almost 35 year old reef pictures - Page 35

devgru · 01/24/2009, 09:11 PM

santa? you didnt bring me my bubble king this christmas and i was good ALL year,i promise.

just kidding Paul,awesome tank,truly magnificent

I hope that in 30 yrs i can post a thread like this.Keep on reefing,your an inspiration

Aquarist007 · 01/25/2009, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by devgru
santa? you didnt bring me my bubble king this christmas and i was good ALL year,i promise.

just kidding Paul,awesome tank,truly magnificent

I hope that in 30 yrs i can post a thread like this.Keep on reefing,your an inspiration

In 30 years (or less) I'll be dead----I wonder if there are any tanks around that have survived their owners

Paul B · 01/25/2009, 08:28 AM

I will also be dead unless I am like my still alive 98 year old Mother.
I just applied for a job on an isolated Atoll off Australia so if I get it i will be giving away a lot of fish.
Of course There is almost no chance I will get it.

Aquarist007 · 01/25/2009, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paul B
I will also be dead unless I am like my still alive 98 year old Mother.
I just applied for a job on an isolated Atoll off Australia so if I get it i will be giving away a lot of fish.
Of course There is almost no chance I will get it.

Perhaps donate or will your tank to the Smithonian so it will live on after you

Paul B · 01/25/2009, 09:59 AM

I am going to give it to Waterkeeper because I know the UG filter will drive him crazy

Paul B · 01/25/2009, 11:22 AM

I located that bumblebee gobi again today and he still seems to be doing well. He is still eating live worms and that is all he seems to be eating but I can't find him 23 hours a day so he may be finding other things to eat also. If he seems to be finding food on his own I want to add 4 or 5 more.

conorwynne · 01/25/2009, 11:59 AM

You and about two million others have applied for that job.

Huge salary (with no expenses), to be a beach bum and scuba dive and live in luxury on a tropical island, for what, two years or something?

What a job -- hope you get it, you and your wife deserve it!

p.s.: Send your fish & frags to Conor, Dublin, Ireland - I've a lovely new tank and it's very empty :-)

Paul B · 01/25/2009, 12:14 PM

No problem and I know about those other two million other people who will not get that job. I feel I should get it just because i feel that way. That should be good enough. I could also install a reverse UG filter on that Atoll and introduce fish there that are not supposed to be there.

I could also place empty beer cans in strategic places around the reef and add some rusty chains to make their reefs look realistic.

I will also bring my own blackworms to feed the fish.
My wife and I have also probably been diving longer than many of the job seekers.
Of course I am sure they are looking for someone who looks better in a bathing suit than me. Maybe someone like Claudia Schiffer, but I will go with her to instruct her how to swim.

Besides I started my diving career on the atolls around Australia so I may know some of the fish already

Aquarist007 · 01/25/2009, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paul B
No problem and I know about those other two million other people who will not get that job. I feel I should get it just because i feel that way. That should be good enough. I could also install a reverse UG filter on that Atoll and introduce fish there that are not supposed to be there.
I could also place empty beer cans in strategic places around the reef and add some rusty chains to make their reefs look realistic.
I will also bring my own blackworms to feed the fish.
My wife and I have also probably been diving longer than many of the job seekers.
Of course I am sure they are looking for someone who looks better in a bathing suit than me. Maybe someone like Claudia Schiffer, but I will go with her to instruct her how to swim.
Besides I started my diving career on the atolls around Australia so I may know some of the fish already

you really do need to cut down on the ozone Paul.

polyppetey · 01/25/2009, 03:09 PM

Tell me more about the reverse undergravel filter??
Something I ran on my freshwater tanks, and wondered if it would work in saltwater.

Paul B · 01/25/2009, 03:21 PM

Poly, I know it's on this thread a few times but in short I use dolomite gravel and I push water down the tubes at a rate of about 50 GPH in each tube. The slower, the better. You also need to strain or filter the water before it gets pumped under the gravel.

2_zoa · 01/25/2009, 03:47 PM

Hey Paul,

I just thought I would let you know what great fun it has been following and reading your thread. I just love to see things when they are done out of the normal relm of things.

You have also inspired me to follow suit and make a couple bottles for my reef. I am just getting started on them so I got a little bit to go.

Take care.

Paul B · 01/25/2009, 04:07 PM

I am very glad I inspire someone, usually I tell them things and they perspire

OK kind of lame.

When you make the bottle, be sure to sandpaper it before you do anything with medium to course sandpaper. Do the entire bottle then smear Sakrete all over it and leave a big blob somewhere. Make a lot of holes in it, no smooth places.
The upper bottle was a perfume bottle and the red one was a Grand Marnier bottle.

devgru, thanks, I will remember you next Christmas

conorwynne · 01/26/2009, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paul B
Poly, I know it's on this thread a few times but in short I use dolomite gravel and I push water down the tubes at a rate of about 50 GPH in each tube. The slower, the better. You also need to strain or filter the water before it gets pumped under the gravel.

Hey Paul,

I'm considering adding one to a tub in my fuge/sump. Was going to bring it up on Capn's fuge thread... Capn's here too so... opinions?

The tub is only 4 KG capacity, I already have two smaller tubs (2 KG's) filed with mineral mud and crushed coral. One has white mangrove seeds in it, the other has the same but also rubble & coral skeletons (pod factory).

I was going to add mineral mud & argonite to the 4KG tub, and top it off with cushed coral (large). I want to be able to easily remove the three tubs from the sump you see.
What about using a RUGF in it with just the large crushed coral instead? Any benefit do you think?

Cheers.
Conor.

Paul B · 01/26/2009, 06:11 AM

Using a RUGF in a tub with larger crushed coral IMO will not do anything for water quality. I think the larger crushed coral has too large spaces between the grains so no de nitrification will occur.
It will only eliminate nitrate if it is large enough such as the entire bottom of a tank and I think the grains have to be smaller like the size of rice. I don't think CC will hurt anything, it just will not help with water quality except maybe for converting ammonia using aerobic bacteria but live rock will be sufficient for that.

bebereef · 01/26/2009, 06:59 AM

Hello again!

Could you tell me how deep is your dolomite bed? sure is important in order to work well.

Paul B · 01/26/2009, 02:04 PM

it is two inches deep

Paul B · 01/26/2009, 03:02 PM

I can't believe it, I located that bumblee bee gobi again. He stays in the wierdiest places and it is only very accidently that I find him.
He is still eating worms and doing well. If he would ever go into a place where I could observe him better I could tell if he is eating anything else because I really don't have time to crawl under and around the tank with a mirrir to feed him

Ranchhand02 · 01/26/2009, 04:00 PM

Nice bottles, I have never seen them before in a tank.

Paul B · 01/26/2009, 06:11 PM

They have always been in my tank and always will

Paul B · 01/27/2009, 05:48 PM

I like looking at my tank with a magnifying glass because, well, because, I am a fish Geek. Don't laugh, you are too because you are reading this stuff.
Every 1/4" has a spaghetti worm. Spaghetti worms are not as nice as having SPS growing out of every nook but they are still life and the amount of life still equates to health. The more diverse and numerous, the healthier. If these worms, copepods and everything else does not grow on all exposed rocks then maybe something needs to be done. These things come and go in cycles for whatever reason. Tonight I noticed (with a magnifying glass) a small "school" of tiny some type of fry. They are the size of baby brine shrimp and are all huddled around one large bubble on a rock. I really don't know what they are and I don't think they are baby bluestripe pipefish because I think they would be long skinny things but whatever they are I am thrilled. This is what you see on a reef (If you look very close)
I am also sure that I will not see them in an hour as they will be desert for something by then.

2_zoa · 01/27/2009, 07:06 PM

When you said sackerete, Which one? I am confusiddd on which one to buy.

Paul B · 01/28/2009, 06:37 AM

Sakrete cement mortor mix, you can get it in very small bags for a couple of bucks but don't use any pre mixed stuff. Use only the dry stuff in a bag that says mortor mix not concrete patcher ar anything like that. This stuff is used to install bricks and there is nothing harmful in it but it still needs to be soaked in fresh water for a while only because it may change the pH in a small tank.
Cement is alkaline

Trigeek · 01/28/2009, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paul B
I like looking at my tank with a magnifying glass because, well, because, I am a fish Geek. Don't laugh, you are too because you are reading this stuff.
Every 1/4" has a spaghetti worm. Spaghetti worms are not as nice as having SPS growing out of every nook but they are still life and the amount of life still equates to health. The more diverse and numerous, the healthier. If these worms, copepods and everything else does not grow on all exposed rocks then maybe something needs to be done. These things come and go in cycles for whatever reason. Tonight I noticed (with a magnifying glass) a small "school" of tiny some type of fry. They are the size of baby brine shrimp and are all huddled around one large bubble on a rock. I really don't know what they are and I don't think they are baby bluestripe pipefish because I think they would be long skinny things but whatever they are I am thrilled. This is what you see on a reef (If you look very close)
I am also sure that I will not see them in an hour as they will be desert for something by then.

Paul,
I totally agree with you. In the progression of my tank I'm constantly looking for ways to increase (as I like to call) the "critter" populations and diversity. I believe the fact that you add things from the ocean is of great benefit because of the diversity this gives to our otherwise closed systems and is probably a big reason you have been able to keep your reef running continuously for a few years

How much do you thing your RUGF plays in acting as a refugium for the critters?

Paul B · 01/28/2009, 09:06 AM

Trigeek, I think the bacteria I add not only adds to the diversity but I also think that they tank would have crashed 25 years ago if I did not add these things. I don't think the amphipods and some other things I add do as much as the bacteria because those higher animals probably do not reproduce for long in a tropical tank but I feel bacteria would be the same here in NY as in the tropics. Using NSW does not appreciably add to the bacterial diversity because there is very little bacteria in suspension in water, it needs a holdfast to grow and multiply which is the reason that NSW sometimes clouds up in a bucket after collection. The bacteria grow on the sides of the container and when there is no more available, they have no where to go but in the water itself.
Thats why I get bacteria from the source, mud. Mud is just full of bacteria. I have a small container of mud here now that I keep feeding pellets just to keep the bacteria going.
This is one facet of the hobby that is almost never mentioned and I feel it is the most important. It is bacteria that is converting the ammonia and nitrates. The bacteria that you accidently get from a LFS when you buy something is IMO almost useless. The fact that it is just incidently on the rock we buy forces it to become very un diversified. "Live rock" is shipped damp, not underwater and some of it has been "damp" for a long time before it is shipped. Damp rock can not support the same amount of bacteria as submerged rock.
I know a lot of people live in places where it is impossable to aquire bacteria and that stuff in a bottle I feel is useless. I think this stuff should be available through mail order as mud in water.
They ship NSW in five gallon containers why not some mud in a quart or even a pint. The stuff is free to collect. I don't think we have any restrictions on mud, we pay a fortune to dredge and dump the stuff 20 miles out to sea. You don't even have to use the mud, just put some in a container in the tank and remove it in a week.
Maybe I will start a Mud shipping business, yeah, thats something I would really have time to do.
I am fairly sure you will see this stuff for sale some time soon.

This summer I would like to ship some of this stuff to some
Volunteers to see if they notice any benefits. I can get all the mud I want and if I collect it out on the eastern end of Long Island, it would be cleaner than the water many people use. I use the water all the time so how bad could it be?
If you have the proper bacteria and add it occasionally, the critters will take care of themselves.
I also feel that (IMO of course) DSBs would work much better with an infusion of fresh bacteria from the sea. I know how DSBs are supposed to work with the critters digging around allowing the water to seep below to be converted. I don't believe it but I know the principle. Anyway if this is how it actually works, fresh bacteria would do wonders and keep the thing working.

Now for the disclaimer:
I am not a researcher, Dr. chemist, marine biologist, oceanographer, or magician, I am a retired electrician and these are my ideas only meant to benefit my tank. If you add something to your tank and it crashes, don't blame me. Someone once wrote me complaining that I said to add Clorox to his tank and everything died. I am sure it did. I am sure it had a nice clean smell also but I would never tell anyone to put Clorox in their tank. I sometimes use it for things but I don't put it in my tank.

As for the RUGF maintaining diversity, I am sure it has a lot to do with it. A DSB only has oxygen in the very upper layer and no organism can penetrate below that except for anerobic bacteria.
What we call "critters" can not live in DSB below about an eight of an inch. With a gravel bed especially a bed with water flowing through it would be the best envirnment for these animals to reproduce. They have oxygen, shelter, current and food.
It's a no brainer.
I am not a fan of DSBs for a number of reasons but I don't want to get into that.
Have a great day. It is snowing hard here.
Paul

01/24/2009, 09:11 PM	#851
devgru Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: casselberry,fl Posts: 523	santa? you didnt bring me my bubble king this christmas and i was good ALL year,i promise. just kidding Paul,awesome tank,truly magnificent I hope that in 30 yrs i can post a thread like this.Keep on reefing,your an inspiration __________________ It's time's like these when I think of the immortal worlds of socrate's who said "I drank what?" Current Tank Info: 125g w/125g sump/fuge,ACIII,RIO26hf,MAG9.5,PS,sulfer denitrate

01/25/2009, 08:28 AM	#853
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	I will also be dead unless I am like my still alive 98 year old Mother. I just applied for a job on an isolated Atoll off Australia so if I get it i will be giving away a lot of fish. Of course There is almost no chance I will get it. __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

01/25/2009, 09:59 AM	#855
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	I am going to give it to Waterkeeper because I know the UG filter will drive him crazy __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

01/25/2009, 11:22 AM	#856
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	I located that bumblebee gobi again today and he still seems to be doing well. He is still eating live worms and that is all he seems to be eating but I can't find him 23 hours a day so he may be finding other things to eat also. If he seems to be finding food on his own I want to add 4 or 5 more. __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

01/25/2009, 11:59 AM	#857
conorwynne Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Dublin, Ireland Posts: 433	You and about two million others have applied for that job. Huge salary (with no expenses), to be a beach bum and scuba dive and live in luxury on a tropical island, for what, two years or something? What a job -- hope you get it, you and your wife deserve it! p.s.: Send your fish & frags to Conor, Dublin, Ireland - I've a lovely new tank and it's very empty :-) __________________ New tank (468L or 120G) has salt and rock, just add coral and fish! Current Tank Info: New tank in progress....

01/25/2009, 12:14 PM	#858
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	No problem and I know about those other two million other people who will not get that job. I feel I should get it just because i feel that way. That should be good enough. I could also install a reverse UG filter on that Atoll and introduce fish there that are not supposed to be there. I could also place empty beer cans in strategic places around the reef and add some rusty chains to make their reefs look realistic. I will also bring my own blackworms to feed the fish. My wife and I have also probably been diving longer than many of the job seekers. Of course I am sure they are looking for someone who looks better in a bathing suit than me. Maybe someone like Claudia Schiffer, but I will go with her to instruct her how to swim. Besides I started my diving career on the atolls around Australia so I may know some of the fish already

01/25/2009, 03:09 PM	#860
polyppetey Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: richboro Posts: 313	Tell me more about the reverse undergravel filter?? Something I ran on my freshwater tanks, and wondered if it would work in saltwater.

01/25/2009, 03:21 PM	#861
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	Poly, I know it's on this thread a few times but in short I use dolomite gravel and I push water down the tubes at a rate of about 50 GPH in each tube. The slower, the better. You also need to strain or filter the water before it gets pumped under the gravel. __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

01/25/2009, 03:47 PM	#862
2_zoa Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1,840	Hey Paul, I just thought I would let you know what great fun it has been following and reading your thread. I just love to see things when they are done out of the normal relm of things. You have also inspired me to follow suit and make a couple bottles for my reef. I am just getting started on them so I got a little bit to go. Take care.

01/25/2009, 04:07 PM	#863
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	I am very glad I inspire someone, usually I tell them things and they perspire OK kind of lame. When you make the bottle, be sure to sandpaper it before you do anything with medium to course sandpaper. Do the entire bottle then smear Sakrete all over it and leave a big blob somewhere. Make a lot of holes in it, no smooth places. The upper bottle was a perfume bottle and the red one was a Grand Marnier bottle. devgru, thanks, I will remember you next Christmas

01/26/2009, 06:11 AM	#865
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	Using a RUGF in a tub with larger crushed coral IMO will not do anything for water quality. I think the larger crushed coral has too large spaces between the grains so no de nitrification will occur. It will only eliminate nitrate if it is large enough such as the entire bottom of a tank and I think the grains have to be smaller like the size of rice. I don't think CC will hurt anything, it just will not help with water quality except maybe for converting ammonia using aerobic bacteria but live rock will be sufficient for that. __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

01/26/2009, 06:59 AM	#866
bebereef Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Sorel, Quebec, Canada Posts: 280	Hello again! Could you tell me how deep is your dolomite bed? sure is important in order to work well.

01/26/2009, 02:04 PM	#867
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	it is two inches deep __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

01/26/2009, 03:02 PM	#868
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	I can't believe it, I located that bumblee bee gobi again. He stays in the wierdiest places and it is only very accidently that I find him. He is still eating worms and doing well. If he would ever go into a place where I could observe him better I could tell if he is eating anything else because I really don't have time to crawl under and around the tank with a mirrir to feed him __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

01/26/2009, 04:00 PM	#869
Ranchhand02 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 532	Nice bottles, I have never seen them before in a tank.

01/26/2009, 06:11 PM	#870
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	They have always been in my tank and always will __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

01/27/2009, 05:48 PM	#871
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	I like looking at my tank with a magnifying glass because, well, because, I am a fish Geek. Don't laugh, you are too because you are reading this stuff. Every 1/4" has a spaghetti worm. Spaghetti worms are not as nice as having SPS growing out of every nook but they are still life and the amount of life still equates to health. The more diverse and numerous, the healthier. If these worms, copepods and everything else does not grow on all exposed rocks then maybe something needs to be done. These things come and go in cycles for whatever reason. Tonight I noticed (with a magnifying glass) a small "school" of tiny some type of fry. They are the size of baby brine shrimp and are all huddled around one large bubble on a rock. I really don't know what they are and I don't think they are baby bluestripe pipefish because I think they would be long skinny things but whatever they are I am thrilled. This is what you see on a reef (If you look very close) I am also sure that I will not see them in an hour as they will be desert for something by then. __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

01/27/2009, 07:06 PM	#872
2_zoa Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1,840	When you said sackerete, Which one? I am confusiddd on which one to buy.

01/28/2009, 06:37 AM	#873
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	Sakrete cement mortor mix, you can get it in very small bags for a couple of bucks but don't use any pre mixed stuff. Use only the dry stuff in a bag that says mortor mix not concrete patcher ar anything like that. This stuff is used to install bricks and there is nothing harmful in it but it still needs to be soaked in fresh water for a while only because it may change the pH in a small tank. Cement is alkaline __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

01/28/2009, 09:06 AM	#875
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	Trigeek, I think the bacteria I add not only adds to the diversity but I also think that they tank would have crashed 25 years ago if I did not add these things. I don't think the amphipods and some other things I add do as much as the bacteria because those higher animals probably do not reproduce for long in a tropical tank but I feel bacteria would be the same here in NY as in the tropics. Using NSW does not appreciably add to the bacterial diversity because there is very little bacteria in suspension in water, it needs a holdfast to grow and multiply which is the reason that NSW sometimes clouds up in a bucket after collection. The bacteria grow on the sides of the container and when there is no more available, they have no where to go but in the water itself. Thats why I get bacteria from the source, mud. Mud is just full of bacteria. I have a small container of mud here now that I keep feeding pellets just to keep the bacteria going. This is one facet of the hobby that is almost never mentioned and I feel it is the most important. It is bacteria that is converting the ammonia and nitrates. The bacteria that you accidently get from a LFS when you buy something is IMO almost useless. The fact that it is just incidently on the rock we buy forces it to become very un diversified. "Live rock" is shipped damp, not underwater and some of it has been "damp" for a long time before it is shipped. Damp rock can not support the same amount of bacteria as submerged rock. I know a lot of people live in places where it is impossable to aquire bacteria and that stuff in a bottle I feel is useless. I think this stuff should be available through mail order as mud in water. They ship NSW in five gallon containers why not some mud in a quart or even a pint. The stuff is free to collect. I don't think we have any restrictions on mud, we pay a fortune to dredge and dump the stuff 20 miles out to sea. You don't even have to use the mud, just put some in a container in the tank and remove it in a week. Maybe I will start a Mud shipping business, yeah, thats something I would really have time to do. I am fairly sure you will see this stuff for sale some time soon. This summer I would like to ship some of this stuff to some Volunteers to see if they notice any benefits. I can get all the mud I want and if I collect it out on the eastern end of Long Island, it would be cleaner than the water many people use. I use the water all the time so how bad could it be? If you have the proper bacteria and add it occasionally, the critters will take care of themselves. I also feel that (IMO of course) DSBs would work much better with an infusion of fresh bacteria from the sea. I know how DSBs are supposed to work with the critters digging around allowing the water to seep below to be converted. I don't believe it but I know the principle. Anyway if this is how it actually works, fresh bacteria would do wonders and keep the thing working. Now for the disclaimer: I am not a researcher, Dr. chemist, marine biologist, oceanographer, or magician, I am a retired electrician and these are my ideas only meant to benefit my tank. If you add something to your tank and it crashes, don't blame me. Someone once wrote me complaining that I said to add Clorox to his tank and everything died. I am sure it did. I am sure it had a nice clean smell also but I would never tell anyone to put Clorox in their tank. I sometimes use it for things but I don't put it in my tank. As for the RUGF maintaining diversity, I am sure it has a lot to do with it. A DSB only has oxygen in the very upper layer and no organism can penetrate below that except for anerobic bacteria. What we call "critters" can not live in DSB below about an eight of an inch. With a gravel bed especially a bed with water flowing through it would be the best envirnment for these animals to reproduce. They have oxygen, shelter, current and food. It's a no brainer. I am not a fan of DSBs for a number of reasons but I don't want to get into that. Have a great day. It is snowing hard here. Paul