Hello, Geezer coming back to this forum. Paul B

[Paul B]

I donated $500.00 from my reef book to MS in my wife's name. I always post the receipts from my books to prove that all the money from my books go to charity and not for Copperband butterflies or linguine and clams.

My two books made $700.00 so I will donate $500.00 to MS in my wife's name and $200.00 to Tunnels To Towers for disabled Veterans. I can't tell from Amazon's website how much came from the reef book and how much came from my Vietnam book. When I get the receipt from Tunnels to Towers I will post the receipt.

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[Paul B]

The Produce farm that has been growing in my tank for a couple of weeks is finally dying, but not fast enough. When this long hair algae dies, you have to suck it out, so I have to use my DIY diatom filter. I will use it about every two days until it's gone. This may take a month but I feel algae is a good thing and will clean or process the water better than anything else, of course I don't need it covering my corals or the pictures of my Grand Kids on my wall.

It has been running an hour here but before this, the glass on the tank looked like sheet metal from all the algae and detritus I stirred up.

I will let this run another 3 or 4 hours and keep stirring it up during the process. If it were not for diatom filters, I would not be in this hobby as I find them indispensable especially if you are using a reverse undergravel filter.

 

[Paul B]

This morning I went to a big box store (I don't want to say which one) and I bought a few things for an invention I am working on. I spent about $60.00 and I had a gift card from Christmas and I also get 10% off for being a Veteran. I went to the check out to pay and the cashier made a mistake and didn't know how to correct it.

He called over another cashier and they both had problems helping me check out so they sent me over to Customer Service with my receipt and gift card. She worked about 5 or 10 minutes to help me check out and finally succeeded.

I always speak to the older ladies and tell them how nice they look or how nice their hair looks (she was probably my age or younger) and I had my Vietnam Veteran hat on. She said thank you for your service but your Veteran discount is only 10% so I am taking $40.00 off your bill.

I still got it.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

WOMANIZER!!!

 

[Timfish]

It really is too bad diatom filters fell out of favor. I don't use mine very often but sometimes the effect it has when everything is just a bit off but nothing specific stands out as wrong is pronounced.

 

[Paul B]

My reef reached 55 years old this month...(I think) If my math is correct.

 

[Timfish]

Thanks for raising the bar another year! (Not sure I'll ever catch up at this rate!)

 

[Paul B]

I'm not sure if it will make it another year. Or if I will.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Only The Shadow Knows!!

 

[ExitTrauma]

hello Paul,
I remember you from yesteryear!

 

[Paul B]

ExitTrauma, I have been around a while.

 

[wvned]

I hope to live as long as you. I have 2 neurologists ( the specialist and the special specialist), Urologist, PCP, cardiologist, gastroenterologist and dermatologist. I am rotten inside and outside.

So I got up early and cleaned up the last of the pots and pans from dinner and made biscuits and cornbread.

My tanks have cyano bad and my gorgonian has algae on it. I need an understudy.

Later my hands will shake so bad it takes 30 minutes to type 2 sentences. Strangely, I have a period when I first wake when I am fine and can do whatever I want with complete normal coordination. 20 minutes to 2 hours sometimes. Things that make your doctor's face screw up into a funny look if you ask him about it.
Life goes on.
OO I have a new prescription I have to go on today. Something to look forward too.

Well, tats over with. Here it comes. Time to go swallow my firsat 7 pills of the day.

 

[Paul B]

Wvned, sorry about your health issues. It doesn't sound good. I think I am very healthy so far but I have a colonoscopy next week and they are always fun so if that comes out fine, I will say I am in perfect shape.

We all have aches and pains at my age but that won't kill me. (I'm pretty sure Agent Orange and Asbestos will do that to me eventually) but all the health issues I know about are stupid broken and torn things. I can live with that. My wife on the other hand is unfortunately on a downward trend due to MS.

I consider myself "very" lucky and blessed. I was actually having this conversation with my wife over breakfast this morning. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday and as a Catholic, I got ashes. I am not a very holy person and I am not sure I would get them if it were not for my wife but I was discussing with her all the times in my life that I came very close to dying. A few of those times were of course in combat in Viet Nam where I emerged almost unscathed where many others, right near or next to me died or were seriously wounded. I was also in two helicopter crashes where I walked away.

My job as an industrial construction electrician in Manhattan where we built many sky scrapers from a hole in the ground up I came very close to dying many times. Mostly from falling, heavy things falling on me or getting severely shocked.

In VietNam during a very nasty battle, I was positive I would be killed in a few seconds. I prayed like I never prayed before and I don't know if God heard me and wanted me to have a really old fish tank or if I was just very lucky, But up to this day, if a serious situation comes up, I pray and I think I have a "relationship" with God. Or Aliens, Spirits, Ghosts, deceased people, I don't know. But I am still here with all my limbs and my sight so I feel something happened. (Thats in my new book)

As I said, I am not a very religious person, but don't know how to describe it. I do pray but never for myself (after that VietNam thing)
I feel that is selfish to ask for things for yourself. But I do pray for my wife, Daughter and Grand Kids. Does it work? I have no idea but I figure it can't hurt.

 

[wvned]

And now a serious question for Paul. I used Vortex diatom filters for decades but stopped for 2 reasons.
I am not sure I want to polish the water that much. I cant run over to the ocean and get more tiny things that live in the water. I want to keep the ones I have. If I get a pod on my hand I put it back in the tank.

and I need a bigger one. They do make them for pools but they would be way overkill for 600 gallons. Even if I cut the return pumps I had to recharge my Vortex 3 or 4times to get it clear if I stirred up the bottom.

You have any good ideas on making one of 10 to 20 gallons in size? Something to hold the powder on and a vessel to make it in.

It would give me an ability to remove cyano on the gravel and some other things I cant now.

 

[wvned]

Jills dad has asbestosis from the power plant. He is 93 now.
I joked when he was living with us that he would outlive me. He sill may.

 

[Paul B]

This one, on the left that I built has so far never clogged. It has a pleated filter inside that must have an enormous surface area.

The smaller one on the right clogs fast because it is a solid cartridge and not much room for dirt to coat. But I use that one without powder for small jobs.



I think you can use a "Whole House Filter" cartridge that would be about twice the size of my larger one but I never built one from that but I think it should work.

As for asbestosis. So far I don't have that but on X Rays I am loaded with asbestos. I used to install it in the 60s and early 70s and I had a license to remove it. Most of the older buildings in Manhattan have tons of the stuff in them. For instance, I installed the fire alarm system in the Empire State Building. From the third basement up to the antenna. The place is filled with the stuff in every ceiling but in the lobby ceiling it is blown in there about two feet deep. I had to crawl through there many times pulling fire alarm cables and the lobby ceiling is a city block long. We didn't even have a paper mask because it wasn't dangerous in those days.

I did that for many years.

Agent Orange does not show up on an X Ray so you can't tell if that is doing anything to you until you get some sort of cancer. If I do and croak, my wife can put in a claim for it. Of course, that won't help me much.

The VA tells me I have PTSD. That won't kill me and I have no idea if I have that or not because I am not "yet" psychotic (unless you ask my wife who says I have it big time).

 

[griss]

I don't know if it's just me or my work but, most of the time I can see your pictures but other times I cannot. When I cannot see them, if I click reply to the post, I can see the picture in the reply???? So, I'm reposting your pic in case Ned is unable to see it.

 

[Paul B]

Griss, I agree. Most of the time I can't see them either and it is just on this site. I am on 5 other sites and it is no problem but If I click on that "X" thing, it shows up. I know they told me my files are to large but I am to old to try how to fix that just for this site so I will just put up some pictures and if they don't work, just make believe you can see something that looks like what I am talking about.

 

[Paul B]

This one works. I don't know why. It's the same camera. Shoot me.

 

[Paul B]

As I said, my two books made $700.00 last year and I always donate it to charity. $500.00 went to MS and $200.00 went to Wounded Warriors.

I always post the receipts to prove I don't use that money for Copperband butterflies or some other stupid thing.

I would like to thank everyone who bought one of those books.