Me, Myself, & Sherman too.

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well, I didn't get any PO4 in this batch, but even .05ppm of silicates would encourage algal growth, especially if you react to it by doing water changes! :D
 
Couple of notes:

Sorry I have been silent for so long. I am still dealing with back problems, cannot maintain my tank properly, etc. waah, waaah. I will be having surgery on my back Tuesday and for about a month following will have very restricted activity. So not much will be happening tank-wise other than just trying to keep params good and making sure my son is feeding etc.

Current Projects:

1. Salt: Jan and I are slowly developing a plan to create a very clean reliable salt source for ourselves and perhaps even for others here locally. We are working on getting most ingredients shipped in, and buying the sodium chloride locally. This is currently entering a testing phase which we will report back on when we have enough data.

This may turn into some sort of business, or perhaps fund raiser for PSAS, but I will leave that for later when we have a better idea on cost-effectiveness.

2. I am still testing kalkwassers. Believe it or not I continue to work with these and have tried a couple of new ones in the last month. I am currently working with one that seems to have a high purity, but also is giving me some trouble with getting sticky. More to come after I recover!

3. I am working on some sources and applications for seaweed. I have been investigating various seaweeds, how fish like or dislike them, and how they can most effectively be fed. I am also working with form factor and some that are entirely organic and grown in Kalifornia. I will release an article on my findings some time after I recover from the surgery, but I will say I am VERY excited about the results so far.

Sad News:

It loos like Sherman will be taking a break from the hobby for a while. He has been doing it for so many years and is just about tired out about it. I will keep some of his livestock for him and perhaps will do a rescue thread for some of the fish etc. This is all going to go down tomorrow so I will assess the situation and give more information as I get it.

I feel for Sherman on this, and have told him that many times I felt discouraged but if it weren't for the size of my reef, I might have done the same. His family comes first as always, and I will be glad to support him both now and wen he decides to get back in.

And a side note:

If I die on the table I just wanted to say I love you all. Sherman, Bill, Kevin, and D. Nguyen will be responsible for breaking down my reef and distributing the parts near and far. They get first dibs! Then comes DR members and the PSAS. I want the hair algae to go to StevethePlumb.
 
no way, you're not getting off that easily Jonathan....you'll be fine :)

we'll be thinking about you on Tuesday and thinking the good thoughts for you
 
Well that's very sweet Jan... :) I am sure I will be fine, but things got to be said.

And BTW, Ooops, except for the stuff I am holding for Steve Weast. He gets that back!
 
Jan or Jon,

would like to know more about this salt project you are doing.

Jan, Maybe I could swing by your house to see this salt in person ???
 
Sounds very interesting!
I'm looking forward to you being back to "normal"! ;)

I'm just gonna ignore that last part you said...
 
To Jonathan from Tage

Hi Jonathan,

I'm really sorry to hear your back is getting painful enough for you to have the operation. I know what you will be going through since I just spent the last month (virtually) in bed recuperating from a major bilateral total knee replacement operation. Both knees at the same time made me virtually immobile. I am doing fine now, but still use a cane, and cannot drive so Charlotte has to take me down to Poulsbo for my frequent physical therapy sessions.

I expect to be fine again in about another 2-3 weeks, well enough to then offer my help with anything you need. This may come in handy while you are at home in bed unable to do some of the many things I know you won't be able to do from bedside.

My own tank has been neglected (except for feeding, etc.) during my ordeal, but nothing really suffered, and everything is slowly getting back to "normal".

I am interested in your salt proposition as long as the final price is within my range.

I would be interested in hearing whom the surgeon is going to be, and the hospital - Harrison I suppose. I found my recent stay there very satisfactory; they really try to do the right thing, and enough of the nurses (the RN's, that is) really care about you as a person. I also took advantage of the Harrison Home Medical Service, where a RN visits you on a regular basis during the weeks immediately following the operation. That part was actually very reassuring and took a great load off Charlotte.

Please keep me up-to-date. I will be thinking of you, and I know you will be a much happier person once it's all over. I certainly know I was (am) after my ordeal!

All the best,
Aquareefer
Tage
[email protected]
 
Tage, so good to hear from you! Glad your knee surgery went well and say "hello" to Charlotte!

As far as the surgeon goes, he is at Harborview Spine Clinic. I'll tell you more about it when I see you. No way I would go to Harrison...I nearly died there while they administered first aid on a dog bite! They scare me. Anyway, I have been in and out of PT so many times in the last two years, they don't want to take my case. I suppose after the surgery they will have to, but I may go to the Silverdale branch since there is a hot chick doing PT there. :D

As far as the salt goes, we won't know much about price until we can confirm that it is up to our standards. Then I can discuss getting the sodium chloride in from the distributor. It is only sold by the pallet, but I figure that will not be a deal-killer since so many are looking for a top-notch salt, and I can use quite a bit myself. We'll see how it goes.

BTW, we have a Danish beer in the store that is wicked good:

Ølfabrikken Kloster Jul (Denmark) 9.5% 22 oz

"Ølfabrikken (The Beer Factory) is a small experimental brewery on the vibrant Danish beer scene.. Kloster Jul is a dark and hoppy Christmas Ale brewed with large quantities of American Chinook hops and wonderfully spiced with coriander and cinnamon."

It does not taste too much like a holiday beer though and is what I would consider a very special beer. Varvel!
 
You will be in good hands at Harborview. I guess all the best spine specialists are on that side. Suppose you will be spending about 5 days in the hospital, then at least that number of days at home wishing the whole world would just go away. After that, you will probably be off the really strong medication; so in at least couple of weeks I'll call you at a convenient time. In the meantime I will be in the Marina store for the latest news. Due to my own condition, I have not been there for the last six weeks, so need to stock up and won't forget the Jule øl!

All the best,
Tage
 
Jonathan: The Kloster Jule Øl is brewed in the town of Roskilde, about 20 miles from where I lived in Copenhagen. It is apparently (according to the Danish language explanation I found on their website) a beer especially brewed to go with a very special Danish traditional dessert served only at Christmas time. The dessert is called Ris ala Mange. It is absolutely a great dessert, made partially from specially cooked rice. The beer is best served just under room temperature when it compliments the dessert pfectly. So now you know that!

Here's a recent American critique. He (she?) gives the beer 4.5/5 points:

"Pours a deep brown with big ruby highlights, very red and glows when held to the light. A nice off white/light tan head grows quickly and retains quite well, turning from fizzy to a nice ice cream lump leaving good lace. Nose is kind of weak. There is some dark fruit, a fair amount of spices and some honey like sweetness. Almost a sharp borderline citrus smell.

Taste is much more complex than the smell iindicates. Starts off on a fizzy slim kick, but quickly gets much richer. Alot of different dark fruit character going on in here. Some sweet yet astringent fruitiness, plums, dates. The caramel character is also pretty strong. There is quite a bit of spice going on in here as well. very nice. A certain licorice candy action in here as well. I dont know if they put any anise in this, but it could use a little lick of it. The finish is alot more dry than one would guess for the style, or for the pre finish taste. A good dry fruit flavor lingers on the aftertaste along with sugar and some grassy, fruit rhindish flavors.

Mouthfeel is a bit odd. Starts off fizzy and a touch thin, but as the richness flexes its muscle during the middle of the flavor, it is almost like it thickens up. Carbonation could be toned down just a bit. The dryness at the end is odd, but I kind of like it. Drinkability is pretty good. The abv is hidden extremely well, but the complexity and richness in this one calls for a slow sipping session. Overall a very interesting beer. Im glad I picked up a couple of these to put some age on. The complexity is very impressive. There are bretter BSDAs out there to be sure, but this one is very unique and very enjoyable as well. Defenitely an experience. Enjoy this one slowly. Good beer."

We'll save some for you! Until then,

Tage
 
Dude you'll be fine. Now quit being a girl's blouse ffs :D

Really too bad about Sherman though but I understand the frustration he faced and can empathize.
 
Jonathan I hope all goes well I sure understand all that is involved 6 months later I am still having issues with my shoulder. I wish I were closer to you because I could be a lot more help to you. Let us all know how things go and btw your like me, your not luckly enough to get out of the pain that easily....
 
Thanks guys!

And Tage, I disagree with that assessment of the beer. Flavor-wise I found it much more enjoyable than a "fruity" beer as he suggests.
 
Just got back from Sherman's place and we basically moved all of his livestock over to my place. His tank is down completely. Somehow the basslet went AWOL but everything else seemed to do fine. We put the watanabe angel, barred goby, and the marine betta in the display. The rest went into the QT tank. He also donated a bunch of media to the upkeep of his friends. Such a nice guy, and whatever lives will be there when he gets back in.
 
Glad you got Sherman's stuff, but your health is a far more important issue. The beer is more important yet, but perhaps I digress.

Best of luck to you (and your skilled doctors)
Lay off the nurses, they are not there for your entertainment:D

J, we are all pulling for you.

Mike
 
Thank you both very much. It's always a timing thing for me and my reef, but I have done all I can to prepare, and it went very well with the transition of Sherman's livestock. Everything looks very good. We found a few "lost" corals under his rockwrok, including a frag of duncans that had been living for a very long time with virtually no light. It has opened up nicely and even gotten a little color back.
 
My best wishes for your surgery today Jonathan.
Hopefully by now it's all over with and you're on your way to recovery!

HUGS!
Vicki
 
Yeah I am back. Surgery was 3 hours. When I woke up there was zero pain or numbness in my leg and foot. Bascially I am just recovering from the invasion. Pain was really severe in my back the first couple of days. They had me on a pain "button" plus orals. Came home Thursday evening and I have very limited activity for 6 weeks. I was really stoked how I felt after the surgery. Follow-up March 9. They dropped the PT appointmewnts because I got up and walked around every couple of hours.

At the house I have a walker to help me get in and out of chairs, bed, etc. The drugs are pretty damn strong. I have a morphine "immediate release" plus another long release pain med. When mixed with just a very small amount of alcohol, I immediately start hallucinating. That was with beer. Tonight I am going to try vodka. :D

All-in-all, it's going well. Came home to find Sherman's Watanabe Angel out in general population, kicking it with the tangs. And last night, what a freaking surprise, my son spotted the dottyback. I guess it rode in on the one rock we put it the display, so lucky there, and he didn't die. I would rather have him in the QT so I could pass him along but at least he's still around. I question how long he will be able to survive in teh display though.

Alkalinity was just right, in fact all params made it through my absence very well. That was really a nice thing to come home to. I also just got in some sand and OceanPure Pro (which I was told I couldn't get) so I am covered there until our salt experiments reveal our next path.

Jonathan - OUT.
 
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