Tank birthday, 47+ years

Fin · Jul 21, 2018

Paul B said:
I found my porcelain crab, And it's alive.

Awesome!

Paul B · Jul 22, 2018

He must have been doing the macarana in the back someplace

Paul B · Jul 23, 2018

I really need to add my skimmer because I have foam that looks like hot chocolate that was made with bad milk forming on the surface of my water. Being that there is no top on the tank and it is in my workshop where the door is open all day to the outside the tank is also collecting a bunch of beatles that are up side down on the surface. One of them looks like Ringo.
I am also getting some lightning bugs in there but I feel that is a good thing because they are supplementing my lighting. I am not exactly sure of the spectrum though and they may grow cyano.

I need an archer fish in there to eat them because they don't sink and are starting to form an Island.

Paul B · Jul 26, 2018

Sometimes your day goes well, and sometimes you get a Boo Boo!

siggy · Jul 26, 2018

The little man is a champ showing off his battle scar...Did you teach him to tell the girls he got it in NAM........Paul whats your take on shoe laces

RyonFly · Jul 26, 2018

Hey Paul, not sure if you run into this problem, but do you have an opinion on the collection of NSW after a storm? Would you do it next day or a tide cycle. Here in Florida it rains almost every day, my tank is set up similar to yours Sans ug filter.

RyonFly · Jul 26, 2018

Always look forward to reading your post. Your advice you gave me about dealing with ich was spot on, fish are all happy and healthy.

Paul B · Jul 27, 2018

I like shoe laces. Real Men wear laces and you can use them for a tourniquet when you accidently stab yourself in the leg with a butter knife.

In Florida I would collect after a storm because you have a sand bottom and the water is flowing through it all the time anyway. Here in NY we have a mud bottom and if I collected after a storm, I would get mostly mud.

norfolkgarden · Jul 27, 2018

"NJY"

[emoji38]

cdmckinzie · Jul 27, 2018

Hey Paul, I'm glad your move went well. Hope your wife is feeling better. Please remind me the name of your book about keeping a tank and where I can get one? I can always search Google to find it but I can't remember the name. Thanks

Brew12 · Jul 27, 2018

cdmckinzie said:
Hey Paul, I'm glad your move went well. Hope your wife is feeling better. Please remind me the name of your book about keeping a tank and where I can get one? I can always search Google to find it but I can't remember the name. Thanks

The book is The Avante-Garde Marine Aquarist.

I got my copy here.
http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/avant-garde-marine-aquarist/

Paul B · Jul 27, 2018

norfolkgarden said:
"NJY"

[emoji38]

Yeah, I know. Fat fingers.

Brew12, what did you think of my book? Even if you used it as kindling to light your fire place or clean the windows on your car, I would like an honest opinion. If you liked it, I may read it again as I forgot most of what I said.

Brew12 · Jul 27, 2018

Paul B said:
Yeah, I know. Fat fingers.

Brew12, what did you think of my book? Even if you used it as kindling to light your fire place or clean the windows on your car, I would like an honest opinion. If you liked it, I may read it again as I forgot most of what I said.

I loved it. I wish it would have been longer! I was quite surprised by how much fish treatment stuff you had in it.

If someone is looking for some deep material, your book isn't it. I read it for entertainment while on a cruise. For that, it was perfect. Brought new insight into things in a fun, easy to read way. Great for reading in small sections at a time. No problems putting it down to fight the bar traffic and reapply sunscreen. Definitely had me laughing a few times.

Paul B · Jul 27, 2018

LOL, I am not that deep of a person, especially in a hobby. I think I wrote some of it on a cruise.

If I write another one, I will make it sunscreen proof.

Speaking of cruises, my wife and I are going out for dinner now on our boat. I have to take some time off from working on this place.
My friend who lives next door and took most of the underwater pictures in my book came here and cleaned the algae off the back of my tank which drifted all over my nice pristine tank. So I put the diatom filter on. The first one I connected just about spun, no matter how much oil I put on the thing. I need to take that one apart for a bearing issue. The next one I put on had a DIY diatom bag in it and it worked well. Of course when I cleaned it, one of the hoses came off and flooded my new floor with salt encrusted, dirty water filled with diatom powder. But with those horribly designed filters, that happens.

Tristren · Jul 27, 2018

Paul B said:
Yeah, I know. Fat fingers.

Brew12, what did you think of my book? Even if you used it as kindling to light your fire place or clean the windows on your car, I would like an honest opinion. If you liked it, I may read it again as I forgot most of what I said.

You should at least re-read the introduction... That's the best but anyway.

norfolkgarden · Jul 28, 2018

Paul B said:
Yeah, I know. Fat fingers.

/QUOTE]

"NJY"

Lol, I thought it was a real thing, like SoCal or Cali for southern California.

The tristate area minus the C.
[emoji6]

hotashes · Jul 28, 2018

Brew12 said:
The book is The Avante-Garde Marine Aquarist.

I got my copy here.
http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/avant-garde-marine-aquarist/

Link for a uk purchase please [emoji6]

A.

fishybizzness · Jul 28, 2018

Paul, is your diatom filter homemade or store bought? I did several internet searches and only come up with one on eBay. It's a little pricey and would rather build one myself but I don't fully understand the design. It's kinda hard finding alot of info on them.

Paul B · Jul 28, 2018

Tristren said:
You should at least re-read the introduction... That's the best but anyway.

What introduction? If you mean my book, my Daughter wrote that and she is the writer in the family.

Hotashes, I am not sure how you get it in the UK. I think it is available on Amazon and it is available in an E book. I get rick on those books. I think I get about 25 cents for each book sold.

Fishybusiness, I did not build any of my diatom filters but out of the five or so of them I have I re designed all of them and none work very well. They have two main problems and about a dozen smaller problems.

The motor is garbage and doesn't last long. The bearings, especially the one near the impeller which gets some salt water on it is very hard, if not impossible to oil. The oil tube rots away so I drilled holes near the top bearing to oil that one but to oil the lower bearing you need to take the unit apart and it gets very rusty in salt water so it is a trick putting it back together again. The motor also gets very hot which is what helps break down the oil on the bearings.

The inside bag is also not designed well and after a number of years, it also rots. The lower seal needs to be replaced often because the units leak after a few years due to the diatom powder being very abrasive.
I made the bag for mine but it is not as large as the original. Some day I will build an entirely new filter that will hopefully correct all of those problems.

The thing works by having this porous bag inside that the water gets pumped through. You add diatom powder to the unit and it coats the bag. The powder has microscope pores in it which filters the water and it does it extremely well when it is working.

Also the XL filter on the left has a much smaller impeller than the smaller unit which makes no sense at all.

A

fishybizzness · Jul 28, 2018

Seems like someone would have come up with a better design by now for a seemingly very useful device! Wishful thinking I guess. Thanks for your in depth response. I think I will hold off on it for now..