VWD's blog

VWD · 04-24-2006, 05:01 PM

Welcome to my Blog!!!

VWD · 04-24-2006, 10:18 PM

Well the sad thing is I wont have pictures from years back, Never really took alot and what I did, I have no idea where to find them, I will try to get pictures that I do have and post and a history of what I have done in the past and types of set up from the early days. But I do remember the early days and all the carzy thing I did and my tanks.

VWD · 04-27-2006, 09:36 PM

I will give a small history here, From the time I was a small kid I had fish and many other pets. goldfish in bowls to small bowls that looked like tanks next to my bed, I love fish. Then I got a old metal frame tank, about 10 gallons with the old corner filter. Really cool and the rave for it's time, You young guys won't remember them, It had charcoal and filter floss. That floss would get nasty in no time and that small. It worked. My little tropicals did great.
But the real fun was when I got out of the service in April of 72 and was working and had to take a cab everywhere. no car for awhile. I found this small pet store in Albuquerque, They are still there, Clark's. I got my first salt water tank, I think 20 gallon, undergravel filter crushed coral and that was it, a new and better world. I worked on that tank and many others along the way. I did run the undergravel filters until the mid 80's.
The mid 80's everything changed, wet dry and reefs. A whole new world opened up and I was on my way. It was harder, lighting with cheap shop lights from the lighting store, actinic and daylight bulbs , NO's at first then the VHO's. skimmers , plenum s followed. I went years without WC's on my plenums systems with alot of macro algae. everything was doing ok, that is I could keep thing alive but the growth was not there. I never gave up. I did have to give up tanks once in awhile for a time to move and stuff but that was it. Then we moved to Wichita Kansas, I sold my tank before the move and didn't get another one for a year, Found TRT, Great Find. and again everything changed from the old school stuff I was doing to where I am now. with the help of so many here. Too many to list, I don't want to leave no one out so I won't say names. You all know who You are. I will end here and start with the present in my next post.

VWD · 05-16-2006, 08:58 AM

I just want to add some pictures of my 90m reef I have going at this Time. This is an acylic tank drilled for CLS and moving about 3000 gph, I was having the worst time trying to keep the temp down on this as I think it was the CLS and the fact that it acylic that the temp stayed in the 80's . from 81 to 85 degrees. I had to put a chiller on it to keep the temp at 78 to 80 degrees.

VWD · 05-16-2006, 09:01 AM

Here are a few of the Corals I have in the tank.

VWD · 05-16-2006, 09:02 AM

And a few moreClams and recordias

VWD · 05-16-2006, 09:04 AM

Yes I have bubble algae growing and it was getting out of control. I was one that said I never had a problem of it trying to take over. Well it was trying to, I put in some emerald crabs and they have been working on it and it is in check.

VWD · 05-16-2006, 09:08 AM

I only have a few fish in the tank, a Yellow eye tang that works really hard. Never stops, a blue damsel that made it in somehowand a tomato clown. I am trying to convert this to a sps only tank. But have to find a home for the other coral first.

VWD · 05-16-2006, 10:06 PM

The next tank I want to show ids My seahorse tank, It was made into an old antique dresser, from about the 40's. made by an amish family here in Kansas, I did everything I could to keep the feel but allow room for a 37 gallon tank to fit in and still have some of the drawers and doors still work. The tank is a BB with live rock, Macro and a powerhead, I use a skimer not to skim but to use an airline to give more water movement. It hads 130 watts of PC's to light it up. I will post the picture here soon.

VWD · 06-06-2006, 09:54 PM

I am a little behind here on the seahorse Tank picture and set up, I had a major set back on the 90 reef when a pump on the skimmer went bad and almost kill off the tank, been spending the last week doing alot of large water changes. The pump had some kind of internal melt down and polluted the tank with some unknown stuff. At first I was thinking my bare Bottom backfired on me and I just had a crash. this all happened during the time at work. I came home and the tank was milky and all the corals , clams I mean all where closed and slimed over. My ORP always reads at 450 to 475 drop to 300. I had 20 gallons of water mixed and did a change. It was then I notice one of the skimmers was noy working. I pulled it out and could smell somewhat of an odor coming from the pump. It was the pump. Since then I have change out at least 120 gallons of water and the tank is coming back, I will lose the acros and maybe a clam. I was lucky. I was also lucky to have found it was a pump and not something that happened to the tank because of being BB. I still think Bb's make the best reef tanks.

I will keeps updates on the 90 and also work on getting the seahorse tank info and picture posted.

VWD · 06-21-2006, 10:58 AM

Well I did find a few pictures of a little older tank,46 gallon Bowfront. This is one that had a plenum , Smaller tank with MH's lighting, just had a 250 watt pendant in the large hood I made to cover it, You can see some surgassum grass and macroalgae in the pictures. It was a very bright tank . Just wanted to add these.

VWD · 06-21-2006, 10:59 AM

Oh Yea, Look at that great background . LOL

VWD · 09-23-2006, 03:43 PM

Well, I have been busy with so many things, But I did want to start here again with some pictures of My Seahorses. This is the male .

VWD · 09-23-2006, 03:45 PM

Here is a both of the females

VWD · 09-23-2006, 03:47 PM

You can see all the Macro algae, The shimmer tube is not working and is for bubbles and water movement only, I also have a pump to move water in the tank. Rock and macro are the only filter I have , very natural system