Tank birthday, 47+ years

Paul B · Apr 9, 2015

I forgot about you Sparta.

My publisher has some of it and it is in editing. I will send the rest of to them this week. I am still working on some pictures but the rest is finished.

SpartaReef · Apr 9, 2015

sounds great!

aquaman84 · Apr 9, 2015

congrats on the 40 yr old tank i always hear and read how hard it is to maintain and keep a reef tank that i almost didnt start my 29 gallon tank and i would've gotten a bigger tank if it werent for those people. but now that i see your thread im motivate and your a big inspiration to all reefers. when you first started how long did it take you to cycle your tank and did you have alot of problems?

Paul B · Apr 10, 2015

I started the tank the week the hobby started in the US and I bought the first fish imported in Manhattan in 1971. There were no books or information so it was trial and error. I used water from the East River next to Manhattan and driveway gravel as there was no water or gravel for sale. The fish were covered in ich and there was no copper. You can read about it here. Tank Profile: Paul B?s 40+ Year Old Saltwater Aquarium And here A Brief History of the Saltwater Aquarium Hobby Or a number of articles I wrote there, and on this forum

SpartaReef · Apr 10, 2015

what month Paul? Im wondering when exactly it turns 44... and if it is the longest running tank or at least in the top three... :)

Paul B · Apr 10, 2015

It turned 44 in March. I think it was on a Tuesday about 2 or 2:15 in the afternoon. Actually I picked March but I really can't say exactly what month it was because I set up the tank, emptied it out and tried something else, then filled it and added driveway gravel, then took that out and added dolomite. Put in a DIY UG filter, removed it, emptied it out, filled it again, added all sorts of creatures from the Long Island Sound like flounders, lobsters, eels, hermit crabs, whatever I could find. Then I took that out. I don't remember what I did 44 years ago, are you kidding me? I don't know what I was thinking when I started this post.

SpartaReef · Apr 10, 2015

lol love it Paul... just keep it going and if it isn't it will be the longest running tank...

Paul B · Apr 10, 2015

OK, lets fine out. Everyone who has a tank running than 44 years, raise your hand.........Higher

SpartaReef · Apr 10, 2015

*snicker*

Paul B · Apr 11, 2015

Feeder video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsGrL9nxJPs&feature=youtu.be

Paul B · Apr 17, 2015

The new, or I should say, re modeled fixture worked out well. It added 25% more light and a staghorn coral that was croaking, stopped croaking and seems to be recovering slowly. I only had about 100 watts of LED lighting over a 6' tank which is way under lit. Now I have 136 watts of light which is still way under lit but it will stay like that until I see how that works out. I can always add another 36 watts on another strip but it seems fine so far. I probably can't keep certain corals but there are a lot of things I can't keep. like Claudia Schiffer so I will deal with it. More lighting is easy to add. I still have my old snow blower in my yard and I was hoping someone would steal it because I doubt I will have time to fix it which is why I bought a new one. <y bluestripe pipefish is still pregnant and will probably give birth tonight or tomorrow. The same with the ruby red who is also very pregnant. My female mandarin is slightly pregnant but the large male is not getting enough food so he lost some weight. He is very large and there are so many pod eaters and so many fish at the feeder that he is having a hard time getting enough. I have 7 fish that just eat pods so not enough to go around and it is hard to hatch enough brine shrimp. I may have to build a second feeder just for him. I just need time because it is almost boating season and it is also planting season. Not enough hours in the day and I get up at 5:30

Video

Paul B · Apr 21, 2015

These guys spawned last night which I am happy about, but she still looks pregnant so I assume they will spawn again. Or it could be that they just look like they are spawning and she is not ready. It's hard to tell because they are much smaller than mandarins and I never had these spawn before. I actually thought they were to young as I didn't know they stay this small. Ruby Red dragonets haven't been in the hobby very long. I can't get a picture of them spawning as it only takes them a few seconds and by the time I get the camera, they are back to eating pods. I will try again tonight. They spawn just before the lights go off, but I am not sure how they know the lights are going off because they can't see the clock. The bluestripe pipefish is still pregnant but he will have his babies live.

Paul B · Apr 21, 2015

I also built a white worm feeder for my mandarin so after he gets full on the baby brine shrimp feeder, he goes into the worm feeder for desert. The ruby reds also go in there when the much larger mandarin leaves.

revhtree · Apr 21, 2015

Great job Paul!

revhtree · Apr 21, 2015

Can you give us some DIY details on that?

Paul B · Apr 21, 2015

It's just as it looks. It's a 2" tube with a 3/8" tube going to the surface with a tiny funnel on top. Inside are two small barriers that just keep the shrimp from crawling out. That's it. It's also in my book with about 20 other DIYs of things I made.

kevantheman35 · Apr 22, 2015

Very cool feeder

mrjlopez731 · Apr 22, 2015

Wow 40 years, now that's a commitment.

JerryO · Apr 22, 2015

Wow Paul B, Congrats on 44 years. And I thought I was old at this at 40 years in the hobby. From hobby to life style I should say. I remember back when I first started on my 15th birthday my mother would drive me 20 miles to the only Marine supplier in SW Chicago, where I bought my 55 gallon tank. Back then, the thought was to keep everything sterile and bleached, live rock was unheard of and the only substrate available that I recall was Dolomite. The standard filtration was undergravel filter with a basic Hang on Back filter with Carbon and Floss. If you were lucky and had the money, Diatom Filters were used for polishing the water every few weeks. The standard "Deluxe" test kit was for PH, Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia, that was it, and lighting that was basic fluorescent tubes. I also remember buying Brain coral as "feeder" coral for Angels and Moorish Idols for 0.99 cents. Achilles Tangs were very common at about $20. A lot has changed since the early days, a complete turn around on the methodology of keeping Reef Tanks. I don't even want to think of how much money I've spent over the years, probably could have paid cash for a small house. I now have several spawning fish including Benggais, several types of Clowns, Red Mandarins and had a pair of spawning Ruby Reds until the female found the VorTech Pump. I've made it "small fish friendly" since then by attaching plastic gutter guard screening over the larger openings. I did manage to get a video on my Mandarins spawning and I'm attaching the video. Again, congrats on 44 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKkZNpIH1qE

Paul B · Apr 22, 2015

Jerry, you are almost an old coot like myself. Nice video of the mandarins spawning. My ruby red dragonettes spawned last night but of course they do it in the back so I couldn't get a video. My mandarins also spawn in the back, maybe I should turn the tank around.

live rock was unheard of and the only substrate available that I recall was Dolomite. The standard filtration was undergravel filter

I still have that dolomite in my tank because I have not emptied it since I started it. I also still have the UG filter but I run it in reverse and I also use my diatom filter once or twice a year. I couldn't live without it.