Critter Getter...update!

liverock

liverock

RC Sponsor
Well after smelling gas in the bilge......and addressing the issue...it is 11 days later...but I am getting closer to a working boat again........Has been a nightmare of cutting up the deck in the boat, removing gas tanks.....an old 90 gallon that came in the boat originally....

and the 80 gallon tank I put in her 10 years ago....after days and days of grinding and replacing fiberglass, I am slowly getting there......got the first coat of gelcoat on the new glass work today....but still have a long way to go.....is funny how you start a project and then it balloons to new heights of pain.....

The good news is I now have a new fish box where the old 90 gallon tank was, with nice starboard hatch covers, rather that fiber glassed plywood...big enough to hold a six foot sailfish...and more...

The new gas tank is ready to go in...new hoses and wiring also...new bilge pumps...and scores of other stuff that needed replacing.....and it has been 95 degrees every day down here, so the glass is curing nicely.....no rain is a good thing right now...

When I get done I am confident that she will be ready to go for another 10 years....and many more dives!

Richard TBS:lolspin::lolspin::lolspin:
 
three weeks of pain

three weeks of pain

Raggamuffin said:
any updates Richard? I caught ya the other day after you crawled out of the bilge are ya up and running yet?
Click to expand...

21 days of almost 95 degree heat ...no rain thank goodness...as fiberglass and rain do not mix well...grinding...fiberglass....wiring...pumps...decks....electronics.....

The Critter getter is alive again!

The new decks are awesome.....used a product called Starboard....a composite board....like plastic.....neat stuff.....will last forever!

sea ya
Richard TBS:rollface::rollface::rollface:
 
Sweet! the temp here has a 5 and a 9 in it as well but there is also a dot as in 9.5... j/k bout 50ish way to late in the year for the 90's here!
 
liverock said:
21 days of almost 95 degree heat ...no rain thank goodness...as fiberglass and rain do not mix well...grinding...fiberglass....wiring...pumps...decks....electronics.....

The Critter getter is alive again!
Click to expand...

Yay!!! Hope to be requesting my Part 2 from you soon!
 
webdizzy said:
Yay!!! Hope to be requesting my Part 2 from you soon!
Click to expand...

Sweet - Part II is so much fun. I'm a couple of months into mine at this point. So far, my pt II losses have been minimal. I lost a yellow ball sponge and a condy anemone. I also lost a peppermint shrimp and a half dozen hermits to some mantis shrimp which I have since captured. I have a non photosynthetic gorgonian in decline that I will eventually lose. That may sound like a lot but is pretty minimal - I still have over a half dozen large sponges of various sorts. I have 6 other gorgonians that are doing fine, etc. Bottom line is follow Richards instructions and things go great! Do try hard to get any mantis shrimp that come in part II out though. Those guys are trouble (very interesting trouble - but trouble none the less).

Good to hear the boat is back in shape Richard.
 
Hmmmm

Hmmmm

Just checked...lets hope thay are wrong for monday, you never know, until you go!

SATURDAY
SOUTHEAST WINDS AROUND 10 KNOTS. SEAS 2 FEET. BAY AND
INLAND WATERS A LIGHT CHOP. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS.

SATURDAY NIGHT
SOUTHEAST WINDS AROUND 10 KNOTS. SEAS 2 FEET. BAY AND
INLAND WATERS A LIGHT CHOP.

SUNDAY
EAST WINDS AROUND 10 KNOTS BECOMING NORTHWEST IN THE AFTERNOON.
SEAS 2 FEET. BAY AND INLAND WATERS A LIGHT CHOP. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS.

SUNDAY NIGHT
NORTH WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET. BAY AND
INLAND WATERS A LIGHT CHOP.

MONDAY
NORTH WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. SEAS 3 TO 5 FEET. BAY AND
INLAND WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS.

$$
 
oh no :-(

oh no :-(

hopefully it will either blow out or blow away. At least I have Tuesday or even Wednesday if necessary...
 
divemonster said:
hopefully it will either blow out or blow away. At least I have Tuesday or even Wednesday if necessary...
Click to expand...

You never know until you go......so we go!

they changed the forecast again...east winds is a REAL good thing!

MONDAY
EAST WINDS AROUND 10 KNOTS. SEAS 3 TO 5 FEET. BAY AND
INLAND WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS.

$$
 
she is faster!

she is faster!

Was going out diving today...first time since a months work on the boat......I am amazed....she goes at least 8 knots faster....maybe more as I only opened her up to about 3/4 throttle.

I guess removing the second gas tank, and all that plywood, made a HUGE difference....

I zoomed out at 35 knots....and came back in fulled loaded to the gills at 33 knots....is a vast improvement.

Richard TBS:lolspin::lolspin::lolspin:
 
Madratter said:
Sweet - Part II is so much fun. I'm a couple of months into mine at this point. So far, my pt II losses have been minimal. I lost a yellow ball sponge and a condy anemone. I also lost a peppermint shrimp and a half dozen hermits to some mantis shrimp which I have since captured. I have a non photosynthetic gorgonian in decline that I will eventually lose. That may sound like a lot but is pretty minimal - I still have over a half dozen large sponges of various sorts. I have 6 other gorgonians that are doing fine, etc. Bottom line is follow Richards instructions and things go great! Do try hard to get any mantis shrimp that come in part II out though. Those guys are trouble (very interesting trouble - but trouble none the less).

Good to hear the boat is back in shape Richard.
Click to expand...

Just curious, but do lots of other people have this issue of losing livestock?

I have lost a few hermits to mantis, which is normal, I suppose. However, I have a sponge that has withered away, and a gorgonian that can't decide if it wants to survive or not. It tries to grow back, but then seems to fight a part of itself that had previously been detached. I ended up fragging it, and the fragged part seems to be doing better.
 
i lost a blade gorgonia and a sea cucumber within the first week, but nothing since then. a lot of barnacles have died, but much of that is due to the mantis shrimp. on the other hand, richard did forewarn they are very difficult to keep alive. yet many are still there, filtering away. sponges and corals and other gorgonias are doing well.
 
I have colonizing tunicates that receded during the first cycle but didn't die out completely and are now growing back, my part 2 arrives tonight (calling in sick cough cough sneeze) and since I work night you will likely see pics tomorrow :D. (sniffle)
 
Fast Critter Getter...quiet too!

Fast Critter Getter...quiet too!

Richard,
Thank you VERY MUCH for letting me dive "The Aquarium" a.k.a your aquaculture site. What an awesome experience! Seeing the positive impact it has on the environment makes me glad I chose to use Tampa Bay Saltwater.

I'm still playing catch up with my paperwork and other duties around here, but I have also been editing the video footage I got. Once I am finished I will put it up on UTube and post a link here. Do you think you could get one of the Mods to make it a sticky or something?
 
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