I am going for my disability..Breaking down the reef tank

[flower]

I did it…I applied for disability, this is railroad retirement not social security. I have been able to work like 3 weeks this entire year if I put all the days together. I hope it all goes smooth.

I’m considering breaking down my reef tank until I’m on my feet, which I think will be about a year. I might have to move to a cheaper place to rent, it depends on how understanding my landlord will be when he hears I will be on benefits and rent will be late until I get everything rolling along. I will keep the seahorse tank going. Salt and food isn’t so expensive on the 30g. and if I have to move it's manageable

If I do this, then I will store the tank and all equipment. When I start back up I will use the by then dry and dead rock… break it up to make a foam rock wall on that tank too….something to look forward to so I won’t cry. I have been saying for a long time that if I ever redo my tank I will put a rock wall on it.

Is there a way to store Koralia’s so they don’t freeze up and become non-working? I’m sure the rest of the equipment will be fine. What is the best way to store the sand? I don’t want it to become a rock but I know it will be full of die off when I go to re-use it.

 

[deejeff442]

so sorry to hear .life really bites for people like us who actually want to work and cant.god knows there are plenty of people out there that can work and dont.lucky for me my health has finally gotten better.
i just keep old sand in a bucket it will still break up and wash clean later.i have 5 or 6 koralias under my tank,never thought of them freezing up?actually i still need to wash them.seeing they are a magnet i would just take them apart.
good luck with the disability.

 

[meowzer]

AW Flower...I'm sorry.....Just clean everything up really good and it should be fine
TAKE your time deciding about tearing it down.....If all you have to do is periodic w/c's you might be ok.....run the lights an hour less if you have to

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///forum/thread/384867/i-am-going-for-my-disability-breaking-down-the-reef-tank#post_3373120
so sorry to hear .life really bites for people like us who actually want to work and cant.god knows there are plenty of people out there that can work and dont.lucky for me my health has finally gotten better.
i just keep old sand in a bucket it will still break up and wash clean later.i have 5 or 6 koralias under my tank,never thought of them freezing up?actually i still need to wash them.seeing they are a magnet i would just take them apart.
good luck with the disability.

LOL...I don't know about WANTING to work. It was always a I NEED to work so I can have what I want out of life. I applied right away so I will have sickness benefits to live on until it all goes through. I get 80% of my pay....That last 20% I fear will be my fish tank money.

Glad to hear the sand will not become a solid brick. However if I take the power head apart I will never remember how to get it back together. from experience I know they freeze up when left to dry and become unusable.

Thanks, it's a great idea to take it apart, that just make sense. I will go Google for info on how parts fit together, maybe they will have one of those instruction pictures online. If I make a copy of such a page I might just be able to do it.

 

[spanko]

Just soak the power heads in a 50-50 mix of white vinegar and water for a couple of days, scrub them with a toothbrush, then wrap them up in some paper towels and store them. They will be fine.
On the sand put it in a 5 gallon (or multiple ones if needed) and use the hose in the backyard to clean it. Turn the hose on enough that it is making the sand move around in the bucket but not so much that the sand overflow with the water. Then just keep moving the hose around in the bucket to stir up the sand and get the dirtdetritus to overflow with the water. Then you can store the buckets.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/384867/i-am-going-for-my-disability-breaking-down-the-reef-tank#post_3373130
AW Flower...I'm sorry.....Just clean everything up really good and it should be fine
TAKE your time deciding about tearing it down.....If all you have to do is periodic w/c's you might be ok.....run the lights an hour less if you have to
Quote:
Originally Posted by spanko http:///forum/thread/384867/i-am-going-for-my-disability-breaking-down-the-reef-tank#post_3373137
Just soak the power heads in a 50-50 mix of white vinegar and water for a couple of days, scrub them with a toothbrush, then wrap them up in some paper towels and store them. They will be fine.
On the sand put it in a 5 gallon (or multiple ones if needed) and use the hose in the backyard to clean it. Turn the hose on enough that it is making the sand move around in the bucket but not so much that the sand overflow with the water. Then just keep moving the hose around in the bucket to stir up the sand and get the dirtdetritus to overflow with the water. Then you can store the buckets.
Meowzer...

I don't know where else I can tighten my belt. WC salt, fish food and test kits. I might be able to get some pretty good credit at the LFS on the fish. My Hippo alone is worth $80.00 on the market for his size. I know I won't get that much or even half but I might be able to get free fish food for a few months.
Spanko, on the sand ....Do I fill the bucket with the sand and then rinse, or do I just add a little sand at a time and rinse as I go?

 

[spanko]

You can put sand up to almost 1/2 way in the bucket.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by spanko http:///forum/thread/384867/i-am-going-for-my-disability-breaking-down-the-reef-tank#post_3373142
You can put sand up to almost 1/2 way in the bucket.

Thank you.

 

[deejeff442]

well who really wants to work?i meant people who are willing to work seem to get disabled.
i take my koralias apart all the time to clean them just twist the end off .there isnt too many parts.just the cover and the impeller.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///forum/thread/384867/i-am-going-for-my-disability-breaking-down-the-reef-tank#post_3373275
well who really wants to work?i meant people who are willing to work seem to get disabled.
i take my koralias apart all the time to clean them just twist the end off .there isnt too many parts.just the cover and the impeller.

I took one apart once YEARS ago....I was so glad my husband was good at figuring stuff out because I couldn't get it back together again...it just didn't fit. I have been very much afraid of a repeat so I never did that again.
My husband is now gone, since it's just me in the world left....some things I will not do because he can't come to the rescue anymore. Taking things apart are at the top of the list.

 

[deejeff442]

you could take it apart and clean it then when you are ready for them go to the lfs i am sure they would put them back together for you.when i clean mine on the motor side it gets packed with coraline .i have to get a butter knife and scrape it out.
i sure hope everything works out for you .

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///forum/thread/384867/i-am-going-for-my-disability-breaking-down-the-reef-tank#post_3373303
you could take it apart and clean it then when you are ready for them go to the lfs i am sure they would put them back together for you.when i clean mine on the motor side it gets packed with coraline .i have to get a butter knife and scrape it out.
i sure hope everything works out for you .

LOL...I need a smiley with great big bug eyes! I never tried to clean the motor side, that comes apart too?...I couldn't get the little impeller back on. I remember there was a tiny rubber doohickey that was deep inside, Dan had to line everything up and then it went back together.

I can't get mine apart because coralline is so thick on there. When I do maintenance on the tank, I remove the power heads and make sure the holes/slits are open by using a butter knife ...then I soak it in hot water, then I use a paper towel to clean the impeller, and scrub the whole thing with a green scratchy pad..then run it in hot water to make sure the salt is melted all through it and put it back in the tank..

 

[deejeff442]

yes there is a little spacer.i use a fork for the slots.i do notice when i cleaned them the flow seems to double.it is sometimes hard to twist it with the coraline on there.when you take it apart the little spacer goes on the end toward the moter .i think there is only 4 parts to them.it is the moter side that sucks the water in through the slots.if on the inside the small channels are full of coraline and gunk it cant suck as much water in.thats why i take them apart.
what you can do is a trick we use for changing old back breaks on car is take one apart then have another one to look at to put back together if you cannot remember.on old spring drum breaks there were alot of silly parts to remember so i used to take one side apart and the drum off the other to see how to put it back together.

 

[flower]

My hands are so weak, no way can I twist it to get the thing apart, I try every time because its miserable to get to the impeller trying to dig around the front cage...mind you the power head is at least 5 or 6 years old.

I have to write a statement for the railroad retirement board on what I do in a nights work. LOL... no wonder everything in me is falling apart...34 years of the following. After putting it all down on paper...OMG!

I do 3 trains each night, 14 cars total (in the other yard I did 18, they call my yard retirement village)



· Getting on the train: First step is hip high (there are hand rails) I pull myself up, then there are 3 steps to climb. To get off the train, I must step OUT away from the train, because there is a 1 ½ foot space between the train and sidewalk. It creates a stretch motion in the legs.

· Cleaning the coach: Every seat must be flipped to face the opposite way so folks don’t ride backwards..There are 46 seats per car, so I am flipping 644 seats a night. Flipping a seat is like a row boat movement only you are standing up.

· Every car has a bathroom, I make sure the trash can is empty and the bowl is clear of ...(yuck you know what.) Folks don’t know how to flush a retention toilet??? It is just a button that says PUSH. I will not go into any more detail because it’s too gross, 14 a night.

· I must bend over (I counted once on one side 80Xs) to pick up trash, half filled soda cups, half eaten food and newspaper. Such things can’t be swept up. Then I sweep up tiny little confetti looking paper made from the conductors punches, he uses a handheld paper hole punch to punch a ticket as used.


· These are bi-level trains so every car has 4 stairwells leading upstairs, 7 steps each. That makes 56 flights of stairs every night ....That is IF I don’t notice I missed something on the other side because then I have to go and re-climb the steps to get whatever trash I missed.



· There are two garbage cans on every car to be emptied, I remove the bag and replace with a fresh one and use the bags to load my trash in...I tie it off and toss it out of the train door to the sidewalk outside. After I am finished with each train, I have a two wheeled large cart (wheelbarrow type) I gather the filled bags (weight approx is 35 to 40 pounds each) into the cart, take it to the dumpster and wrestle the bags into the bin (height is at the top of my shoulders)

· If we have extra time, and I always pray we don’t. Down time we supposed to do windows. These windows are 4 X 2 ½ feet in size. Every car has 50 windows. Remember these are bi-levels, so another 4 flights of steps besides.

 

[reefraff]

I agree on washing the pumps in water then dry as much as possible, they will be fine. As far as the sand I would also rinse it with tap water too. Leaving all the crap in it just makes for a mess when you re use it. If you live rock has any pests I would do the same with it but if not I would just let it dry in a temperate place and store it in a sealed container so it doesn't get contaminated in any way.
As far as your financial situation keep in mind your disability payments are not taxable unless you have enough other income. I think its something like 32 grand a year. In my case we blow right though that because of my wifes salary. In any case tax free makes a big difference so keep that in mind before you go tearing the tank down.

 

[mproctor4]

Sorry for the situation you are in. It will be a blessing for you when/if you disability goes thru. If you do decide to try and keep you tank running and sell your hippo I would imagine you could get more for it from craigslist or a local fish club in the area. Maybe if you don't have as many fish you could cut back on your feedings a bit and won't require water changes as often

I'm not sure what kind of food you use but we have found it is much cheaper to buy nori from a local Asian market and make our own food with fresh seafood (or some frozen from the Asian market also).

 

[flower]

I'm in no rush to break the tank down. I'm going to wait and see how long it takes for my sick benifits to kick in and how much that is.
Hey Reefraff, they do indeed tax sickness benifits. It is supposed to pay out 80% of my net income wages...LOL...Then they tax it. The Disability money I'm not worried about, all will be good in the world once I have my disability coming in..
MPROCTOR4, Making my own sea food to cut up for food is more expensive than purchasing the mysis shrimp in frozen cubes, I package lasts a week for $4.99..The phytoplankton, mico vert and such is near $20.00 a bottle. It is better for the fish I admit, but it won't feed the corals..

 

[deejeff442]

a good friend of mine hurt his shoulder (rotator) the first doctor messed the surgery up and cut some nerves .this has been 5 years now.he got bored sitting around the house and found a job working from home for an insurance company on the computer.maybe this kinda thing would work out for you?
i could ask him more about it if you would like.

 

[mproctor4]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/384867/i-am-going-for-my-disability-breaking-down-the-reef-tank#post_3373389

I'm in no rush to break the tank down. I'm going to wait and see how long it takes for my sick benifits to kick in and how much that is.
Hey Reefraff, they do indeed tax sickness benifits. It is supposed to pay out 80% of my net income wages...LOL...Then they tax it. The Disability money I'm not worried about, all will be good in the world once I have my disability coming in..
MPROCTOR4, Making my own sea food to cut up for food is more expensive than purchasing the mysis shrimp in frozen cubes, I package lasts a week for $4.99..The phytoplankton, mico vert and such is near $20.00 a bottle. It is better for the fish I admit, but it won't feed the corals.
Obviously I don't know the cost of things where you live, but here I can buy a bag of mixed uncooked seafood (little bit of shrimp, octopus, squid, oysters, and clams) for $2.99 a bag at the Asian market. We get very large packages of nori for $4.99, which we mix in the food but also clip on the side of the tank for the fish to graze on. I can get multiple batches of homemade food with one bag of nori. We then go to the regular grocery store and buy very small amounts of shrimp, cod,couple of scallops, a tiny bit of salmon, and whatever else they have in that is appropriate--usually cost less than $4.00. You can add vitamins or soak it later if you prefer. It last us for at least 3-4 months feeding 2 tanks, comes out to about $8.00. I know you still need coral food for your filter feeders but I do mince some of our homemade extra fine and feed some of the other corals with it. I will say I get strange looks from the guy at the fish counter ordering 10 shrimp, 2 scallops, 1" of salmon

. I still worry about my dwarf angels getting enough greens, so I throw in a cube of prepackaged dwarf angel food and soak everything in fresh garlic, that is an added expense also. For us it is cheaper than feeding everything mysis.

 

[gemmy]

Flower, that stinks about going out on disability. I wish you the best of luck.