Hello, Geezer coming back to this forum. Paul B

[Timfish]

It's really too bad using diatom filters fell out of favor. I've had tanks that just seemed "off" and running a diatom filter with just diatom powder or diatom powder and powdered GAC really perked things up. After reading what's happening with microbiomes and shedding of aging biofilms and mucus layers it seems reasonable things can get skewed to unfavorable species floating around. Running a diatom filter seems a particularly good way to reset everything as it's not selective like skimmers and lets corals promote what they want.

 

[Harpo]

Paul-- thank you very much for posting the diy diatom filter. I've been reefing for a very long time but never had one. Wish I had long ago.

 

[Paul B]

Harpo, I don't understand how anyone could be in this hobby without one. I have been using them since the 60s on my fresh water tanks and I wouldn't be in this hobby if I didn't have at least one of them.

I stir up my gravel and blow out the pores in the rocks because a diatom filter is very strong. Much stronger than a canister filter and needed for a long term tank. It's probably why there are so few very old tanks.

 

[Harpo]

Most likely never had one because all the ones I saw looked like your second picture. My tank is almost 30 years old but hasn't been looking too good lately. Hopefully this will help.

 

[Paul B]

OOOOOohhhhhNNNooooo. CRASH.................

........No..not my reef, that would be silly and I run a reverse undergravel filter so it's state of the art.

My worm culture.
I have 2 white worm cultures and they are many years old. I have them in a cooler that you plug in like a picnic cooler. You can even plug it into a car.

I dropped the plug the other day and didn't realize it wasn't fully plugged into the thing and OMG, a heat wave and dead, really, really stinky worms.

One good and weird thing is that out of the 2 containers I have in the cooler, only one crashed and turned into smelly, worm mush. The other one is fine, kind of.

I will just put in more soil in the crashed one. I already cleaned it and the cooler with bleach, and I will add worms from the good culture.

 

[Paul B]

Good Morning. We spent a couple of days at our Daughters on The Hudson River in Nyack. These are from her living room this morning. These pictures are untouched and how they came out of my phone.

 

[griss]

Good Morning. We spent a couple of days at our Daughters on The Hudson River in Nyack. These are from her living room this morning. These pictures are untouched and how they came out of my phone.

View attachment 32406452
View attachment 32406453

Beautiful Paul

 

[Paul B]

Today is our 51st anniversary.
This was yesterday.

And this was 51 years ago. I haven't changed a bit

 

[Paul B]

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

I don't know Paul but to me she looks like a feisty one when young.
Congrats!
To Both of you..

 

[Paul B]

Last night, I took my Bride to one of our favorite seafood restaurants on the east end of Long Island.

It's not on the water, but over the water as the surf goes right under the place.

 

[Paul B]

I took a picture

 

[Timfish]

Obviously everything is on it's death bed because you don't dose a bunch of stuff or run half a dozen reactors or . . .

 

[BeanAnimal]

but but there is algae... must dose weed killer to make it better

 

[Paul B]

Oh No! I have been dosing "Miracle Grow" tomato food.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Is that why that clown is so old?????

 

[Paul B]

Is that why that clown is so old?????

I don't know. Maybe thats why I am so old!

 

[Paul B]

Obviously everything is on it's death bed because you don't dose a bunch of stuff or run half a dozen reactors or . . .

I agree and just ordered super double dose Prizapro, tree stump remover, copper/zinc/ formalin/ arsenic, metrozole, TC caps, irritable bowel medication, penicillin and "Kick Ich. Then I will do the tank transfer method, fresh water dip, diatom filter and leave the fish out on my front porch for 74 days so everything dies out. Including the fish.