Let Me Sleep

Draining a 100 Gallon Fish Tank in Less than 5 Minutes

Most of my posts have been serious…. That is because war is serious. There are constant dangers that we parents worry about.

And these worries can lead to sleepless nights… Many sleepless nights.

So, today I am writing a lighter post… We all need to be able to laugh at the crazies of life!

“Draining a 100 Gallon Fish Tank in Less than 5 Minutes”

or

“101 Reasons for Having the Floors Cleaned”

part 1

Have you ever reached the sleep deprivation point, where you have no idea if you are coming or going? 

I walked into the kitchen to grab an apple, but by the time I reached the kitchen I stare blankly at the oven. Am I supposed to start dinner? Yes, that must be why I am in the kitchen.  

I walked to the fridge, opened the door and stare blankly at the milk. I wonder for a moment about the expiration date. Gosh, I need to clean the fridge. Yes, that must be why I am in the kitchen.  

I begin pulling out the cold cuts. Turkey and Swiss on rye sounds great! Darn, we are out of spicy brown mustard. I need to run to the store and get a bottle. I need to make a grocery list. Yes, that must be why I am in the kitchen.  

Dang, those apples look good. I think I will have one. Wait, didn’t I just have an apple? 

Oh yes, put apple sauce on the list. I want to make apple sauce pancakes this weekend. Speaking of pancakes, did I reserve the Rockport Cabin? (don’t ask how I can get Rockport from pancakes … something to do with log cabin syrup maybe?) 

OK…. This is all hurting my head.  

I need to forget about all these stressful issues and just clean the fish tank. (see, I was going some where with this) 

I got out the buckets, the vacuum, the clean filters…

Hmmmm… Have I changed out the filters on the A/C lately? 

Sorry fish. I will be right back. 

On the way back I grabbed an apple because they look so good. I sat down in front of the aquarium and watched the fish while I FINALLY ate the apple. 

Recharged with food, I began the task at hand (just not sure what it is)   

Oh yes… Buckets and filters are out for a reason. DOH 

I vacuumed the rocks and added fresh water. I am ASSUMING I added chemicals to the water as no fish have killed over yet. 

Then I began the dubious task of changing out the filters. It is not such a hard task. I have a sweet Ocean Clear canister pump. They claim it pumps 800 to 1600 GPM (seems high… but my floors tend to agree with the claim)  

All I need to do is shut off the valves on the hoses. It is easy, slide the levers into the horizontal position. One does not need special training nor a degree to run it.

I was awake enough to do this.  I lifted the lid to the canister, changed the filters, and cleaned it out.  

This is where my brain should have been in tune with what my hands were about to do. This is the point that I would have said, “Don’t even think of doing it!” 

Unfortunately, my brain was not in gear and my hands took over….

I looked at the hose, (the same hose that I had closed) and decided it needed cleaned as well. The pump was off. What could go wrong? 

Simple law of irrigation… a 3/4 inch hose, which is full of water, One end in the tank – one end hooked to the pump. Even with the pump turned off, removing the end of the hose which is attached to the canister is just dumb. 

As water was shooting out all over me and the floor, I sat back and began laughing hysterically. Seriously, who would do something so dumb.

Slowly my brain began to engage and I pushed my palm into the end of the hose.  I am sure this only lasted a few seconds… But, I had quite a bit of water on the floor.  

Holding the hose firmly, I had to push it back into the fitting. Picture in your mind, attaching a water sprinkler to the hose with the hose running.

At this point, I was wondering… “Did I add apples to the grocery list?” 

Ps. I spoke with David! He is doing fine. I am off to find another item for his “LIST” !!!!!