[hackshobby]

Won't 'hi-jack' you Vinnie, but THAT might be a cool thread.....Our earliest recollections of this hobby.
Hack

 

[Paul b]

My tank is still set up like that and is still running from 1971. Still using the UG filter and DIY skimmer and rocks.

No problems yet but I bet in a few weeks it will crash.

I wish you the best of luck. ( you will have much better long term luck if you run that UG filter in reverse)

 

[VWD]

I was thinking about going reverse flow Paul. Heck at first I was just going to use air to drive it.

 

[Paul b]

VWD you can still run it in reverse with air. Thats the way we all did it then. Not that I remember or anything.

 

[VWD]

Been awhile since I updated this. Just been cycling and haven’t added anything but a kenya tree from the reef because it became tasty to the coral beauty. And would no longer open.
it been in the 36 for about 5 days and looks like it ready to.
last night I came home from the kids and the bottom rim was filled with water and I was thinking it was a leak. I dried what I could and went to bed.
today it looks dry and am thinking it because of the water level on a rimless tank and surface agitation cause some water to drip over the rim. I will have to keep an-eye on it and lower level some.

 

[Doug1]

Ah yes Supreme hang on back box filers, silent giant air pumps driving protein skimmer adaptors on under gravel risers

 

[Wiskey]

Hey! Cool idea! This concept predates me by a little bit, undergravel filters were on their way out by the time I entered the hobby in 1998, but I did have a similar tank! I had a 29G with a cholate chip star, one of those monster Hermit Crabs that kept trying to climb out of the tank, a HOB filter, and some Power Compacts. After some changes I even kept Yellow Pylops in there!

I'm looking forward to following along.

Whiskey

 

[Paul b]

Yeah, wish I had a vortex now.

I still have a few in various stages of disintegration. But one still works and I use it.

 

[VWD]

Paul, They did a great job. Clear the water in no time.

 

[VWD]

Wiskey, this is a slow process for me. Only have a kenya tree in the tank so far. All my time lately been focused on seahorse fry.

 

[Wiskey]

Wiskey, this is a slow process for me. Only have a kenya tree in the tank so far. All my time lately been focused on seahorse fry.

I get it! I've been stuck on the same step of my 25G waterbox build for like 3 months now,.. the worst part is that the tank is technically already running.

Whiskey

 

[Doug1]

Back in the mis 70s when I started setting up marine tanks I used MarineBio Systems UGF( Big undulated plates with best powerheads available at time, as well as Vortex diatom filters, with a generous amount of "live sand" from established tanks. No sumps back then, but I would clean accounts tanks using a siphon hose and return water to display tank because the ( clients ) didnt like all the bugs. OK, My mandarins in a 125 seemed to do well when i poured them in tank

 

[VWD]

I have to be one of the slowest people when it comes to cycling and then adding livestock to a tank. But the tank is doing good and here are a few pictures. Only thing in right now is a kenya tree. Had to pull from reef because the coral beauty had a taste for it. And when they are picked on they tend to drop babies and can overrun a tank.

 

[VWD]

Still looks the same, I just feed the tank with leftover fish food. Kristine told me I need to add color to the tank. Which I do but I’m slow getting it done. Want to add some more soft corals. Need a few crabs and fish.