And large.
I’m sore…and getting stiff…the forward sprawl onto the pavement is having its effect…you could figure. I fell, however, skater-fashion, ie, no stopping the fall, I’m going down—how to do this damaging the fewest parts of me. And as per the prior comment—it did fix the lower back. It’s just every other muscle I own that’s protesting.
I’m sunburned; we weren’t about to leave that pallet in the street unprotected, on the approach to the stopsign, with 3 sets of garbage trucks waltzing around and the normal corner traffic. So we both worked in the front yard. I’m not as athletic as Jane, so I got the plastic stepstool and handpulled 20 feet of a weed infestation in the lava rock…
I broke two nails, right before the filk party tomorrow: it’s not the look—it’s the playing fingers. I haven’t had time to figure if I need to find one of the metal caps or whether I can play without.
The truck delivered the tank into the street at 10 am. And the last of our crew arrived 5-ish. Jane and I could get the canopy in. Patty and Mike arrived 3-ish, and they got the stand in, which was a good thing, because we needed it to be able to set the tank on it inside.
Then Tim and Cheryl showed up, well, Tim first, and a really good thing I had two very strong guys, and Patty to help balance it, because that glass is half an inch thick, and the 150 lbs is really strangely balanced, being triangular. But we made it without a ding or blemish.
The whole tank thing was a surprise…I was just looking at the sales site just as a, gee, these are beautiful, beautiful things, way out of my reach. And then—there was this section called ‘deals.’ Which was almost too good to be true. way too good to be true. I called them. No, it was sold. No, wait, it wasn’t sold. It’s available. What’s the shipping?
Couldn’t believe it. And Jane nudged me toward it. I’ve got that fish book I’d written, kind of in hopes of paying for the larger tank. And, well, when was I going to find another? So I took a deep breath and did it. Haven’t issued the fish book yet, but I’m hoping.
And it’s just gorgeous. We were afraid of the color, but its a warm reddish oak, that plays well with the other furniture. And with it came a durso (standpipe/drain, which ordinarily costs fifty, the bulkhead connectors, another ten, and the interior pipe, already the right size, all of which you normally have to buy separate. It’s got amazingly thoughtful things, like a hole with a pipe through which you can feed without lifting the lid. It’s got pre-cut holes I can install cooling fans in (computer fans do wonders for cooling off a tank)…and the finish is beautiful. We have pix.
Congratulations, and looking forward to pictures!
I have been reading. I have been commiserating. I know what it is like to want to do the things I did even 10 years ago without feeling the pain. But, I remember my grandmother, who (at around 89) said to me “stadis nyuradis” (Russian transliteration) meaning “old age is no joke”. I’d always hoped to be her age before I quoted that to my son. HA
But, good work and good luck for having the community you have. I read Ms. Briggs’ work and find her to be a very good writer. I’m glad you all found each other and I cannot wait to see the pix.
Patty and Mike are wonderful human beings as well as Patty being a wonderful writer. They keep horses, love carousels, and they’re ‘can do’ at just about anything going. And Tim and Cheryl are great good folks. Tim’s a passionate cook whose other life is computer tech.
I still think that you need to do an illustrated hardcopy for other hobbyist to keep next to their tanks!
Lol—well, I’m doing at least the electronic version, which, if they get the one from CC, they can print out.
I had my son read the “rant” about Tanked and now he wants the fish book! And is planning to look into marine biology type materials on our next library trip *grin*
I think you hooked him. Pun completely intended!
Lol—sorry about that, but I’ll remember my young reader when I do the final edit on that book. Srsly, it’s a great hobby for a kid: you learn biology, ecology, chemistry [including how to run a chemical test], hydraulics, basic plumbing, aquaculture, and you meet good people if you work your way into a reef club (mostly young adults, some old salts, who meet to trade corals and experience.) I started wanting fish at 6, got my own tank, and was told I had to deal with it. My mum helped a bit with filling the water-aging-tank (we don’t use that any more, since cities went from unstable chlorine to too-stable chloramine) but I did the scraping and feeding and tending and nasty filter changes, without being told. I was so jealous of that tank’s appearance I was a zealot about algae scraping, and I did the water changes, including netting the fish and putting them in a temporary place while I cleaned (those old tanks with their large gravel periodically had to be reamed out: you don’t clean gravel in a reef.)
Delighted that the tank is safe inside and you’re on to the world-building part!
It’s a lovely day here in the Boston area– I’ve been out in the garden to eat breakfast, to pick young dandelions and goldenrod for the bunny and think I will spend more of the day out there planting pansies and enjoying all the tulips and daffodils. Things are swinging back to normal here for many (but alas, not all people by a long shot).
It’s a good thing that you and Jane are planning to make this your pretty much forever home; I can’t imagine wrangling that tank around a decade from now! Owie-owie-owie!!!
Looking forward to pictures when you get a chance. I’m sure the fishies et. al. will be pleased with their new home.
THere are now tank-moving pix on Jane’s site!
Glad the tank’s in, the back’s sorted and all’s right with the world. Hope the fish book is a best seller.
That would be a real nice thing!
Looked at the pics (thanks Jane!). Very impressive, looking forward to see how it goes. With the big new tank, are you thinking about any new fish that wouldn’t fit in the old (classic!) tank ?
Many…mostly things we couldn’t keep safely because of their size requirements. Damsels, various; dartfish (escape artists and the last tank was a sieve.) A tang maybe: discusseable in this size tank. Blennies, gobies. Maybe a chalk basslet or blackheaded basslet. Dragonets/mandarins/scooters. Fish to be busy and mostly out and about. And enough room for them to get up and move about.
It looks like you were very fortunate — I went to the Aqua Vim page, and there is no obvious ‘deals’ listing. I think you got their one and only available custom tank the orderer decided not to get!
I think you’re right! I just looked, and didn’t see the section either. I may indeed have gotten the last of that category. When I asked, the woman who answered said it was ‘sold’, and then ‘Alex’ got on and said not-sold. I know there was more than one tank when I looked, but I pounced right then, and asked about shipping and just gulped and went for it. So I guess if I’d dithered, that tank would have gone. Perhaps one of those sites you just have to watch for a while to get one of those.
Wow, it looks great, and I look forward to more pics! The front yard is looking fabulous too. I think a pond or tank are out of the picture, as I hope to eventually retire and RV it for a few years. Unless it’s a Beta on the dashboard. 😉
Fish are right out in our house — I suspect Zorro would have a fish problem, and shortly thereafter no fish problem. An outside pool would be an attractive nuisance to the Kitteh Posse. OTOH, we have a nice ocean less than a mile away, if I want to see fish.
I’ve let my tanks go, but the kitteh (previous owner, my current owners haven’t been introduced) used to spend HOURS drooling in front of the fishy-vision. A good top makes the tank kitteh proof, the biggest problem is getting the kitteh off so you can turn the light out at night!
One of those eco-eggs. I had to content myself with that for 4 years—and its still alive, in the kitchen. Those little shrimp are 13 years old this year.
That is one big tank! The wood parts are perfect for your house. What fun you will have creating a world, this time in real life.
We have been watching our goldfish mate out in the pond. Who knew that a $2.00 investment would bring so much enjoyment?
My that was fun!
We’ve had a pair of red tailed hawks eyeing the fish pond for the last few days. These are probably descendants of the same pair we have had around for the last thirty years. Or could they be the original pair? Just how long do hawks live? They are way too used to humans and cars. This morning after chasing the male away twice, the second time from a branch about twenty feet above the pond, we decided to put the net back on. There’s nothing like being stared at by a beady hawk eye. “Dude, that is food and if you are not going to eat it I am!” We’ll probably be able to remove it once the water plants provide some cover. In the meantime, ugly is better than no fish.
A-men!