Tank turned 49 this year

[Paul B]

Last night just before sundown my friend and I go to a boat ramp to collect water.
I back my Jeep up to the water on a boat ramp next to a beach, roll out the hose, throw the bilge pump into the sea and start pumping water into the car.

I have collected water on this beach for maybe 20 years and in all that time I have never seen anyone launch a boat or take one from the water. As a matter of fact, I never even saw a boat in the water there as that is the eastern Long Island Sound and it is a 27 mile wide stretch of open water and kind of rough.

There is space for two boats to launch at the same time.
After one of my three 8 gallon buckets gets filled, a cop shows up. I figured he will ask what we are doing and making sure we are not dumping Anthrax, Prizapro or those little tags that read, "Do Not Remove Under Penalty of The Law".

Now on my car I have a boat ramp permit and a beach access permit that allows me to drive on the sand right into the water like a submarine if I want.
I also have Vietnam Veteran license plates and Combat Veteran stickers.

The Cop says, "Is that your car?"
I almost said "No, I am stealing it, but first I want to fill it up with sea water and load it with 8 or 9 tuna infected with ich and fin rot just to see if the owner knows how to cure them". But I figured I would just say:
Yes Officer, this is my car, is there a problem?

He said: Do you have a boat? I said, Yes, but it's not here right now. (Like Duh, I think he would have seen a boat as behind my car was the Atlantic Ocean with a beautiful sunset and nothing to obscure his vision.

He says, you need a boat to use the boat ramp. I said, I have a boat ramp permit and it is almost night time, in 20 years I have never seen a boat here, there are two ramps and I would move if a boat came.
He just said, (In a tone like he just had a fight with his wife and lost) "Move your Car".

I could tell this Gentleman had nothing to do, was in a bad mood and instead of looking for criminals he felt like chasing two Veteran Geezers collecting a little seawater at night for a fish tank.

(Because I am a Veteran I got the $50.00 beach access permit for free)

So I only had one bucket of water.
We then went o another beach much closer to my house. I drove on to the sand down to the water and found a place in a hole in a big rock to throw my sump pump and I collected the rest of the water there which was much cleaner anyway.

I hope when that cop went home he has a 500 gallon salt water tank and everything including his clingfish, bristleworms and flounders are infected with flukes that are this size.




This is the beach we ended up collecting at.

 

[DaveK]

Considering you have all your permits and were not blocking anyone from using the boat ramp, the cop was out of line. I'd say get one of those kids toy boats and keep it in your car in case your asked again.

Although I have got to say the new location looks really nice too.

 

[Paul B]

The new place is better. My wife and I go there sometimes at 6:00am and bring our breakfast.
It's just a dead end on a small street that leads to a nice beach.
I mayjust make the collecting hose longer because this was high tide. At low tide I would have to drive to far on the sand and with all that weight in the back of the Jeep, it may be tough getting out.

 

[Paul B]

I changed my cell phone battery. First I look at some You Tube videos to see how to do it. It seems that most cell phones it is easy, but I have an I Phone SE and it is not so easy and it's a good thing I still have 20/20 vision because you need the Hubble Telescope to see the screws that are smaller than this
---------> , < ----------
The battery kit comes with the screwdriver for that and a different one only for cell phones for the two tiny screws to take the case apart.
There are about 20 screws to remove and you get a very sharp tweezer to "un plug" the connectors.
I skipped a few of the steps and found a much easier way to change the battery and so far the thing works fine but I did find when I opened the case that the bracket that holds in the battery connector was not screwed in and was just laying there. The 2 screws were just thrown in the case and I am surprised they didn't short anything out. (So much for having 4 year olds putting phones together)
I couldn't replace the screws because the holes were stripped. I folded a paper towel over the connector so it will be held in place by the back cover when I close it (I hope).
The bracket is supposed to go over the black connector just to the left of the point on that blue flat plastic "Spudger", not the screwdriver.

 

[DaveK]

Apple has a notorious reputation for making their products extremely difficult to repair by using proprietary screws and connectors, and sometimes soldiering things together. So you need all kinds of special equipment to even attempt repairs.

Of course, they do have a solution. Just buy a new one.

Congratulations (seriously) on being able to pull off a battery replacement.

 

[Paul B]

The battery kit from Amazon had the screwdrivers and other tools. But the thing does have some stupid parts and there is no need to make it so difficult to change a battery. Unless of course they want you to buy a new phone. But I don't cater to that thinking.

 

[Paul B]

We went out to a nice dinner on the water 2 days ago and I got stuck. The boat had two problems but luckily we got home without swimming which was good because the restaurant is 15 miles away.


The ignition switch shorted out causing the starter to engage when I put the boat in reverse. I have never seen that before and neither did the mechanic in my marina.

The neutral safety switch , which prevents you from starting the boat (and your car) in gear powers the start circuit so you can start the engine in neutral. But the switch shorted out causing the starter to engage while running the engine.


I fixed that at the dock before we left so that only delayed us for 15 minutes.


The boat ran fine for the trip and one engine stalled at the restaurant.

I couldn't start it so I docked on one engine.


We had a nice dinner and we started to come home on one engine. One engine doesn't get the boat up on plane (on top of the water) so the boat goes like a displacement boat (battleship, tug boat, etc) and only went 8 mph. The boat normally can go about 30 mph.

After a couple of miles I got the other engine started and we made it back to my dock.


Today I hope to go down there to do some work on it. The season is almost over and I am not sure I can salvage any more boat time this year but I am going to try.


I will install spark plugs but I am also going to remove one of the exhaust risers because when I couldn't start it, it backfired a couple of times which "may" mean that some seawater was getting into the engine. The only place that could happen is at the exhaust manifold.

(a head gasket will also do that but they don't "usually" go on a boat)


If the exhaust riser is clogged and corroded, I will replace all four of them. But if it is just a little caked with gunk, I will take it home and scrape it out and hopefully get another month of boating before I change them in the fall.


They are heavy and I am older now so it is not a job I relish, but I really don't trust people to do anything because I know that after they do it, I will have to do it myself anyway.

There is little room to stand in my bilge and my new knee doesn't work well but my other knee is worse and I can't twist it at all so this normally not very hard job will be an adventure. But I am not a snowflake and like challenges. If it were easy, any Girly Man could do it and Girly men never do this. All they do is call for reservations and call mechanics.

It's those four steel things with the four bolts in each one on either side of the engines. That is only the small top part as they go all the way down about 16" and from the front to the back of the engines.

 

[Paul B]

I got the riser off the manifold and it is not as bad as I figured it would be. It was clogged but most of it I was able to get out with a screwdriver and a powerwasher. This one was getting very hot and thats why.

I can probably get five more years out of it.


The other three risers don't get to hot so I won't mess with them today. Now I just need to get gaskets and put the thing back together.


I also installed spark plugs.

So I saved $4,000.00


It's great to be retired.

 

[Paul B]

After I came home from taking apart the boat I came home to relax. My wife went to her friends house so it was nice and peaceful. I poured a nice glass of Grand Marnier and laid on the couch.

I asked Alexa to put on peaceful rain sounds and I almost drifted off to sleep.


Then the rain sounds started to get violent and I told Alexa to cancel.

I started to drift off.

The sounds got louder. I yelled :

"ALEXA. CANCEL"

She said, "There is nothing to cancel."


Just then I heard this very loud, very annoying noise from my cell phone and like in stereo, from my house phone at the same time.


"SEVERE TORNADO ALERT IN EFECT, DANGEROUS LIGHTNING, HURRICAIN FORCE WINDS, STAY INSIDE, DON'T EVEN THINK OF GOING OUT EVEN IF THERE IS A 50% OFF PURPLE TANG SALE AT THE LFS".


I look out the window and it was dark. It looked like I was trying to see through sheet metal, not that cheap 18 gauge sheet metal like they sell in Home Depot, I mean Manly 12 gauge, galvanized sheet metal like they make Greyhound busses out of.


The rain was coming down as if it was being dumped out of Cadillac trunks and not those new Sissy Cadillac's. I mean a 1957 Pink Cadillac that had trunks you could put three Toyota's in and still have room for the full size spare tire.


The lightning was deafening. I looked at my tank and all the fish were huddled in the corner with a wide eyed look on their faces kind of like Nancy Pelosi sometimes gets. They even let the anemone and long spined urchin squeeze in with them.


There is a huge tree across the street from my house and the branches were bending like Mick Jagger's legs "AND" my car was parked under it.


OMG, I grabbed the keys and ran out there to move it. The lightning looked like Poseidon's Trident

and the rain was pushing me down just by it's sheer weight but I knew I had to move the car so the limbs wouldn't fall on it.


I get in the car and I am soaked in places I haven't seen or felt in decades.


I get the car started and the windshield wipers don't move fast enough but I manage to get the car in front of my garage where there are no trees.

I count to three and run out of the car and in one quick movement I spin around and close the door.


The only problem was that in my haste, while I was spinning around, I threw the keys backwards where they flew, very fast towards the car.


I said OOOOOHHHNNNNNnnooooo because as everyone knows keys are now like little expensive High def, flat screen TVs and cost as much. They are also not water proof.


OMG!!


I can't kneel down because my knees are like fine crystal about to break so I lay down flat on the pavement in an inch of water. I can't see because of the rain and the lightning is screwing up my vision, not to mention that it's LIGHTNING!!!! and you are not supposed to be laying in a lake while it is crashing all around you.


But I remembered that I am not a Snowflake so the lightning will only tickle me.


I look under the car and can't see the keys. Then I run around to the other side of the car and lay on the ground. No keys. I now inch my way like a nudibranch to the rear tires and reach my hand under the tires but NO KEYS!!!


Then I remembered that I have my cell phone in my pocket and my pocket is as wet as a 10 gallon pico reef that was just set up and is cycling, not with a live shrimp, but a dead one.

I got up and threw the phone in the car.


I opened the garage and got a big push broom and I am pulling water from under the car hoping they would somehow emerge, but no keys.


Now I am frantic and the lightning is getting closer. My life was flashing before my eyes and all I could think about was my poor horrified fish. How will they get along with out me.


Now five minutes have gone by and I still can't find the keys. I know I couldn't have thrown them too far and they don't float so they have to be someplace. But where?


Finally I think to look in a place where I know they couldn't be. On top of the car.


Yep, sitting there right on top.


I quickly brought them in and took out the battery and now they are drying but I don't know if they will work. Time will tell.

 

[DaveK]

We got hit with a large rainstorm yesterday also. Nothing too serious here, but then I doun't go out in bad weather unless it's close to an emergency.

At least you got the boat fixed at a reasonable cost. Hope the other stuff works once it drys out.

 

[Paul B]

I will go out in any weather. I used to have a snow plowing business and bad weather was my dream. Monsoons in Viet Nam were much wetter than any storm or hurricane I have seen here in the states. And that rain lasts 6 months. You go to sleep on the ground and wake up SCUBA diving.

 

[Paul B]

I need another knee. The new one is still rather painful and I still can't kneel so I won't go to Church.
I also can't walk to good but I get there. I am still faster than my wife but not much.
By the time I am 80, I should be sprinting like Angela Jolie in Laura Croft Tomb Raider.

The Dr. told me I tore the meniscuses and tendons in the other knee so I sit around trying to see if I can pick which one hurts more.

It's a good thing I am not a snowflake because I have to take care of my wife so I go outside and all the way around the house if I have to scream.

I don't love the fact that I need another knee because I remember that the first one didn't go to well and it is more painful now than it was before it was replaced. If I get this one done I will be walking like Walter Brennon in "The Real McCoys" (before all you Noobs time, Google it)

 

[Paul B]

It was a little windy on my beach walk this morning and it wasn't low tide so no collecting.

 

[Paul B]

Today is our annual Cousins pic nic about 60 miles from here on a beach with a shelter and electricity. We have been doing this for about 45 years as my wife has a very big family. Many of us old generation went to the big reef tank in the sky but there are plenty of Kids, Grand kids and Great Grand kids to take over. Many of them I don't even know.

My whiteworm culture isn't doing so good as it was taken over by flies. (even though I feed them cultured yogurt) If I open the thing in my house I get a swarm of these tiny fruit fly looking things which I don't want in my house so they are outside now.

There are still worms and yesterday I flooded them for an hour but apparently these flies or their larvae have SCUBA gear so they don't drown.
Now I am going to seal them and put them in my fridge to see if the worms can tolerate the cold better than the flies.

If that doesn't work I am going to have to throw it out and start a new culture.
I hesitate to do that because I have had these worms for ten years and they evolved into much bigger and fatter creatures, much different then the skinny, Girly worms you get in a culture. I'm not sure if they are a different species or if they somehow got into steroids like Sylvester Stallone.

Look at the difference in size from the early batch of worms and the worms now.
There were a lot of them, but they were wimpy. Now they are fat like Chris Christie, (Who I kind of like)

 

[Paul B]

A few weeks ago I built a Nitrate De-nitrifer out of a calcium reactor that I had laying around. I ran it for about 3 weeks and it turns 30 ppm of nitrate into zero in a few minutes.


Today it's raining and the thing was in my way on my workbench so I installed it. I don't really have much of a nitrate problem but I felt like experimenting. I doubt it will lower my nitrates much as they are now about 25 but I like putzing so it is what it is.


It's the thing with the yellow pellets. I didn't use a calcium chamber for the effluent because it dumps into my reverse UG filter which is made out of dolomite so calcium shouldn't be needed.

If my tank crashes in a week or two, I was wrong.

 

[DaveK]

What media did you use in your reactor? I've seen biopelets used and also sulfur being used.

My own tank is becoming more and more of an algae farm, so it could likely benefit from a denitrator.

 

[Paul B]

I use social media, but Those are Sulphur pellets

Nitrates go in as 30 and come out zero.

 

[Paul B]

Today is the day the pilgrims left Europe to come here and screw up this country and start religious freedom. Of course they started to burn people as witches, excommunicate them if they texted in church and if they caught them chewing gum on Sunday, they would tie them up and dunk them in ASW that was cycled with a live shrimp.

They had their first Thanksgiving and invited the Native Americans (who they called Indians because they weren't politically correct like I am, but even the native Americans called themselves Indians, then they started baseball teams

The "Indians" showed them how to cook corn and turkey and we showed them how to get lung cancer by smoking. Actually I think they gave that to us. I am not sure but they didn't invent HMOs yet which is why there are no more Pilgrims.
Then Bernie Sanders offered them free health insurance, college, diapers and paper clips which made all the people we left in Europe broke which caused Brixit.

Here where I live we have quite a few Native Americans because Long Island was owned by them.
We gave them some Toyota parts along with a few eggplants and now they are required to live on a small reservation where they sell cigarettes and 8 track tape recorders.

 

[Nobbygas]

"Of course they started to burn people as witches, excommunicate them if they texted in church and if they caught them chewing gum on Sunday, they would tie them up and dunk them in ASW that was cycled with a live shrimp." - You say that as though it's a bad thing.

 

[Paul B]

My tank is doing great. My hippo tang didn't get ich, dropsy, mononucleosis or anything else as some of the tang police said he would get if I didn't quarantine him (God Forbid) He also never gets algae clips or nori.


My watchman gobies will spawn soon and my Janss pipefish is so healthy he does aerobics every morning. I am really surprised that particular fish lived so long as they are supposed to be so delicate.


I want another pair of bluestriped pipefish as they lived out their life like they were supposed to and croak of old age which for them is only a few years. I think they spawned themselves to death.


My old Fireclown is about 28 years old and still spawning although I am surprised he is not tired of that yet. I think those guys live into their 30s.


A few months ago I bought a quart of clams for bait. I only went fishing once so I have been using them for the fish.

I am not sure how old those clams are, but I am not eating them and the fish ain't complaining.

My Copperband could probably eat the entire thing by himself. I don't know how old he is, I barely know how old I am and if my birthday wasn't on Christmas, I wouldn't remember that.

These guys are also still doing well