-
Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.
Tank birthday and I'm a Geezer
- Thread starter Paul B
- Start date
reefsandrotts
NJRC Member
Happy BirthdayI keep dumping alk in and this morning I received a new test kit so I will see where it is.
Today is my Main Squeeze of over 50 years birthday.
This picture is a "little" old.
Paul B
NJRC Member
On my morning walks in the winter I normally pass this church.
The thing was built right in the middle of George Washington's Presidency. It must have been a very wealthy parish because of one important and historical fact. It is covered in aluminum siding and I had no idea that Home Depot even carried aluminum siding almost 300 years ago.
1791, thats even a few years before I was born.
Maybe George even worshipped there as he didn't have much to do because just a few years prior to that we threw out the British.
They were annoying anyway always walking around with those bright red coats while drinking tea.
The Americans didn't like tea as we preferred coffee or Red Bull and the British didn't like that so they called us savages. The tea was loose, and you had to mix it with hot water that you boiled over whale oil but then you had to pick out all those stringy, soggy tea leaves before you could drink it.
So to spite the British we dumped it all in Boston Harbor and had a big party.
That really got them mad so we forced them all back on their ships by blasting Rap music and sent them back to their Queen and all her unemployed friends who spent all their time dancing the Minuet to the tune "Penny Lane".
But now we had a harbor full of floating tea. (on a side note, thats why even today, all the fish in Boston Harbor are brown)
The tea was tangling up our fishing lines and getting stuck on the snouts of fish like Copper Band butterflies that were the predominant fish there so we had to do something.
The Women in Boston, when they weren't making American flags got together and formed a knitting club.
They made these very fine fishing nets that were then dragged over the surface of the harbor to collect the tea. Then they laid it all out in large sheets to dry in the sun.
Instead of wasting all that tea the Ladies decided to sell it in small batches. One woman was in charge, I think her name was Mrs Lipton. The problem was that it was all tangled up in that fine netting so they delicately cut off the netting leaving a little string hanging off each tiny bundle of tea and thats why today our tea has that little string hanging off of it.
True Story
Just a little morning history as I am waiting for my wife to get up.
The thing was built right in the middle of George Washington's Presidency. It must have been a very wealthy parish because of one important and historical fact. It is covered in aluminum siding and I had no idea that Home Depot even carried aluminum siding almost 300 years ago.
1791, thats even a few years before I was born.
Maybe George even worshipped there as he didn't have much to do because just a few years prior to that we threw out the British.
They were annoying anyway always walking around with those bright red coats while drinking tea.
The Americans didn't like tea as we preferred coffee or Red Bull and the British didn't like that so they called us savages. The tea was loose, and you had to mix it with hot water that you boiled over whale oil but then you had to pick out all those stringy, soggy tea leaves before you could drink it.
So to spite the British we dumped it all in Boston Harbor and had a big party.
That really got them mad so we forced them all back on their ships by blasting Rap music and sent them back to their Queen and all her unemployed friends who spent all their time dancing the Minuet to the tune "Penny Lane".
But now we had a harbor full of floating tea. (on a side note, thats why even today, all the fish in Boston Harbor are brown)
The tea was tangling up our fishing lines and getting stuck on the snouts of fish like Copper Band butterflies that were the predominant fish there so we had to do something.
The Women in Boston, when they weren't making American flags got together and formed a knitting club.
They made these very fine fishing nets that were then dragged over the surface of the harbor to collect the tea. Then they laid it all out in large sheets to dry in the sun.
Instead of wasting all that tea the Ladies decided to sell it in small batches. One woman was in charge, I think her name was Mrs Lipton. The problem was that it was all tangled up in that fine netting so they delicately cut off the netting leaving a little string hanging off each tiny bundle of tea and thats why today our tea has that little string hanging off of it.
True Story
Just a little morning history as I am waiting for my wife to get up.
. Always enjoy reading your posts.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Thank you Diana. We had company last night for dinner and since we are all Italian I made some peasant food. Escarole and beans with pasta.
That is my wife's favorite dish. Sometimes I make it with broccoli rob. I also usually bake rosemary/olive oil bread but I just bought it yesterday as it was a spur of the moment thing.
Your Daughters lunch sounds delicious. She is lucky to have a Mom such as you.
That is my wife's favorite dish. Sometimes I make it with broccoli rob. I also usually bake rosemary/olive oil bread but I just bought it yesterday as it was a spur of the moment thing.
Your Daughters lunch sounds delicious. She is lucky to have a Mom such as you.
broccoli rob is my favorite with pasta and sausage in olive oil with so much garlic you can kill a vampire at 100 paces.Thank you Diana. We had company last night for dinner and since we are all Italian I made some peasant food. Escarole and beans with pasta.
That is my wife's favorite dish. Sometimes I make it with broccoli rob. I also usually bake rosemary/olive oil bread but I just bought it yesterday as it was a spur of the moment thing.
Your Daughters lunch sounds delicious. She is lucky to have a Mom such as you.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Sicilians eat fish and little more. Thats mostly what I cook.
Linguine and clams
Black linguine and clams
Clam chowder
Stuffed Calamari
Oysters
Clams anyway. I will eat them from the sea like M&Ms. (Or W&Ws depending on
if you are reading them up side down)
Any kind of shrimp (as long as they are American)
Spaghetti and crabs. When I catch enough.
I don't particularly like lobster, even these rock lobster but my wife and daughter can live on them.
Of course any kind of fish. This was probably in the 80s. Thats one of my close friends and also a Vietnam Vet
And I bake all my bread.
I am 100% Sicilian, (but born in Brooklyn so all American)
Linguine and clams
Black linguine and clams
Clam chowder
Stuffed Calamari
Oysters
Clams anyway. I will eat them from the sea like M&Ms. (Or W&Ws depending on
if you are reading them up side down)
Any kind of shrimp (as long as they are American)
Spaghetti and crabs. When I catch enough.
I don't particularly like lobster, even these rock lobster but my wife and daughter can live on them.
Of course any kind of fish. This was probably in the 80s. Thats one of my close friends and also a Vietnam Vet
And I bake all my bread.
I am 100% Sicilian, (but born in Brooklyn so all American)
Paul B
NJRC Member
So today I had to go to a pain Management doctor to see if I need another back surgery. I don't.
But while I was there I wanted her to take care of two trigger fingers I have. I already had nine surgeries for trigger fingers because for some stupid reason, I am prone to that.
Maybe it's from all my bungee jumping.
Anyway, to fix this she gives you a shot in the palm of your hand near the affected finger. This feels like you are getting a colonoscopy through your finger and one of the most painful things I have ever done and I had 36 surgeries, kidney stones and broke many of my bones and tore most of the things holding my bones together. I didn't have a sissy job sitting behind a computer while throwing pencils up into the ceiling to see if they would stick in the ceiling tiles.
Being this shot is so painful, first she gives you shots of Novocain, just like a dentist but a dentists chair is more comfortable.
The Novocain shot is more painful then the real shot so before she gives you that, she freezes it.
Her assistant, (who looks like he just got out of high school) came in with the can of freezing stuff and he was reading the can. The doctor said to him "Did you ever do this before?". He said "No".
So I said, then you are not going to do it now. The doctor showed him how to do it anyway because he had to learn on "someone".
She gets this gel stuff and dumps a glob of it on my hand. Thats for the sonogram thing like they do for pregnant Ladies, and it lets her see exactly where she has to put the needle because if she misses, the stuff could come out your ear or some other orifice.
OK, now she knows exactly where to shoot me and she aims the numbing needle at my hand and tells the assistant to freeze my hand in that spot.
Just then, her phone rings. It's tripple A and it turns out she has a flat on her Tesla outside and they need to get in her car. Apparently, Tesla's don't have spare tires or a key and they need your phone or a code to get in.
Still holding the needle centimeters from my palm, she tells the assistant to hold the phone on her ear. While she is speaking to the car guy, she tells the assistant to feeze my hand.
He pulls the trigger and fumbles with the phone and shoots the freeze stuff all over my arm almost giving me frostbite elbow. Everything is frozen except the part on my hand where she is about to stick the needle.
The guy with the car yells, the door didn't open. Now the assistant gets a new can of ice and shoots the right place. My hand and arm was so frozen that Jo Jo Starbuck could have done a triple axel on it.
She sticks the Novocain needle in and the pain was so severe, my wife screamed and so did her cousin who was sitting at home watching Naked and Afraid.
The car guy yells, I can't open the door. She yells back, "I'm with a patient and can't come out".
He says, "I need to go to another job. She says "Wait" and tells me that she has to go outside. But she pulled out the needle before she left so I am sitting there with Ice man.
She comes back and apologizes and gets back to sticking things in me. Now she sticks the thing in my other finger. Same reaction.
Now she fills another, much larger needle which looked more like the baster I use to feed my fish with and tells me "I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt.
I said, "Lets try it on ice man first".
But he was already in Dominoes. She plunges this tire iron in my palm and I tried not to scream to loud because she is kind of young and pretty so I didn't want to look like a Jiboni. But dam, it hurt.
As she pushed in on the plunger, I could feel this fire going all the way to the end of my fingers and I even think some of it went into my big toe.
I drove home with a really swollen hand which was totally numb.
I went to look at my fish to relax me and right in the front of the tank, I see a big dead fish.
I never get a dead fish and don't even know which fish it was. It was a big fish, as large as a watchman goby and had the same markings so I assumed it was my watchman. But he was there smiling at me.
I looked at all my fish, almost 50 of them and can't tell which fish it was. It was kind of half eaten. It may have been something that was in there growing in a cave and I didn't even know I had it.
It was a very weird day.
But while I was there I wanted her to take care of two trigger fingers I have. I already had nine surgeries for trigger fingers because for some stupid reason, I am prone to that.
Maybe it's from all my bungee jumping.
Anyway, to fix this she gives you a shot in the palm of your hand near the affected finger. This feels like you are getting a colonoscopy through your finger and one of the most painful things I have ever done and I had 36 surgeries, kidney stones and broke many of my bones and tore most of the things holding my bones together. I didn't have a sissy job sitting behind a computer while throwing pencils up into the ceiling to see if they would stick in the ceiling tiles.
Being this shot is so painful, first she gives you shots of Novocain, just like a dentist but a dentists chair is more comfortable.
The Novocain shot is more painful then the real shot so before she gives you that, she freezes it.
Her assistant, (who looks like he just got out of high school) came in with the can of freezing stuff and he was reading the can. The doctor said to him "Did you ever do this before?". He said "No".
So I said, then you are not going to do it now. The doctor showed him how to do it anyway because he had to learn on "someone".
She gets this gel stuff and dumps a glob of it on my hand. Thats for the sonogram thing like they do for pregnant Ladies, and it lets her see exactly where she has to put the needle because if she misses, the stuff could come out your ear or some other orifice.
OK, now she knows exactly where to shoot me and she aims the numbing needle at my hand and tells the assistant to freeze my hand in that spot.
Just then, her phone rings. It's tripple A and it turns out she has a flat on her Tesla outside and they need to get in her car. Apparently, Tesla's don't have spare tires or a key and they need your phone or a code to get in.
Still holding the needle centimeters from my palm, she tells the assistant to hold the phone on her ear. While she is speaking to the car guy, she tells the assistant to feeze my hand.
He pulls the trigger and fumbles with the phone and shoots the freeze stuff all over my arm almost giving me frostbite elbow. Everything is frozen except the part on my hand where she is about to stick the needle.
The guy with the car yells, the door didn't open. Now the assistant gets a new can of ice and shoots the right place. My hand and arm was so frozen that Jo Jo Starbuck could have done a triple axel on it.
She sticks the Novocain needle in and the pain was so severe, my wife screamed and so did her cousin who was sitting at home watching Naked and Afraid.
The car guy yells, I can't open the door. She yells back, "I'm with a patient and can't come out".
He says, "I need to go to another job. She says "Wait" and tells me that she has to go outside. But she pulled out the needle before she left so I am sitting there with Ice man.
She comes back and apologizes and gets back to sticking things in me. Now she sticks the thing in my other finger. Same reaction.
Now she fills another, much larger needle which looked more like the baster I use to feed my fish with and tells me "I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt.
I said, "Lets try it on ice man first".
But he was already in Dominoes. She plunges this tire iron in my palm and I tried not to scream to loud because she is kind of young and pretty so I didn't want to look like a Jiboni. But dam, it hurt.
As she pushed in on the plunger, I could feel this fire going all the way to the end of my fingers and I even think some of it went into my big toe.
I drove home with a really swollen hand which was totally numb.
I went to look at my fish to relax me and right in the front of the tank, I see a big dead fish.
I never get a dead fish and don't even know which fish it was. It was a big fish, as large as a watchman goby and had the same markings so I assumed it was my watchman. But he was there smiling at me.
I looked at all my fish, almost 50 of them and can't tell which fish it was. It was kind of half eaten. It may have been something that was in there growing in a cave and I didn't even know I had it.
It was a very weird day.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I am having a fish problem. Yesterday I lost two Sunburst Anthius at the exact time. They looked perfect and ate that morning.
I found them just barely alive but everything else in the tank, including the corals seem perfect. No spots, scratching, weird swimming, no fast breathing, nothing. I never lose fish.
Two of these. I had them almost 6 years. Inside their gills was perfect, no irritation or parasites.
I got a new ALK test kit. My old one I think was very off. It read 4 and the pH was very low.
But even if the alk was that low, that means the water would be very acidic and the corals would have croaked. But they all look great.
Now I tested and my alk is to high because I stupidly tried to raise it according to my old kit. But again, that should only affect corals.
I will be busy for a few days and won't have time to do anything on my tank or even see it so I hope it was just a fluke. And I never added any flukes to my tank.
When I have time, probably in 2 weeks I will drive out east on the end of Long Island and collect 50 gallons of NSW in the Atlantic. I have been using this fake water for the last 3 or 4 water changes and I don't like it.
Two other weird things happened recently. While I was on the phone, it looked like something either spawned or exploded in my rock. On one tiny hole in a rock this thick white plume emerged.
I have seen many things spawn but this was different. Much thicker liquid. I immediately sucked it out as much as I could with a baster thing.
I can't see the creature that exuded this stuff but it must have a little size to it. There are many odd things growing in this tank for the last half a century and it never fails to amaze me.
I have been having some problems ever since I eliminated that invasive sponge that took over my tank and I am still dealing with the toxins it spewed all over my tank.
This gobi is resting on the evil stuff.
I found them just barely alive but everything else in the tank, including the corals seem perfect. No spots, scratching, weird swimming, no fast breathing, nothing. I never lose fish.
Two of these. I had them almost 6 years. Inside their gills was perfect, no irritation or parasites.
I got a new ALK test kit. My old one I think was very off. It read 4 and the pH was very low.
But even if the alk was that low, that means the water would be very acidic and the corals would have croaked. But they all look great.
Now I tested and my alk is to high because I stupidly tried to raise it according to my old kit. But again, that should only affect corals.
I will be busy for a few days and won't have time to do anything on my tank or even see it so I hope it was just a fluke. And I never added any flukes to my tank.
When I have time, probably in 2 weeks I will drive out east on the end of Long Island and collect 50 gallons of NSW in the Atlantic. I have been using this fake water for the last 3 or 4 water changes and I don't like it.
Two other weird things happened recently. While I was on the phone, it looked like something either spawned or exploded in my rock. On one tiny hole in a rock this thick white plume emerged.
I have seen many things spawn but this was different. Much thicker liquid. I immediately sucked it out as much as I could with a baster thing.
I can't see the creature that exuded this stuff but it must have a little size to it. There are many odd things growing in this tank for the last half a century and it never fails to amaze me.
I have been having some problems ever since I eliminated that invasive sponge that took over my tank and I am still dealing with the toxins it spewed all over my tank.
This gobi is resting on the evil stuff.
Paul B
NJRC Member
How to tell if a marine creature is dying of old age.
We as aquarists try very hard to keep our animals living as long as possable for a few reasons. Yes, we are caring people and don't want to see them hurt. And, yes, they cost us a lot of money, how much money depends a little on us. If we buy a purple tang for $100.00 and it lives for ten days, then that fish cost us $10.00 a day to enjoy so I would say that is an expensive fish. But if that same fish lives ten years, then that fish only cost us maybe 3 cents a day (I didn't do the math, but you get my point) So then, it is a very cheap fish.
We should all try to keep our fish long enough so that they die from nothing except old age. If our fish keep getting sick, we are doing something wrong as our fish should "never" get sick except for the occasional headache or upset stomach.
Most medium sized ornamental aquarium fish live for about 12-15 years as that is their natural lifespan. That is a general statement because some fish such as clowns live well into their 20s. Smaller fish such as clown gobies, small bleenies, pipefish and seahorses may live for 5 or 6 years and some tangs will live into their 20s and groupers may reach 50. These are generalizations as different fish have different lifespans and many of them do not reach their life span in captivity. I do feel that most fish in a tank can live longer than their wild counterparts just due to the fact that they don't have enemies in our tanks and no one is trying to catch them with huge nets where they will be sold for food.
A fish is an animal that can only look forward to a peaceful death if it is in a very good aquarist tank. Virtually all wild fish die by being eaten alive or suffocating on the deck of a ship.
How do we know if a fish is dying of old age? Actually it is relatively easy. First of all the fish should be full grown. That is easy. Next we should have an idea how long that type of fish would normally live. I gave some examples above. A fish that has lived to the full extent of it's lifetime displays symptoms that are easy to spot. I had many fish die of old age and they all do it about the same. About the last couple of weeks of it's life, it will start to slow down but not exhibit any signs of disease. They will not be the first one to feed any more and may not even try very hard to eat. In a few days, they will stop eating and may rest in a corner. Eventually other fish will pester them and take nips at them. At first, they will try to get away or bite back. Right near the end, they will stop fighting back and their fins will become torn, They may get some spots as their immune system is no longer functioning, they will then get very lethargic and we will find them dead in the morning.
There is nothing we could have done for such a fish except pat ourselves on the back for allowing such a beautiful creature to exist for as long as possable.
We don't have to worry about that for corals as they are imortal. Yes, corals live forever, sort of like politicians. The actual coral polyp is not imortal, but the colony is. Each coral colony is composed of numerous polyps and as new polyps are born, they settle on top of older polyps and in that way, make the colony larger. Entire coral colonys do die because if they didn't, the world would be full of corals.
This watchman is dying of old age at about 12 years old. I got her as a baby.
We as aquarists try very hard to keep our animals living as long as possable for a few reasons. Yes, we are caring people and don't want to see them hurt. And, yes, they cost us a lot of money, how much money depends a little on us. If we buy a purple tang for $100.00 and it lives for ten days, then that fish cost us $10.00 a day to enjoy so I would say that is an expensive fish. But if that same fish lives ten years, then that fish only cost us maybe 3 cents a day (I didn't do the math, but you get my point) So then, it is a very cheap fish.
We should all try to keep our fish long enough so that they die from nothing except old age. If our fish keep getting sick, we are doing something wrong as our fish should "never" get sick except for the occasional headache or upset stomach.
Most medium sized ornamental aquarium fish live for about 12-15 years as that is their natural lifespan. That is a general statement because some fish such as clowns live well into their 20s. Smaller fish such as clown gobies, small bleenies, pipefish and seahorses may live for 5 or 6 years and some tangs will live into their 20s and groupers may reach 50. These are generalizations as different fish have different lifespans and many of them do not reach their life span in captivity. I do feel that most fish in a tank can live longer than their wild counterparts just due to the fact that they don't have enemies in our tanks and no one is trying to catch them with huge nets where they will be sold for food.
A fish is an animal that can only look forward to a peaceful death if it is in a very good aquarist tank. Virtually all wild fish die by being eaten alive or suffocating on the deck of a ship.
How do we know if a fish is dying of old age? Actually it is relatively easy. First of all the fish should be full grown. That is easy. Next we should have an idea how long that type of fish would normally live. I gave some examples above. A fish that has lived to the full extent of it's lifetime displays symptoms that are easy to spot. I had many fish die of old age and they all do it about the same. About the last couple of weeks of it's life, it will start to slow down but not exhibit any signs of disease. They will not be the first one to feed any more and may not even try very hard to eat. In a few days, they will stop eating and may rest in a corner. Eventually other fish will pester them and take nips at them. At first, they will try to get away or bite back. Right near the end, they will stop fighting back and their fins will become torn, They may get some spots as their immune system is no longer functioning, they will then get very lethargic and we will find them dead in the morning.
There is nothing we could have done for such a fish except pat ourselves on the back for allowing such a beautiful creature to exist for as long as possable.
We don't have to worry about that for corals as they are imortal. Yes, corals live forever, sort of like politicians. The actual coral polyp is not imortal, but the colony is. Each coral colony is composed of numerous polyps and as new polyps are born, they settle on top of older polyps and in that way, make the colony larger. Entire coral colonys do die because if they didn't, the world would be full of corals.
This watchman is dying of old age at about 12 years old. I got her as a baby.
Paul B
NJRC Member
We just came back from an overnight out east at the end of the North Fork of Long Island. It's about 25 miles east of where I live and I assume the water is cleaner as it is right on the Atlantic.
I took my wife there for her birthday but this time of the year it is pretty dead there. We stayed at a really nice Spa Hotel (whatever that is) and this morning when we checked out, it was snowing. This was a cafe in the small hotel.
On our way out there we passed a few beaches so I figured I would collect some sea water. It was about 25 degrees and windy.
I backed up as far as I could to the sea and put on my rubber boots. Too a 5 gallon bucket out of my Jeep and walked into the surf. Immediately the wave crashed over my boot freezing my foot.
I grabbed some water from very shallow water so I got almost as much sand as water. I dumped it into one of the 10 gallon pails in the back or my Jeep.
I took another bucket, then another, then I stopped. I only collected 15 gallons but had capacity for 30 gallons. It will have to do because the water temp was probably 35 degrees and my fingers were about to fall off.
Now I am filtering out some of the sand and the water is kind of green and muddy because of the surf.
This is the beach. Most of the beach was inaccessible because in the winter they bulldoze piles of sand near the high tide mark to keep the sand from washing away in the rough winter but they left this cut in the sand so I could get through.
A cop stopped near me, saw me collecting and just shook his head while driving away.
I took my wife there for her birthday but this time of the year it is pretty dead there. We stayed at a really nice Spa Hotel (whatever that is) and this morning when we checked out, it was snowing. This was a cafe in the small hotel.
On our way out there we passed a few beaches so I figured I would collect some sea water. It was about 25 degrees and windy.
I backed up as far as I could to the sea and put on my rubber boots. Too a 5 gallon bucket out of my Jeep and walked into the surf. Immediately the wave crashed over my boot freezing my foot.
I grabbed some water from very shallow water so I got almost as much sand as water. I dumped it into one of the 10 gallon pails in the back or my Jeep.
I took another bucket, then another, then I stopped. I only collected 15 gallons but had capacity for 30 gallons. It will have to do because the water temp was probably 35 degrees and my fingers were about to fall off.
Now I am filtering out some of the sand and the water is kind of green and muddy because of the surf.
This is the beach. Most of the beach was inaccessible because in the winter they bulldoze piles of sand near the high tide mark to keep the sand from washing away in the rough winter but they left this cut in the sand so I could get through.
A cop stopped near me, saw me collecting and just shook his head while driving away.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Yesterday I woke up in sunny Hutchinson Island in Florida.
We went to beautiful seaside restaurants.
And a few hours later we landed in JFK New York and the first thing I see is the snow all over the planes in the airport and it is snowing pretty hard. A guy picked us up from the airport and drove us half an hour to our car. Then we had a 2 hour ride back to our house in eastern Long Island.
This morning at 6:00 am I get a call from the same guy telling me he is here to pick us up from the airport. You just can't win.
We went to beautiful seaside restaurants.
And a few hours later we landed in JFK New York and the first thing I see is the snow all over the planes in the airport and it is snowing pretty hard. A guy picked us up from the airport and drove us half an hour to our car. Then we had a 2 hour ride back to our house in eastern Long Island.
This morning at 6:00 am I get a call from the same guy telling me he is here to pick us up from the airport. You just can't win.
Paul B
NJRC Member
We were gone for a week. This morning I went downstairs to see my fish. As soon as I opened the door to my Man cave I get that horrible smell of dead, rotted fish. OOOOoohhhh NNooo. What could be dead? Could it be everything!. OMG, I rush over to the tank thinking everything would be dead and the corals would be balls of slime.
I opened my eyes to see................................Everything looks great. They are all smiling at me and wagging their tails. Well, they always do that. So I looked around the floor to see if I could find something dead. But no. The floor is clean.
AhHa. I had an automatic frozen fish feeder on the tank and didn't freeze to good so it automatically turned the weeks worth of food in it to snot.
OMG....I got out the bleach and soaked the thing in it.
Luckily, I had the foresight to put pre packaged frozen food in the freezer for my neighbor to use.
Now I am using my diatom filter because although everything looks great, there is seaweed growing on everything and I was thinking of opening a produce stand. While my diatom is trying to suck out algae and detritus, I needed to move my car which is outside in the snow.
It is totally dead. No lights, nothing. This is a new battery so now I need to see what killed the battery. Unfortunately, I think I cracked my hip or something near it so I can't walk to good. I also need a car inspection and the "Check Engine" light is on so I have to replace the thermostat to get the light off so I can get the thing inspected.
With my screwed up hip I need help to remove the battery to get the thermostat out. Of course my wife needs a lot of help so I am having trouble keeping up with my tank.
I opened my eyes to see................................Everything looks great. They are all smiling at me and wagging their tails. Well, they always do that. So I looked around the floor to see if I could find something dead. But no. The floor is clean.
AhHa. I had an automatic frozen fish feeder on the tank and didn't freeze to good so it automatically turned the weeks worth of food in it to snot.
OMG....I got out the bleach and soaked the thing in it.
Luckily, I had the foresight to put pre packaged frozen food in the freezer for my neighbor to use.
Now I am using my diatom filter because although everything looks great, there is seaweed growing on everything and I was thinking of opening a produce stand. While my diatom is trying to suck out algae and detritus, I needed to move my car which is outside in the snow.
It is totally dead. No lights, nothing. This is a new battery so now I need to see what killed the battery. Unfortunately, I think I cracked my hip or something near it so I can't walk to good. I also need a car inspection and the "Check Engine" light is on so I have to replace the thermostat to get the light off so I can get the thing inspected.
With my screwed up hip I need help to remove the battery to get the thermostat out. Of course my wife needs a lot of help so I am having trouble keeping up with my tank.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Yeah It's been a busy week Diana. I think that may have been our last trip on a plane. It's just too hard now. They put my wife in a wheelchair in the airport but that leaves me carrying her walker and 4 suitcases.
I think that may have been our last trip on a plane. It's just too hard now. They put my wife in a wheelchair in the airport but that leaves me carrying her walker and 4 suitcases.
I am not sure how long I can keep my tank now anyway as life is getting tough as we get older and my wife needs more help. Last night 5 minutes after I got in bed, I heard her scream. She fell. She didn't get hurt. She falls a lot due to her MS and her right leg doesn't move at all. Try to walk around with one leg that doesn't even move a quarter of an inch.
It is very hard to get her up as I have to try to lift her and position her foot under her. Now with my screwed up or cracked hip I am not much help. I go to a hip doctor Tuesday or Wednesday so hopefully he will tell me I just need a toggle bolt or some duct tape to fix me.
After 36 operations, I don't need another one and I think thats what my wife is most afraid of.
Oh well. We will see. Supposed to get a foot of snow Thursday. But when they say that, they are always wrong, We will most likely get either two feet or two inches. I know they put a new device in the place where they predict the weather. It's called a window.
Now I will carry around in my car a battery jumper just in case the thing goes dead but I think it will be fine as long as I drive it every 3 or 4 days until I fix it or get someone to fix it. Of course if I need another surgery I will have to get it fixed but that breaks my heart and I may have to turn in my Man card.
I tried testing it last night but the fuse panel on my Jeep is under the dash board behind the plug where you plug in the test meter that tells you why the engine light is on. With the hip problem I can't squeeze myself under the dashboard so I will have to figure this out.
I think that may have been our last trip on a plane. It's just too hard now. They put my wife in a wheelchair in the airport but that leaves me carrying her walker and 4 suitcases.
I am not sure how long I can keep my tank now anyway as life is getting tough as we get older and my wife needs more help. Last night 5 minutes after I got in bed, I heard her scream. She fell. She didn't get hurt. She falls a lot due to her MS and her right leg doesn't move at all. Try to walk around with one leg that doesn't even move a quarter of an inch.
It is very hard to get her up as I have to try to lift her and position her foot under her. Now with my screwed up or cracked hip I am not much help. I go to a hip doctor Tuesday or Wednesday so hopefully he will tell me I just need a toggle bolt or some duct tape to fix me.
After 36 operations, I don't need another one and I think thats what my wife is most afraid of.
Oh well. We will see. Supposed to get a foot of snow Thursday. But when they say that, they are always wrong, We will most likely get either two feet or two inches. I know they put a new device in the place where they predict the weather. It's called a window.
Now I will carry around in my car a battery jumper just in case the thing goes dead but I think it will be fine as long as I drive it every 3 or 4 days until I fix it or get someone to fix it. Of course if I need another surgery I will have to get it fixed but that breaks my heart and I may have to turn in my Man card.
I tried testing it last night but the fuse panel on my Jeep is under the dash board behind the plug where you plug in the test meter that tells you why the engine light is on. With the hip problem I can't squeeze myself under the dashboard so I will have to figure this out.
Last edited: