almost 35 year old reef pictures

[Paul B]

You never met my old girlfriend

[Aquabucket]

Paul, I think it may be time you change the thread title to "almost 40 year old reef pictures."

Seeing your tank and reading your stories really makes me miss being able to collect from the ocean. I lived mid island for several years and did quite a bit of fishing off Plum Gut and the Hamptons. The water there is pretty clean and I would not hesitate putting livestock in my tanks from those areas. You could start a small pod shipping business and I bet you would be successful. Your bottles would probably do well also.

[Paul B]

Wow you moved from mid island to Wisconson.
Thats some move. How did you get used to living that far from an ocean?
I would go absolutely nuts. I always tell people that if Colorado had an ocean it would be perfect.
I do hate the crowds here but that Pizza at 3:00am is nice.
Like I really need pizza at that time.
I do like the mid west but I need an ocean. As you know here on Long Island we have an ocean and many bays to collect so we have the best of both worlds. I do collect out in Plum Gut and the Hamptons, I am out there all the time and am trying to get my wife to move there.
I should change the name of the thread but I don't know how to do that.
Have a great day.
Paul

[Paul B]

I got it, they are colt corals. The thing is re producing. When they extend their polyps they look exactly like the adult.
Mystery solved

[Aquabucket]

I grew up here in Wisconsin and moved to NY to become an artist. My mom grew up in Hicksville and moved to Wisconsin to go to college and never left. I lived in the NYC area from 1987-2001. I also had a girlfriend that had her own house in East Hampton for years.

Maybe you can recognize this spot:



Just for the heck of it here are a couple of views from a studio I had in Brooklyn:

[Paul B]

For some reason that does not look like the Montauk Lighthouse.
Is it?
Here is Execution Lighthouse where I like to dive.

[Paul B]

You could start a small pod shipping business and I bet you would be successful.

Aquabucket, I am way ahead of you

[Aquabucket]

Never seen that LH. Of course how often does one travel to the middle of the sound?

The LH I showed you was from Sag Harbor. One of my favorite towns on the Island although Montauk is right up there. I also liked heading out to the north fork on my motorcycle and taking the ferry to Groton.

[Aquabucket]

Originally posted by Paul B
Aquabucket, I am way ahead of you

When's that truck hitting the Wisco area? I could use some pods for my pipefish.

[Paul B]

Ah yes Sag Harbor one of my favorite places.

I diden't think it was Montauk

Never seen that LH. Of course how often does one travel to the middle of the sound?

You swim

Well actually I took my boat. This is me resting on the rocks of that lighthouse. Lots of lobsters there.
The door was kicked in once and we went in with our dive lights. the place was full of WW2 radio equipment. We came back with a Zodiac but the door was welded shut and now there is barbed wire all around the island. This lighthouse was commissioned by George Washington and has been there since the revolution.
It is between New Rochelle and Sands Point.

[Paul B]

On a different note I discovered that bumblebee gobi again today. I fed some mysis and he came to the front and ate a few. Now I know they eat other things besides worms, I will get some more.
How many people have bumblebee gobies in their reef?
OK so they are not a reef fish, who cares?

[XXXMONKXXX]

Man oh man thoseBeer bottle pictures are great!.....what a cool idea.......great coral too. and the clam.....nice to see that beer bottle idea....first time i saw it.......pretty cool

[Paul B]

XXXMON etc. etc. Thanks for all the nice comments. Usually people say, "Whats with all the garbage in your tank?"

[downhillbiker]

sadly, the "garbage" in your tank is probably more natural than not having it. i too like it. it's different, sets it apart from the rest.

[Paul B]

Downhillbiker, most of that "junk" in my tank I collected underwater. I have been diving since 1970 and have never seen a place without some sort of bottles, plastic bags, styrofoam cups, raincoats, shopping carts, Brittany Spears CDs and oldsmobiles.
Even off deserted Islands in Tahiti there is bottles.
I just like the look of them when they have coral growing on them.
It can be called "natural" now unfortunately.
Some day I will get a tank large enough for a 55 Oldsmobile

[Paul B]

I added one of these today. I haven't had a harliquin since the eightees

[2_zoa]

Very cool, I just got a pair myself. What is your plan to feed?
Drop in a whole star or just clip off a limb.

[Paul B]

I have a lot of tiny stars, after that i will collect them i the sea near my home

[darkdruid]

It seems that Paul went to the same school of reefing that I did. The KISS method of keeping a tank. Keep It Simple Stupid. The less you have, the less there is to go wrong. It's not as hard to have a nice tanks without thousands of dollars of gadgets as most people think. I think the bottles are cool, just one question though, since they are open, do you ever suck out the gunk that can collect inside them or just leave them alone and things take care of themselves?

[Paul B]

I don't do anything to them. If I have to stick my hand in the tank for something I may empty them every year or so. You also have to watch the way you put them in there because if hermit crabs can climb in, they can't get out if the bottle is upright.

[C-Water]

Yes, the KISS theory worked 30 years ago and still applies today. Just that today you can get more efficient pumps and brighter lighting fixtures. Today one can be overloaded (and overcharged) with so many products.

[ch0ii]

if you dont mind me asking... how old are you sir Paul B? and im just a newbe.. uhmm.. and u were even hobbying before my eldest sister was born..=) can i ask what does those bottle are for? and how do i make good looking algae's grow into it? and how much rock was it in there? can i just use tiny crushed corals instead of sand in my bed bottom?

[ch0ii]

very very cool bottles sir... hope some day i can imitate your tank.. the life in your tank is very similar to the ocean life..

[Paul B]

ChOii I was 60 this past Christmas day.
The bottles are not for anything, I just like the way they look.
You can use crushed corals instead of sand but they you should run a reverus ug filter like I have or if you want to use the sand you have a choice of a deep sand bed or juat a little sand called a shallow sand bed. They are all different systems and each has advantages and dis advantages. Just search for either RUGF or DSB or SSB and see which one you like better. It would take pages for me to explain it all here there is a lot of information for each.
To get algae to grow on a bottle first, sandpaper the bottle with medium sandpaper, then smear Sakrete Mortar Mix or regular cement all over ther bottle, keep it damp for a few days then soak it in fresh water for a couple of weeks, thats it.

[Aquarist007]

Paul--I am losing my copper banded butterfly fish. It looks like it has a patch of red inflamed skin near the back before the tail. The fins on the tail look a little chewed.
I have it out of the tank now and it is just lying on the bottom of the qt breathing shallow.
Any suggestions on how to save it?

Scott