Tank birthday, 47+ years

Freenow54 · Monday at 3:57 PM

Sorry no from Erie and wouldn't you know came across Lake Erie Sorry Donny. We used to take booze across to Erie during the Depression to Al , another Sicilian

Freenow54 · Monday at 3:58 PM

Paul B said:
How can you tell?

Kirkland from Costco. I don't think you can get that where you are. You may have to use Reindeer oil.

Atlas oil is good. Colivita, Partanna, Cutrera Sicilian Gold, Bono are a few others

Beauty Thanks

Freenow54 · Monday at 4:05 PM

Paul B said:
How can you tell?

Kirkland from Costco. I don't think you can get that where you are. You may have to use Reindeer oil.

Atlas oil is good. Colivita, Partanna, Cutrera Sicilian Gold, Bono are a few others

I ate some once delicious but have been getting Coal at Christmas ever since

Paul B · 2026-09-10T14:07:05-0400

This stuff is horrible. But it has happened a few times in the last 50 years, usually after I changed, removed or added something: Dino's or some other slimy algae.

Here is my tank now after I power-washed all the gunk off the rock and corals.

Notice the surface of the water with the pumps off. The best way to eliminate this nasty stuff is to manually remove it because it is self-limiting, and whatever it is sucking up from the water, this will eliminate it.

I ran my DIY 5 micron canister filter all night and I have been running it all day today. It is removing cupfulls of the stuff.

Remember, I don't have a sump, so I also don't have an overflow, which would catch this stuff. I have been shutting off the pumps while I stir up everything with my filter; then it floats so I can skim it off.

Look at all of it floating in the bottom picture. I can do this all day and it keeps producing more so it takes a lot of time. I used to have a DIY surface skimmer that would remove this stuff but I don't remember what I did with it. I need to build another one but they are very complicated to build if you don't have a sump to send the water to. I used to have it that it would send the water to the skimmer.

I will try to get the time to build one but the problem will most likely go away by the time I get the thing built.

Turbo's Aquatics · 2026-09-10T18:10:49-0400

Paul B said:
But it has happened a few times in the last 50 years, usually after I changed, removed or added something: Dino's or some other slimy algae.

^^^ this!! Dinos boom when you change something, that's been my experience too.

Paul B · 2026-09-11T05:59:43-0400

Turbo's Aquatics said:
^ this!! Dinos boom when you change something, that's been my experience too.

I think it happened because I added a massive amount of different seaweeds from the sea.

I didn;t see my tank yet this morning, but if it is still growing I will again pull a load of it out and leave my filter running all day

Paul B · 2026-09-11T08:53:30-0400

Lets not forget that today is 9/11.

I saw the towers fall and it will stay with me for the rest of my life

ScottJ · 2026-09-11T08:55:43-0400

Fishing Reefer · 2026-09-11T09:03:48-0400

Truly impressive accomplishment!

Paul B · 2026-09-11T10:50:34-0400

My tank is all cleared up today. I just kept filtering it out and now it's gone.

Paul B · 2026-09-11T11:05:00-0400

I worked on the construction of the Trade Center in the early 70s and saw them fall. My company had a crew working on it on 9/11 and they unfortunately died.

The young female apprentice had just gone out for coffee and she was spared. I was supposed to be working there on that day as I did many times but was it one of the very few days that I was not downtown, but working in the airport. We had just installed like a 50' TV in the lobby and I saw the planes hit. I thought it was a science fiction movie until I heard the announcements that all flights were cancelled. I looked out the window and could see the smoke.

Of course, we shut down the job and tried to get home in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I picked up my daughter, and we donated blood on our way home.

It seems like yesterday to me as it does to all New Yorkers as most of us lost someone there.

tripdad · 2026-09-11T12:11:24-0400

I grew up next to O'hare airport in Chicago so planes were an integral part of every day. When they closed the skies after 9/11 it was the strangest thing to have no planes flying at all. Kinda surreal. Those of us alive then will NEVER forget those who lost their lives that day.

Minifoot77 · 2026-09-11T13:11:18-0400

tripdad said:
I grew up next to O'hare airport in Chicago so planes were an integral part of every day. When they closed the skies after 9/11 it was the strangest thing to have no planes flying at all. Kinda surreal. Those of us alive then will NEVER forget those who lost their lives that day.

You still in the area?

Freenow54 · 2026-09-11T13:23:52-0400

Paul B said:
This stuff is horrible. But it has happened a few times in the last 50 years, usually after I changed, removed or added something: Dino's or some other slimy algae.

Here is my tank now after I power-washed all the gunk off the rock and corals.

Notice the surface of the water with the pumps off. The best way to eliminate this nasty stuff is to manually remove it because it is self-limiting, and whatever it is sucking up from the water, this will eliminate it.

I ran my DIY 5 micron canister filter all night and I have been running it all day today. It is removing cupfulls of the stuff.

Remember, I don't have a sump, so I also don't have an overflow, which would catch this stuff. I have been shutting off the pumps while I stir up everything with my filter; then it floats so I can skim it off.

Look at all of it floating in the bottom picture. I can do this all day and it keeps producing more so it takes a lot of time. I used to have a DIY surface skimmer that would remove this stuff but I don't remember what I did with it. I need to build another one but they are very complicated to build if you don't have a sump to send the water to. I used to have it that it would send the water to the skimmer.

I will try to get the time to build one but the problem will most likely go away by the time I get the thing built.

one wrong move BOOM ! been there. At least you do things one at a time , and observe