My tank from the seventees

[Paul B]

This picture was taken about 1973. The tank is still running but the glass was changed to it's current 100 gallons when I moved from there about 28 years ago. All the coral in that tank was dead and bleached as all salt water tanks were. There are no rocks, just dead coral. when the corals turned green we would take them out to bleach with Clorox. I can see blue devils, a clown and a hippo tang. I can't make out the rest and I don't hardly remember either. I do remember those blue devils spawning all the time.
Of course I look exactly the same right down to all that hair. :lol:
Paul
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/13094Old_tank_and_me.jpg

[dtaylor123]

That is cool, I remember in the 70's looking at salt water tanks in fish stores(I was a kid) and thinking how crystal clear the water looked. I thought they were the coolest fish ever, I also thought wow, this is so exspensive, lol. Forty years later, ya know what? It is still way cool and way exspensive!

Peace all,
Taylor

[Ltlduc]

That is a great picture. You are very brave. Reef tanks sure have come a long way. I am only a couple of years into this hobby. I hope I can stick with it as long as you have. Congratz!!!!!!!!!

[REEF-DADDY]

Thats just awesome I was not a sparkle in my fathers eye and you were keeping salt water tanks.

P.S. I am 31

[rickh]

Nice hair. I was even scarier :eek:
I remember buying dead coral at Pier One and using dolomite gravel from the hardware. I actually added some fertilizer concoction to try to promote algae grow for my Yellow Tang . R

[Paul B]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/13094Historic_4.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/13094Historic_3.jpg

The first one with the male blue devil over his nest I think was also from the seventees, the second pictures I think are from the eightees but I can't be sure. I guess thats why people put dates on the backs of pictures. Don't forget they are scanned so they don't look too good.
I looked through my old pictures and although at times the tank was full of coral I did have some of the Mother of all algae blooms.
Paul

[Paul B]

Nice hair. I was even scarier

Yeah I know, I was just out of Viet Nam for about two years then and since I had such short hair in the service I figured I would let it grow a little. It was still much shorter than most guys had it then.

[rickh]

Do you remember what the "PCOD" refers to :)
We are old. R

[boxfishpooalot]

Paul,

What did you use to measure salinity back then? Probably a floating hydrometer.

Cool picture :D

[Paul B]

Actually, no. I don't remember what PCOD is, but I could be senile

[Paul B]

What did you use to measure salinity back then? Probably a floating hydrometer.

I tasted it. :lol: Or I used a floating hydrometer as that was the only thing available. :mixed:

[boxfishpooalot]

Paul, you look like one of those guys in a really old aquarium book. :lol: But cool nevertheless.

[Paul B]

Boxfish, How do you know I wasen't a guy in an old aquarium book?

Look at the lower picture. You guys worry about a little algae. I taught the copperband butterfly how to use a weedwacker during that algae bloom. It disappeared on it's own as I knew it would with no rabbitfish, snails, urchins, grenades etc. :lol:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/13094Old_tank_pictures.jpg

[REEF-DADDY]

Funny, I would be breaking down the tank, and you just shrug it off. Wisdom I guess is the word

[Paul B]

Funny, I would be breaking down the tank, and you just shrug it off. Wisdom I guess is the word

No, probably just laziness and getting old. :lol:
But the end result is the same. :dance:

[nomadnumber29]

Great
to see someone sticking with the hobby for so long.

[VWD]

Very cool, I also remember them days, I started salt in 72 , I remember the undergravel filters.Deal corals We have come along way since them, Even our hair cuts. LOL

[shutiny]

Wow Paul, your tank is a great inspiration for me! I hope I'll be around for that long.:)
Cheers

[Nano Chris]

What kind of lighting was used back then for that tank? Or was there any lol...?

[dc]

LOL, you were definately stylin. I was a Jr in high school.

[mg426]

I remember the eighties and the undergravel filters. I had a 55 with NO flourescant (shop lites) Dolimite was the in substrate.
Actually kept a few fish and a couple anemones alive for a year or so.

[garvondavis14]

lol in the late 70s my dad was in h.s. and he and his brother had huuuuuuge afro's. by huge i mean like 3-4 times as big as their heads lol and that's by two white guys....no perms. i'm jealous that i can't grow one :)

[thejuggernaut]

Haha...my hair looked like that the other day until my mother told me that all she wanted for her and my father's 25th anniversary was for me to get my hair cut. And no...that isnt all i got her....im not the worst son in the world

[Paul B]

What kind of lighting was used back then for that tank? Or was there any lol...?

Lighting was regular 40 watt flourescent light. one lamp. As for undergravel filters and dolomite, my tank still uses those only the UG filter is reverse.
Haircuts were terrible
Paul

[Flatlander]

:bum:

Great pics Paul.

[plandy]

Yep, I remember them good ol' days. Back in the '70ies, the flower child/Viet-Nam era, quiet a few marine hobbyist were still using metal framed tanks. And Moorish Idols were around $500 or more. Under gravel filters were the state of the art and skimmers were all powered by air. Keeping corals was next to impossible. Times have changed...

Like yourself Paul, I used to spend quiet amount of time along the Jamaica Bay collecting sea water and stuff. Now I am in Albany too far away from the seashores.

[raskal311]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8286673#post8286673 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by garvondavis14
lol in the late 70s my dad was in h.s. and he and his brother had huuuuuuge afro's. by huge i mean like 3-4 times as big as their heads lol and that's by two white guys....no perms. i'm jealous that i can't grow one :)

My little brother had a nice size Afro just a few years ago. Imagine a 15-year-old Asian kid with a huge afro!!!! Well on day when he wasn’t looking I took a clipper to his head and took a nice chunk off the back. He cried like a baby for a while then shaved his head balled. Kids……. These days

[stereomandan]

This has to be one of the coolest treads ever. Thanks for sharing Paul!

What kind of livestock selection was at the LFS back then?

Dan

[six.line]

Brilliant picture. Really adds perspective... hopefully one day we won't need a million adjunct gadgets, filters, injectors, sterilizers, skimmers and so forth to keep a stable tank. Hopefully it'll all just be one little tiny black box that magically lets us keep the most beautiful of reefs. :)

Thanks for the picture, that's just capital.

[Paul B]

What kind of livestock selection was at the LFS back then?

Damsels, damsels and damsels. They also had arrow crabs

[reefermike1]

not a bad idea with the ug filter in reverse...

[Paul B]

not a bad idea with the ug filter in reverse...

I have only been testing it for 30 years so I can't comment on it's effectiveness yet. :lol:

[stereomandan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8290488#post8290488 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Paul B
I have only been testing it for 30 years so I can't comment on it's effectiveness yet. :lol:

That got a good laugh out of me. :lol:

Dan

[sunfishh]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8283725#post8283725 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Paul B

Look at the lower picture. You guys worry about a little algae. I taught the copperband butterfly how to use a weedwacker during that algae bloom. It disappeared on it's own as I knew it would with no rabbitfish, snails, urchins, grenades etc. :lol:


I guess I can take those grenades back to the LFS :D

Seriously Paul you are the man