Tank birthday, 47+ years

Paul B · Mar 25, 2015

I had to change this on my PT Cruiser today and I am happy to say that I can still crawl under a car. It's not real easy to get up, but I still got it. This is a motor mount I think. It was rattling as the rubber bushing is shot. I really didn't pay attention to what it's function was but it is called a lower strut and it goes from the frame to the engine. When I was a mechanic they didn't have front wheel drive cars except Toronado and that was the last year I worked as a mechanic. That was in1968. So they didn't use this part. If I get time, probably next fall, I want to change the bushings on the A frames because I like my cars sounding brandy new and to achieve that, you need to keep changing bushings. I can't wait to start collecting those amphipods and mud. My tank misses all that and the early summer is when amphipods spawn by the millions and they swarm all over the place. I will be there with buckets.
Tomorrow I will start working on the boat outdrives as it is almost boating season and there is a lot of preparation and (and money to be spent) to get it ready for the water)

Paul B · Mar 25, 2015

Last week during a snow storm I took my wife to my favorite restaurant on Long Island, where we ate while watching the snow fall on the sea and the beach. This beach is not far from where I will be collecting in a few weeks. Hopefully, it won't be snowing then.

SpartaReef · Mar 25, 2015

How is she doing? any sign that special surgery helped her jaw pain?

Paul B · Mar 25, 2015

She seems pretty good. They lowered her medication from 4 pills a day to 3. So far she has had only one or two twinges of pain so we are hopeful that it works. It should do something, I hope. Thanks for asking

SpartaReef · Mar 25, 2015

awesome! glad to read she is doing better

Paul B · Mar 26, 2015

Getting the boat ready, changing oil and painting outdrives. Collecting season is almost here. If anyone wants to go collecting grass shrimp or amphipods (during the week) let me know. But not for a month or so. Of course, if you are in Montana, it may not be worth it

Paul B · Mar 30, 2015

I don't use sand in my reef, I use dolomite, state of the art in the 60s and all of it has been in there since then when the tank was brackish. Once a year or so I stir everything up with a diatom filter and suck out everything. That is my typhoon and I think that is necessary for long term tank health.

Today I added 12 more LEDs on a 5' square aluminum housing to supplement my 36 LEDs that I didn't feel were bright enough. So I increased the lighting by 25%. That is enough light for now. I didn't yet connect the fan to this new strip as doing that requires quite a bit of labor because I have to rebuild the entire fixture and I don't think that could happen until the fall so I hope it doesn't get to hot. After it runs a few hours I will check it out for heat.
This is the strip I added.

This is the original 3 strips. Now there are 4

Paul B · Mar 30, 2015

Today I added 12 more LEDs on a 5' square aluminum housing to supplement my 36 LEDs that I didn't feel were bright enough. So I increased the lighting by 25%. That is enough light for now. I didn't yet connect the fan to this new strip as doing that requires quite a bit of labor because I have to rebuild the entire fixture and I don't think that could happen until the fall so I hope it doesn't get to hot. After it runs a few hours I will check it out for heat.
This is the strip I added.

This is the original 3 strips. Now there are 4

Paul B · Mar 31, 2015

I checked my tank a little while ago and noticed it was almost overflowing. I see that a float switch is stuck open. That float is many years old and I don't think I cleaned it in over a year so it was good that I was home. Now of course from all the fresh water going in there I could keep kissing gouramies if I like.

Paul B · Apr 1, 2015

My car rattles were the stabilizer links (stupid, stupid, stupid) I tightened them and didn't think they were the problem, but I was stupid. I don't know how I let that go by. Some people even suggested that to me. But sometimes I am just stupid. The stabilizer bar links are the easiest and cheapest thing you can change, especially if you have a sawzall because you normally just cut them off which is what I did with the other one. This one I fought with because I wanted to match the new one up to it. Now it rides like a new Cadillac. This is the old one.

I finished so fast that I had time to grind some barnacles off of my propellers. This one is still dirty. Collecting season is coming up fast and I need those amphipods. Thousands of them

riche · Apr 1, 2015

You Sir are a inspiration to the hobby, I look forward to reading more post on this tank and Hope that your wife is getting better each day

Rich

Paul B · Apr 1, 2015

Thank you Rich. I already wrote 60 pages, maybe I will start again. I also finished my book but I don't know how long it takes to get it out.

Paul B · Apr 3, 2015

That new 5' LED strip I built with the 12 LEDs on it gets hot so I don't leave it on all day. I temporarily mounted it to my existing LED fixture but still need to remove the entire fixture and make a new fan housing which incorporates this new strip into it. Right now, there is no air flow through it and it makes a big difference. The new strip is about twice as hot as the ones where the fan pulls air through it. I just need some time which is in short supply. I also need an operation on my right hand as one of my fingers gets "stuck" if I grab something. It probably happened from waving at Supermodels, even though they don't wave back. I have had that operation before on a different finger and it is not that bad, it is almost a Sissy operation but you can't use that hand for a month or so and I won't be able to salute or anything like that. I am not sure how I will prep my boat for the water but I may have to ask someone for a little help with mundane things. Anyway, that is neither here nor there and my tank is doing well. My book is finished and I can't wait to get myself a signed copy. I need 2 of them for each of my Grand Kids even though they probably won't care one bit about fish but they certainly get an education about them weather they want to or not. I already started when they are on the boat.
I took a picture. I just love bluestripe pipefish, razor shrimpfish, ruby red dragonettes and mandarins which were camera shy but still hang out at the feeder. I actually don't know how anyone can keep these types of fish without having a feeder such as this one. These are my types of fish and I hope to find some more oddballs but they rarely come on the market as many people can't seem to keep them and if I don't buy them the day they come into the store, they croak

Paul B · Apr 6, 2015

I have been having a problem with one of my hips and I can't easily go downstairs to feed my fish for a few days. (https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/lounge/197380-today-i-couldnt-walk.html) So with my new pain pills I made it to the tank. It seems fine except 2 of my 3 shrimpfish seem to be gone. I figured that would happen as they need to eat live new born brine shrimp a couple of times a day and I couldn't get to them. They are not a type of fish that eats pods or hunts anything so I guess when they are in the sea, someone comes by every day and hatches brine shrimp for them. The mandarins, ruby red dragonettes, bluestripe pipefish and red scooter bleeny are fine. So is everything else and I think they were glad to see me because my copperband was scratching bald slurs in the inside of the glass.

Paul B · Apr 8, 2015

I wasn't crazy about my DIY light fixture because I bought a staghorn coral and it croaked. I needed more light. So I took the thing apart, as shown here

I built another strip of LEDs on an aluminum square and bolted it on.
I also built a new fan housing to accommodate the new wiring

And it's good to go. I can raise the fixture as it is on counterweights and it tilts front and back for maintenance in case I have to change an LED or scrape a dead fish off that decided to fly up on top of it to check out the scenery.

Paul B · Apr 8, 2015

This is just the 12 new LEDs with nothing else on.

Paul B · Apr 9, 2015

This week my bluestripe pipefish and ruby red dragonette are pregnant.

tatorswife · Apr 9, 2015

Paul, u are a true inspiration to all tank keepers. Love reading your post.

Paul B · Apr 9, 2015

:attention: Thank you, I think you and me are the only ones who read this stuff, possibly with the exception of a couple of aging Supermodels because many of them are really fish Geeks.