grandpa yet. They do tell me that their cats and dogs are my grandchildren, however. They are cute but not the same as your grandchild.

 

[Mark Gray]

My tank now is full of diatoms. I could say I am "Battling" them but they really just sit there and don't fight back. Normally I would like this as it is a challenge, but I don't have time now and the front glass looks like sheet metal 10 minutes after I clean it.
This is from the Long Island Peconic bay water which had more diatoms then water, but it is fine and makes the hobby enjoyable. If it didn't do these interesting things, I would take up golf. (God Forbid)

6 years old yesterday. My Grand Daughter, not my tank.

Oh those fish are the hardest to keep, I have 3 of those they cal grandchildren, after a day watching them I am so tired I can sleep for a week lol So happy I can usually load them up with sweets and send them home . I tried to get my oldest grandson interested in my new tank, he was not at all lol. I evan let him run my chop saw that day I thought he would think it was cool, when I was his age I would have loved it, but he just wanted to talk about X-Men lol

 

[foxt]

If itdidn't do these interesting things, I would take up golf. (God Forbid)

You may be on to something there. My 220g was so easy to maintain that I actually did take up golf for the stress. It works out fine between chasing golf balls and just watching my fish. They say that the most addicting things in life are those that randomly reward you. Very true about golf. Not so true about reefkeeping, nothing random about it ....

 

[Kmsutows]

Millennials want to drink coffee and spill it on themselves so they can sue the owner because they didn't know the coffee was hot. I think when someone sues for something stupid like that, they aught to dismiss the case and pour hot coffee on the lawyer. And if you trip on my sidewalk, it is because you should look where you are walking and stop texting. Kiss a girl, read a book made of paper, change your own oil, look up occasionally and go outside.



70s were cool but the 60s were a bash. I was born in the 40s. Yes, the universe goes back that far. The 60s were when men were Men and not Sissies. Girls looked like girls and dressed really "Snazzy". Yes that was a word. You got into fights, sometimes you won, some times you lost. You didn't text emogies at each other.

I have to point out that it was a 79 yr old back in '92 that sued McDonalds for her spilling hot coffee, not a millennial.

I was born in '88 and used the word "snazzy" just the other day... so I'd argue not all millennials are alike

Then again, I do find emojis to sometimes be hilarious so I could be wrong. Anyway... on to the new 3 pages of the thread...

 

[Fin]

I have to point out that it was a 79 yr old back in '92 that sued McDonalds for her spilling hot coffee, not a millennial.

The water was 190° and caused third degree burns to her inner thighs and genitals. She was hospitalized for 8 days and had to undergo skin grafts to replace the skin. Go try pouring water that is only 22° from a rolling boil onto your crotch and see how frivolous you think that is.

 

[siggy]

The water was 190° and caused third degree burns to her inner thighs and genitals. She was hospitalized for 8 days and had to undergo skin grafts to replace the skin. Go try pouring water that is only 22° from a rolling boil onto your crotch and see how frivolous you think that is.

I remember that, I never realized she was that young. She diddent get enough to endure that.

 

[BestMomEver]

Lol, born in '63. The seventies and eighties were great!
Then my body started reminding me of all the stupid stuff I did.
[emoji13]

Me too! My birthday month is September....are you older than me or younger?

 

[BestMomEver]

I got new lights but I discovered after I opened the box that they are made in China so at the first opportunity, I will junk them. But they are very bright. All my fish are straining to close their eyes and they don't realize they have no eyelids. so they are scrunching up their faces .
The lights have all sorts of dials and switches but I plugged them in and they lit so I won't be needing or using all of that stuff.

Today I started to build my workbench. It is tough because the place is so full of stuff but I need the workbench so I can make my closets and shelves to put stuff away on. I also uncrated my radial arm saw and drill press so I will have some stuff to work with.
It is so damp in there that I get flashbacks from Viet Nam

Soon I will get an off the road permit so I can go to the sea easier to wash my remaining gravel that is still in my old, muddy water.

Viet Nam? You’ve obviously not spent enough time in south Alabama! My fish sweat 24/7 and because it’s so humid, the perspiration doesn’t evaporate. They just stay wet all the time. And we live close to the Gulf. As far as I know, you don’t need a permit to collect water and you can park at my house for free. What’s not to love?

 

[Kmsutows]

The water was 190° and caused third degree burns to her inner thighs and genitals. She was hospitalized for 8 days and had to undergo skin grafts to replace the skin. Go try pouring water that is only 22° from a rolling boil onto your crotch and see how frivolous you think that is.

I didnt comment at all about whether or not it was frivolous. Stated a fact about who sued, purely for the sake of pointing out it was not a millennial.

 

[sundog101]

I didnt comment at all about whether or not it was frivolous. Stated a fact about who sued, purely for the sake of pointing out it was not a millennial.

Something a millennial would say