- Location
- Staten Island ny
Before , skimmers and sumps and reactors, what was it like to maintain a reef tank? What was your setup like?
A question for the old timers , veterans , and pros ??
- Thread starter saltwaterinbrooklyn
- Start date
- Location
- New Jersey
When I got into the hobby I feel into the future skimmer sumps and reactors. So basically I didnt really know about those things ever existed to keep a reef set up. All I remember seeing were bio ball used in sumps. Till this day some reefers and LFS still using bio balls to keep there tanks up and running.
- Location
- Staten Island ny
How did I know you would crack me up with a funny butt reply lol that's classic lol
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my first fish only salt water tank was in 1984, it was a 30g, eheim canister and an under gravel filter that was your main filter for bacteria. Lasted a couple years and went fresh water, just got my 150 reef 5 months ago, and very happy with all the new gadgets.
- Location
- Franklin Square, NY
an undergravel filter, a canister and a skilter..then I upgraded to a wet/dry and seaclone...LOL
Speaking for the older and MUCH WISER reefers...reef tanks as we hobbiest know them, are not that ancient! IMO, they started to become popular in the 1980s with the introduction of wet/dry filters, which were already in use in Europe.
When I started with saltwater in 1973, you could buy a 'skimmer collection cup' for your ugf uplift tube for a few dollars! They did remove a yellow liquid from the water...and we were amazed!
I'd bet that I still have one, somewhere!
- Location
- Staten Island ny
Wow , I know reef keeping is not as old as saltwater fish keeping but you gotta admit that for a semi expensive and rare hobby it has a lot of technology turnover wih new products and upgrades almost monthly lol it's crazy seems like yesterday koralia pumps was the thing to have lol now it's mp 10s - 60s lol
The only available salt was Instant Ocean. We relied on the bacteria in the gravel to carry out the cycling process by using an under gravel filter. The first models were flat plates with mesh that became clogged. Later on the upgraded ones were bent like a wash board. They first relied on airstones for the lift tubes, but later on you could add a power head on top. As stated before, The concept of skimming began with a small collection cup at the top of these lift tubes. Substrate was crushed calcium gravel which needed to be vacuumed periodically to remove detritus. I forget the brand of test kits used but remember having to open the small reagent powder capsules with a nail clipper to use them :banghead: lighting was regular fluorescent with the upgrade being a twisted tube which according to manufacturer provided more surface lighting lol. Tanks were kept by windows to provide supplemental lighting. Anemones were available but we didn't know the lighting was woefully inadequate and they were always bleached. There was no live rock available and decoration was comprised of bleached coral pieces. Everything looked completely sterile. :help:
- Location
- Dingmans ferry PA
You know i only started keeping reefs 7 years ago and i knew absolutly nothing so i went on what my LFS told me and he sold me some expensive things like a 400 dollar PC fixture and a eheim cannister filter. Had that going for a year and didnt lose anything but i only had a yellow tang,some damsels,had 3 favias,elephant ear mushroom,a leather and some random palys and zoas. Its not till i came on here i knew about sumps and skimmers and different lighting. tell you the truth i didnt have any algae either growing it was a clean tank lol.I also didnt use ro/di i was using straight tap
- Location
- north jersey
the first saltwater tank i saw was my uncle's....back in the 70's. from my recollection, it was a fish only 30-40 gal. acrylic tank with under gravel filter, air stone, beach sand, coral skeletons, sea weed, all collected from the beach right behind the house, and a bunch of small fish....10-20??? the salt water was also from the beach by the backyard. he did the water change quite often due to the readily available salt water. i think a about a bucket every few days. the tank was sitting right by the sliding door near a deck with natural lighting. i think it had a regular fluorescent tube lighting....which were only on during the evening to see the fish and off when we went to bed. it did ok for a couple of years but the fish never lived that long. he later went with a koi pond instead.
i remember spending summer vacations at his place. i kept putting in hermits, clams, mussels, snails, crabs, star fish, jelly fish, baby fish, whatever got stranded in the tiny pool of water at low tides. i think most of them died within a few days (in my defense, i was about 7-10 yrs. old and didn't know any better).
i remember spending summer vacations at his place. i kept putting in hermits, clams, mussels, snails, crabs, star fish, jelly fish, baby fish, whatever got stranded in the tiny pool of water at low tides. i think most of them died within a few days (in my defense, i was about 7-10 yrs. old and didn't know any better).
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