Paul B's thread

[Paul B]

The only carpentry tools I have left that I am not taking with me is an old circular saw. It may be very old and a much newer cut saw. I am bringing my very large radial arm saw so I won't need the cut saw. I also have a large band saw and real big, very old drill press that I am taking. I already gave away one sawzall and an impact drill but I have a couple more.

 

[Paul B]

I have not seen this guy for months and figured he shed and got eaten by the hoards of bristleworms I have in my tank. Thats what usually happens to any crustaceans in my tank when they shed. But this little fella showed up yesterday no worse for the wear. I think I still have four more of them in the back someplace.

 

[Bao]

So Paul, with the new tank, will you still be using your undergravel filtration method?

 

[Paul B]

Of course! Why wouldn't I. I don't know of an older tank that doesn't use a UG filter.

 

[Paul B]

In spite of my practically ignoring my tank lately, everything looks great. My Bangai is still living although he has not eaten anything in about a month and his age is severely slowing him down. He still gets around but slower and has no interest in the things he used to like, He is also near sighted or practically blind but he is way past his lifespan so I wish him a peaceful demise whenever it comes.
My four pipefish are still enjoying the tank and all eating a little too much. The copperband is still my largest eater by far and it is hard to keep enough clams for him. The bluestripes, mandarins, clownfish and striped cardinals are still spawning and the two purple Queen Anthias are constantly catching tiny particles from the water column.
I really enjoy the Janss and dragon face pipefish and after I move, (if I am lucky enough to move the tank) I would like to get a few more.
My wife is in a lot of pain which is almost unbearable and I am trying to help her as much as I can but there is nothing I can do. She may have to go again for Gamma Knife surgery to treat Trigeminal Neuralgia due to the MS.
This is making me very sad as I can't help her.

 

[Paul B]

After we came back from DR (MRI, Blood etc.) I put her in bed and noticed my skimmer was just making large bubbles. I actually noticed this 2 weeks ago but I have been busy so I couldn't mess with it. I just took apart the venturi valve and it was filled with tube worm shells so I cleaned it out. I don't know if they grew there or got sucked up in the intake but it was completely clogged. I run ozone which it seems bristle worms enjoy because there is a tiny one doing the Macarana in my skimmer.

 

[Paul B]

Yesterday I fed my tank as usual. Clams, mysis, new born brine shrimp and live worms. Of course all the fish, especially the copperband rushed out and try to eat everything before the next fish gets it. My Janss pipefish also but he has a tiny mouth and can't eat much food unless it is very tiny, but the competition was fierce and I guess he was hungry so he darted through the hoard of fish like a javelin almost spearing the copperband to grab a mysis shrimp. I watched in horror because I knew that mysis was to large for him. I was right, he started to choke. If he had hands he would have put them on his throat, the international symbol for choking. He was in trouble and I could see the tail of the mysis sticking out his gill. He was trying to gag, but fish don't gag well and they don't have a tongue to push the food out. I rolled up my sleeves, ready to go in to give him the Heimlich maneuver, or worse, a tracheotomy. But I was to slow, he made his way behind the rocks. I crawled around the back of the tank with a flashlight only to see him twisting and gagging. The eyes on the bristle worms were wide open in anticipation of a long skinny meal. I couldn't watch any longer so I had a glass of Grand Marnier and watched a re run of Star Trek.
This morning I fully expected to see him in pieces sticking out from under a hermit crab shell.
The lights came on and there he was. Smiling and looking for more mysis.

You could see the Janss in this Video.

 

[Abrooks12376]

That was an emotional rollercoaster..wheeww glad he's alright.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[Paul B]

I brought over one of my wife's friends to cheer her up so I too a video in my spare time.

 

[Paul B]

I am in the process of designing the new room in my new house where my tank will go. Right now it is a cement room with no windows about 18' X 20'. I need to build my workshop and some closets for myself and my wife. The most important thing is my tank and my workbench. I will put the tank in a closet with the front showing so I will just have to heat that closet while I am not home. I will also heat the rest of the space. Of course I will have multiple heaters in the tank. I am designing my RO/DI in the fish closet as well as my auto top off bucket like I have now. Also the effluent from the RO will feed the blackworm tank as it does now. I will also put in a bathroom and slop sink.
I will use metal studs for most of the construction and wood in the fish closet (for the rust). My galvanized stand now is very rusty and metal studs will rust right away. I will also sheetrock the fish closet with green (moisture proof) sheetrock. I was in construction all my life and have build many such places. The work is easy. The design I want to be perfect before I build. There is also a Home Depot and Lowes with in a mile which will be convenient.

I also need to put in an elevator for my wife who doesn't do stairs well due to MS. The place is all on one floor but that floor is over the garage and workshop.

I am cleaning out to move and I just threw out almost all my SCUBA pictures from all over the world. I also found a bunch of old tank pictures from the 80s. I can't take everything and being I have not look at them for years, I don't need them.

 

[Abrooks12376]

Levitation is possible.. stairs are a thing of the past.. You have military connections so put in a call to the air force surplus guy and maybe see what type of large engines are lying around?? Marilyn Monroe would be proud of that "elevator". Can't wait to see what's in the works Paul, you have many many skills, Liam Nisan of the BRS!!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[Paul B]

Thanks, I have all sorts of things designed, now if my wife would do a little better I can start building some things, starting with a tank stand.

 

[Paul B]

These guys spawned again last night. Before I went to bed they were, like my Mother used to say "Mushing it up". This morning the female is a lot skinnier. I don't know where they lay the eggs but I am sure my pipefish will enjoy the fry when they hatch.

 

[Paul B]

My Bangai Cardinal finally died of old age. He has not eaten in over a month. He had a good life and is now in the big fishbowl in the sky.

 

[aresangel]

Bummer man. At least it was expected and of old age and not bullying or disease. RIP fishy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Paul B]

Thanks, my fish are not allowed to die of disease.

 

[Paul B]

Video, anemone crab and pipefish

 

[Paul B]

I will be building a tiny bathroom in the workshop of my new house and I was ordering a toilet bowl. I found the one I want but I am a little Leary because it is not allowed for sale in these countries:

This item has been restricted from sale in the following countries: Andorra, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Albania, Armenia, Angola, Antarctica, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Aruba, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina-Faso, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Bolivia, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba, Bahamas, Bhutan, Bouvet Islands, Botswana, Belarus, Belize, Cocos Islands, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Congo, Switzerland, Ivory Coast, Cook Islands, Chile, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Curacao, Christmas Island, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Djibouti, Denmark, Dominica, Algeria, Ecuador, Estonia, Egypt, Western Sahara, Eritrea, Spain, Ethiopia, Finland, Fiji, Falkland Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Faroe Islands, France, Gabon, United Kingdom, Grenada, Georgia, French Guiana, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greenland, Gambia, Guinea, Guadeloupe, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, S. George & S. Sandwich Islands, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Hong Kong, Heard and McDonald Islands, Honduras, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Isle of Man, India, British Indian Ocean Territory, Iraq, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Bailiwick of Jersey, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kirghizia, Cambodia, Kiribati, Comoros, St. Kitts and Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Cayman Islands, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St. Lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Libya, Morocco, Monaco, Moldavia, Republic of Montenegro, Saint Martin, Madagascar, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Macedonia, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Macau, Northern Mariana Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Montserrat, Malta, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, New Caledonia, Niger, Norfolk Islands, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Nauru, Niue Islands, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Peru, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Poland, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Pitcairn Islands, Palestinian Territory, Portugal, Paraguay, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Republic of Serbia, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sudan, Sweden, Singapore, Saint Helena, Slovenia, Svalbard, Slovakia, Sierra Leone, San Marino, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, Republic of South Sudan, Sao Tome and Principe, El Salvador, Country of Sint Maarten, Syria, Swaziland, Turks and Caicos Islands, Chad, French Southern Territories, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Tokelau Islands, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Tonga, Turkey, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uganda, American Minor Outlying Islands, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, British Virgin Islands, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Western Samoa, Yemen, Mayotte, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Like REALLY! Is it me or does that seem like a lot of places where you can't buy this. I mean places like Futuna Islands, Mayotte, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Burkina-Faso, Djibouti. Like whats the problem in those places? Not that I ever heard of any of them.

Instead of listing all that, why don't they just say: This item is only available in Bayonne New Jersey on a Tuesday between 2:00 and 2:15

 

[Abrooks12376]

What about this toilet calls out to you?? I was sold on the being able to flush 10 golf balls myself..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[Paul B]

It has a back outlet so I can connect it to the main sewer pipe going vertical down the wall. Most American bowls flush through the floor but the place has a concrete floor and it is much easier to go through the wall. It also needs to bolt through the floor and most of the back flushes bolt to the wall. I need it to mount to the wall. It also has a connection system that I can easily use in this situation. There are a few other models that do what I want but none of them are American