almost 35 year old reef pictures

[Acolin]

Paul, the longevity and beauty of your reef system and your marriage are an inspiration to us all!

The first successful marine tank with invertebrates I ever knew was 35 years ago. It was maybe 75 gallons, few fish, UG filter, deep dolomite gravel bed (sloped lower at front) with 10% daily water changes, in LFS store (Finny Critters, St. Paul, MN) and some western sunset exposure = beautiful!

DSB are relatively new, that is why there are no old ones to study. I am an algae filter man myself, but there is no reason that DSBs can’t continue to reduce nitrates. The upper levels of the DSB are disturbed, by the sand sifting creatures there. The small particles and even tinier particles forming mud at the lowest parts of the DSB create the anaerobic dead zone that reduces nitrates.

Do you reverse your UG flow and suck the accumulated detritus out from under the UG plate?

Is regular diatomous filtering the only mechanical filtering that you do?

How often and how much water do you change?

[Paul B]

This is one of the hardest things I find convenciencing people to do--

Capn, I don't try to convince anyone to do anything.
I don't care what system people use. It is a personal choice.

DSB are relatively new, that is why there are no old ones to study.

Acolin, they have been around for 20 years or so if I remember.

Do you reverse your UG flow and suck the accumulated detritus out from under the UG plate?

The way I built the manifold that feeds the UG filter it is hard to do but if I ever re design it I will make sure I can do that. I can somewhat but a large enough hose will not fit in my system to do it correctly.

Is regular diatomous filtering the only mechanical filtering that you do?

Yes, that is all I do.

How often and how much water do you change?

I change about 20% about 5 or 6 times a year.
Sometimes more sometimes less. I don't have a schedule for anything and my system has no nitrates so I go by the looks of the coral.

[ddinox64]

Also. If the water is flowing upwards. How is anything going to settle compactly? I can understand in areas here and there but not across the entire floor.

Just as my fingers don't always go where I point them. Sometimes my brain doesn't always convey to them what I think I'm trying to say.

In other words. I have know idea what I was asking there. Even after reading the previous posts to it to try and figure it out. So scratch that.

Now I don't know if I posed this question or not.
Was thinking about placing my rock on glass or a thin layer of sand then adding my sand bed to partially bury my rock about 3-4 inches instead of just the 1 or 2 they get shoved in when placing it. Realizing that rock ina natural isn't just sitting on the ocean floor. It goes very deep below it.

Knowing that the rock is more pourous than the sand after it gets compacted after a while. Would this seem to improve any aspects of a DSB?

With all the many holes in rock and seeing you can take a turkey baster, blow it in one spot on a rock and have silt come out 2,3,4 inches away in the same rock. Water being circulated in the tank and hitting the rock work, there must be some penitration to these ports.

Ahhhh..... I'm so confused.

I guess after all is said and done. If I can get 10 years or close to it out of my DSB I'll be happy. Is that what it boils down too?

[Paul B]

If I can get 10 years or close to it out of my DSB I'll be happy. Is that what it boils down too?

I hope you get a lot more out of it but so far, no one else has.

I don't think burying the rock in a DSB will affect it either way.

[Paul B]

I have a new type of algae on my glass which I have never seen before. I almost have to scratch the glass to remove it. No, it is not coraline algae or cyano. It is green and grows in tiny dots. It just laughs at a magnet cleaner or one of those sponges.
It feels like course sandpaper. Wierd.

I also fear that this guy will soon take over the tank
I think I will have to put him on a diet and cut down on the salmon eggs. It is about a foot across and has salmon breath.
Thats a quart Grand marnier bottle he is engulfing.

[Acolin]

wonderful pic!

So, if you have enough maturity you can dose with Grand Marnier instead of mere vodka!

[Paul B]

I usually dose myself with it

[reeferoo]

I think it would be so cool to meet you. Let me know if you ever come to cali :-)

[Paul B]

I was there a few months ago. I was the speaker at the Northern Valley Reefers assn in Stockton

[Paul B]

This is what a bubble coral looks like when it spends a day or two up side down on top of star polyps. The polyps don't look too well either.
Thats life.



This is that bubble before he had his little mis hap

[Paul B]

This is the smaller version of the above one. It was about 2" across 2 months ago. Now it is about 5" across.
He just finished a meal of a salmon egg and is dijesting. The clown gobi likes to sit on him and listen to his belly rumbling.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by Paul B
I have a new type of algae on my glass which I have never seen before. I almost have to scratch the glass to remove it. No, it is not coraline algae or cyano. It is green and grows in tiny dots. It just laughs at a magnet cleaner or one of those sponges.
It feels like course sandpaper. Wierd.

Why do you say it is not corraline Paul---sounds exactly like gree corraline

[stumpovrtyme]

Originally posted by capn_hylinur
Why do you say it is not corraline Paul---sounds exactly like gree corraline

+1 Sound exactly like what I get and mines deffinatley corraline.

Awsome thread!

[Rae C.]

+1 on the green coralline.

The bubble coral doesn't even look like the same animal when it's not bubbled up. Cool before and after pics!

[Paul B]

I just don't think it is, I never had it before, all the coraline I have is red. I guess it is some type of algae that is calcium based. Whatever it is, I hope this cycle goes by fast. I don't have time for this right now. It is only a little but with the new boat, I have to have priorities

[ddinox64]

I have the same stuff Paul. I drag my magnet over my tank almost daily except for the sides for the snails. I can swirl that magnet like wax on, wax off, it doesn't budge.

I don't think it's a cycle Paul. I've had it for a while now, but I don't own a glass scraper.

I'm with you Paul, not coraline. And why would green coraline only grow on the glass?

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by ddinox64
I have the same stuff Paul. I drag my magnet over my tank almost daily except for the sides for the snails. I can swirl that magnet like wax on, wax off, it doesn't budge.

I don't think it's a cycle Paul. I've had it for a while now, but I don't own a glass scraper.

I'm with you Paul, not coraline. And why would green coraline only grow on the glass?

Paul---your urchin should take care of it

ddinox64---green coralline can be easily outcompeted by purple corraline so it tends to inhabit the class before the rock which is usually taken over by purple corraline

[Aquarist007]

what some others have posted:

Coralline algae are typically pink or other shades of red, but may also be purple, blue, yellow, white, or gray-green.

Sea urchins, parrot fish, limpets (molluscs) and chitons (molluscs) feed on coralline algae.


If its not slimy,hairy or sticky...its coralline. Do you have any growing on your glass?...if so, coralline usually grows in circular splotches. Also, can you see it kind of "crusting" over the rock. Coralline looks more mineral like, than plant like. What kind of hermits? not all hermits eat coralline. I hope this helps a little, its hard to tell without a pic.


http://aquatic-terrors.com/forums/in...showtopic=9610

there is such a thing as green corraline and its usually cuased from lower light levels and good alk levels. however if your hermits are eating it i highly doubt its coraline and in fact some sort of micro algae.

[ddinox64]

I have some very small spots of coraline(purple/red)on glass. Ladybug size. Not very much, infact very very little even though my rock is encrusted with it.

These are tiny little green dots like someone poked a pin in green ink and went to town on the glass. I have lots of snails and this stuff doesn't get eaten. Again it never gets bigger than a pin point so it's not groing and spreading.

I wish I was able to post pictures on here. But I'd need a microscope to get these they are that small.

I see Limpets in my tank but usually dead and upside down on sand. I think my Peppermint shrimp gets them. My hermits are plain hermits, four of them. Never pick at anything such as corals.

[Paul B]

Nothing would eat this, it looks like some fine green grains of sand stuck to the glass. I can barely get it off

[Paul B]

There is now another pair of gobies trying to breed but this one is much too young. This yellow watchman gobi will turn brown as she ages but the much larger male is courting her already. They spend all their time right next to her in a small cave in the back of the tank. The larger one was this same yellow color when I got him a few years ago. They will spawn as soon as she gets her adult colors and join the other mature mating couple. It seems that these things are hard to get them to stop spawning.
This is when she was a baby last year. She is still yellow but quite a bit larger. She is cute but still Jail Bait.



Here is her boyfriend, cradle robber that he is.



This is one from the older mated pair

[Aquarist007]

nice shots---thanks for posting Paul--I love the science lessons too

[ddinox64]

Either that's a GIANT Gobi, the fish behind it is tiny, or very very far behind it.

[Paul B]

That is a locally collected NY butterfly. It was smaller than a dime in that picture.

[reeferoo]

This is probably answered much earlier, but I have a question- isn't the Atlantic colder than the Pacific? How can you find fish for our warm tanks out there? I know the species out here are for colder tanks.

Love the shots- I really would like to get a mate for my watchman goby. Or at least a pistol shrimp!