Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Subsea]

Thank you Paul. I appreciate the insight. That’s exactly what I was looking for, not to upset you or any of the fans of yours (fans-rightfully so). You are a class act and a gentlemen.

Micheal,
I think you are a gentleman as well. Glad that Paul was a source of information and civil discourse. And as you pointed out, he is a source of humor.

I emulated Paul use of reverse flow under gravel filter five years ago when I converted 20 year Jaubert plenum by removing 2” of aragonite from 4” sandbed. That was 5 years ago and is My Tank Thread. I like soft corals and sponges

 

[michealprater]

Micheal,
I think you are a gentleman as well. Glad that Paul was a source of information and civil discourse. And as you pointed out, he is a source of humor.

I emulated Paul use of reverse flow under gravel filter five years ago when I converted 20 year Jaubert plenum by removing 2” of aragonite from 4” sandbed. That was 5 years ago and is My Tank Thread. I like soft corals and sponges

Beautiful setups! I have always been fascinated by the use of undergravel filtration. Takes me back to my cichlid days 25 yrs ago!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Paul,
I live in Austin, Tx where the motto is
“Keep Austin Weird”.

Yeah, but not "that" weird! Lol!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Lowell, very nice. Almost all my relatives are in Sciacca in the most southern part of Sicily.

Sorry, but with the posts about your back, I read Sciacca as sciatica, lol!

 

[Paul B]

That’s exactly what I was looking for, not to upset you or any of the fans of yours (fans-rightfully so).

Michael, I have been enjoying these threads but there is no way anyone could upset me on a fish forum. I am not a Snowflake and am much older than anything PC. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

You can call me and my fish anything you like, it won't bother me in any way. I am a combat Veteran and lived in a jungle for a year with bugs so big I had to shoot some of them with my 45. Sometimes that just wounded them and made them mad so I had to go in with my M-16. For the huge lightning bugs I used tracer rounds which put out their annoying light. :confused:

Once a "moose" mosquito" was chasing me through the Bamboo but I was lucky because his antlers got caught between two trees. :anguished-face:

I read Sciacca as sciatica, lol!

Those words are very close and I often have a hard time spelling Scicicca or Sciacca. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

My tank now is in a failure stage with much algae growing on everything. But it is dying and turning brown which is what I want. No intervening with anything except a new algae scrubber.

Hair algae on an outer Island off Hawaii.



This was all caused because I stupidly put in an encrusting/invasive sponge that took over. It's not bad, just not what I wanted to grow and I didn't battle it, I just eliminated it naturally. :cool:

Chemicals are whats destroying this hobby and killing many tanks. Algae is a good thing and grows on every healthy reef, our job is to close our eyes until it decides go go away by itself as it will in time leaving the tank healthier than it ever was. It's the way nature intended just like ich lives with all wild fish and makes them stronger, unless you try something silly like poison. Fish frown on that and just want to stay strong and healthy naturally as I try to do.

Many people my age are way out of shape and don't do anything about it but complain. I just got a new shoulder and knee and going next week for a spine ablation because I can't stand up straight or sit due to degenerated disks. It is painful but we sometimes have to do things we don't like, like allowing our tanks to "heal" naturally with very little help from us which almost always causes more problems.

On the disease forum you will see so many people treating some affliction only to have the fish come down with something else. We are giving our fish these diseases not the LFS, wholesaler or guy in the canoe wearing tires for shoes who is just trying to feed his family (and maybe adopted monkey) by collecting fish. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[michealprater]

How do you feel about good ol fashioned manual removal of algae?

 

[Subsea]

How do you feel about good ol fashioned manual removal of algae?

That’s what CUC does. Different janitors for differrent jobs.

 

[Paul B]

How do you feel about good ol fashioned manual removal of algae?

I am actually doing that right now. I have my diatom filter out and am sucking out the thick algae on the glass. It grew like crazy because the last time I collected water it was right after a huge rainstorm that lasted a few days. We are surrounded by golf courses and I assume the water was full of nitrogen for the grass.

This has happened a few times and it occurs when you collect water as the sea changes all the time.

It hasn't rained in a week so I collected 40 gallons of NSW this morning and after I heat it up, I will change it. If that helps, next week I may collect more.

Here my friend is helping me collect water

 

[Paul B]

I just changed the 40 gallons of NSW that I collected yesterday. It's a good thing I did because it is windy and raining now so I assume the shallow sea near here is again filled with golf course chemicals. :angry-face:

I can go out east about 30 miles and collect water which may be cleaner but first I will see how this water change affects anything.

After my diatom filter sucking out of algae yesterday I was amazed at how much algae I removed. It clogged my slop sink a few times. I put a long rigid hose on the intake of the diatom filter and moved it like a vacuum cleaner on the exposed rocks and back glass. The last time I did this, I sucked in a small bleenie who didn't fare to well. :oops:

But sometimes we need to do these things for the health of the tank. Algae is not bad, but to much algae will cover the corals so I wanted to eliminate the excess. Algae imparts health to the water so the tank will be much healthier when it is mostly gone. Thats the plan anyway even though sometimes even the best thought out plans fail.

I have done this enough times to ascertain how it will come out. This all came about because I stupidly added encrusting, invasive sponge years ago. :oops:

Thank God I didn't add pumpkins.

 

[Paul B]

I just read a thread on another forum about someone trying what they call "ich Management" which I call a healthy, immune tank. All fish live in the sea under "Ich Management" methods and they are all very healthy.

To me, quarantined or medicated fish are not healthy because they have no immunity. Like none, zip, zero, nada, zilch.
The person who started the thread started quarantining, then the fish got ich, then they tried that low salinity thing (I forget what it's called. Then hydrogen peroxide was mentioned and tried, then UV sterilizer. Most of their fish died or are still sick and in the process of dying.

I really hate to see people killing fish like this. I like fish and I think they like me. :D

That tank will never be able to practice "Ich Management" because he already destroyed his fish. I didn't get involved in that thread because of all the, IMO wrong information. How can you start a discussion about "ich management" and talk about nothing but medications and means to eliminate ich.

"Ich management" or healthy fish means fish with immunity at such strength that they can not get sick in the first place so there is no need for all those silly things.

"Ich Management" has nothing to do with medications and things like garlic and Selcon is not needed or advised. Fish will get all the nutrition from the correct foods and the "correct" foods does not necessarily mean all from a store. LFS food is convenient and I use it myself, but most of it (not all) does not have the gut bacteria fish need to become immune as they are in the sea.

Only gut bacteria and exposure to parasites along with proper hiding places will keep fish immune and allow them to live a long healthy life free of diseases no matter what fish you throw in there and in what condition. Just my opinion of course.

 

[atoll]

To me it seems people don't trust mother nature and her ways. They have to be spending money the more the better. They have to administer meds even before a fish gets sick just to be on the safe side I guess while often achieving the opposite of what they are trying to do.

What is it about mother nature They can't put faith in. She is someone who knows much more than all these diseases experts and how to look after her billions of fish.

She has had millions years to perfect her ways and I don't see anybody with an ology proving her wrong only proving her right while not recognising just how much more knowledge she has.

 

[Debramb]

Michael, I have been enjoying these threads but there is no way anyone could upset me on a fish forum. I am not a Snowflake and am much older than anything PC. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

You can call me and my fish anything you like, it won't bother me in any way. I am a combat Veteran and lived in a jungle for a year with bugs so big I had to shoot some of them with my 45. Sometimes that just wounded them and made them mad so I had to go in with my M-16. For the huge lightning bugs I used tracer rounds which put out their annoying light. :confused:

Once a "moose" mosquito" was chasing me through the Bamboo but I was lucky because his antlers got caught between two trees. :anguished-face:


Those words are very close and I often have a hard time spelling Scicicca or Sciacca. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

My tank now is in a failure stage with much algae growing on everything. But it is dying and turning brown which is what I want. No intervening with anything except a new algae scrubber.

Hair algae on an outer Island off Hawaii.



This was all caused because I stupidly put in an encrusting/invasive sponge that took over. It's not bad, just not what I wanted to grow and I didn't battle it, I just eliminated it naturally. :cool:

Chemicals are whats destroying this hobby and killing many tanks. Algae is a good thing and grows on every healthy reef, our job is to close our eyes until it decides go go away by itself as it will in time leaving the tank healthier than it ever was. It's the way nature intended just like ich lives with all wild fish and makes them stronger, unless you try something silly like poison. Fish frown on that and just want to stay strong and healthy naturally as I try to do.

Many people my age are way out of shape and don't do anything about it but complain. I just got a new shoulder and knee and going next week for a spine ablation because I can't stand up straight or sit due to degenerated disks. It is painful but we sometimes have to do things we don't like, like allowing our tanks to "heal" naturally with very little help from us which almost always causes more problems.

On the disease forum you will see so many people treating some affliction only to have the fish come down with something else. We are giving our fish these diseases not the LFS, wholesaler or guy in the canoe wearing tires for shoes who is just trying to feed his family (and maybe adopted monkey) by collecting fish. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

Back in the 90’ we brought out the trusty Vortex once every 2 weeks, that’s what removed ich or uglies! Dead skeletons from the ocean to clean our “ ocean”.
Debra

 

[Paul B]

Debra I used mine yesterday to remove a bunch of algae growing on my back glass. I scraped it and it went all over the place. I wouldn't be in this hobby if it were not for Diatom Filters for many maintenance jobs. :)

 

[atoll]

Paul I have a diatom algae ridder it's called a tang. I know you aren't a fan of them but it's small and does a good job. I also have a copperband that's in my tank just to do a job, it's keeps aptasia nems down. I also have 2 sand sifting starfish and various snails in my tank all to do jobs. All as mother nature intended and you just can't beat her and her ways.

 

[Paul B]

Atoll, I have one of those. :) I never saw him eat algae. He only wants worms and clams. :anguished-face:

 

[Paul B]

We had to order a new Jeep yesterday because the lease is almost up on our older one. It's the same type of Jeep we had. Very hard to get red due to the auto workers strike. :)

 

[atoll]

Atoll, I have one of those. :) I never saw him eat algae. He only wants worms and clams. :anguished-face:

Not sure it's a good a eater of hair algae as some of the other species of tangs. Been many years since I had a regal tang hence not so sure.

 

[Paul B]

A Hippo is the only tang I like and have always had one in my tank since they invented them. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[Paul B]

I just read in this month "Discover" magazine an article about to much copper in a person's blood. It causes a rare disease called "Wilsons disease". I never heard of it until today and have absolutely no idea if copper has the same effect on fish. But in Humans, it adversely affects our brain and causes us to have weird symptoms akin to a drug user.

The one person in the article stopped shaving or washing and his girlfriend broke up with him because of his nasty attitude.
Besides his attitude and appearance, it affects your muscles.

One symptom in "Humans" is a ring around the iris in your eyes. As I said. I have no idea how it affects fish but it's interesting. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[Paul B]

So a little while ago I was in my Man Cave which is on street level. I was putzing with my fish and I heard a loud Knock, Knock, Knock on my door.
Then I hear a Lady screem, HELP, Help, I need HELP. So of course I run to the door thinking maybe Godzilla was attacking her or she found varicose veins and I see the lady who we know all disturbed and excited looking.

She said I need help, but it's not an emergency. Like, if it's not an emergency why is she screaming HELP!?... (Godzilla was nowhere in sight)

Her car was around the corner and she had a flat. She called an auto repair company who showed up and changed her tire, but her spare, a doughnut tire also had a flat. So of course, call Paul. She said "I helped her friend last week".

I fill my compressor with air and drag it there. (In a week I am going in for a spine ablation and can barely almost stand up, and I got a new shoulder about 8 weeks ago and it doesn't really work yet)

But being I like helping people I get the compressor there and try to fill the tire. Of course it doesn't fill because it is so flat that the rubber came away from the bead of the tire so air won't stay in.

I go back home to get my hydraulic jack which is not made out of Styrofoam and quite heavy so I can jack up the car.
I try to put in air again but the bead is still off the tire so air still wouldn't go in. I removed her tire and trecked back home again to get a strap clamp. Sometimes a strap clamp is needed to set a tire. You put it around the treads of the tire and tighten it up so the tire flattens and goes against the bead so air will stay in.

I filled the tire, put it back on the car and dragged my jack and compressor back home. Now I really can't stand up and am walking like a blue legged hermit crab with rickets. :oops: