Paul B
Well-Known Member
I think my bank account would have to be much higher than that to attract a Supermodel. Maybe an old Supermodel, like 80ish.
As for my un orthodox methods. My methods are not un orthodox, everyone' elses are. Remember my tank was started the same week the hobby started in 71 and my methods were the only methods at the time, so they are the normal methods. Then someone invented the internet and everyone with fingers has an opinion. My un orthodox methods came about from many years of trial and error, not surfing the net for the best "opinion" that I felt was the best. I have kept a few specimens of every animal as they became available to the hobbiest so if I have an opinion about say a copperband butterfly, it is because i kept, and killed 20 or 30 of them, not just one. If I have an opinion about hair algae it is not because I have no hair on my head, as there was hair up there for many years, :rollingey but my tank has had enough outbreaks of hair algae to cover a nice sized 18 hole golf course. I know how to eliminate it and I know when to ignore it. People fail to realize (no one here of course) that algae is a natural part of all healthy reefs, I know because i have spent 300 hours underwater looking for hair algae among other things. If it were not for algae, why would the predominant creatures on a reef be herbifores? The predominant fish are tangs, urchins cover every surface especially at night, why are those animals there and what are they eating? Animals in the sea keep it in check but not in a tank. The sea has plenty of deep dark places where nutrients are abundant but they lack light. Creatures like urchins or sea hares in a tank will have little impact on algae unless you could train them to poop outside the tank. I know 457 people will be thinking, the Old Dude is wrong because I know I put in that emerald crab, urchin, sea hare, armadillo, or tweedle bug and the hair algae disappeared. It would have disappeared anyway but I am tired of saying that so if you have an armadillo, put it in your tank and feed it hair algae.
My reef has nitrates about 30 and I don't really know what the phosphates are because I don't really care. The corals are growing and the fish are spawning, why would I screw that up?
I did screw it up a few months ago when I did an experiment and built a bio pellet reactor just for kicks. I think they look cool. My nitrates dropped drastically and all of my large, old corals croaked and my SPS have bleached spots. I don't feel bad because my tank is not like your tank. I am not in this to have TOTM or have the most colorful corals around. After 40+ years I am past that and now just want to learn and have fun. I know how to grow corals and raise fish. Now I want to know why they are growing and spawning.
I am told all the time my corals are not colorful and people are right, they are not colorful. There are two reasons for that. First of all, I just don't have any colorful corals, second, colors in corals have absolutely nothing to do with health. In the sea corals are drab because most of them live deeper than red light will penetrate. If you have ever did any SCUBA diving you will see that corals in the sea are drab. Many people want them colorful because they want their tank to be a show piece and that is fine. But a brown coral could be just as healthy as a bright red coral because all corals are brownish white, the colors we sea are the algae in the coral. Healthy algae could be any color. If the coral is growing, it is healthy. Is there any reason a coral would want to be colorful? Do they have the most colorful coral in the sea contest? Do the corals even know they are colorful as they have no eyes that I can tell? The only reason I have any SPS in my tank is because so many people told me that SPS would never grow in such a dirty tank with high nitrates. So against my better judgement, I bought some SPS and they flourished all over the place. I don't particularly like SPS corals as I find LPS more interesting with their long flowing tentacles. SPS corals just sit there like Paris Hiltons dog in a coma.
If someone has a problem the first thing someone asks is what are your parameters then they will say to change water, add Rowaphas, GAC, Phosban, Drano, or some other chemical. In my career I have never once had to adjust pH. I wonder why? I also never had to reduce PO4. Why is that? My corals are growing. Don't make me go out and buy colorful corals just to prove I can keep them in my tank.
I get the same thing with ich. My tank is a time bomb and ich will crash it eventually. Well, maybe it will, but it has had one heck of a run.
I don't like to get into ich, hair algae or ground probe threads as I am to old to argue. How many times do we hear that we know all about the life cycle of ich? If we did, there would be no ich, but half the threads are about ich and half of those people quarantined, why is that?
Why are so many threads about hair algae? And why does everyone say to change water, change water, change water? Does that ever work? No, it does not, if it was that easy, there would be no hair algae. If corals need zero nitrates and phosphates, why are there any corals in my tank? Then people will say i am un orthodox. This stuff is common sence and we make it much harder than it is. We have been using these methods like changing water and adding chemicals for decades, but why are there so many problems? Maybe a simpler, more natural way would work better.
My tank runs a RUGF (reverse UG filter) OK, stop laughing. Virtually everyone will tell yopu they are old school and can't work in a reef (just look them up) Nitrate factory, un real maintenance, etc. None of that is true but people who never used them have these opinions that came from rumors and keep perpetuating. How many 40 year old DSBs are there?
I hear about mini cycles. Why would a tank have any kind of a cycle if it is healthy and bacteria are keeping it stable? I don't get mini cycles, not even if the power goes out for 4 or 5 days. Why is that?
I get laughed at for my blackworm theory. Ha Ha, I even hear it now. But virtually every fish in my tank is spawning (Except my copperband, I was going to say that was also spawning but I didn't think I could get away with it
) Even the 20 year old fireclowns and mandarins. Why is that? And none of my fish were quarantined so there is that time bomb thing again.My tank runs on common sence and natural rules, not technology and chemicals. The bacteria keep the tank running not Rowaphas.
I purposely did not offer any advice as it was not asked and this is a hair algae thread as I said i do not like to get involved in as I have argued enough for many years. I am very old school (but I have no hair algae, or hair) I don't quarantine (but I have no ich) I don't feed most commercially available food but instead use worms (but all my fish are spawning) I rarely change water (but my corals are growing) I don't use chemicals (but I have no cyano). So I wish all of you people with those un orthodox methods a very Merry Christmas or whatever it is you believe in and if I offended anyone you will just have to get over it or call me names, delete me from your facebook acount, cut me out of your will, whatever.
I took this in Hawaii about 8 weeks ago. OMG, it's hair algae.
What are all those funny looking things in the holes in that rock? God! They are urchins, I wonder what they are eating? Couldn't be algae because that doesn't grow on a reef. Maybe they are eating Pop Tarts.
I took this in Tahiti. I wonder if those corals know they are all gray and will probably croak and never be ROTM (reef of the month)
Same reef with some light on it. Of course that reef never gets bright light as it is deep unless a diver comes by with a camera with a flash. I wonder if the corals know that?
This was my tank many years ago covered in hair algae. I was probably experimenting with something to make it grow so luxurant. I still have that fireclown so it is before 20 years ago.
I was probably looking for the UG filter here
Not very colorful, but I like it. And I don't know how to use photoshop like many people seem to know how to do
Last edited:
