Tank Thread Tank reached 38 years old...in 2009!

[Dan_P]

I just realized that I can't properly maintain my tank now that I have so many pipefish. Normally once a year I stir up the substrait where I can reach and suck out everything with a diatom filter but I can't do that with the pipefish, especially the blue stripe pipefish as they never live through that. I assume their tiny gills get clogged as I have always lost them when I make those needed typhoons. I will have to forego the typhoons as long as I have the five pipefish and see how it goes. The tank is running very well with the corals growing nicely so there is no rush to do any maintenance even though I think it has been well over a year since I did any. I can tell when a typhoon is needed and so far all is well.

Beautiful pictures as always!

You know best about maintaing your reverse flow UGF, but I have a question about what exactly are your removing when you stir and suction the gravel? The bacteria will have consumed anything worth eating pretty quickly. The stuff would seem to be biologically inert after a year. Any ideas, theories, or conjectures about this stuff?

 

[Paul B]

Yes I have ideas, theories, and conjectures. I agree the detritus is inert, but it is still there and will eventually cause the spaces between the gravel to become clogged. I run a very slow running reverse UG filter and I would like a somewhat even flow of water through the gravel. The stirring and sucking out allows that to happen. It is only a mechanical thing and not a question of biology. My feelings are that I like some detritus as it provides places for bacteria to grow and the fact that it restricts the flow is also good, but I want the flow restricted, not stopped. From experience this has worked well. For the last ten or fifteen years this has become harder because the corals are growing all over the place so I can't easily do this, but I stir with a diatom filter as good as I can.

A stopped flow is basically a DSB and I abhor DSBs as a stupid system that is by design destined to fail eventually.

 

[Paul B]

I have been collecting pipefish in New York all my life but these seem different. A friend of mine collected these on the south shore of Long Island and he kept them in a bucket for over a month. He gave them to me because my tank is set up for pipefish already and he didn't think they would make it in his tank with his powerheads. I have them in a small tank just to see how they eat and they are sucking down new born brine shrimp as fast as I can hatch them. After they fatten up a little on shrimp, I will put them in my reef. Probably in a day or two. The ones I collect look different and I never had luck with them so I hope these four make it.

 

[rhdoug]

I think you are addicted to the pipes, Paul. But good luck with the new Supermodels anyway.

 

[Dan_P]

As Paul knows, I have a couple pipefish from Long Island Sound. They are so calm, nothing bothers them. They are very enjoyable to watch as they hunt for food. Very intelligent looking fish. They stalk the nooks and crannies of the aquarium quite thoroughly. There movements are very deliberate and more snake like then fish. No darting around. They learn very quickly, like all fish, about the god outside the glass box who supplies food.

 

[Paul B]

I can keep flounders, blue claw crabs, puffers, blowfish and butterflies but I never had a lot of luck with local pipefish, but as I said, these seem smoother and different. They also eat like crazy but I am not sure they will do well in my reef as it is big and the food is not condensed together like the small tank they are in now. The temp will also be a concern but in the winter my tank is kind of cool.

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

Are all those pipefish (or all your fish) from the new york area? Some of them look amazing.

 

[rhdoug]

... the god outside the glass box who supplies food.

My fish refer to "us" as "The Dry Thing with The Food" :smile:

 

[Paul B]

The only fish I presently have from local waters are 4 pipefish. The other 6 pipefish I have are tropical.

 

[ohana888]

I have been collecting pipefish in New York all my life but these seem different. A friend of mine collected these on the south shore of Long Island and he kept them in a bucket for over a month. He gave them to me because my tank is set up for pipefish already and he didn't think they would make it in his tank with his powerheads. I have them in a small tank just to see how they eat and they are sucking down new born brine shrimp as fast as I can hatch them. After they fatten up a little on shrimp, I will put them in my reef. Probably in a day or two. The ones I collect look different and I never had luck with them so I hope these four make it.

i hope they breed for you! :thrash:

 

[Paul B]

I hope they live for me. They eat more then my Grand Kids.

 

[Awibrandy]

Grandkid"s" Paul??

I really have been out of the loop.:Yikes:

 

[Paul B]

Yes Awilda, I have two of them. This is Greta who is 2.




And her brother Teddy who is almost 10 months.

 

[Marek-S]

Great pics Paul !!

 

[Awibrandy]

They are beautiful! I know you, and your wife are over the moon with these two little angels!! God bless you all always!

Thank you for posting their pictures!! Mommy looks so much like your beautiful wife!

 

[Paul B]

Thank you Awilda. My wife did look a lot like my Daughter when they were the same age. My wife will be 60 this year. I think she still looks awesome.

 

[brand]

Paul 38 year old tank I'm wondering where you dump your water change water. I'm always concerned saltwater will damage house cast iron piping....any issues.???

 

[Paul B]

Brand, salt water will not harm your cast iron plumbing in a normal human's lifetime.
I dump it down the drain like everyone else.
The tank is now 41 years old. Plumbing still fine

 

[Paul B]

My pictures never come out well because I don't do photoshop so my pictures are what my tank looks like. I know many people "enhance" the colors of their corals because from many years of SCUBA diving I know what colors corals are and very few of them are neon, fluorescent colored. Some are fairly colorful but we have all seen pictures of tanks that look like Disney movies such as the Little Mermaid. (I love that movie)
My tank is doing very well and I never seem to have problems, I am not sure why. I am also not sure why so many people have so many problems. Maybe after so many years a tank just knows what it is supposed to do. Maybe it's the reverse UG filter or the retired Supermodels that I have come over to help me take care of the tank. (I wish)
I have been writing a book because I am sure in a few years I will start to forget everything and since I started this just when the salt water hobby started, I want to pass on some of that information.
Also my wife of 41 years has MS so I am not sure what the future brings or how long I will be able to take care of the tank as I will have other, more important tasks to do.
Most of my fish are still spawning, my worm keeping device is working well as is my brine shrimp hatchery that I use every day. The flock of pipefish I have are all doing well and they are the most challenging. The rest of the fish can take care of themselves and if they could reach the freezer door, I wouldn't even have to feed them. This week I changed 25 gallons of water, that is the most water I have ever changed at once. I changed that much because I dropped to much salt in the bucket so I had to add water. The corals didn't mind.

 

[lanacane214]

Paul forgot to tell you he did 10 water changes in the last 38 years lol