almost 35 year old reef pictures

[graveyardworm]

Since this all seems off be way off topic, I was an auto mechanic for 10 years, and now I've been doing pretty much all aspects of construction, frame to finish so to speak for 6 years. There really isnt much that I dont have a tool for or a knack for doing. I fix all my own vehicles, I'm renovating my house, and over the summer I picked up an old Chris Craft Seaskiff 28' cabin cruiser which I hope to have floating this summer. my kids are even old enough now that they help from time to time I just hope they're learnin something they can take with em.

[fishyz]

I am 13 and I am going to be building a sump for my new 90 gallon tank. I don't want to buy a sump because anyone can buy one, but not everyone can make one. I hope my tank will last as long as yours has Paul. Your tank is an inspiration.

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Happy New Year Paul.

Glad to see your thread is still going and your teaching the younger crowd.

Nice Pic of you and the missus. I don't know what she see's in an old codger like you but I guess she's like my wife, see's something else inside other than our crusty 'ol mugs.

Keep us up to date on the alage tray rebuild.

I got to spend the holidays back home in Texas with my Mom and Sisters. Found out a few things that made me think some. Me, like you, are handy with my hands and build pretty much everything in our house. Furniture, remodels, additions, etc. Most is self taught or I learned from my grandfather, dad was not around when I grew up. But one thing that hit me this holiday season is that I am starting to beleive that a lot of our traits or skills are inherited. I say this because I found out from my Mom that both my Grand Father and Great Grand father were carpenters and helped build the first bridge down in the key's in Florida. My Grand father's primary occupation that I remember him by was as a Chef, but he also built everything around our house and his. I did take some classes way back in school but I think a lot of my tallent came from my genes.

As for your alage coment earlier, your right. Having just filled up my 400 and getting it going, I'm having the typicla alage bloom. Luckly I've done this once or twice before and know to just rid eit out. Things re clearing up now and the tank is maturing nicely. I'll soon be building the cabinet around the tank and then I get to start stocking it and looking for a MI or a Majestic Angel.

Take care buddy and I wish you and the missus a Happy and prosperous New year.

[Micki]

fishyz, that's great! Keep us posted and post some pictures when you get started.

[Paul B]

Glad to see your thread is still going and your teaching the younger crowd.

Hey Chevy, how do you know I am older than them?
As for my wife, she is 6 years younger than I am.

I am in a quandry as to the redesign of my algae tray. I have a few options that I am working on. I think I will keep the same tray just cut down the front edge so more light hits the inside and I want to install a tilted mirror across the top to utilize every bit of wasted light. I could, of course put a light over it but I would rather recycle the wasted light that hits the back of the tank. I wish I had room for a larger tray with more surface ares because the moorish Idol is almost 7" long and I had to increase his food. He is much too large for this tank but he seems so healthy and I don't have a bigger tank so he will have to get used to it. The bluestripe pipefish are still spawning and nothing else is new.
I had a great Christmas and It sounds like you did too.
I played Santa again as you could see from the picture of me and my bride of 33 years.
I am in the peocess now of trying to get my Mother into a nursing home, she is 96 and senile. Physically she is healthy as a horse and doesen't even take an aspirin or wear glasses.
I hope I have those genes. Maybe my moorish Idol inherited some of them
Take care.
Paul

[cowboyswife]

As a new hobbyist, your tank is very inspiring!

[Paul B]

Thanks cowboyswife

[dc]

You have a tank?


I've looked at this thread several times, but I just realized I've never posted on it. It is awesome for sure.

Sorry about your Mom, you must have been a child when you got married huh?

[DMK]

hey paulb thanks for that recipe u recommended to me last week, they love it, and it's good for them, i blended up fresh clams, mussel, oysters and zoecon and selcon in a chopper and froze in tiny fish food cube trays! excellent...
- also your tank is crazy...u should be proud to have a tank so old and healthy...

[nhlives]

I am starting my first tank with a little more than the usual skepticism from the woman I live with.

She wants to know if you ever go on vacation. Or who babysits the tank? I told her I would ask :-)

[Paul B]

Debi, glad to see you. I was 24 when I got married and my wife was 18. I had to wait for my bride to get older and there was that Viet Nam thing.
DMK Sounds delicious. I feed it to my fish because I eat the same thing, only not chopped up. Rinse the juices out of there before you feed it. It will be good for the corals but it is mostly clam juice and may all too many nitrates and other things.
Also DMK my tank has issues too. I don't want to give the impression that it always runs perfectly. A couple of the older corals have not been looking as good as they should. I have been trying to find out the problem.
Nhlives, I always go on vacation. I just came back from Sicily before that I went to Tahiti and before that it was the Greek Isles. My tank runs automatically as to water and feeding and there are overflow switches for the skimmer and also in case of a leak. I do have someone come in for one of the frozen food meals every day or almost every day but if I did not have a moorish Idol I would not need that. Everything can be automatic.
Have a great day.
Paul

[Paul B]

I guess I will report on my latest algae bloom. About two weeks ago I started to get a hair algae bloom. Some of it reached the surface from almost the bottom. I just diatomed it twice with my powerhead attachment to try to get the really long stuff out and last night it all died, all at once. Today (if I have time) I will diatom out the dead algae. This is the shortest algae bloom I have eveh had. Since I installed the algae trough this was the first hair algae I have had and it was short lived. Now even the corals look better because by removing the algae, you also remove the associated nutrients with it. It is a natural water purifier.
Hair algae usually dies all at once and I think thats why some people think their two snails, sea hare or rabbitfish ate it all in a couple of days.
As I said, I get algae mostly because of the moorish Idol. The fish is too big and I have to feed it too much. I really should feed it twice as much as I do but my corals are suffering enough now.
If I ever lose the Idol I will concentrate more on the corals but now it would be a lost cause. You can't really keep large fish and corals in a tank tank together if the tank is too small. Something is going to suffer. I am doing this experiment with the moorish Idol so I have to let the corals suffer a little.
Look at this bottom photo of my reef from the seventees or eightees. See the algae? I know all about algae. Even that bloom which was the worst cleared up on it's own as it always will..
Have a great algae free day.
Paul

[Micki]

Paul, I'm adding a 150 gallong tank to my exsting system. Should I expect any kind of algae bloom in this tank? It will obviously be the same water etc.

[Micki]

Paul, I'm adding a 150 gallong tank to my exsting system. I'm wondering if I should expect any kind of algae bloom in this tank? It will obviously be the same water etc.

[Paul B]

Micki, I can't answer that. If you are adding 150 gallons of additional "new" water to an existing system I would imagine that the nutrients would be dilluted and cause less algae for a while.
Paul

[nanorfj]

I have never had a hair algae bloom in my 90...maybe it's because there is no substrate?

Paul do you have any more photos or descriptions of your algae tray?

[reeformadness]

Love your tank! I have had great luck with UG too, but now I'm trying a Berlinish type system. Diatom filters are the best. Where can I find more info on that algae tray?

[acrouse]

Paul-what an inspiration to newbies like myself! Absolutely gorgeous tank-the bottles cool looking in the tank. keep up the good work!

jolene

[Mr. Guitar]

First time I've seen this post and what can I say? AWESOME tank!!!!!!!!!!

[Paul B]

Reeformadness, that algae tray picture has been on here many times but I will post it again. It is just a trough which is a 5" vinyl fence post from Home Depot, sliced in half. It sits above the water to the back and slightly under the main lights. It is fed from my skimmer.
I get algae blooms because the tank is very old and I can't clean behind everything and I am not going to remove the rock to clean.
Also as I said it is mainly because of some fish that I have to feed too much.
Josh. Thank you, I looked at your gallery and your mushrooms look great.
Have a great night.
Paul


The other half of that fence post is the housing for my PC actinic lights which sit in the front and can swing back for maintenance. The algae trough is behind it

[Paul B]

Hey Fishyz, I forgot to thank you. Thanks buddy. You are correct, any stiff can buy something. Be a man and build it.
Paul

[gman52]

Paul I have been reading up on DIY rocks. Many people say to let the rocks sit in a tub of water for four to six weeks to let anything in the rock leach out. Do you do this or do you put the rocks straight into your tank?

thanks

[reeformadness]

Thanks Paul

[Paul B]

Gman52, you really should cure cement rocks, it may not take a few weeks and it may take months. It depends on how much cement you used to build them. The skinny rocks I usually build with the PVC interiors have very little cement and in about two weeks I can install them. If you have a large tank and you built a small rock the pH will not be appreciably affected. A slight increase in pH may be beneficial to your tank, but not always.
Paul

[graveyardworm]

Check out these guys for making your own rock and curing instructions, GARF. Cant post a direct link to the instructions, and navigating their site can be a PITA, so in the list on the left open the folder which says how to pages and click on aragocrete.