paul b

Even I am amazed it is still running. I always said that if it lasts for 50 years, I will call it a success. It reached 53 this month so if it reaches another 50 years, it will be super successful. I can't wait.

Looks good to me.

I am not sure what red wigglers are but if they are like earthworms and not full of bug killer they should be fine.

Add bookmark #1 I have been using Earthworms as food for all sorts of animals since the fifties. (yes that was last century and the earth was here then) Frogs, turtles, snakes and a variety of other animals love worms and they form a large part of the diet of many animals. For some reason we as aquarists rarely use or even discuss this great and "free" food and IMO one of the best and healthiest foods out there. Besides worms having the proper nutrients. They also contain soil and soil is full of bacteria. I feel this bacteria is sorely needed in this hobby because the vast majority of food we use is commercially packaged and sold as food. There is "almost" nothing wrong with commercial fish food, I use commercial frozen food myself but commercial food may have one huge problem. It usually has no live gut bacteria and gut bacteria is what makes almost 100% the immunity of fish. Yes, many commercial foods contain Pro Biotics and that is for another thread. If you read any of my threads (no, you don't have to) I am very big on gut bacteria and how it is vital to immunity. I believe that is also why this week my reef made it to 53 years old and nothing in my tank has ever been quarantined or medicated for at least the last 45 years. Just two days ago I took my morning walk in the rain. There were worms all over the place which is unusual for the wintertime in New York, but it was warm. I collected 5 or 6 worms. I have 3 Red Waspfish and they are finicky eaters and many times are just to slow to get any food. They are predators and can eat large food so don't have to be fed every day but they do have to eat. I chopped up a worm into half inch pieces shown below. Using one of these, I shot a worm near my Waspfish and he immediately "woke up" and sucked up the worm. Normally I have to hit him on the head with a piece of clam multiple times to let him know it is feeding time, but earthworms, blackworms or I imagine, any worm makes them go crazy. The biggest problem is keeping the other fish away but using that "baster" that I made, I can just about put the food in the fishes mouth. Earthworms are also excellent food for anemones and crabs. I can't think of an aquatic animal besides pipefish and seahorses that won't eat worms. I can and always have depended on worms for hard to feed creatures and they are almost always available and large amounts of them can be collected and kept for long periods of time as long as they are kept damp Quote: Abstract Earthworms have been a traditional medicine in China for at least 2300 years. Because of medicine food homology in China, people have been using earthworms as a food for several centuries. Earthworms are rich in protein and various amino acids; the protein content of earthworm meal was 54.6–59.4% on dry weight. Their protein content and amino acid composition are better than those of fish meal, cow milk and soybean meal. The crude fat content of earthworm meal was 7.34%. Earthworm protein is easily hydrolyzed into free amino acids. The hydrolyzed body fluids contain 9.34% protein and 78.73 mg of free amino acids per liter of raw fluid and are rich in vitamins and minerals. By the fast development of molecular biological techniques, more Verm pharmaceuticals and functional components were isolated from earthworms. An antibacterial peptide and a functional earthworm powder were introduced in this paper. In short, based on its nutrient content and functional components, earthworms could be an excellent raw material source as homology of medicine and food for human use, especially as functional food in the future. Add bookmark #1 I have been using Earthworms as food for all sorts of animals since the fifties. (yes that was last century and the earth was here then) Frogs, turtles, snakes and a variety of other animals love worms and they form a large part of the diet of many animals. For some reason we as aquarists rarely use or even discuss this great and "free" food and IMO one of the best and healthiest foods out there. Besides worms having the proper nutrients. They also contain soil and soil is full of bacteria. I feel this bacteria is sorely needed in this hobby because the vast majority of food we use is commercially packaged and sold as food. There is "almost" nothing wrong with commercial fish food, I use commercial frozen food myself but commercial food may have one huge problem. It usually has no live gut bacteria and gut bacteria is what makes almost 100% the immunity of fish. Yes, many commercial foods contain Pro Biotics and that is for another thread. If you read any of my threads (no, you don't have to) I am very big on gut bacteria and how it is vital to immunity. I believe that is also why this week my reef made it to 53 years old and nothing in my tank has ever been quarantined or medicated for at least the last 45 years. Just two days ago I took my morning walk in the rain. There were worms all over the place which is unusual for the wintertime in New York, but it was warm. I collected 5 or 6 worms. I have 3 Red Waspfish and they are finicky eaters and many times are just to slow to get any food. They are predators and can eat large food so don't have to be fed every day but they do have to eat. I chopped up a worm into half inch pieces shown below. Using one of these, I shot a worm near my Waspfish and he immediately "woke up" and sucked up the worm. Normally I have to hit him on the head with a piece of clam multiple times to let him know it is feeding time, but earthworms, blackworms or I imagine, any worm makes them go crazy. The biggest problem is keeping the other fish away but using that "baster" that I made, I can just about put the food in the fishes mouth. Earthworms are also excellent food for anemones and crabs. I can't think of an aquatic animal besides pipefish and seahorses that won't eat worms. I can and always have depended on worms for hard to feed creatures and they are almost always available and large amounts of them can be collected and kept for long periods of time as long as they are kept damp Quote: Abstract Earthworms have been a traditional medicine in China for at least 2300 years. Because of medicine food homology in China, people have been using earthworms as a food for several centuries. Earthworms are rich in protein and various amino acids; the protein content of earthworm meal was 54.6–59.4% on dry weight. Their protein content and amino acid composition are better than those of fish meal, cow milk and soybean meal. The crude fat content of earthworm meal was 7.34%. Earthworm protein is easily hydrolyzed into free amino acids. The hydrolyzed body fluids contain 9.34% protein and 78.73 mg of free amino acids per liter of raw fluid and are rich in vitamins and minerals. By the fast development of molecular biological techniques, more Verm pharmaceuticals and functional components were isolated from earthworms. An antibacterial peptide and a functional earthworm powder were introduced in this paper. In short, based on its nutrient content and functional components, earthworms could be an excellent raw material source as homology of medicine and food for human use, especially as functional food in the future.

My reef reached 53 years old this week. In a couple of months the VA invited me on the "Freedom Flight" with a bunch of other Veterans. They will fly us to DC to spend the day, with lunch and dinner then fly us back.

I had to do something I always say not to do and it is something you would do. I ordered a small can of sinking pellets. :oops: These 3 Waspfish are getting very picky and only want to eat at night. They think they live in an all night diner, but they don't. Many times they won't eat during the day . At night, before the lights go out, I will "shoot" some pellets into their caves in the hope they will eat at night. I really hate dry foods but I don't think my smaller ones are getting enough food in the day and with all the crabs and bristle worms I have, I need to supplement them. Many times I can't even find the smaller ones.

So yesterday we took the Lady and her sister around because they have never been on Long Island and she wanted to see the "Famous" Hamptons. WE took them to a winery were we are members. There was a party going on so the place was crowded. As we walked in, most of the people recognized us from the TV appearance and all came over thanking me for my service and telling us what a nice story it is. I didn't know any of these people. Then a few minutes later, a guy came to our table and gave me a $30.00 bottle of wine saying his Dad was a Vietnam Vet. Then I took them to a farm stand here because she likes horseradish and they grow and produce it there. The woman who owns it saw us get out of the car and ran out to hug me. Long Island is about 150 miles long, there are about 7 million people and we only have one local news station so most people here see it and it loops about every 15 minutes for like 2 days. This morning everyone I ever knew in my life is calling to ask me if I knew I was on TV. It was a lot of fun. The reporter and camera Lady took a lot of video of my fish and steam punk stuff and all the innovations I built in my man cave. She said there is to much going on here and they may have to come back and do another story. This is Kathleen who wrote me the Christmas card in Nam in 1970. And in the winery

Thanks Alan. Now it is on every 15 minutes all day and probably tomorrow.

The news crew came here yesterday todo a story about a Christmas Card a little girl sent me in Viet Nam in 1970. They even got my fish tank in. I am waiting for Martin Scorsese to call me about the mini series. Now it's on every 10 minutes all day so I am getting tired of looking at myself. 53 years later: Rediscovered 'thank you' card prompts meeting between Vietnam vet, pen pal

It's a shame when new hobbiests first start up a tank and see a little cyano, hair algae or diatoms they panic and come on these forums for advice and almost always are hit with a plethora of suggestions as to what chemicals or animals they should add to remedy something that is a natural, normal process that almost all tanks go through especially if the tank was started with ASW and dry rock. My main suggestion is first of all to not start a tank using all dry, dead dry rock. You are spending a lot of money on the tank, filters, ASW, rock, skimmers, dosers, lights, chemicals, test kits and some unfortunately, divorce lawyers. (not me). Get all the live rock you can afford. No matter what you do at first, the most important thing we never think about is bacteria and it's the bacteria that run our tanks. They control the algae, cyano, diatoms and general health. All of the tanks we set up using dry rock and asw will have all sorts of problems and it isn't our fault. Well, if we fill the tank with orange juice and cat litter it may be our fault but a tank, any tank takes time to grow enough of the correct bacteria to settle down and do what it is supposed to do. If we add chemicals like "Red Slime Remover" Prizapro, copper, antibiotics, "or anything that is not sea water or food we short circuit the process and then are forced to get out of the hobby (after we pay those lawyers, not me) and get a job in Home Depot selling plungers and weed killer. I have no experience using bottled bacteria so I can't speak of that. Maybe it's the best thing since "aglets". (Those little plastic things on the ends of shoelaces. ) I don't know as we didn't have that stuff when I started at the the same time we invented rocks. We added some dead stuff like a clam or shrimp (some of us added a small, cheap fish. Ok stop squinting up your eyes, we all did that. and many times those silly damsels lived for 10 years and those things can cause us to get out of the hobby) If you add some dead thing to a tank that has rocks in it but no bacteria, in no time the water will get cloudy and stink a little. You may think your two year old poured your "Half and Half" or "Liquid Plumber" in the tank but she "probably" didn't. If the water gets like that, thats good. But stinky. Go out to dinner and invite yourself to a friends house for a few days. When you come back and the tank is clear, add some more dead stuff. Then find a different friend to visit because that one won't be speaking to you especially if your dog ruined their carpet. Anyway, now, after it clears you are ready to add a small fish. Not a Moorish Idol, Lipstick Tang or 3' Moray Eel, maybe a bleeny. You can also add a few crabs. You will have to feed these things and I would feed more than those small critters need because that fish doesn't hardly need food, but the bacteria which is the biggest consumer of things are growing and hungry. They get hungrier every day and we need them to grow and cover everything in the tank. Those bacteria join gangs and there are many "gangs" of bacteria. Some are good for us and help us by converting, for free, waste products such as ammonia that fish excrete and convert to things we like such as "Sprite and Dr Pepper". But some of those bacteria are lazy and don't do anything we like. Some of them form Cyano which is not really bad but if you are older than about 65 and you saw the movie "The Blob" thats what it looks like and we don't like that. Some other bacteria form other things like Hydrogen Sulfide, which is also natural and everywhere in the sea, but it will kill everything in our tanks even a Great White Shark which most of us don't want in our tank anyway. :oops: Some bacteria cause disease but those bacteria, if you do this correctly will also not harm anything because our goal is to get our fish in such a state of health that they laugh at disease bacteria like mine do. Mine are laughing now and it is annoying. Eventually, the bacteria we like will become dominant and help our tanks through the maturation process where the chemical reactions take place naturally without causing to much cyano, hair algae or diatoms, but some of that is normal as the bacteria are still discussing which gang to join and which ones are stronger. This all may tank a year no matter what your test kit from Walmart that you got on sale for $15.99 tells you. You may think your tank is "cycled" because your ammonia tests zero and your nitrate is 160. It is not cycled and "cycling" to me is a silly criteria. Cycled by a test kit just means that you have enough of the correct bacteria to convert that small amount of ammonia or dead shrimp but it doesn't mean you can add a $400.00 SPS coral with 17- 5" tangs. We also need to remember that we have viruses, funguses and parasites in there competing and viruses attack bacteria and parasites and bacteria also attack parasites so there is always a war going on and if we could see this, it would be awesome and I am surprised Steven Spielberg never made a movie showing this. :D ☺️ See the Cyano under this beautiful Red Waspfish?

Yesterday My Nam Buddy and me placed flags on the graves of Patriots in Calverton National Cemetery.

I love algae.

Thanks Tom. After that picture the tank grew algae like a produce stand, which I am kind of happy about. That algae grew due to all the organics and dead sponge I eradicated in my cleaning. The algae will remove everything and now although it is long, it is turning white and dying. I suck it out with my diatom filter almost every day. When it is all gone, I will inspect for any pieces of sponge I may have missed and if I find any, remove it. You can see some of the algae under these guys but it got much longer.

This month my tank made it (barely) to 52 years old. A couple of weeks ago I removed everything from my tank except the gravel for a good cleaning of this invasive sponge that was covering everything. I also changed 100% of the NSW and used ASW just because my source of NSW is loaded with silicates and fueling the sponge. Eventually, if the sponge is 100% gone I will change back to NSW which I will first remove the silicates. It was a huge job. My tank after the thorough cleaning is coming along nicely. The rocks that were to covered in sponge I had to bleach and now they are covered in short hair algae which is normal. Many of them still have pieces of dead sponge on them that are really covered in algae as I assume it is a good fertilizer. There is a growth of algae growing on the back glass which I want and I didn't scrape it to clean when I removed the rock. The corals are starting to open up fully and the fish seem happy and many of them are spawning. I even think my hectors gobies are spawning. I have 4 of them and may get a couple more today. They are like eight bucks and very colorful so whats not to like. They are very small so don't hardly have any carbon footprint and you don't even have to feed them because they are pickers on algae and mulm. Since I gave away my big Koran angelfish I have more room to add quite a few small, interesting creatures which I prefer. Even this guy has found a home near the front of the tank so I can enjoy him I have 3 filefish so I am not sure if I can put in crabs and shrimp. I did add 4 small hermit crabs but haven't seen them so they may have been on their menu. I would like to try more coral not that I don't have all those sponge toxins so if I see something nice today, I will pick it up as I am going to a lfs. This was last week after I put all the stuff back. Much of the rock I had to wire brush and keep outside in the cold and dark for a week to eliminate the sponge.

No, it wasn't compromised. I think it was the yelling of the Native American words that saved me.