Better have a plan....

kimfdim · #1 10/27/2007, 08:12 AM

I am forever tinkering with my reef tank...usually on a daily basis.

But as a word of caution, be prepared should something happen to you. I am finally getting over a bout of pneumonia (it's been two weeks since I have been able to really tinker or care for my tank) and boy...what a mess! I had been trying to keep up with at least minimal feeding, but since no one in the house shares my love of fish, trying to get minimal help was futile.

I am having a bad diatome bloom, my skimmer overflowed due to not being emptied early on in the illness, so I turned it down low, so skimming has not been aggressive at all. When i did feed the fish, I had enough energy to just toss a couple frozen cubes in or a large pinch of flakes. The sock is full and not even filtering anymore - water is flowing over the top. Now that I am feeling a little better, I plan on spending whatever energy I can working on this tank today. The tank has been basically neglected for 2 weeks.

I have been trying hard to pique an interest in my husband to help me out as my chest x-ray showed a more serious chronic illness that I have had for probably the last 10 years (previous dr. was treating me for asthma...well, it wasn't asthma) which limits my activity for long periods and I am at high risk for getting pneumonia every time I get a cold, so this scenario could potentially happen again. The aggrevating thing...I'm not even 40 yet (well, I will be next week). I have a quit smoking date set, so that should help me, but please heed my warning:

Be sure you have a fail-safe just in case something happens!!!! As I have learned, the world of reefing and the world of fresh water is so completely different!!!!!

NirvanaFan · #2 10/27/2007, 08:23 AM

Glad to hear you're feeling better. I too tinker with my tank about every day.

I've been trying to get the fiancee interested in the fish tank, and she is starting to like it.

On a side note... If you're serious about quiting smoking, you should look into Chantix. It's a prescription drug that my friend got for quitting. Once you're on the drug you build up your daily dosage for two weeks. After that you keep taking the pills and stop smoking. I guess it blocks the nicotine from being absorbed by the cells in your brain. He said it works awesome. He took the pills for like a month and a half (you're supposed to take them for 4 I think) and hasn't had a cigarette since. His last cigarette was back in the middle of June.

Gary Majchrzak · #3 10/27/2007, 08:31 AM

Happy 40th, kimfdim (I'm trying to stay positive!) and shake that bad smoking habit once and for all.

Haffs09 · #4 10/27/2007, 08:51 AM

Having a plan is a must! I separated my shoulder three weeks ago and have only recently been able to use both arms. Not only has this delayed my tank build (yet another delay!), but made me realize how unfriendly my current tank designs are when it comes to only having one arm! I'll make sure I incorporate my recent learnings as I get my bigger tank up and running.

kimfdim · #5 10/27/2007, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by NirvanaFan
If you're serious about quiting smoking, you should look into Chantix.

I am actually picking up that prescription this week...heard alot of success stories about it. Just think, when I quit smoking...I will have so much more money for corals!!!!

Thanx, Gary...after this year, I start counting backwards!!!!

kimfdim · #6 10/27/2007, 09:09 AM

Oh...as a side question...

I have been thinking of letting the brackish and cichlid tank go to free up my time for my upgrade on the reef this coming summer (still planning this, but I really need to pace myself and simplify my life), therefore, the other tanks really should go. I would prefer to sell them complete to keep the "families" together, but would break things down if I had to.

could I potentially post them for sale here even though they are not reef-related? If not, where else should I list them for sale?

Gary Majchrzak · #7 10/27/2007, 09:14 AM

I'm not a mod, but I don't see what the big deal would be if you posted any aquarium related stuff here.
There's a lot of freshwater people lurking here.

stressed damsel · #8 10/27/2007, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Just think, when I quit smoking...I will have so much more money for corals!!!!

Good luck in the quitting . It is a hard thing to do but I have been smoke fee for comming up on 7 years now . Just thought I would mention that you will not have any extra money , I used to think that I would but believe me it goes somewhere. I just haven't figured out where yet.

kimfdim · #9 10/27/2007, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by stressed damsel
you will not have any extra money , I used to think that I would but believe me it goes somewhere. I just haven't figured out where yet.

Don't make me get out the 30 day tracking budget sheets to help you find it!!!!!1

tmz · #10 10/27/2007, 09:49 AM

I am often surprised by the amount of time ,I spend on keeping my aquaria up to standards. Healthwise, I've been blessed so far. A few aches and pains ,it seems to take longer to do things but I'm not sure if that's age or my retirement mindset.
Happy Birthday . Hope you feel better soon. Tweaking your aqua toys to make them more user friendly can go along way to cutting down on the time and enegy it takes to maintain them. Everything form the height of the stand number of tanks, location of the sump,etc can be adjusted to suit you.

thriceanangel · #11 10/27/2007, 11:06 AM

Sorry about your illness. Be sure to take the money and reward yourself. What I did when I quit smoking was to take a certain %age and use it only on myself as a reward to keep me on that track.

kimfdim · #12 10/27/2007, 02:15 PM

Hey,
thanx for all the advice for future reference, with the smoking, aquaria and money!!!!

tmz & Haffs09...I especially like the whole 'rethink the system' plan. My situation is as simple as quit smoking and make some life-style adjustments (learn to slow down, no lung exertion and yes, tell work you can't work when you are sick!). It could always have been worse...like the radiologist finding lung cancer in the x-ray.

I still plan on upgrading my system in the summer, and with that will have to be some modifications....such as sump in the basement so I'm not carrying buckets of water up the stairs, maybe a little bit lower stand so I'm not having to climb on a step-ladder, more efficient equipment even if it means paying more for it so I can plan ahead for times I can't tinker with my tank. I am already considering getting rid of my other tanks so I can put my sole energy into my reef...the tank I can't live without.

My main goal was to put out the alert to have a fail-safe just because you never know. It seems we never think about these things until they happen.

tmz · #13 10/27/2007, 03:26 PM

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how much work you can eliminate once you start looking for efficiencies.
As an example, I'm good friends with Joe Kosak at Salt Water Paradise. He and his wife,Annette, do all the work for their retail Marine Specialty shop(38 tanks). He has done this for 15years mainy times all by himself. As he was pulling a30 gal can full of top off water over to one of his systems one day, he was complaining of shoulder pain. I asked him whay he didn't just move the dosing pump over to his resevoir area and run a bit of tubing. It took l5 minutes to do this and there was even a hole in wall already there.. He had just never thought of it because he had been doing it the other way for l2years. That's 12 years of 5 gallons a day wear and tear on a shoulder.

Brent Thomann · #14 10/28/2007, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by NirvanaFan
you're serious about quiting smoking, you should look into Chantix.

I smoked for 15 years since I was 15, doc prescribed me Chantix (simple pill) and I quit 3 weeks later and that was almost 8 months ago smoke free

I dreamed of the day for so long and my life has changed so much since!

Chantix works and the nice thing about it is you just take a pill and go on with your day, you can still smoke while on it too

Believe it or not, the desire just goes away after a couple weeks. Best friend of mine smoked 15+ years 2 packs a day and Chantix worked for him too. I know 3 other heavy smokers thats tried it and it worked for them too, one smoked for 36 years strait.

You have to have a desire to quit and it will work kimfdim.

stainlessdonkey · #15 10/29/2007, 10:20 PM

Man, I must be a real bad reef owner!!

I am lucky if I spend an hour a week on mine!

But then again, I don't have much more than leathers and fishys either.

tmz · #16 10/29/2007, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by stainlessdonkey
Man, I must be a real bad reef owner!!

I am lucky if I spend an hour a week on mine!

But then again, I don't have much more than leathers and fishys either.

Maybe you have a life outside the hobby or are considerably more sane than some of us.

redrider911 · #17 10/30/2007, 04:54 AM

I quit smoking about 4 years ago, and 50 lbs ago. Quitting was hard enough, not eating is harder. The only thing I can add to quitting is to start a exercise program. If you exercise now, do more when you quit. I wish I had done that. Good luck, happy B-Day, and get well soon!