Tank turned 41 years old

[user 26995]

Hes cool. Do you see it a little more often, now that you know its in there? Feed him when he comes out. Maybe you can train him. I have a pair of emeralds that goes to the same spot every night and hangs out in my Bird Of Paradise. Crazy critters.

 

[Paul B]

He comes out more now, I don't feed him, train him, or take him out for walks. He is just in there with a lot of other stuff that I don't really know where it came from.
He is kind of cool though

 

[Paul B]

Now, along with that crab there are so many of those astrea stars, stomatella snails, amphipods and tube worms that there is not much room left for water.

 

[user 26995]

Well we can rectify that! I'll send you my address

 

[conduit7]

Congrats on your tank, looks great.

 

[Paul B]

Thanks Conduit7, I like it but it is way overdue on maintenance which may be the reason there are so many creatures.

 

[Paul B]

The tank will be 40 years old this March (I think, maybe 39)and I would like to do some maintenance before then. When a pet shop went out of business I took many of the corals, some half dead, and put them in my tank. They didn't really fit so they are just stuck there in awkward places. I need to move the entire rockwork back to the rear to fit stuff. Some of the half dead corals are recovering but I would like to remove the dead parts so it doesn't look like the tank is dying.
I really hate to move the rocks because I like the aquascaping and there are so many large tube worms that will get burried in the move.
But it needs to be done. I also have to catch the pipefish as they don't do well whenever I do this. I think the detritus clogs their tiny gills.
I hope to have time for this within a few weeks.
I also will probably find a bunch of things in there that hatched from those corals that I have not seen yet.

 

[Krish]

I know you usually have surprises so let me know if you find some gold!!

 

[Paul B]

I don't know about gold but the last time I found a 6' bristleworm. It was the largest thing in the tank.

 

[khaosinc]

out of random curiosity... I turn 40 on Mar 5th...who's older... me or your tank.

 

[Paul B]

I am not sure. I know I set it up in march but I really don't remember the date.
But I may have amphipods as lod as you :lol:

 

[Paul B]

I moved the left side of the rocks in the tank towards the rear so I could fit more. The rocks were too close to the front. I still have to do this to the left side

 

[Paul B]

I had to remove a watchman gobi today. I have 4 of these, I don't remember how many years I have them but I got them as babies. These two pictured and one almost the same size and a much smaller one. This pair is spawning like they always are and the large male always chased the smaller male but it never seemed to bother him much. Now the male is much larger than the other male and he never stops chasing him. I have seen him cowering in a corner for the last week but I could not catch him. Today the large male chased him so much that I was able to grab him with my hand because he was practically beat to death and could not hardly swim.
I have him in a small tank with some antibiotic because his fins are all torn as is his mouth. I will nurse him back to health and he will live for a while with my burrfish. I hope he doesn't eat him.
Then if he recovers fully I will probably give him away.

 

[Paul B]

Hey, everybody!

This is Paul B's wife, best friend, dive buddy and very rarely his critic. However, this time I must boast about this "Zapper" thing. I can't believe my husband, Paul B, finally got me hooked into this hobby in some small way and it was fun too--much to my surprise. I loved zapping with his new invention. Who would have thought? Our tank is looking better than ever now that I am involved with the clean up. You see fish is Paul's passion and mine seems always to be cleaning up something or another. Anyway, I am really proud of this guy and his latest invention. By the time I was finished, there was not even a hint of a mojano or tentacle in site of our 40-year old reef.

 

[user 26995]

Way to go! So are you going to market this thing?

 

[ReefLogic]

wow.....38 years....I am only at 38 months...:|

 

[Frankie]

Hello PaulB's wife!
This gives me hope that one day I will find a task in my hobby my wife will like
You have one heck of a guy there. I have learned a lot from him.

 

[Paul B]

Way to go! So are you going to market this thing?

It is marketed. A patent is almost finalized.

wow.....38 years....I am only at 38 months...

You have to be old first.

This gives me hope that one day I will find a task in my hobby my wife will like

My wife just loves destroying mojanos, besides that and SCUBA diving she doesn't do anything else on the tank.
We are married for 37 years and the tank is just about 40 years old so I had the tank longer than her, but I did have brackish before that.

 

[Coral Frenzy]

I'm curious. I was wondering how many times you have had to reseal the tank in all those years. Nice work.

 

[Paul B]

I have never sealed or emptied the tank. I bought it new and it has been in the same place for 35 years.
I don't even want to think about it.