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Wow CLK sounds like you turned your hobbies into a career


^_^

Hi All...

Well the day finally came... I am officially retired!
We have moved to our home inside the Front Range of the
Rocky Mountains, and are living at 10,000 feet elevation in
south Park County. The nearest town to us is Como CO,
population 200. Because it is considered "Frontier" by the
government, there is no mail delivery and instead they have
to give us Post Office Box in the nearest town that has
them. In our case that is Como, and it is a 35 minute
drive over packed dirt/gravel roads. With the price of gas
we make that trip into town once a week.

We are in the process of building a 28 x 48 ft addition to
the home that will house the garage, a wood shop, a room
for Susan's sewing and office, as well as a radio room
and electronics shop for me. The floor is being reenforced
to support a 300gal tank as well.
Connecting the addition to the house will be a
20x20 garden room with a small pond, a place for
Susan to grow vegetables indoors, and for me to
grow some nice house plants.

We are up to our ears in construction, and later, moving
into the addition and setting things up... Perhaps by the
end of November, I can consider myself "retired" and start
to relax?


Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Congratulations, Frank!

I hope everything goes well with your addition, sounds pretty awesome

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Whoops! Looks like I'm late! Congrats Frank Well deserved, hope you don't get too bored ! I'm sure in such an area it'd be pretty hard to though.

Do hope Susan is doing well. Is the veggie patch going to be raised beds? Thinking that might make it nice and easy for her.


^_^

well this is quick_silver_2694

My account was deleted or something i guess was a member since 2004 or so, dunno what happened. Lindy, Mez, Darklord dempseyfan stil around?

ok so you three are here wheres dempseyfan? I am down to two tanks now. Never did i have time for a salt water tank. Mybe when i retire lol

Well I thought I'd check in...I don't have fish for now between how my apt temperature can fluctuate, space (you have to have a working electric socket for fish this place is horrid), and money fish are on the back burner, but I so miss them...

Instead I've been putting my effort into getting healthier and losing weight. I'm down over a hundred pounds and feeling better than I have in years.

I stop in now and then to browse, tonight was to ask for help for my boss's betta...so I've posted in the hospital forum, if you have a second check it out?

Thanks and I'll check in again later I'm sure...

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Hi Houston,

It was nice to read your posts again. Don't be a stranger.
"DEW DROP INN" from time to time.

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Wow, it's been forever since I've been on here, but I wanted to stop in and see how the site has changed and to see who is still around! Looking at my profile, I can't believe it was 13 years ago that I registered for this site. Time truly does fly! I must say, I was a bit shocked to see how inactive the boards have become. I think the general interest in aquaria just isn't where it was just 5-10 years ago. There used to be about 8 LFS's in my area, and now we're down to 2.

As for myself, I obtained my bachelors degree in marketing back in 2008 and haven't had fish since. I recently got married in August of 2013. My wife and I are looking to buy a home this spring, and I fully plan on getting the 90 gallon back up and running. We currently live in an apartment where no pets are allowed, but luckily my parents let me store the 90 gallon tank/stand/filters etc in their basement until I'm ready to pick it up again.

Anyway, it's great to see that people are still checking in from time to time. I'll keep an eye on this thread and see if any of the old-timers from back in the ETF days check in. Take care everyone!

Hi Dempsey Fan,
Welcome back and contratulations on the the degree, wife and new digs! Hope you get the tank up and show us some pictures!

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

whoosh... zooming on by!!

Bye cycle!

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Shouldn't decade old members get some sort of new badge

Wow, I can't believe how few posts there are nowadays. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised, most of the members here do have busy schedules and lives outside of the hobby. It isn't just this site either, all 4 of the forums I used to frequent have no posters anymore. It's still sad, I remember how much fun I had reading through all the new posts we had here on a daily basis. I learned so much from all of the veteran members that were here.

I haven't really been around here much except to lurk since late 2010. Unfortunately I had to take down my 75 gallon tank when we redid the flooring in my house, and I decided not to set it up again until I move into my own place and get settled in a few years from now. I've got 2 more years left before I get my bachelor degree in electrical engineering technologies, and hopefully I'll get a job that will fund my obsession with this hobby. Right now I've just got a 2.5 gallon tank that houses Merlin, my Betta, and it just isn't the same as a nice big tank.

I hope maybe we get a few new people around here to inject some life into the boards, because this is by far my favorite fish forum on the net.

I checked aquarank yesterday, there is very little activity just about everywhere!

A total newby here, but thought i would put in my 2cents worth. Ive been trying to get a forum going ever since i retired last year, and i can tell you its tough. There are a ton of Facebook groups, everybody drops in via their smart phones, grrrrr enough to make an old time fish guy puke

Anyway, you guys have built a fantastic resource here, just sad that all the activity seems to be on social media.

First of all, I apologize if this is necro-ing an old thread, but just wanted to come by and say hi. I have not kept an aquarium in over a decade (mostly because I was a kid then and my parents didn't want to keep maintaining a tank), but now that I am 26 and it looks as though I am about to buy my own house in the spring, I am dead set on restarting my interest in the hobby, as it has been in the back of my mind for years.

I don't know if anyone here remembers me, but I was about 13 when I started posting on the forums. I was that little kid who knew way more about fish than most kids that age should, and for the past day or so I've been doing research to refresh my memory - and I remembered this page.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Wow, I haven't logged on here in years! I very much doubt anyone remembers me, I finally got my pond and have a lovely fancy goldfish pair - in a tank I haste to add!

I now do the shocking thing of reading books for information since so much online is distorted - I like a fish book group I am on for the pictures only.

God sitting here brings back memories, Houston! hello and Babelfish, getting married! Frank and his good enough quote

wow. Trip down memory lane. XXXX


_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey S. Firestone

Same! Memory lane. Nice to see familiar names and avatars.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Just wanted to say hi as well. Last time I was on we were living in a rented house...unfortunately the owner stopped making payments and we were forced to move. Finally about to buy our own place but not enough room for all the tanks. It was an incredibly stressful time, I ended up depressed and gave up all the tanks rather than move some

Once settled in I did keep a betta in a 2.5g and after he died got back into the hobby, very much into nano fish and shrimp. I tried a few FB groups but definitely prefer forums like this.

Hope everyone is doing well

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Well, its nice to visit back on FishProfiles!

It's been ages since I was on the site and to be honest, all of my tanks are currently packed away and in storage! I'm eagerly waiting getting to go through all of my equipment and getting a tank up and running again in the net couple months.

A personal update:
I graduated college in May 2014 with my BS in Biology (and minor in Chemistry). While I was originally going for PreMed, I ended up switching to a more holist look at biology and chemistry. Ever since then, I've been living and working on Catalina Island with a camp. During the summers I was driving boats and instructing water skiing, wake boarding and knee boarding and enjoying some time out in the sun. During the Fall, Winter and Spring seasons I worked part time with the environmental education program and worked more full time with the maintenance department of the camp (learning a lot of valuable life skills might I add!). This last month, I was passed up for a promotion and have since decided its time to start something new. I'm putting in my notice at the end of the month and moving back to the LA area.

So, in the next couple months, the tanks are getting dusted off and getting back to their intended purpose while I look for new work and do a bit of soul searching!

Hope everyone else is doing well, I'm planning on getting more involved with the site again to help newbies like I once was and probably will be again shortly!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Well, I came by wanting to ask for help... Yeah, me asking for help about live barriers... But appears to be a dead site. Makes me want to cry, the memories... As I sit here using my phone to access, it reminds me of trying to get online so many years ago on my cell and it being so broken...

Anyways I just lost my betta, that I was convinced, well anyways it was my chime back to fish....I have a 5 gaskin im setting up, I've got to start somewhere... Im still around. Just started a new job I love so much more than my old... Anyone want to contact me I'm here hmlaird at gmail... Hugs

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Hi Houston,
I don't think I've found anyone in Chat in over a year. I guess most of us are too busy to simply sit there and hope.

I, and the other Moderators, check in regularly and answer any questions posed. I have absolutely no idea what you said you were setting up. Leave questions and they will be answered.

Can't believe I've been a continuously active member of Fish Profiles for 14 years!
Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Seriously auto correct is horrible... Was saying a 5 gallon... thanks Frank... Still setting up eventually...

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

:-) It is so lovely seeing everyone's updates and how important this place has been to everyone. I miss the old days of someone always in chat. Facebook is nice but they've got a lot of work to do to build a community like this.

I've had some time off. I went from 11 tanks to 3, to 1. I'm back up to two now, but the largest is a 2' and neither have fish. One is just... sitting there. The plan is to get a 3x2x2 or similar and stock it with a few types of crustaceans, but it has to be custom built so it'll be a while yet. I have managed to breed my first egg scatterers outside with WCMM though, so that is a bit exciting.

Not a single betta in the house. It makes me sad to think about.

Other than that, I've gotten into gardening and would really like to find a place that I could pop in a small pond. Unfortunately the tomatoes are currently winning the fight for space.






For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Hi all,

I haven't been here for some time but after going through my bookmarks I though I'd check if Fishprofiles was still kicking around and here you are

For me not much is happening on the aquarium side, I still have y 65g up and running, though I've moved to a low maintenance setting without CO2 and lower light. At the moment I only have around 10 Corydoras swimming around, the last of the old stock passed away about 3 weeks ago of old age. For christmas I got a giftcard for my LFS, so I'll restock probably later this week. Perhaps I'll post a photo if I have the time, but with two young kids running around there never seems to be much of that.

See you around

Just dropping in to say hello. 55gal still running with a few minor changes. Just got a new Eheim Pro 4+ 350 since my Rena Xp3 developed a small leak where the power cord comes out of the pump. Hope this new pump last and works like the Xp3 did. Nice to see some familiar names still around.

Boo!

Thats what I'm talkin about. tim tim timmay !

I guess I should give an update.

I broke my neck a few years ago, crush fractures on C6, T1, T4. I can still walk, but they said I'm lucky to have full use of my limbs. My head is hard to turn though.

Before the accident, I would spend 3 hours per weekday in the gym, but now the pain is so much I'm permanently on oxycodone and Lyrica.

I was playing competitive paintball for a while, I got to compete on a national level and traveled quite a bit to play.

All that stopped when I broke my neck and I had to find a new hobby to replace the sport.

I took up astronomy, and obsessed to the point of building a permanent observatory. I have a website for my work here: http://observatory.site/[/link]

Babelfish and I have been married for 12 years now. We have a four year old son named Max.

We don't keep many fish anymore; one 5ft with a few clown loaches, angelfish and silver dollars; one 2ft full or java moss and myabe a few shrimp; Max has a 2ft tank with some snails and guppies.

Facebook basically took over the internet, and killed off most forums. I've considered shutting this site down, but have keep it up as it's the place where I met Babelfish. Luckily http://secure.walkmyplank.net/ is running on the same server and paying for the hosting for the site.

Hello Everyone!

Just a quick update.

Last year I snagged an old display case from the office I was working in a used it to create a little mini betta tank (1 or 1.5 g). That was a huge mistake/blessing because it encouraged me to dust off my old 29g in the garage, dig through my equipment and get a new tank going because I became obsessed again.

several hundreds of dollars, hours, and etc later and I've got a tank I am happy with but love to keep fidgeting with.

I'll start a thread to share my journey and to maybe draw people in again.

On a personal note, I got a job as a Concrete Technologist within a large international concrete/aggregate/cement company and have ample access to free sand/gravel/rock so that has been fun to incorporate the materials from my work into my hobby.

Hope everyone is faring well and glad Adam has kept this site running for the rest of us!


\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Thought I'd swing by and say 'Hi!' to everyone! Can't believe it's been over 19 years since I found FP. It's good to see so many familiar names/faces stopping by from time to time, even after Facebook/Reddit/social media has taken over the internet. Remember when we all thought 5 or 10 meg internet was crazy fast? Now I feel bad for anyone whose ISP doesn't offer gig, and I work for an ISP that delivers up to 5 gig symmetrical to residential customers (and up to 100 gig for businesses).

Update on myself:

I had a number of you folks on Facebook back in the day, but I dropped off the face of the earth in 2011. I went to prison for six years for having a relationship a with an underage girl (she was 15, I was 21). Long story short, she stuck with me through the whole thing, our daughter is now 10, and we are a happy little family! I got out of prison in 2017, rebuilt my life back up from nothing, married the mother of my child, built a house together, and we have been doing really well. I had a lot of boundary issues and pretty poor judgement when I was about 17-21, but I really straightened myself out and while in prison and set myself up for success. I got a job at an ISP right after getting out of prison, and have been climbing the ladder there over the last 5 years. I've been working in the NOC (Network Operations Center) for the last year. Picture NASA mission control, but for an ISP (huge walls of screens). Something breaks, I figure out what broke, fix it if I can (network/routing/config issues), or call someone who can fix it if I can't (cut cables, damaged/failed equipment, etc). I'm working on getting my CCNA again (it expired while I was in prison) so I can move up to a network engineering position.

We built a house last year and I ran 7000ft of Cat6 network cable for network jacks throughout the house. They all run back to my rack. I'm 2/3 of the way done punching down the patch panels and installing/configuring the switches, but when its done there will be three 48 port patch panels and three 48 port gig/PoE switches. I've been side-tracked by other projects in the new house, will finish up the network soon. It's a full blown smart house, complete with smart switches throughout, motion sensors, RGB LED's up the wazoo. Lights turn on and off automatically as we walk through the house, and automatically go to the correct/preset brightness depending on time of day (no retina-searing when you turn on the bathroom lights at 2AM, etc). I ran Cat6 for security cameras, and a ton of 16/4 wire for more addressable RGB LED strips throughout (including under the handrail)... lots of nerdy projects to finish over the next year or so.

Here are a few pictures of the house and network:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nB5wytC1KpxBwmGv6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GHWfu3rTcSd38Pk46
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Uq8XsoKuYp3rNPp1A
https://photos.app.goo.gl/MreEEQRf83gfnfsP6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/srY5BB14NUpDNnac9

You guys may remember my over the top/crazy/unique tank ideas. I was always trying to turn things up to 11 but always ended up doing it super janky once I ran into the reality of a budget. I'm doing pretty much the same thing with the house/network now, but not doing anything janky because I can actually afford to do things properly now, and I have (or can learn) the skills to do so. I've wanted a lot of various smart devices that either aren't on the market or what is on the market is terrible, so I've built my own from scratch and wrote my own firmware for them. They've all turned out pretty legit!

I haven't had any tanks going since I went to prison. I had about one month heads up that I'd be going, enough time to take down all of my tanks but one (my pair of Jack Dempseys). My folks sold them to the LFS and took down that tank. Most of my tanks that were worth keeping were either too big to store or were damaged over the 6 years in storage. I've thought about setting up new tanks, but haven't made it a priority yet, especially with the recent new house/move. We did become a cat family a few years ago, though. We adopted two black cats at the start of the pandemic/quarantine, and they're the sweetest floofs on the planet. Every time we stop at pet stores for cat food/supplies, I have to stop and look at all of the fish. Maybe we'll start again with something small, 20 or 30 gallons, maybe some Rams or other small cichlids. Or maybe a 5 gallon planted betta tank. I'll have to see what I can talk my wife into!

Obligatory cat pictures:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ns1kiC5w5bBp77Rt8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1uqu352bF6bnnok68

Aside from that, I've just been living life to it's fullest. Spending time with my family, working on house projects/nerdy projects, and working at a job that I love.

I hope all is well with everyone!

-Scott

Edit: Got the network engineering job! Specifically, DOCSIS/PON engineering. Didn't need a current CCNA to get it, but definitely still on the todo list.

Edit 2: I'm in the news for doing something nerdy!
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/10/redditor-acquires-decommissioned-netflix-cache-server-with-262tb-of-storage/

I'll give an update myself!

I graduated Purdue with a BS in Wildlife in 2007 and lived at home for a bit, having a hard time finding work in the Recession. I did an internship and paid apprenticeship at the Oakland Zoo, volunteered there for a while, but a permanent job never materialized. After 4 years with Mom and Dad, I decided to move back to Indiana and see what happened job-wise.

I started off getting a security job that paid peanuts (living with a college friend), but that was only a month or two before another college friend hooked me up with a job doing production at a small Indianapolis factory. I'm still there after 11 years but now my time is split between Engineering and Quality Management and I'm in line for the position of Quality Manager if our current one ever retires. I just moved out of the cubicle and into a real office! (Debating whether to ask HR if I'd be allowed an aquarium in there)

I've managed to buy a house with cash before the market went bananas, so that's been great.

I have 2 cats, my conure Harvey (have had him longer than I've been on FP!), a crested gecko, and currently 3x 10-20G aquariums with fish (and a vase with shrimp)

I started running half marathons, and did my 3rd one in September. I'm not competitive but it is addicting. My PR is 2:18:54. Running takes up a significant amount of my free time but I feel great.

I am of course very involved with my church here. If you visited I'd be one of the first people you'd meet, as I'm the primary greeter (who assists me rotates, which is nice, I get to know people better). I'm the oldest person in my college and career class but I'm kind of grandmothered in (they like me because I make food for them). I'm pretty much the social coordinator for that class.

And I've totally quit being the grammar police! Hoosiers don't speak very well, but I find it to be efficient (mostly), so I've learned to let it go. And even catch myself using the local language occasionally.

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