Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Paul B]

This Morning I went on a nature walk on one of the hiking trails here. It was a beautiful day and a fantastic looking place which meandered through a forest, past a vineyard and down to the sea. I was the only man with 6 or 7 Ladies.

I did have a fleeting fear that they would gang up on me and.....Well....I can't say. But that didn't happen and I think I could out run most of them anyway. One of them I wasn't sure about as she worked there and looked pretty tough. She cleared the trails and chased, or carried away any dear or bear she encountered. Maybe that's why there are no bears on Long Island.

Anyway, on my drive home I stopped at a lavender farm because I needed eggs. The farm stands here sell everything except maybe copper band butterflies. There was no one in this tiny farm stand except the girl who worked there and she was a Supermodel.

I went for five dollar eggs but came out with $20.00 cheese as well. She had "Tammy Fae" eyelashes so long that she could clean the front windows while sitting behind the counter just by blinking. It was a sight to behold.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

[

I am running out of room with my other hobbies so I will have to sell my steampunk stuff for about an eighth of what it sells for in an art gallery.
I have been making live edge tables and now I am making a waterfall table.

Very cool. I get so many compliments on my finished table I decided to make more so I bought 5 more pieces of live edge wood. I also have no room for these so I will probably give them away.

All of that stuff is awesome not sure where you find the time or energy but you are obviously very creative!

 

[Paul B]

but you are obviously very creative!

Thanks,
I'm very something. I am not sure what.

 

[i cant think]

I’ve always wondered, what do you use as “CUC”? And why do you use those specifically if you do have a “CUC”?

 

[Paul B]

I can't think, I do have some hermit crabs but as soon as they shed, my bristleworms eat them so I stopped adding them. I still have a few large ones. So my CUC is probably mostly bristleworms and thousands of brittle starfish.

Due to the worms I can no longer keep shrimp, crabs or clams. I do trap the worms but there are probably thousands and many of them are huge so I will never eliminate them. All old, natural tanks will have them.

 

[Paul B]

I was searching for something on the Net and accidentally found this video from Viet Nam. It is the exact place and time I was there. LZ Snuffy 1970. I was a Sargent in the First Air Cav which is the unit here.

I don't remember seeing any film crews while I was there so this may have been filmed a week before I was there. LZ Snuffy wasn't there for more than a few weeks so I must have just missed it because I watched it but didn't see myself.

Some of the video where you see barbed wire and landed Cobra Gunships is in some rear area as we didn't have wire or airfields but they did support us constantly so they weren't far off. I was on 14 of these LZs in my time there, most were short lived.
Some of it is not PC. Sorry but I didn't film it.

 

[i cant think]

I can't think, I do have some hermit crabs but as soon as they shed, my bristleworms eat them so I stopped adding them. I still have a few large ones. So my CUC is probably mostly bristleworms and thousands of brittle starfish.

Due to the worms I can no longer keep shrimp, crabs or clams. I do trap the worms but there are probably thousands and many of them are huge so I will never eliminate them. All old, natural tanks will have them.

That’s a shame but hey, Atleast they’re alright for CUC
I’m surprised you can’t have clams though, is this due to the worms alone or do you also have fish that may be a risk with a Tridacnid?
Never thought a Bristleworm would feed on a Tridacnid clam.

 

[Paul B]

The bristleworms go in the shell behind the clam and eat it from the back. I have seen it on every clam I had so I don't get those any longer.

 

[Paul B]

I sent that video to my Captain who was there with me. He is a retired Brigadier General now and a few years older than me. He said I was there on Snuffy twice but must have left for 3 days to go to another firebase. That guy remembers everything and I barely remember getting drafted.

He also told me that this is where I got this lizzard.

 

[atoll]

Can't beat a matched pair, great characters these two.

 

[atoll]

Just replied to a thread on the disease forum about Royal grammas and itch. Same old same old really. RGs are itch magnets its true but when I ever put an RG in a tank its breakout in itch which is gone in 36 hours with no other fish showing signs of it.
WOW! Almost 20.000 threads on various diseases in the forum. Enough to make your scalp feel itchy .

 

[atoll]

I add both cod liver oil and krill oil to my DIY food mixes. The question is do these fish oils migrate through the skin of the fish helping to keep parasites at bay?
I belive @paul adds oils of siome sort to his feeds perhaps in the belief they do.
I know since I have been adding them and allowing them to soak into the foods my fish never show signs of parasites. Coincidence? Maybe.

 

[Paul B]

Fish oils don't migrate through the skin as far as I know but they help the fish develop eggs which is a huge burden on a fish and all female fish develop eggs. If they can't get oil or can't produce enough the fish needs to get that energy from other systems which will suffer, like it's immune system which uses a large supply of a fishes energy.

 

[Chucky]

In a couple of weeks my reef will will have reached 40 years old.
Unfortunately I don't remember when I was 40 but I remember when I set it up. I was a skinny 22 year old just back from Viet Nam.
It is still running very well, still using the same reverse UG filter, same dolomite substrait but none of the fish are original. The oldest one, a fireclown is just over 16, all of the older fish died in an accident that was due to my carelessness.
The tank is mostly LPS, gorgonians, giant mushrooms and a few leathers.
There are only three SPS corals, two of which have been with me for a few years and are growing nicely.
I am not sure is any of the original NSW from the Long Island Sound is still in there or any of the original amphipods but maybe much later generations.
I still can't take a decent picture and the tank is not as blue as these pictures but it is what it is.

What’s an ug filter?

 

[ying yang]

What’s an ug filter?

Under gravel

 

[atoll]

Fish oils don't migrate through the skin as far as I know but they help the fish develop eggs which is a huge burden on a fish and all female fish develop eggs. If they can't get oil or can't produce enough the fish needs to get that energy from other systems which will suffer, like it's immune system which uses a large supply of a fishes energy.

Makes sense .... to many anyway. There will always be those who will poo poo something different and thinking out of the box or is that straight jacket Paul. Just like my current thread on a UK forum.

 

[Chucky]

Under gravel

I thought that’s what it meant but wasn’t sure I have heard of them in freshwater but not marine so I wasn’t sure

 

[Paul B]

There is just about no one but me and maybe 3 or 4 others that use them

 

[Chucky]

There is just about no one but me and maybe 3 or 4 others that use them

I used one years ago in freshwater setup

 

[Chucky]

There is just about no one but me and maybe 3 or 4 others that use them

I just read your story on reefs.com wow!!!