Snoopdog
Valuable Member
Probably not many at all, but I will be, unless I die early.This thread is 10 years old. How many people are still here since it started? I bet very few if any.
Tank birthday, 47+ years
- Thread starter Paul B
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Rybren
Valuable Member
This thread is 10 years old. How many people are still here since it started? I bet very few if any.
OP
OP
Paul B
10K Club member
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Reef Of The Month
Article Contributor
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
Today I collected water and while that was being diatom filtered my friend helped me trim sponges. He actually removed a few pounds of them and I am very happy. I can't do it because I have two fingers bandaged up and I can't get them wet.
When you cut this sponge it exudes a milky stuff that makes the skimmer go nuts and it kept overflowing on the floor.
I collected water from here and we had a huge storm last night so it was filthy which is why I have to filter it.
This is what it looked like in the bucket during collection. Not exactly pristine coral reef water.
All my thousands of brittle stars climbed up to the highest point and spawned making my water milky.
Them and urchins do that when you change the temp, water conditions or when I walk in front of the tank in my Speedo.
Of course as I was filling containers with filtered water we got side tracked and it overflowed on the floor. Twice. It looked like Noah's flood and now my floor is very dull because the salt dried on it. I can't clean it until I get my stitches out.
When you cut this sponge it exudes a milky stuff that makes the skimmer go nuts and it kept overflowing on the floor.
I collected water from here and we had a huge storm last night so it was filthy which is why I have to filter it.
This is what it looked like in the bucket during collection. Not exactly pristine coral reef water.
All my thousands of brittle stars climbed up to the highest point and spawned making my water milky.
Them and urchins do that when you change the temp, water conditions or when I walk in front of the tank in my Speedo.
Of course as I was filling containers with filtered water we got side tracked and it overflowed on the floor. Twice. It looked like Noah's flood and now my floor is very dull because the salt dried on it. I can't clean it until I get my stitches out.
Snoopdog
Valuable Member
Today I collected water and while that was being diatom filtered my friend helped me trim sponges. He actually removed a few pounds of them and I am very happy. I can't do it because I have two fingers bandaged up and I can't get them wet.
When you cut this sponge it exudes a milky stuff that makes the skimmer go nuts and it kept overflowing on the floor.
I collected water from here and we had a huge storm last night so it was filthy which is why I have to filter it.
This is what it looked like in the bucket during collection. Not exactly pristine coral reef water.
All my thousands of brittle stars climbed up to the highest point and spawned making my water milky.
Them and urchins do that when you change the temp, water conditions or when I walk in front of the tank in my Speedo.
Of course as I was filling containers with filtered water we got side tracked and it overflowed on the floor. Twice. It looked like Noah's flood and now my floor is very dull because the salt dried on it. I can't clean it until I get my stitches out.
I remember when my bristle worms spawned one night, crazy thing to witness. My water turned a hazy red color.
OP
OP
Paul B
10K Club member
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Reef Of The Month
Article Contributor
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
I know, it's so cool. My bristle worms were also spawning and I think some of them were trying to hook up with the brittle stars so it looked like wrestling night at college. .
I hope nothing comes about from these unions as I don't need any more Godzilla Larvae. ;Bucktooth
I hope nothing comes about from these unions as I don't need any more Godzilla Larvae. ;Bucktooth
OP
OP
Paul B
10K Club member
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Reef Of The Month
Article Contributor
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
I finally got in touch with the hand surgeon, but she is on vacation. I got an emergency appointment with her PA so I went there.
I was seen by two Supermodels which was great. Now everyone looks like a Supermodel because everyone is wearing a mask but that is OK.
Even I look a lot better with a mask, especially since I still have my front tooth missing.
My fingers are not infected and will heal. The dent on the tip of one won't even be to noticeable and I appreciated the bit of weight I lost.
I was also able to talk her into giving me a cortizone shot in my other hand which I have been trying to get an appointment for, for quite some time. Now I know the secret. If you need an appointment with a doctor and don't want to wait 8 weeks, cut off a small body part that you don't use much.
I was seen by two Supermodels which was great. Now everyone looks like a Supermodel because everyone is wearing a mask but that is OK.
Even I look a lot better with a mask, especially since I still have my front tooth missing.
My fingers are not infected and will heal. The dent on the tip of one won't even be to noticeable and I appreciated the bit of weight I lost.
I was also able to talk her into giving me a cortizone shot in my other hand which I have been trying to get an appointment for, for quite some time. Now I know the secret. If you need an appointment with a doctor and don't want to wait 8 weeks, cut off a small body part that you don't use much.
OP
OP
Paul B
10K Club member
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Reef Of The Month
Article Contributor
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
My long spined urchin may be dying. I noticed he is losing some spines and thats what that normally means.
He may be 10 years old as I forgot when I got him and I don't know their life span. I think I had my last one for about that long but I forgot as I don't write this stuff down. If he croaks, I will get another one as they are so cool and reminds me of when I used to have hair.
He may be 10 years old as I forgot when I got him and I don't know their life span. I think I had my last one for about that long but I forgot as I don't write this stuff down. If he croaks, I will get another one as they are so cool and reminds me of when I used to have hair.
OP
OP
Paul B
10K Club member
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Reef Of The Month
Article Contributor
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
Our Sunset party on the beach last night was a big success and there was a really nice sunset.
Early this morning I decided to go to the beach behind our house (down 170 steps) to watch the sunrise and ponder my existence.
This Lady met me just before I went down.
She had a little baby with her and was protecting her from mean old me.
I went down the stairs but had to avoid the sprinklers that got me all wet.
It was about 6:00 am and there was no one as far as you could see in both directions which is normal for that beach.
There is a bench at the bottom where I sat for about 15 minutes. Just me, some seagulls and the occasional sound of a fish jumping, probably out of joy.
It was calm so the tiny waves hitting the shore were barely perceptible.
No planes, no cars, no dogs barking, no nothing, just the way I like it as there are very few civilized places left where you can experience this quiet, especially in New York.
I try to go there almost every morning.
Now at my age I usually think about all the things I did, the things I never did, the things I wanted to do and the things I shouldn't have done.
All in all I had a pretty good life and have gone to almost all the places I wanted to go and did almost all the things I wanted to do.
As a little kid my big dream was to go to The Great Barrier Reef in Australia and SCUBA dive there with sharks. It turns out that was my first dive in 1970.
I wanted to fly in a helicopter, of course I ended up flying dozens or maybe a hundred times. Although I never wanted to crash, I did that twice but even that was a great experience, now that it's over and I didn't get killed. That probably would have been bad.
"Living" through life and death experiences totally changes your character and your outlook on life.
I don't recommend fighting in a war, but that, more than any other life experience, really changes you and I think, makes you a much better person
(providing you live of course) It will also remove any Snowflake tendencies you may have had and the rest of your life will seem easy.
If nothing dangerous ever happens to you, just normal daily living could be scary because every day is the scariest thing that ever happened.
It is almost the same with reefing. We start out as Noobs, babies. We don't know what we are doing and worry about seemingly silly things like putting our hands in the tank if we washed with soap, or adding a little dirt along with food.
Every little thing, which to seasoned people don't even think about.
Every time a Noob sees a tiny tentacle or pod they worry if it is a a harbinger of doom. Every new creature they buy is a learning experience and they are not sure what to expect. Eventually of course this stuff becomes second nature and I know I miss the challenge of learning this new stuff.
In the fifty years I have been reefing there isn't to many animals I have not kept and probably killed.
The thrill is still there but after 20 tangs, copperbands, angels etc. I know what to expect.
I do miss that challenge.
There is no point to this post, I just needed something to do before I go to my boat to ponder something else.
Early this morning I decided to go to the beach behind our house (down 170 steps) to watch the sunrise and ponder my existence.
This Lady met me just before I went down.
She had a little baby with her and was protecting her from mean old me.
I went down the stairs but had to avoid the sprinklers that got me all wet.
It was about 6:00 am and there was no one as far as you could see in both directions which is normal for that beach.
There is a bench at the bottom where I sat for about 15 minutes. Just me, some seagulls and the occasional sound of a fish jumping, probably out of joy.
It was calm so the tiny waves hitting the shore were barely perceptible.
No planes, no cars, no dogs barking, no nothing, just the way I like it as there are very few civilized places left where you can experience this quiet, especially in New York.
I try to go there almost every morning.
Now at my age I usually think about all the things I did, the things I never did, the things I wanted to do and the things I shouldn't have done.
All in all I had a pretty good life and have gone to almost all the places I wanted to go and did almost all the things I wanted to do.
As a little kid my big dream was to go to The Great Barrier Reef in Australia and SCUBA dive there with sharks. It turns out that was my first dive in 1970.
I wanted to fly in a helicopter, of course I ended up flying dozens or maybe a hundred times. Although I never wanted to crash, I did that twice but even that was a great experience, now that it's over and I didn't get killed.
That probably would have been bad."Living" through life and death experiences totally changes your character and your outlook on life.
I don't recommend fighting in a war, but that, more than any other life experience, really changes you and I think, makes you a much better person
(providing you live of course) It will also remove any Snowflake tendencies you may have had and the rest of your life will seem easy.
If nothing dangerous ever happens to you, just normal daily living could be scary because every day is the scariest thing that ever happened.
It is almost the same with reefing. We start out as Noobs, babies. We don't know what we are doing and worry about seemingly silly things like putting our hands in the tank if we washed with soap, or adding a little dirt along with food.
Every little thing, which to seasoned people don't even think about.
Every time a Noob sees a tiny tentacle or pod they worry if it is a a harbinger of doom. Every new creature they buy is a learning experience and they are not sure what to expect. Eventually of course this stuff becomes second nature and I know I miss the challenge of learning this new stuff.
In the fifty years I have been reefing there isn't to many animals I have not kept and probably killed.
The thrill is still there but after 20 tangs, copperbands, angels etc. I know what to expect.
I do miss that challenge.
There is no point to this post, I just needed something to do before I go to my boat to ponder something else.
Last edited:
OP
OP
Paul B
10K Club member
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Reef Of The Month
Article Contributor
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
Many years ago my dive partner and I were diving for lobsters at night in the Long Island Sound in New York not to far from the City.
We used to do that every week and we usually got our quota of lobsters which were 6 each.
Actually to catch 6 legal lobsters you really had to catch about 20 first because very few of them are legal size and you have to measure them underwater using a clamp before you bring them up to the boat. It's a $500.00 fine for each short lobster and they do check you.
The visibility in the western Sound is measured in inches and is normally about 18"- 2'
Anyway, this has nothing to do with lobsters and I don't even eat those things. As a kid my Dad had a seafood store and you are not allowed to sell dead lobsters, so whenever they used to die in the store, we had to eat them.
Like in the movie "Forest Gump", boiled lobster, fried lobster, grilled lobster, peanut butter and jelly lobster etc.
I used to bring them to school in my lunch box and my teachers would trade me their bologna sandwiches for the lobster.
One night while we were diving we came across a tire on the bottom. Usually tires have a lobster in them because they need to hide and maybe they like the exercise they get from running around inside them. I don't know.
But in this tire we noticed something different. There were maybe 10 hermit crabs around the rim and two hermit crabs in the center. The two in the center were fighting. Just as if they were from different political parties.
They were grabbing, hitting, flipping each other, and I think I saw one of them getting the other one into a Rickie Nelson.
(google him is you are under 65)
After a few minutes those two staggered to the rim of the tire and two more took their place and started punching, smacking, biting etc.
This went on for many minutes until we started to run out of air and had to surface.
My avitar, is actually one of those crabs. He was about 1/2" but I don't remember if he was a loser or winner.
This is my dive partner and best friend for 50+ years. We are picking out new modern diving equipment here.
I am the better looking one.
We used to do that every week and we usually got our quota of lobsters which were 6 each.
Actually to catch 6 legal lobsters you really had to catch about 20 first because very few of them are legal size and you have to measure them underwater using a clamp before you bring them up to the boat. It's a $500.00 fine for each short lobster and they do check you.
The visibility in the western Sound is measured in inches and is normally about 18"- 2'
Anyway, this has nothing to do with lobsters and I don't even eat those things. As a kid my Dad had a seafood store and you are not allowed to sell dead lobsters, so whenever they used to die in the store, we had to eat them.
Like in the movie "Forest Gump", boiled lobster, fried lobster, grilled lobster, peanut butter and jelly lobster etc.
I used to bring them to school in my lunch box and my teachers would trade me their bologna sandwiches for the lobster.
One night while we were diving we came across a tire on the bottom. Usually tires have a lobster in them because they need to hide and maybe they like the exercise they get from running around inside them. I don't know.
But in this tire we noticed something different. There were maybe 10 hermit crabs around the rim and two hermit crabs in the center. The two in the center were fighting. Just as if they were from different political parties.
They were grabbing, hitting, flipping each other, and I think I saw one of them getting the other one into a Rickie Nelson.
(google him is you are under 65)
After a few minutes those two staggered to the rim of the tire and two more took their place and started punching, smacking, biting etc.
This went on for many minutes until we started to run out of air and had to surface.
My avitar, is actually one of those crabs. He was about 1/2" but I don't remember if he was a loser or winner.
This is my dive partner and best friend for 50+ years. We are picking out new modern diving equipment here.
I am the better looking one.
Victoria M
5000 Club Member
Paul, you were a pilot or passenger? Either way... you have lived my friend.
OP
OP
Paul B
10K Club member
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Reef Of The Month
Article Contributor
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
I was not a pilot, but I did occasionally fly the thing. My friend was the pilot and he used to come to my bunker in the early morning yelling "Sargent Baldassano, I got some Wild Turkey, lets go flying".
There were no laws in Nam so I could basically do almost anything I wanted to. Of course this was all in an LZ which was a big clearing in a jungle. He was a Lieutenant with that small LOH helocopter and I was the COMMO Chief for a small field artillery battery and we used to move all the time and build different LZs. After I set up the communications and antennas and ran commo wires to all 6 guns, I really didn't have much to do unless we got attacked which was usually at night.
This is a large LZ from a helocopter. This is actually LZ Illingworth where we almost got over run by 400 NVA.
And closer up. Those are not tents, we didn't have tents, those are poncho's as it rained all the time
There were no laws in Nam so I could basically do almost anything I wanted to. Of course this was all in an LZ which was a big clearing in a jungle. He was a Lieutenant with that small LOH helocopter and I was the COMMO Chief for a small field artillery battery and we used to move all the time and build different LZs. After I set up the communications and antennas and ran commo wires to all 6 guns, I really didn't have much to do unless we got attacked which was usually at night.
This is a large LZ from a helocopter. This is actually LZ Illingworth where we almost got over run by 400 NVA.
And closer up. Those are not tents, we didn't have tents, those are poncho's as it rained all the time
Last edited:
canadianeh
Valuable Member
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2017
- Messages
- 1,611
- Reaction score
- 1,044
I envy your life experience....and also your house by the beach of course
mijan
Well-Known Member
You broke the first rule of Hermit Crab Fight Club...never talk about Hermit Crab Fight Club.
Similar threads
