~~April NVR Meeting~~

[Paul B]

Hi guys, today we went to Santa Cruz to see the natural bridges and I wanted to walk around some tide pools there as I never walked in the water in California. I was amazed by the lack of life.
Absolutely nothing alive in the large tide pool and also in the kelp all over the beach. The water did seem clean though.
I don't know if it is the temperature but it is really baron.
I would like to know if the entire coast of California is similar. Last year we were in Southern California and I noticed the same thing. It is wierd that West coast beaches are so full of life.
I need to do some research.
Paul

 

[Paul B]

http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Live Food, Blackworms.htm
Here is some blackworm information. I don't know anything about this site, it is the first one I came upon but just search for blackworms

 

[Jacob D]

Paul,

Certain areas don't have much to offer in the tidepools. Recently there was a negative tide at another area which drew quite a crowd. This was closer to Monterey. There was a ton of life (various sea stars, crabs, nems, shrimp, fish, etc etc), however nothing that would live very long in our tanks due to the cold water temperature on the West Coast.

I believe Steve Weast (Oregon Reef) used to collect some livestock off the coast for his cold water tank, but that was a whole 'nother animal in itself. Your water comes up from the Gulf Stream, I don't think we get "warm" water up much further north of San Diego.

 

[tfp]

jacob, nice catchin' up with ya at the meeting. it was a total last minute reward for my saturday morning workout .

paul, awesome presentation and dedication to the hobby. i could listen to your life stories for hours on end. you and your wife dale, definitely have somethin special going!

 

[Jacob D]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14902789#post14902789 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tfp
jacob, nice catchin' up with ya at the meeting. it was a total last minute reward for my saturday morning workout .

Same here Tim, glad you could make it. I recently started working out again (P90X) I'm going to treat myself to something when I can hang with their yoga session from start to finish

 

[sermech]

Paul if you get to go to the tide pool areas around Monterey you will find more life there Santa Cruz area i think drops too deep along the coast for much other the kelp forest and the live the keep.

 

[Jacob D]

I was browsing the pages of the 1977 issue of The Marine Aquarist magazine that Paul gave me at the meeting. It's like stepping back in time

The front cover shows a pretty meager looking tank with a couple of soft corals, macro algae, cleaner shrimp, and a damsel... the inside reads: "Cover: Fantastic!!! That's really the only word that can be used to describe an aquarium like this..." I wonder what they would have thought about some of the tanks today :lol:

A few other notes of interest...
- Xenia seen as something relatively new and mysterious, a coral that needs "intense light"
- The term "flower corals" used to refer to many (now) common soft corals
- Reference to most corals starting off white, then gaining color in "shades of tan and grey"
- One ad that displays the word "SEX" in huge bold letters in an attempt to attract the readers' attention (it's also the only ad on the page)

- could not find "www" anywhere in the mag :lol:

 

[sermech]

Yeah it fun to read some of the older books i have a copy of Exotic Aquarium Fishes it is from 1966 it is mostly freshwater but does have some pages on saltwater and talks about changing Damels over to freshwater it is interesting but it took them 6 months of slowly lower the salt content tell it was freshwater and they were able to keep them alive over 2yrs this way.

 

[Fern68]

Great meeting I think the name badge was a nice touch, it was nice putting a name to a face. Paul was very informative and he gave me some things to research. The vitamin "A" was a very interesting subject. My wife and I looked into this and did not find much on reef benefits, but will continue to research. I found more on the benefits of vitamin "C" though.

 

[Paul B]

My wife and I looked into this and did not find much on reef benefits, but will continue to research. I found more on the benefits of vitamin "C" though.

Hello guys, we are still in California, we went to the Monterey aquarium, I diden't see any of the aquarium as I took the backstage tour. They don't use any filtration except some sand filters to make the water clearer for the tanks. They use all NSW even in the coral reef tanks, they just warm it a little.
They will be E Mailing me with some questions I had which the marine biologist could not ansewer.
We took the 17 mile drive from Monterey to Carmel and found some good seafood restaurants along the coast. I did get to wander around some more tide pools on that route but still did not find any animals. (except sea lions which would not be good in a refugium
)

As to the vitamin A, you will not find anything written about the benefits to a reef. It only benefits fish, not corals.
I never read anything about it either, it is my theory from experience.
Today we are in San Jose with friends and will be going back to Sacramento tonight to another hotel near the airport.
Again, thanks for inviting me, I had a great time.
Paul

 

[Auntbeez]

Glad you got to see some of this side of the country. I guess after seeing our tide pools, you can understand the blank looks on our faces when you kept asking "Isn't the ocean near by?" and the envy we had when you talked about collecting things from the sound.
Best wishes for your trek home and again thanks so much for coming to speak with us.

 

[Paul B]

We are back in NY now and miss northern California. I can see why four of our friends moved there.
I hope some of you people found some California Black worms. I know it sounds like I own a worm company but unfortunately, I don't.
On the way home of course I thought of all the things I should have talked about but I could go on for hours and put everyone, especially my wife to sleep.
I am curious, did anyone get to use one of those rubber bulb feeders? I myself can't live without one but then again, I have those worms.
My tank seems better that I was not around, my automatic feeders for pellets and live baby brine worked out well.
The glass is of course needs a cleaning but the corals seem to have grown. I don't know why but maybe I will hide for a few days and see if they grow more

A few things I forgot to mention in my talk was the reason old tanks had slate bottoms was to be able to put candles under them for heat. There was no central heating then.
And it was Jager who invented submersible aquarium heaters.

The 17 mile highway

 

[lanxang]

Paul,

How did you make those feeders? I didn't win one of yours but bought one a long time ago for 20+ something from amazon. Can't live without them. Makes target feeding very easy. Also great at blowing things off corals.

I can probably listen to you for hours. You made it very entertaining.

I'm the guy that wrote the check.

Thank again for coming to talk to us.

Lak

 

[Paul B]

Lak, The feeders are easy, you just need to order a case of those rubber bulbs online. They sell them here completed for $18.00.
I sold a bunch of them on RC and other forums for what they cost me to build which was about $10.00 including shpping.
The tube is just acrylic which I bent.

 

[Jacob D]

Paul,

Glad you made it back safely. Since you like Northern CA so much maybe you and Dale should move out here and, of course, join NVR Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel... all very beautiful. My wife and I often celebrate our anniversary in Pacific Grove; we stay at The Inn at 17 Mile Drive (http://www.innat17.com/). Unlike Stockton, there is plenty of fresh seafood over there.


I agree with the other guys; I could have easily listened for another hour and not been bored. You did a great job of keeping it entertaining and at the same time informative. I would honestly rank your presentation as one of the best, if not the best, I have ever seen... and I have seen quite a few including most of the "big names"!


p.s. I did find a site with the black worms, they even offer free samples, so I plan to organize a group buy when I have some fish to feed (if someone else doesn't beat me to it).

 

[Paul B]

Jacob, thanks for the offer. We did love northern California, even better than southern California but you guys should really warm up that ocean :lol: .
We really need to lay in the water like your sea lions all summer behind our boat

But your coastline is definately better looking.
We did spend a lot of time on 17 mile highway. Our friend there had her wedding in a winery up in the mountains there. She knows the owners so we had a great time. We also loved that
Tickled Pink or Tickle me Pink INN.
Another friend has a home on the side of one of those cliffs. She is an artist and sculptress.
We seem to have friends all over California with a few in San Clementi.
None of them have fish though.

If Any of you guys ever get to Long Island I can take you around Manhattan by boat or collecting or just laying in the warm sea with a Pina Colada
No sea lions though. We get seals but only in the winter,
Have a great day.
Paul

 

[Auntbeez]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14933881#post14933881 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Paul B

If Any of you guys ever get to Long Island I can take you around
Manhattan by boat or collecting or just laying in the warm sea
with a Pina Colada
Paul

How cool would that be? Wish I could, but you know... work, etc, etc.

 

[sermech]

Paul yes i have been using my new bulb feeders and i got to say they or great makes feeding and blowing sand off corals alot easier. Thanks again for a great time. Mike (aka mud man)

 

[chiefmarvin]

Paul, The next time you come this way I bet we can arrange for some couch surfing up the coast> my mom loves the ocean and lives just north of Santa Barbara and has a extra bedroom. She is a great hostess and loves to cook. She works as a docent forn the Dune Center in Guadalupe where the Ten commandments wer filmed iwth Charlton Heston. You could then move north up to Morrow bay. There is a lot to see.... Otters beaches birds tide pools. with life. The tide pools at Montans de Oro are full of life. There is a bird sancturary for Herrons pelicans at Morrow bay. Then after that the great drive to Montery...........up Calfornia HIway 1...

 

[Paul B]

Sounds great to me. Can she make Linguini and clams?