Paul B's thread

I just took a video. There are about 30 fish in there but most are small and thy like to hide especially when I open the top.

 
I am going out for my morning walk/jog now but it is still pitch dark out there and I don't want to get eaten by a rabid duck so I have to wait a few minutes. I slightly cut down on my "breakneck" speed on my "walks" because I lost slightly more weight than I wanted to. :giggle:

2 years ago I planned to lose 25 lbs. I wasn't a Moose or anything but I was overweight like almost everyone in America except some ballet dancers and my blackworms. I weighed myself this morning and found I lost 28 lbs so I am fading away to a freight car.

This is a perfect weight for me and I keep asking my wife to call Jenny Craig to see if she needs a Spokesmodel. I keep refusing offers from
"Chip and Dale" dancers and I won't appear in any male underwear commercials. It just isn't me. :unsure:

I normally walk on my morning walks but lately I have been jogging because I often see a female jogger who goes faster than I do....Much faster.

I am afraid she will catch me because it seems she is carrying a bunch of twenty dollar bills and I am not sure what she plans to do with them if she catches me. :oops:

Disclamer: This is a true story but:
If this is racist, feminist, abusive, anti semitic, anti tree, anti ballerina, anti Chip and Dale dancer, anti worms, ants, anti biotic, Anti M (from the Wizzard of OZ" rent it it has flying monkeys in it..You will love it) or any word that begins with the letter A, biased in any way on Earth, please delete it and sentence me and my fish to 74 days of quarantine in hydrogen peroxide while listening to Rap music through Alexa on volume 9
 
Quote:
The table is EPIC! it is something that my wife would LOVE! Any pics of your steampunk? We are adding a master suite and need to decorate.

Happy reefing to All, and to All Happy reefs:cool:

End Quote

Actually all of them were on display at the Library here and I just sold 4 of them and gave away another one.
I still have these left. They are taking up valuable space on my work bench so I really need to move them out to make room for more projects. :)

I just build these as a hobby.

Steam Punk Web 3.JPG


Steam Punk web 1.JPG


Steam Punk Lamp on.jpg
 
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Today I am diatom filtering my tank........No! not for any stupid parasites as that is just silly. I decided to clean a small portion of my back glass. Like 8X8 to see what is living back there and the stuff is half an inch thick and flying all over the tank.

I don't like that and it sticks on my gorgonians so I am filtering it out. I won't clean the entire back because thats one of the secrets of a healthy tank so don't tell anyone. :rolleyes:
Tank with diatom.JPG



For those who don't know what a diatom filter is......You are so young and probably watch Justin Beiber and never saw your girlfriend except on Facebook.

Diatom filters were big in the 60s and 70s which is when I got this one. I had to replace the motor a couple of times because they were built, (not very well) for freshwater and when you use them in salt, you can hear them rust.

I still have 3 or 4 of them in various states of decomposition.

I don't think I could be in this hobby if I didn't have a diatom filter although any powerful canister filter may work, just not as good.

I don't use this filter to often or long because it removes anything solid including pods, coral food and parasites which I "don't" want to remove.

And if you run gravel or a "reverse undergravel filter" as I do, this stirring up of the gravel is needed maybe two or three times a year as it gets full of detritus and although I like detritus, I don't want it clogging anything.

All of us have nose hairs ( some of us really need to trim those hairs) and those hairs are to filter air we breathe in so we don't suck in dragon flies or frogs. But if we had to many, or to thick nose hairs, we would not be able to breathe so those dragon flies and frogs would be safe but we would croak. We would also look Icky.

A diatom filter, as the name suggests is that it used diatom skeletons which are much smaller than this ---------> . <----------

They filter out things as small as a micron which is 0.0004" which is smaller than an ich parasite.
I don't use it for parasites nor do I care about parasites but if you do, a diatom filter will remove parasites from a semi bare tank of if you like quarantine tanks it will remove all the parasites from there so you wouldn't have to use medications which I abhor (That means hate)

Diatom filters use diatom powder which you dump after you use the thing and it is very cheap from swimming pool companies.
Vortex used to make them but they are out of business so I have no idea where to get them now....Sorry.

If my last working one bites the dust I will have to build one.
 
In the 7 years since I wrote my book I have attended a few conferences put on by neurologists. My wife has MS so we get invited to these things all the time. The last one was about stress and how it lowers our immunity and gives us all sorts of other afflictions including what I consider the most interesting, shortens our (and I assume fish) lifespans.

How does stress do this? It is actually simple. Our bodies make Cortisol. We exude it from our adrenal gland constantly and it gives us energy for various tasks. Our bodies use it as the day goes by.

If we for instance are being chased by a rhinoceros, Model T Ford or Henry Winkler, our Adrenalin gland would pump out a lot of cortisol to give us energy.

Cortisol dissolves some of the calcium in our bones for our energy. and turns some muscle into sugar for energy.

These are good things especially when we were always in danger of being eaten by something.
But cortisol has some big problems to. When our bodies produce it but can't use it it also brings out dormant diseases, lowers our immunity, lowers our sex drive and a whole lot of other things. But the worst thing it does is shorten our life span.

The way it does that is because there is this thing on the ends of every chromosome in every cell of our bodies. This thing is called a telemere. As we grow and age our chromosomes need to divide and different creatures do this at different time spans.

The telemere at the end of each chromosome is like the "aglet" on the end of our shoelace and it keeps that chromosome from unraveling so it protects it. But every time the chromosome divides the telemere gets shorter until there is no more of it left and the chromosome degrades and can no longer divide. That is the end of our lifespan and in Humans happens at about age 80 or so.

That is why everything has a lifespan and can't live forever.

Cortisol is called the stress hormone because stress causes us to make more cortisol and if we are not physically running for our life, our muscles can't use that cortisol so it builds up.
The main problem with this is that it shortens those telemeres shortening our and I assume a fishes lifespan.

Fish experience stress in a tank but really experience it in a tank not set up like the ocean such as a bare quarantine tank with PVC elbows from Home Depot and fish not getting the food they recognize.

So (and I am speculating here as I am an electrician and not a fish physiologist) if a fish has a normal lifespan of 10 years and we get that fish 2 years old. 72 days in quarantine with copper will make that fish create a lot of cortisol which will shorten it's lifespan. How much? No one knows because all fish are different and fish are built much differently than most of us.

But I think that is the main reason that I have not been able to find even one fully quarantined tank or fish that is very old. But of course I am guessing.

If all of our fish are not mainly dying of only old age, we are failing and doing something wrong.
Just my opinion of course. :)
 
I am going to a dermatologist/plastic surgeon this morning because this Dr. found a freckle under my eye that he tested and said it is cancer.

He also removed a "freckle" under my arm yesterday that Dr. Dogie Howser said was "questionable".

At my age, everything on me is "questionable" :oops:

At that time Dugie and a Supermodel assistant numbed my arm with some novocaine or Prizapro and made an incision. He kept talking and said that he was going to make a diamond shaped incision. His assistant was asking "why not make a square" incision?

They were going on and on about the shape and depth of the incision until I said, Look, I don't care if you make an incision that resembles Angelina Jolie or Mount Rushmore. Just cut the thing out, rub some Rowaphas on it and let me out of here because I got fish to feed. :rolleyes:
 
Nothing wrong with my eye but the lower eyelid will have some stitches in it so they don't want it to rip. I am not crazy about this Idea so I may go for 2, 3 or 9 other opinions. Friday I am going to the Eyelid surgeon. Who even knew there was such a thing.

It's a tiny freckle. This is why you should never listen to your wife and go to a dermatologist for a skin check. I probably had this thing for 50 years and it was not going to turn into anything . But after they prod it and take biopsies, it turns red and wives think this is important.

Just leave things alone and they will be fine.

If you go to a foot doctor, they will find something wrong with your foot, a heart doctor will find a problem with your heart and a hair doctor will tell you you are bald. Just stay home or go out to dinner and don't invite any doctors, lawyers or shoe salesman and go about your life. :confused-face:

These people don't make money looking at their fish tank. :rolleyes:
 
I cancelled my eyelid surgeon today. I don't trust the guy and will find someone else, maybe a Veterinarian, horse doctor or Dr. Korvorkian

The office called me to ask why I cancelled. I told them I don't want my eyelid sewed closed, then wait two weeks to get it fixed.


I got a different guy who will do it differently, maybe using small toggle bolts or double sided tape. :sick:
 
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving :D We are going out tonight to City Island which is a small Island off the Bronx which is all sea food restaurants and is famous for that. I will have my traditional clams for a pre Thanksgiving feast. :) Then to the Grand Kids in lower Manhattan.

Yesterday I went to a doctor to get some stitches removed from the back of my arm that Dugie Howser said he needed to remove.
He said, Oh No, you have to wait 5 more days to remove these.

I said, Like, why did your office tell me to come in today as I don't live around the corner and I am sure you knew how long stitches had to stay in before you removed them.

This place is in Hampton Bays about 40 minutes from me.
They want me to come back in a week but of course that ain't gonna happen so now I have to remove them myself. The problem is they are on the back of my right arm where I can't see so I am getting my friend to do it. I wonder if my insurance takes his bill? :confused:

PS. I got a different doctor to remove this "freckle" on my eyelid and that will happen in January.
They call it a surgery but if I could take my screaming, I would do it myself as they make a big deal out of the stupidest things. :rolleyes:
 
Dear Ma and Pa,

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you get to stay in bed till nearly 5 a.m. But I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food, plus yours, holds you until noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.

We go on "route marches," which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.

The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.

This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake . I only beat him once. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds and he's 6'8" and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,

Alice
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I found this on this thread from 2014:

I would like to keep the tank running at least another 7 years until it is fifty. At that time I am not sure what we are going to do as we may downsize our house to a condo. We also may want to take long cruises on our boat so I am not sure if I can keep the tank going after that. I don't have any plans yet, just thinking out loud. I will also be kind of old in 7 more years but so far I have no definate plans to do anything.
I have had a tank of some kind continousely for over 60 years so I think I am well along in the hobby as I put some time into it. I just hope I don't start forgetting the things I learned before I get a chance to write them all down. Some of the old school techniques like treating water with Clorox or feeding fish Plaster of Paris is not well known.
We did actually downsize and move to a condo. We also did take some long cruises on our boat and much larger boats on a river through Europe. I don't use Clorox any longer in my new water because I have a much better source for water now and I forgot that I used to make food from Plaster of Paris mixed with I think Bananas, clams and other things to feed my moorish Idol and some butterflyfish. :)
 
So for two days I haven,t seem my favorite fish. This fan tail file. I crawled around the back of the tank with a flashlight and there he was.
Dead. He seemed to have gotten stuck in the tube that goes along the back bottom of my tank to feed one of the undergravel filter plates. It starts about an inch from the glass and gets tighter and tighter. He must have swam through that space and got stuck.



His side fins were against his body so reverse didn't work and his gills were forced shut.

I figured I would try to get him out of there but it was a very tight spot under all sorts of things and behind all the rocks. I got a long acrylic rod with a plastic toothpick thing sticking out of it. (feeding stick) and tried to nudge him out.

His eyes were white as was his skin. Poor fella. After many tries I gently nudged him out where he floated to the bottom and laid there.

A few seconds later,,,,,,He moved. Then he twitched........Then I swear he winked at me.

He got up and swam upright and went in a cave. A few hours later I fed the tank. He came out and ate some mysis.

Today, he is back to his normal self looking just perfect. If I didn't look for him, I am sure he would be sushi now.
 
When I moved here almost 5 years ago I had a Handicapped elevator installed. I went in there yesterday in a pouring rain and the thing is full of water and that elevator is not an outdoor machine and is not supposed to get wet.

I opened up the top door while the car was down and saw that the Jiboni who installed the thing cut the hole in the wall for the door.

(It's outside in the side of the building) they didn't put the tar paper up over the cut where the door goes so the water cascades down into the car.

Anyway, I need to remove the deck boards to access it and of course the "deck screws" they installed it with are rusted so the "torx" head screws are stripped. (of course they are) If you need something done, do it yourself but they wouldn't let me build this house myself so I had to have their "expert Jiboni",,,,I mean house builders do it.

Now I need "easy out" screw extractors to remove the screws to seal the shaft. I have screw extractors and I don't know where I got them but they are made in China so of course they also are stripped and rusty so don't work.

I just ordered some "American made" screw extractors from Amazon which is surprising and I had to look through many pages before I found one.
There is a huge difference between Chinese steel and American steel in tools or hardware which is why you can get a Chinese drill bit for 50 cents and that same bit made in America may be eight bucks, but if you need to drill something in hardened steel instead of butter, you need a good tool.

Chinese grade tools are good for a homeowner who is going to drill one hole in balsa wood once every two years, but a serious crafts man needs a much better tool.

I only buy American for other reasons also because I am an American and a Veteran but almost nothing is made here any more. If I look long enough I can get most things but it isn't easy. :giggle:

Not just China, I am talking the Philopeans, India, Viet Nam, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Korea etc.
 
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