-
Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.
Tank birthday and I'm a Geezer
- Thread starter Paul B
- Start date
Paul B
NJRC Member
An update on my tank. Dam the thing looks healthy. I don't know why and I can't remember the last time I changed water but I will have to get to that soon just so people don't start yelling at me. I hate when they do that. I can't stop my mandarins from spawning and I think the rest of the fish just feel left out so they all spawn. My copperband is so jealous that he doesn't have a mate and he spits at me every chance he gets. The algae trough doesn't have any algae in it for some odd reason but it is teeming with tube worms. So many that they can't even stay in the water and are slowly climbing up the wall. The latest batch of amphipods I collected and added formed a Glee club and are practicing DooWops. I am taking my Grand Daughter to my collection tide pool tomorrow and hopefully have her "help" me collect amphipods. With any luck, we may get "one". She loves the tide pool.
My pistol shrimp are still building mountains and I think they are spawning, but it is hard to tell because the female doesn't come out much. She is shy but I can see her antenna so I know she is fine.
The possum wrasse is venturing out in the open more and I think the multibanded pipefish is goading him to do it. That pipefish is a show off as is the shier dragon face pipe. But they are very cool and I am still looking for more multi stripe pipes as they have a high coolness factor. I don't like angelfish or tangs as they are just to yesterday. Occasionally I see a fish in there that I have no idea where it came from and must have gotten into the tank through osmosis.
I have a bio pellet reactor, empty of course because I think they are only for Girly Men. I keep the thing in there because it seems to be a disco for brittle stars. There are loads of them in there. I am not sure what they are doing as brittle stars are by design, lousy dancers as they have 4 left feet.
OK, time to go and get Greta. Now the fun starts.
My pistol shrimp are still building mountains and I think they are spawning, but it is hard to tell because the female doesn't come out much. She is shy but I can see her antenna so I know she is fine.
The possum wrasse is venturing out in the open more and I think the multibanded pipefish is goading him to do it. That pipefish is a show off as is the shier dragon face pipe. But they are very cool and I am still looking for more multi stripe pipes as they have a high coolness factor. I don't like angelfish or tangs as they are just to yesterday. Occasionally I see a fish in there that I have no idea where it came from and must have gotten into the tank through osmosis.
I have a bio pellet reactor, empty of course because I think they are only for Girly Men. I keep the thing in there because it seems to be a disco for brittle stars. There are loads of them in there. I am not sure what they are doing as brittle stars are by design, lousy dancers as they have 4 left feet.
OK, time to go and get Greta. Now the fun starts.
Paul B
NJRC Member
1:30 this morning I got up and had a thought. Maybe these tube worms also eat paracites. I have no idea, but my tank is never bothered by paracites even if I put ich infested fish in. I also don't have the equipment to see if this is true but it would be a great boon to this hobby if we could find a natural way of eradicating those little pests while accidently making the water healthier. My tank uses a reverse under gravel filter (yes there are such things) and the gravel is loaded with tiny tube worms. The algae trough is also filled with them so the water doesn't have a choice and must flow past millions of these feathery tentacles every day. I would imagine they would be able to remove paracites from the water. It is just a thought so don't hit me with all sorts of scientific theories from scientists who have never owned a fish tank or gone swimming.
I feed clams every day along with some of their associated clam juice and I am sure this helps promote the lives of these worms. They also act to clean the water of any particles. Every day I stir up the substrait a little with a baster looking thing which I am sure also feeds these guys (or girls).
These tube worms are never discussed but may be why older tanks don't have any problems with diseases, mini cycles, algae or bacterial blooms.
Maybe we don't give tube worms enough credit. It's just a thought.
References:
Me
I feed clams every day along with some of their associated clam juice and I am sure this helps promote the lives of these worms. They also act to clean the water of any particles. Every day I stir up the substrait a little with a baster looking thing which I am sure also feeds these guys (or girls).
These tube worms are never discussed but may be why older tanks don't have any problems with diseases, mini cycles, algae or bacterial blooms.
Maybe we don't give tube worms enough credit. It's just a thought.
References:
Me
Paul B
NJRC Member
Yesterday I bought a new car and I am touching up a little scratch on the one I am returning and I am waiting for the putty to dry. So I am "forced" to sit here and look at my tank for a little while. Of course while I am watching my tank, they are watching me, especially those beady little hermit crab eyes.
I am not sure how many hermit crabs there are in there and I couldn't even hazard a guess, snails either as I throw in local mud snails a few times a year.
My silly bio pellet reactor has been empty of pellets for quite a few months but I am keeping the housing functioning just for the coolness factor. There is an army of brittle stars in the thing and I don't know how they get through the pump to get in there without becoming brittle star mush, but there are dozens of them in there. I want to make it into a tiny tube worm "hotel". I want to install a screen in it to make it easier for the little buggers to multiply. My "algae" trough is already filled with them and I think they are an extremely under used biological filter that we can use to our advantage but I am not quite sure what, if anything they will filter. I realize the loads of them in there must be eating something but I would rather the algae trough grow algae and the tube worms can have a condo of their own. There is a small problem. The reactor I built for the pellets does not come apart and only has a 1/2" hole at the top for a threaded pipe. I will have to roll up a screen, slide it in and it will open in the inside. Some tube worms are growing in there now but I think the ones in the trough are sucking up most of any extra food. After I get the screen installed inside, I will break off a bunch of tube worms from the trough and stick them in the reactor. If nothing else, it will look cool and we all know, it is much better to look good than to feel good.
I am not sure how many hermit crabs there are in there and I couldn't even hazard a guess, snails either as I throw in local mud snails a few times a year.
My silly bio pellet reactor has been empty of pellets for quite a few months but I am keeping the housing functioning just for the coolness factor. There is an army of brittle stars in the thing and I don't know how they get through the pump to get in there without becoming brittle star mush, but there are dozens of them in there. I want to make it into a tiny tube worm "hotel". I want to install a screen in it to make it easier for the little buggers to multiply. My "algae" trough is already filled with them and I think they are an extremely under used biological filter that we can use to our advantage but I am not quite sure what, if anything they will filter. I realize the loads of them in there must be eating something but I would rather the algae trough grow algae and the tube worms can have a condo of their own. There is a small problem. The reactor I built for the pellets does not come apart and only has a 1/2" hole at the top for a threaded pipe. I will have to roll up a screen, slide it in and it will open in the inside. Some tube worms are growing in there now but I think the ones in the trough are sucking up most of any extra food. After I get the screen installed inside, I will break off a bunch of tube worms from the trough and stick them in the reactor. If nothing else, it will look cool and we all know, it is much better to look good than to feel good.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Today my wife and I picked to start our fall cleaning. I do the finished basement where my reef is. I wash all the walls, baseboards, floors. Remove anything on the walls and clean that. take everything out of the closets and clean them, remove ceiling light diffusers and clean those etc. Anyway I was cleaning the rim of my tank and my heart dropped. On the bottom edge of the paneling where the tank is, I saw my prized pipefish. OH NO. Not Betsy. Part of a mated pair that took me so long to find and finally buy. How could this happen? Not the bluestripe pipefish that I am so proud of. Not the little girl that greets me every morning as I squirt in new born brine shrimp and she gives me that little smile. Not her!
So I gently picked up her stiff body and caressed it.
I looked close to see the expression on her face, to see if she died in pain or just passed away from a broken heart.
As I stared at her little face I thought. Wait a minute, that isn't a face. That isn't even a pipefish. It's a blue piece of wire insulation. I looked up at the tank and there she was.
Betsy was laughing at me like a hyena. If she had knees she would be slapping them. Now I know why I need reading glasses.
So I gently picked up her stiff body and caressed it.
I looked close to see the expression on her face, to see if she died in pain or just passed away from a broken heart.
As I stared at her little face I thought. Wait a minute, that isn't a face. That isn't even a pipefish. It's a blue piece of wire insulation. I looked up at the tank and there she was.
Betsy was laughing at me like a hyena. If she had knees she would be slapping them. Now I know why I need reading glasses.
At least you didn't throw her back in the tank to see if it would revive her!
Glad to hear it was only your bad peepers and not Betsy!
Glad to hear it was only your bad peepers and not Betsy!
Paul B
NJRC Member
Next week I plan on collecting some water as I have no idea when I changed it last so I am sure it is due. I have some fake seawater here but I have not put in any real water since last year and I really need to do that. I did add thousands of amphipods and quite a bit of mud but before it gets really cold, I want to get some real water. There is a Coast Guard Station not to far and it is the perfect place to collect because it is on the Atlantic and they have a pier. I can just lower a bucket into the water and get all I want without having to go out into the water myself. I go out in my boat a few times a year but my boat is in the Sound and the ocean water is just so much cleared with far less organics.
I will only collect 20 gallons because it gets heavier every year. If I get ambitious again before the winter really gets here, I will get some more. Any day on the water is a good day, no matter what I am doing.
And besides, there is always a good chance to spot a Supermodel near the sea.
I will only collect 20 gallons because it gets heavier every year. If I get ambitious again before the winter really gets here, I will get some more. Any day on the water is a good day, no matter what I am doing.
And besides, there is always a good chance to spot a Supermodel near the sea.
Paul B
NJRC Member
OMG my Ozonizer croaked. This is about the third or fourth one I have had. I have parts from other ones but it is not the electronics but the reaction chamber. I will try to build another one but they make those very delicate and I am not sure if I can make one. If not, I will have to get a used one from someone. So now I need a new light and ozonizer. I really need a lot of time to build this stuff and this is not a good time of the year for this stuff to break. AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHYYYYYY
Paul B
NJRC Member
I rebuilt that LED fixture almost as good as new. I had to change 8 LEDs that were either dim or out completely.
Today I collected 15 gallons of NSW and after it warms up I will dump that in. I like to diatom filter it when it looks a little cloudy like this looks because it has a lot of particles and bacteria in it but I don't have any diatom powder so I just filtered it through a coffee filter which is no where near as good, but the fish will get over it. I think my bluestripes will spawn soon.
Today I collected 15 gallons of NSW and after it warms up I will dump that in. I like to diatom filter it when it looks a little cloudy like this looks because it has a lot of particles and bacteria in it but I don't have any diatom powder so I just filtered it through a coffee filter which is no where near as good, but the fish will get over it. I think my bluestripes will spawn soon.
