Tank birthday, 47+ years

Paul B · Mar 1, 2020

Yesterday I was invited to a fantastic party which was the NJ reefers assn meeting. They had great food along with clams, shrimp and scallops so they gave me an offer that I couldn't refuse so I took the 3 hour drive to the Jersey Shore.

They also really surprised me because I didn't know they also invited Christie Brinkley who I took home with me.

atoll · Mar 1, 2020

Quick vid of the Steam punk type light with working clock I took about an hour ago.

Paul B · Mar 1, 2020

Very cool. Now you need to install an undergravel filter and write a book.

My wife made me some fantastic black Linguine and clams for dinner with the extra clams they gave me at the NJ reefers meeting.

atoll · Mar 2, 2020

No QT,copper, no meds, no disease. How come?

Paul B · Mar 2, 2020

My Reef is 49 Years old this week. Imagine how old it would be if I quarantined anything.

I would have been out of the hobby 35 years ago demonstrating leaf blowers in Home Depot parking lot. ;Bucktooth

TheHarold · Mar 2, 2020

Paul B said:
My Reef is 49 Years old this week. Imagine how old it would be if I quarantined anything.

I would have been out of the hobby 35 years ago demonstrating leaf blowers in Home Depot parking lot. ;Bucktooth

I was so shocked to see the dramatic quarantine debate come up on R2R. I thought medicine had passed the point of trying to keep organisms in sterile environments with no developed immunity/antibodies. Would not be surprised if we see complaints of your “inoculations” causing aquatic-autism next! Lol

rhdoug · Mar 2, 2020

Wow, congrats Paul! And here I was walking around with my chest all puffed out at our local club meeting 'cause my tank will be 21 in a couple of months. Well at least it can drink with me now...

Paul B · Mar 2, 2020

Rhdoug, 21 is very respectable. Most people can't seem to go 21 months without some sort of catastrophe.
As long as you don't quarantine or medicate the fish should live long enough to die of old age. But don't tell anyone or they will tell you you are playing Russian Roulette even if you don't speak Russian or drink Vodka.

atoll · Mar 2, 2020

Paul B said:
Rhdoug, 21 is very respectable. Most people can't seem to go 21 months without some sort of catastrophe.
As long as you don't quarantine or medicate the fish should live long enough to die of old age. But don't tell anyone or they will tell you you are playing Russian Roulette even if you don't speak Russian or drink Vodka.

Playing Russian Roulette is not a problem when you hit an empty chamber everytime.

Victoria M · Mar 2, 2020

Paul B said:
They are definately cool looking. As you said, not really Steam Punk but Steam Punk looking.
The one you ordered I also like the best.

My stuff is made out of really old, vintage things as are the gauges I use.
Everything in those pictures is brand new.
The hardest part of this is finding the old stuff because I don't want to use anything that was not used like 100 years ago except of course for the electrical stuff like light bulb, socket etc.

For example, the box at the bottom of this is a telephone calling box from about 1915. It had brass bells on it. The thing with the lever is from an old toilet bowl, probably from the 40s and the thing the light is on is an old brass fire hose nozzle. Even the electrical cord is vintage cloth wrapped from the period
(but that is new for safety reasons) The box is also lined in metal to make it legal and safe.
To turn it on, you push down the weight on the chain until it touches the magnet.
The water valve dims it

The "Heart" of this piece is a carburetor from a Model A Ford. The glass dome is from the 30s and the plumbing pipes are vintage. The radio tubes are also from the 40s. And the gauge is old.

The base of this one is a Vintage spotlight from Broadway Playhouse. The middle part is some kind of wind up, brass timer and the top part is from the New York City subway system, it reads 1961.

I like to use these as a base. This was a battery charger from the 20s. The carburetor is from a car in the fiftees. The only new part here is the stainless steel case for the firelight. I couldn't find anything else to use for that but in the piece I am building now, I made that part from a wine bottle and my 3 D printer. It is comming out really good and has the most movement by far.

Some of the smaller brass parts on this were from an old brass bed. Like the part under the rotating copper toilet bowl float and under the bulb.
You turn this on by moving the accelerator to the left and coming out of the carburetor.

Paul, the first one you described...connected the level weight thing to the magnet turns it on? If I understood you right, this might be the coolest Favoritest thing I have seen of your steampunk art. That is just amazing to me.

Paul B · Mar 2, 2020

Thanks Victoria, I just may keep that one and it is on my mantle now. My wife put it there so I guess she likes it.

The new piece I am almost finished with is very mechanized and complicated with a lot of movement and lighting.
I have about an hours left of work on it and am very excited.

It is the most complicated one I have done so far and took the longest by far.

Thub · Mar 2, 2020

Any chance of a picture of the whole tank?

Victoria M · Mar 2, 2020

Paul B said:
Thanks Victoria, I just may keep that one and it is on my mantle now. My wife put it there so I guess she likes it.

The new piece I am almost finished with is very mechanized and complicated with a lot of movement and lighting.
I have about an hours left of work on it and am very excited.
It is the most complicated one I have done so far and took the longest by far.

I showed my friend at work your pictures and telling her about your art, that lamp in particular, and just about you in general. She just loved the lamp! And was kinda cracking up about how interesting my fishy friends are. I am blessed to have such great penpals!

Victoria M · Mar 2, 2020

ps. A video of that lamp in action would be cool.

Paul B · Mar 3, 2020

Victoria I am sure we all feel blessed to have you.

Paul B · Mar 3, 2020

Thub, Post 5369 and 5380 are the newest pictures of my tank. I will try to take some newer ones.

Paul B · Mar 4, 2020

Victoria M said:
ps. A video of that lamp in action would be cool.

Victoria, the new mechanized piece is finished but I am not happy with one aspect of it. The bulb is on to high a pipe and I want to lower it. The bulb is 14" high and cost me $40.00, but it's a really cool bulb. Being it is so large, it looks to high. I was going to put a big round bulb on it until I saw this one.

I am painting a wall today with stripes and all so it will take me all day. Maybe tomorrow also. but I will finish the lamp soon and take a video.

Victoria M · Mar 4, 2020

Paul B said:
Victoria, the new mechanized piece is finished but I am not happy with one aspect of it. The bulb is on to high a pipe and I want to lower it. The bulb is 14" high and cost me $40.00, but it's a really cool bulb. Being it is so large, it looks to high. I was going to put a big round bulb on it until I saw this one.

I am painting a wall today with stripes and all so it will take me all day. Maybe tomorrow also. but I will finish the lamp soon and take a video.

Well, Now I want to see a picture of a painted wall with stripes.

drblakjak55 · Mar 4, 2020

Been keeping fish for fifty years. Lost my twelve inch tiger Oscar in the hurricane of 65.
125g African cichlids tank is 40 on its iron stand. Gotta love Africans at 10% of reef tank costs
90g reef is one year old after two total crashes.

Paul B · Mar 4, 2020

Victoria, My wife is stripe crazy. I did the 2 bathrooms in stripes already.
In her bath she wanted metallic horizontal stripes. You can't see it but the silver and gold panels are raised metallic.

I tiled the other side and that window suspended there with LEDs behind it is from a factory about 125 years ago. It was in bad shape but I fixed it so it would not fall apart and hung it about 10" from the wall.

Of course I didn't move anything or put the light on to take the picture because I am busy painting.