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

[Paul B]

I wasn't crazy about my DIY light fixture because I bought a staghorn coral and it croaked. I needed more light. So I took the thing apart, as shown here

I built another strip of LEDs on an aluminum square and bolted it on.
I also built a new fan housing to accommodate the new wiring

And it's good to go. I can raise the fixture as it is on counterweights and it tilts front and back for maintenance in case I have to change an LED or scrape a dead fish off that decided to fly up on top of it to check out the scenery.

 

[Paul B]

This is just the 12 new LEDs

 

[Marek-S]

Looking good Paul

 

[Paul B]

Thanks, I like it with just the new lights on. But it is to dim to leave just those on

 

[Paul B]

This week my bluestripe pipefish and ruby red dragonette are pregnant.

 

[Paul B]

These guys spawned last night which I am happy about, but she still looks pregnant so I assume they will spawn again. Or it could be that they just look like they are spawning and she is not ready. It's hard to tell because they are much smaller than mandarins and I never had these spawn before. I actually thought they were to young as I didn't know they stay this small. Ruby Red dragonets haven't been in the hobby very long. I can't get a picture of them spawning as it only takes them a few seconds and by the time I get the camera, they are back to eating pods. I will try again tonight. They spawn just before the lights go off, but I am not sure how they know the lights are going off because they can't see the clock. The bluestripe pipefish is still pregnant but he will have his babies live.

 

[rhdoug]

Very cool Paul, those are beauties!! I can't believe how red they are.

 

[Paul B]

They certainly are red.


I also built a white worm feeder for my mandarin so after he gets full on the baby brine shrimp feeder, he goes into the worm feeder for desert. The ruby reds also go in there when the much larger mandarin leaves.

 

[BioMan]

Paul, Nice setup, I wish I had time to read this whole thread today, you should print up the entire thread and have it published... also, I was wondering, what in this hobby over the course of nearly 40 years have you seen come and go? What did you wish you had "back then"?

 

[Paul B]

That's a hard one. I wrote an article about the history of the hobby here http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/brief-history-saltwater-aquarium-hobby-3213/


I can't think of really anything I use now that I didn't use in the 70s. I still use a skimmer and a reverse UG filter. I think the main difference is the LEDs. My tank went through regular light bulbs, then regular fluorescent, then VHO, then PC, then MH and now LEDs.
I also wrote a book which is at the editors and should be out soon. (I hope)

 

[Paul B]

Today I was building a new shed in my back yard and I had to mix 9 bags of concrete. I have been retired for 7 years and I used to be able to pick up two bags of concrete at once. Now I can barely lift one. And mixing 9 bags almost beat the supermodels out of me. 7 years without doing much heavy work will do that to you. Tomorrow I need to build the back wall and didn't figure out how I am going to lift it into place by myself yet so I hope something comes to me in my sleep tonight.

 

[Paul B]

One of my experiments didn't go as I planned and I lost some nice, very old corals. I hope the rest don't croak but it is what it is and even a bad experiment teaches us something. My tank is and always has been an experiment and was never meant to be a part of my house decoration. Most of my experiments do fine but some go south. That's why I love this hobby. If nothing went wrong, how boring it would be and anyone could do it.


But on the bright side. The fish are still spawning

 

[samksy]

One of my experiments didn't go as I planned and I lost some nice, very old corals. I hope the rest don't croak but it is what it is and even a bad experiment teaches us something. My tank is and always has been an experiment and was never meant to be a part of my house decoration. Most of my experiments do fine but some go south. That's why I love this hobby. If nothing went wrong, how boring it would be and anyone could do it.


But on the bright side. The fish are still spawning

We all live and learn....and this is pretty much what this hobby is...always something new.

btw Paul, where do you discard your water from your tank? Sink or outside, just want to see if it will have any effect if I drain it to the sink long term. Thanks

 

[rhdoug]

What did you do that caused it, Paul? Did you get that wall built?

I also just lost (most of) a coral I have had for just over 10 years. A nice blue/green branching lobophyllia. The heads would develop a little hole, and within hours would just start shredding away. Oh well, there are 3 heads left and a bit more open space, it was getting crowded in there and that was a huge coral.

 

[Paul B]

I dump old water down the bowl. All our water goes to a water treatment facility and that's where you are supposed to put it.
I built a denitrification chamber with a pipe filled with gravel. Water went through it very slow and I dosed it with Vodka. I overdosed it and even dosed it twice in one day. The next day some corals started to bleach. I lost a few staghorns, a large montipora, a huge blue sponge and a torch. Not the end of the world. Now everything seems fine again. I have been extreamly busy and have not been able to do anything on the tank. This week I built a big shed in my yard and had to remove the old one and we baby sit in between in Manhattan. The boat is in the water and I need to get there to get it charged and cleaned. I may need to go back to work so I can take a day off I have been working 7 days a week. And I am retired.

 

[samksy]

I dump old water down the bowl. All our water goes to a water treatment facility and that's where you are supposed to put it.

thanks Paul, I guess i'm fine dumping water down the sink as it all goes out through the same pipe. Just afraid my pipe will get rusty and breaks which will be expensive to fix. Now, no more pumping water out to water my tree outside :smile:

 

[Paul B]

Unless you are watering mangrove trees, I wouldn't dump saltwater on a tree

 

[Paul B]

I am to busy this week but soon I want to replace those staghorns. The rest of my montipora's are fine and in a few months I am sure they will re grow over the dead part. Only part of one died, I am not quite sure why. The other corals look fine, even better than they did. I am also not sure why but whatever I did, if I didn't do it so much probably would have been a good thing. The dunkins especially look like they want to grow up the walls.
Today we are going to my Grand Daughter's school (preschool) she is not quite 3. My wife and I are giving a SCUBA and underwater demonstration. We have a live lobster, some SCUBA stuff and underwater pictures as well as her Mother (out Daughter) SCUBA diving. We also did this when our daughter was about 4 or 5 so she was a little older. These 2 and 3 year olds will not understand and will just pick their nose, and maybe take a nap but it is fun and I am looking forward to it. We hope to do it again in a few years when they understand.

 

[Paul B]

Today I did something with my tank that I rarely do. I took some water to get tested for calcium and alkinity. I did that because many times people ask me those readings and al I can do is stutter and make up a story. But today I had it tested and the calcium is like 525, which is a little high, but no one is complaining. The alk is about 12. Not to bad for using driveway ice melter and baking soda for dosing. Those were almost the same readings I got by a lab about 10 years ago when they tested my water. Now it is just a little higher so I will stop dosing for a month or until I remember again.

 

[Frank@Wall]

I love it...driveway ice melter and baking soda