Waterbear

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Guess some people are wondering about me. I have lived in North Florida for the past 3 years and have two jobs. My main work is at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind as a Residential instructor in the Independent Living Skills Apartment Program, working with Deaf, blind and visually impaired, and dual sensory impaired young adults (17-22 years old), many of them special needs and/or physically challenged. I love working with these kids, they are great! My other job is in a pool/spa supply store where I work on Saturdays during the school year and full time during the summer while school is out. The store I work at has a strong, loyal customer base and we really try to help them with their pools, not just sell them a lot of chems. We carry everything from chems, to equipment to above ground pools and we have pool contractors and pool maintenance services who frequent us.
I previously lived in South Florida (Fort Lauderdale), and grew up between Miami and North New Jersey. I have always loved chemistry since I was a kid and majored in it a the University of Florida (GO GATORS!) back in the 70's but ended up switching majors my third year to Broadcast Production with an Education minor and graduated in that. I have kept marine and reef aquairums since the 70's (you think testing pool water is hard?!) and if I'm not relaxing in the pool or hot tub I'm at the computer! (Used to work as a programmer many years ago. If I tell you I used to program in assembler for the 8088 and 6502 series of microprosseors it will give away my age!) I am also a licensed Barber and Cosmetologist in Florida and used to teach both. (don't ask! :shock:).
Other than that I guess I'm really pretty boring. One day I might decide what I want to be when I grow up. :mrgreen:
 
I was consumed with reef aquaruia myself a couple fo years ago - had a 75 gal reef with mh lighting and all the rest. It came to an abrupt end when I hooked up my sump backwards and pumped my tank out onto the floor overnight - carpet replaced, etc. I had a fire sale later that week. On the bright side, I'm still married. :shock:
 
waterbear said:
Hmmm, never kept a mermaid in one of my tanks. Seems like they might be more trouble than they are worth! :-D
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We ARE a pesky lot, us mermaids! :roll: 8)

We also had a 90gal reef tank for several years... was gorgeous, then there was a flood that took out our power for 3 days... took about 2 years for the tank to die off, but we never could get it right after the power outage. Any new creatures we introduced died, too. Tests said all was well, but nope.

This is the crazy part... the tank sat dead and dark, but still running, for about 4 years!! :shock: :shock: We had to add water every day or so. I wanted to change it over to freshwater, but figured it would be a monumental task, so there it sat, in my living room. Finally I took the plunge (yeah, ha ha) and it only took about 6-8 hours to get it cleaned and ready to go. :roll:
It now sits empty in our basement... I want to replumb the main pump and make a reverse undergravel filter, so I don't ever have to vac the rocks again!
 
At my height of marine keeping I had 9 tanks ranging from 2 gals. to 150 gals! I finally came to my senses and now have one 55 gal. with MH and VHO actinics in the hood, sump, plenum live sand filter, and 2 protein skimmers (one in the sump and one in the tank). I used to keep three 55 gal. plastic garbage cans filled with seawater in my garage for water changes! I do miss not keeping octopuses anymore. They are very intellegent and trainable! (they are supposed to be as intellegent as a dog!) Biggest problem with them is they are escape artists and can live outside the water for a period of time. It's a bit unnerving when you see an octopus climbing across the wall!
 
The Mermaid Queen said:
It now sits empty in our basement... I want to replumb the main pump and make a reverse undergravel filter, so I don't ever have to vac the rocks again!
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I did reverse undergravel in the 70's. It doesn't really eliminate the gravel cleaning (the crud collects under the filter plates instead of in the gravel and you have to stick a hose down the lift tube to sihpon it out!) but the tanks do fair better, IMHO. I started using live sand plenums and it really kept the nitrates in check!
 
was planning this on a freshwater tank. Don't even know what a sand plenum is (though I do know MH and VHO actinic!)
Water flow is through a spillway in the corner, with bioballs, into a sump with bioballs, and back up through an 800gph (if I remember correctly) pump. When we had reef tank, we had a venturi skimmer in the sump, and a fluval 404 canister from the tank. The main pump just shot the water across the surface of the tank, out of a 1 or 1.5" PVC elbow. ever so slightly up. The fish would blow across the tank :shock: No gravel in this tank, easy to suck the junk off the bottom.

When we changed to freshwater, we extended the output of the main (and then only) pump down to the bottom of the tank and drilled a bunch of holes along it, to try to vary the circulation some, instead of just a big circular path. Pea gravel in the bottom, just sitting on the bottom glass. very natural looking, some live plants. PITA to clean gravel; lots of 'dead' water under there.

What I think would work would to be to add filter plates on the bottom and shoot a fair portion of the pump output under there. Might take some trial and error so I don't shoot the plates up off the bottom!! Then the junk from the gravel could float up and get caught in a HOT filter in the sump.

Whaddaya think?

ETA - there actually (ideally) would not BE any junk in the gravel, because the water flow would be upward and to one corner... that is my hope anyhow!
 
For effective reverse flow filtraton the water rate through the gravel has to be slow enough so you get aerobic bactierial action. Much of this will actually take place under the plates and junk will collect there. In a normal undergravel most of the crud is in the top layers of the gravel. In reverse flow this reverses! It is more effecient since if the water is coming from the filter it is going to be cleaner but the bacterial action will create wastes. You will need to clean out under the filter plates or they will fill with crud and stop filtration. That has been my experience! if you have such a high flow rate through the gravel you will cause it to become unstable and shift and move all the time. A real prblem with a planted tank. The plants will not stay in the gravel!
Just my 2 cents.
 
No wonder you know so much about pool care. You sound like quite an interesting person. I too have had varied careers. For the last 25 years I've been in IT, but I was a Cosmetologist in my first career.
 

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Buggsw said:
No wonder you know so much about pool care. You sound like quite an interesting person. I too have had varied careers. For the last 25 years I've been in IT, but I was a Cosmetologist in my first career.
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Another Hairburner! :shock: I have a friend that started as one and is now a shrink. His clients were always telling him their problems and he decided he wanted to get REAL money for listening to them! :wink:
Actually, I kind of miss it from time to time. It was a fun, if not crazy, profession! I used to do platform work and also did commercial shoots. I think the two high points of that career were when I got to work with the photographer, David Vance, back in the 70's on fashion shoots (He shot record covers for the likes of Barbara Streisand and Johnny Mathis and was pretty famous for his fashion shoots), and when I got to do Loretta Swit's hair (anyone remember MASH?) for a few months while she was in Fort Lauderdale doing a play. She was a neat lady. We used to meet for breakfast about twice a week before the salon would open and talk. She told me that she enjoyed that because she thought I was 'fun'.
 
SeanB said:
I was consumed with reef aquaruia myself a couple fo years ago - had a 75 gal reef with mh lighting and all the rest. It came to an abrupt end when I hooked up my sump backwards and pumped my tank out onto the floor overnight - carpet replaced, etc. I had a fire sale later that week. On the bright side, I'm still married. :shock:
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Sean that is classic. I kept salt aquariums (although not reef worthy) for several years. I once shorted out a small TV that was near my aquarium during a water change. I was newly married and it was "hers". Some of my fill water splashed over onto the tv and it was off like a light switch for good. :lol:
 
waterbear said:
Buggsw said:
No wonder you know so much about pool care. You sound like quite an interesting person. I too have had varied careers. For the last 25 years I've been in IT, but I was a Cosmetologist in my first career.
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Another Hairburner! :shock: I have a friend that started as one and is now a shrink. His clients were always telling him their problems and he decided he wanted to get REAL money for listening to them! :wink:
Actually, I kind of miss it from time to time. It was a fun, if not crazy, profession! I used to do platform work and also did commercial shoots. I think the two high points of that career were when I got to work with the photographer, David Vance, back in the 70's on fashion shoots (He shot record covers for the likes of Barbara Streisand and Johnny Mathis and was pretty famous for his fashion shoots), and when I got to do Loretta Swit's hair (anyone remember MASH?) for a few months while she was in Fort Lauderdale doing a play. She was a neat lady. We used to meet for breakfast about twice a week before the salon would open and talk. She told me that she enjoyed that because she thought I was 'fun'.
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Somehow, I knew you'd have some great stories to tell. Sure I know who Loretta Swit is. Matter of fact she was on some new show I saw within the past year. How fun to have been that involved with Loretta and David Vance.

I never worked on anyone famous, but I sure had some interesting clients and probably am in on some facts they've told me that have never been told to another soul. At one time, I had 2 feuding neighbors as patrons. Neither ever knew I did the other one's hair - that was tricky. Come to think of it, maybe those 2 are what pushed me to go back to college and study IT. Hahaha! While back in college, I was a professional bartender at a huge supperclub. Yet another place to use my psych skills. LOL! Sort of a weird phenomena in my IT career - many of my fellow IT pals majored in Psychology. Hmmmmm.
 
waterbear said:
My main work is at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind as a Residential instructor in the Independent Living Skills Apartment Program, working with Deaf, blind and visually impaired, and dual sensory impaired young adults (17-22 years old), many of them special needs and/or physically challenged. I love working with these kids, they are great!
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Waterbear! How be you? Our nephew-in-law from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin moved south near us to Baton Rouge to join the mathematics department at the Louisiana School For The Deaf, which I'm told is one of Louisiana's flagship edu facilities. The young man, who is profoundly deaf himself, graduated from University Wisconsin, including UW grad school, with a major in deaf edu. After two years Ryan was appointed chairman of the math department and appears to be incredibly satisfied with his job. If you are ever in the New Orleans area and would like to visit LSD, I can hook us up with Ryan for a tour of the school and some killer cajun food. My wife's nephew, who is also profoundly deaf, is graduating from Wisconsin School For The Deaf this year and will be heading Gallaudet University in the fall on a football scholarship. Such fine men they are, and such awesome success stories they represent.

Now I don't want to be too nosey here, but I simply can't help myself. :lol: It's about "waterbear." Pray tell, there must be a story there. I've know a fair number of bears in my life, both animal and human, most of the type that kick a** and don't bother taking names - but I only know of one Water Bear, the ubiquitous and polyextremophilic marvel that is perhaps the most successful survivalist that ever swam the waters of planet Earth. Is the remarkable Water Bear perchance the origin of your screen name?
 
critterdoc said:
Now I don't want to be too nosey here, but I simply can't help myself. :lol: It's about "waterbear." Pray tell, there must be a story there. I've know a fair number of bears in my life, both animal and human, most of the type that kick a** and don't bother taking names - but I only know of one Water Bear, the ubiquitous and polyextremophilic marvel that is perhaps the most successful survivalist that ever swam the waters of planet Earth. Is the remarkable Water Bear perchance the origin of your screen name?
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If you want you can call me Tardigrade! :wink:
 
waterbear said:
Guess some people are wondering about me. I have lived in North Florida for the past 3 years and have two jobs. My main work is at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind as a Residential instructor in the Independent Living Skills Apartment Program, working with Deaf, blind and visually impaired, and dual sensory impaired young adults (17-22 years old), many of them special needs and/or physically challenged. I love working with these kids, they are great! My other job is in a pool/spa supply store where I work on Saturdays during the school year and full time during the summer while school is out.

Waterbear...I direct a fairly large supported Living serving all of northwest Indiana. It truly is the greatest job in the world...we work with all forms of Developmental disabilities, and many physical disabilities...I absolutely love what I do...but it is very stressful...That is where my pool comes in...I come home in the summer get off my suit and put on my swimsuit...and I am in the pool til dinner. What a life!!!
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