Tank birthday, 40 years

[Paul B]

The spa treatment worked beautifully like it always does. The cyano is gone after only a day and a half. I don't know why so much ink is wasted on the stuff.
Chemi Clean is an oxidizer and just burns the stuff up in no time and the tank looks great again. "Red Slime remover also works but that is an antibiotic and I don't like to use that but it also works and after using it a few times, I never saw any problems but I would rather use Chemi Clean. It is probably the only product I have ever used that does exactly what it says it does and does not harm anything.
On another note today I picked up a red scooter bleeny. I like those as they are different than the common brown ones.
He is also a pod eater like my two mandarins and I am sure he will join them at the baby brine feeder along with the pipefish, copperband and small gobies.

 

[Paul B]

The cyano is gone and I just need to change some water when I get time. I don't think that will happen this week but I hope so.
The little red scooter bleeny is doing well but he is skinny like my baby mandarin was when I got her. He is trying to eat from the baby brine feeder but there are so many fish eating there now that there is no room left. I may have to build a litle larger one. That little female mandarin is always on the thing and she is now nice and plump. My large mandarin also figured it out and also hangs out there but he is already fat so he is just a hog and the copperband monopolizes the thing even though he fills up on worms and clams every day.
So now using the feeder is the copperband, 2 cardinals, a pipefish, both mandarins a gobi and a scooter bleeny. The thing is only about 3 inches across

 

[Paul B]

The thing keeps evolving by collapsing and being re built. I am sure all tanks go through this

This is a fairly new gobi, I don't know what type it is and I am to lazy to look it up.
You can also see a red scooter bleeny above his tail.
I love this stuff

 

[Paul B]

I am very happy with this new baby brine shrimp feeder. Her are two mandarins, a copperband, bluestriped pipefish and a gobi. The two cardinals, another gobi and red scooter bleeny could not fit in the picture, but they eat there also.
I really love the thing because the baby brine stay in the device and don't get lost.

 

[Paul B]

Today I went down to my marina because they just put my boat in the water and I needed to get there to clean it, start it and charge the batteries. The water is full of grass shrimp and amphipods so I netted a bucketfull and when I got hime, I threw them in my tank. I don't do this in the winter but the shrimp and pods are there, I just don't like freezing while I am collecting. This stuff renews the tank like it always does.

 

[Paul B]

I picked up some more SPS frags to replace some of the corals I lost when I went to Europe. Some of the "Dead" ones still have some growth on them and seem to be doing fine.
I really hate the look of frags and up until a few weeks ago I never had any. It is not the frags I dislike, it is that silly looking round plug they come on. I personally never use them, but I like to glue corals right to pieces of rock, then as they age and get largter I glue those rocks to larger rocks to make them completely natural looking.
Now there are maybe 10 frags in my tank on those round plugs and when I get time I would like to break them off and stick them on rocks. They really detract from a natural looking aquascape and my eye goes right to them.
I know stores have to sell them like that because it is easy and they fit in eggcrate, but it drives me crazy.
Most of my corals came on those plugs and I broke almost all of them off eventually or else I just epoxied rock to the plug so you don't see them.
Yes, little details make me crazy.

 

[Paul B]

My tank seems to be doing very good. The acropora frags that I still have from the disaster when I left the tank with a sitter are growing so fast I can hear them grow.
Well, not quite that fast but for some reason they seem to be growing faster than they ever did and I think in a year that acro will be back as large as it used to be.
I think corals get in moods like people do. The LPS also seem to be doing quite well.
Probably because I have not changed any water in a while.

Oh, I know what it is. Last week I added some stuff from the Long Island Sound and I have not done that since last year.
Next week I will again add a bucketfull of amphipods and bacteria, it is the best thing for a tank.
For the past year or so I also have been feeding my LPS every day.
That could be it also
IMHO of course.

 

[Paul B]

Today I decided to clean the algae out of my algae trough. There was just too much algae and the water was having a hard tiime getting through. The thing has a plastic window screen in it that I normally just roll up, then brush off the algae in the sink and put it back in but this time it was just too much of a job. The screen was covered in those hard tube worms and bubble algae. There was also just too many amphipods in it to save. I swirled the screen in some salt water and collected as many amphipods as I could and threw them back in the tank. Then I threw out the screen and installed a new one. I don't like to do that because I like a coating of algae on it and algae takes a long time to grow on a new screen.
I also like to smear a coating of cement on the screen because algae grows very fast on cement but I didn't have time to prepare a screen so I just put in a new one. Now it will take a good 3 weeks before algae grows significantly on it.
I may make a cement covered screen in the meantime for next time.
Today I will go to my marina to "play" with my boat and I will collect a bunch of amphipods to replace the ones I lost.
Have a great day

 

[empire]

your tank is really inspiring. I've never seen a tank this old and mature. looks great. keep the pics coming!

 

[Paul B]

Thank you, I hope that I can keep it from "expiring" for 9 more years. That is my goal. I want it to reach at least 50. I am not sure I will reach another 9 years though :scratchch

 

[Paolissimo]

Hey Paul the baby brine shrimp feeder, is it something you built or did you buy it?

 

[Paul B]

I built it, I really don't buy anything

 

[Paolissimo]

I built it, I really don't buy anything

I figure that....I was interested in the plans, can you give me a quick run down on what you used to build it?
Thanks

 

[Paul B]

It is all just plexiglass, some black and csome clear and white. It can be all clear and you can paint the outside of one side or you can make the thing out of a 1/2 gallon tank or any rectangular container like a HOB filter tank. Anything that you can make a seperation in the center and cover one side. You also need a hole between the two sides about 3/8" to 1/2" and a way to close that hole, I use a sliding door.

 

[Paul B]

From the disaster of when I went to Europe I now have so many frags I don't know where to put them. They are mostly acropora and they are growing very fast.
You can see some on the very white stands toward the right side of this picture I just took. I really don't want to take apart the rocks again to fit things but it seems the LPS are also growing a little fast although I don't know why.
A few weeks ago a member on here also gave me a few frags.
Everytime I put my hand in there, I break something because the fireclown always feels the need to bite me and I jump and something breaks. I like the SPS to get big, but at this rate, I will have a tank of frags and I don't like the look of that.

 

[stooops718]

I'd be glad to take some frags off your hands. LOL. Is that a huge Hammer in the middle?

Have a great Memorial Day weekend and thanks again for your service to this country.

 

[Paul B]

Yes that is a hammer, Ther are a few of them, they are one of my favorites

 

[Paul B]

Todays catch of amphipods. There were many more but my wife accidently kicked over the bucket on the boat and I had to chase them down on the carpet. For every one you see there are fifty babies you can't see. I collect every few days in the summer.

 

[Aquadicted]

Man im only on page 13 so far. Very interesting.. Much respect Paul. Im so curious about your collection stories, hope there are more!

 

[Aquadicted]

Just read a little bit about your disaster. And I was thinking I'm sure there are so many people on here that you know personally that would not mind doing a quick check on your tank. Perhaps your house sitter can let them in and inspect the tank with them. I just think it would be better than relying on someone that doesn't know anything at all. Considering there are so many things that can go wrong and with all the life in there.. Just a thought cause I wouldn't want that to happen again.