Tank birthday, 40 years
- Thread starter Paul B
- Start date
- Location
- Baiting Hollow Long Island NY
Thanks FRY.
Yesterday I collected some water out east on the ocean beaches of Long Island like I always do. It was cold, 55 degrees and the salinity was 1.017.
But this time of the year the water is very clear and has almost nothing floating or swimming in it. I only collected 10 gallons (it seems to get heavier every year) and when I strained it, I had hardly anything left in the strainer. Beautiful water.
When it warms up I will add some salt and do a water change.
I did see some nice shrimp, not the common grass shrimp that are very common but some more colorful ones I have not seen before. I didn't have a net with me and I wasn't going swimming so I could not catch them.
Today I am going out on my boat but the water is even too cold to get in the dinghy and do some collecting. In a month or so the water will warm up nicely.
Yesterday I collected some water out east on the ocean beaches of Long Island like I always do. It was cold, 55 degrees and the salinity was 1.017.
But this time of the year the water is very clear and has almost nothing floating or swimming in it. I only collected 10 gallons (it seems to get heavier every year) and when I strained it, I had hardly anything left in the strainer. Beautiful water.
When it warms up I will add some salt and do a water change.
I did see some nice shrimp, not the common grass shrimp that are very common but some more colorful ones I have not seen before. I didn't have a net with me and I wasn't going swimming so I could not catch them.
Today I am going out on my boat but the water is even too cold to get in the dinghy and do some collecting. In a month or so the water will warm up nicely.
- Location
- Briarcliff, Westchester
The water is pretty cold this year!
How do you collect the water? Do you just fill buckets with water from the surface?
- Location
- Overland Park, KS
you know they'll keep inventing "something else" till we don't have any money left to spend on whatever they might invent next...
sigh...
sigh...
- Location
- Brooklyn
Congrats... Great Tank man.
- Location
- Baiting Hollow Long Island NY
Today on this beautiful Memorial Day I spent the day on my boat with my wife. But when we got back I figured I would try out my Majano Wand on the millions of anemones stuck to my dock. I just wanted to try it.
Worked great.
Worked great.
- Location
- Baiting Hollow Long Island NY
They seem to work. This is without the lenses on and with all lights at full brilliancy.
I temporarilly hung it on my tank like this and they seem to be almost twice as bright as my 300 watts of MH lights. I am seeing places in my tank I never knew existed. When I get the dimming working I will have to adjust it for more blue as it is too bright and white.
This is the MH lights. They almost look like the same brightness in the picture but the picture lies.
The LEDs are much brighter. The MH lights have a nicer color which is why I will have to dim the white lights and leave the blue lights on higher.
Notice in the MH picture, you can't see my powerheads at the sides of the tank. Now I will have to hide those.
I didn't try that yet but the fish all hid with the LED lights, they thought they were on a stage and had to perform
I temporarilly hung it on my tank like this and they seem to be almost twice as bright as my 300 watts of MH lights. I am seeing places in my tank I never knew existed. When I get the dimming working I will have to adjust it for more blue as it is too bright and white.
This is the MH lights. They almost look like the same brightness in the picture but the picture lies.
The LEDs are much brighter. The MH lights have a nicer color which is why I will have to dim the white lights and leave the blue lights on higher.
Notice in the MH picture, you can't see my powerheads at the sides of the tank. Now I will have to hide those.
I didn't try that yet but the fish all hid with the LED lights, they thought they were on a stage and had to perform
- Location
- Baiting Hollow Long Island NY
Now the thing is 99% completed. Here it is with the control box with the 3 dimmers and fan switch.
Here are the old (Plaza Hotel) MH lights. Anyone need any slightly used 150 watt 14,000K MH lamps? free.
Here is the new fixture hung over the tank, that of course is in the blue mode
This is with all the lights almost at full brilliancy.
So far after 30 minutes the fixture is still at room temperature.
All I have to do next is to build the pulley system so I can raise the fixture out of the way to remove rocks and what not. Now it is still hung on string.
Here are the old (Plaza Hotel) MH lights. Anyone need any slightly used 150 watt 14,000K MH lamps? free.
Here is the new fixture hung over the tank, that of course is in the blue mode
This is with all the lights almost at full brilliancy.
So far after 30 minutes the fixture is still at room temperature.
All I have to do next is to build the pulley system so I can raise the fixture out of the way to remove rocks and what not. Now it is still hung on string.
I made a diy light rack like yours. I used the 2 point tek light hanging kit. worked or great and makes it easy to raiser lower the light and what not. just had to buy 2 stainless steel nuts and drill the holes.
new the new lights look great. Sooo des the boat!!:champagne
new the new lights look great. Sooo des the boat!!:champagne
- Location
- Baiting Hollow Long Island NY
Now the system is 100% done. I installed a pulley system that raises the LED fixture about a foot so it goes out of the way for maintenance. I just have to slightly tough it and it rises. The plastic container (counterweight) is filled with lead shot.
Arati, is this like yours?
I love this stuff.
Arati, is this like yours?
I love this stuff.
- Location
- Baiting Hollow Long Island NY
I am happy to say that my reef is 5 degrees cooler than it should be for this time of the year. Outside it is almost 100 degrees and my tank usually runs about 87 degrees in the summer which is a little hot.
Now the tank is a comfortable 82 degrees which is fine.
The LEDs emit just about zero heat and you can put your hand right on the lenses without feeling anything.
Now the tank is a comfortable 82 degrees which is fine.
The LEDs emit just about zero heat and you can put your hand right on the lenses without feeling anything.
- Location
- Baiting Hollow Long Island NY
I re-designed my algae trough this morning. I thought my LED lights would supply enough light to the trough but they were not positioned enough above it so the hair algae in the trough died in a week. I bought a 4' strip of waterproof LEDs and mounted them about 2" above the trough where they illuminate it very brightly for practically free.
It took a while removing the screen from the trough as it was full of brittle stars and amphipods and I didn't want to lose any so I had to pick them out betwen the tube worms that grow all over the trough bottom.
You can make out the strip of LEDs here but I should have shut them off to take the picture as they wash out the photo.
Here it is with the tank lights out
It took a while removing the screen from the trough as it was full of brittle stars and amphipods and I didn't want to lose any so I had to pick them out betwen the tube worms that grow all over the trough bottom.
You can make out the strip of LEDs here but I should have shut them off to take the picture as they wash out the photo.
Here it is with the tank lights out
- Location
- Baiting Hollow Long Island NY
I can't believe one of my powerheads croaked. Right after I wrote that I never changed a powerhead. What a piece of junk, it is only about 20 years old. I wonder if I still have the receipt. It started tripping the GFI then it completely died with no power going to the coils at all. I may have to autopsy it.
It was made by Christopher Columbus Powerhead company and came in a wooden box.
It was made by Christopher Columbus Powerhead company and came in a wooden box.
- Location
- Baiting Hollow Long Island NY
To update my tank, for the last 4 weeks I have been adding some SPS corals because I changed the lighting to LEDs and increased the circulation.
I have some nice montipora's and some acropora. The monti's actually have been growing nicely for almost a year so I added more. The acropora's look good but it is too soon to see if they will grow in my rather "natural" tank. Many years ago it was all SPS but I liked LPS better so I had mostly those. I still like LPS better and don't like mixing all of this but I want to see what happens. Gorgonians seem to grow wild in the tank so they predominate.
This monti grew from a tiny frag that broke off the main piece. It quadrupled in size in less than a year.
There are two of these, this one and a green one. I don't know the name and am too lazy to look it up but they have been growing for a couple of years also.
I only posted this because quite a few people said to me that SPS will not live in my tank because of my limited water changes and slightly "dirtier" conditions than many tanks
I have some nice montipora's and some acropora. The monti's actually have been growing nicely for almost a year so I added more. The acropora's look good but it is too soon to see if they will grow in my rather "natural" tank. Many years ago it was all SPS but I liked LPS better so I had mostly those. I still like LPS better and don't like mixing all of this but I want to see what happens. Gorgonians seem to grow wild in the tank so they predominate.
This monti grew from a tiny frag that broke off the main piece. It quadrupled in size in less than a year.
There are two of these, this one and a green one. I don't know the name and am too lazy to look it up but they have been growing for a couple of years also.
I only posted this because quite a few people said to me that SPS will not live in my tank because of my limited water changes and slightly "dirtier" conditions than many tanks
- Location
- Baiting Hollow Long Island NY
Not good at all, there is absolutely no algae in my algae trough. I may have to re design the lighting over that.
- Location
- Garden city
Paul I love reading your posts because I know that it's going to be an interesting read very cool what other fish have u had spawn ?
- Location
- Baiting Hollow Long Island NY
Matt You live 5 minutes from me. I am in New Hyde Park.
The only fish I had spawn recently was Bangai cardinals, blue stripped pipefish, watchman gobies, and fire clowns.
The only fish I had spawn recently was Bangai cardinals, blue stripped pipefish, watchman gobies, and fire clowns.
- Location
- Baiting Hollow Long Island NY
Today I added some more acropora that I got for a good price. Now the tank has about half LPS and Half SPS. Well maybe 3/4 LPS, I don't know but I made a mistake tonight. I am diatoming the tank like I do occasionally and there must be a hole in the bag in the diatom filter so there is diatom powder all over the tank.
I just told the corals it is "Marine Snow" so they don't freak out. Now I have to take the thing apart and make a new bag. I have three of these filters and between all of them I can make one decent one. They are a horrible design and the engineer that designed them should be smacked. They are real bad in saltwater, they rust and they shock you also. I love designing and building things and I hate to see such a badly designed piece of machinery. I use them because the end product is what I am looking for and they have very good preasure, when they do not stall, over heat or just rust away.
Today I used it to blow preasurised water down the UG filter tubes, there is a lot of smutz under there. That is a polite word for detritus.
When (and if) I get time I will build my own diatom that will work much better than these things.
With my reverse UG set up I need something to stir up the gravel and canister filters don't have enough umph.
I just told the corals it is "Marine Snow" so they don't freak out. Now I have to take the thing apart and make a new bag. I have three of these filters and between all of them I can make one decent one. They are a horrible design and the engineer that designed them should be smacked. They are real bad in saltwater, they rust and they shock you also. I love designing and building things and I hate to see such a badly designed piece of machinery. I use them because the end product is what I am looking for and they have very good preasure, when they do not stall, over heat or just rust away.
Today I used it to blow preasurised water down the UG filter tubes, there is a lot of smutz under there. That is a polite word for detritus.
When (and if) I get time I will build my own diatom that will work much better than these things.
With my reverse UG set up I need something to stir up the gravel and canister filters don't have enough umph.
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