HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: oleg@Veritas.COM (Oleg Kiselev)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
Subject: Re: HELP-Algae! Its everywhere, its everywhere!
Date: 13 Aug 92 06:21:57 GMT
Reply-To: oleg@veritas.com (Oleg Kiselev)
Organization: Palo Alto Killifish Loft
X-Disclaimer: I speak for myself only unless explicitly indicated otherwise

arnie@col.hp.com (Arnie Berger) writes:
>Is there a solution? 

Yes, there are solutions.  Here are a few:
1) Cut down the amount of light that gets into the tank.

2) Lower the nutrient content of the water -- feed a lot less food to the
fish, do more water changes.

3) Get some fast-growing plants, like Elodea or Hornwort, to compete with
the algae for nutrients.

4) Get floating plants that will compete with the algae for food and cut down
the amount of light that gets into the tank.  Salvinia, Azola and Duckweed
are all good candidates.  If you have a power with an intake close to the 
surface, these plants may clogg the intake, but if you have a UGF, sponge
or "bubble-up" type corner box filtration you should be fairly safe.

5) Don't feed your "algae eaters" and they will start eating algae.  If you
give them other foods, they will ignore the mundane staple.

6) Get some high-metabolism algae eating fish.  Butterfly Goodeid 
(Ameca splendens), a Central American live-bearer with appetite for algae,
eat algae even when offered other food.  They seem to like cotton and 
filamentous algae, which is something no other fish seem to like.
-- 
"... i heard the droning / in the shrine
	     of the sea-monkey / palace of the brine ..." -- Pixies.
Oleg Kiselev                                             oleg@veritas.com
VERITAS Software                           ...!{apple|uunet}!veritas!oleg
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria,sci.aquaria
From: bob@hubcap.clemson.edu (Bob)
Subject: Shark questions
Keywords: shark
Organization: Clemson University
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 13:56:42 GMT

     I posted a message to alt rec and sci.aquaria the other day asking
questions about raising sharks.  I have not gotten any replies except
for people telling me that they are too hard to raise and that I should
not try it or from people who tell me that they have posted a similar
message and to forget about getting any help from the people in these
groups.
     What is the deal is this some secret society or do you think you
all are too good to help someone who is just starting out with their
first salt water tank?  All I am looking for here is some help not
anyones permission to do it.
     Maybe I am wrong, is it that no one here knows anything about
sharks.

Bob Staaf
bob@hubcap.clemson.edu
From: janet.rawlins@matrix.sbs.com (Janet Rawlins) 
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
Subject: EARTHWORMS
Date: 12 Aug 92 23:27:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: The MATRIX BBS - Birmingham, AL - 205-323-2016
Reply-To: janet.rawlins@matrix.sbs.com (Janet Rawlins) 

-> I have a few cichlids who love them. Every now and then I put some in
-> the fridge, in a container filled with grass. After a couple of days
-> thier system is all cleared out and the dirt cleaned off. A quick
-> rinse and it's feeding time. It is amazing how they fight

Gee, I hadn't thought about cleaning out their digestive tracts before
feeding them to my oscars.  I just dig them up, rinse off a little of
the dirt, chop them in half and toss them into the tank.  Then I sit
back and watch the feeding frenzy.  :-)
   Is there a good reason I don't know about, for purging the soil out
of their systems?  I'm sure wild fish out in the pond don't get
"purified" worms, so why should it matter for aquarium fish?

Janet
                                       
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
From: fvr@broom.bae.bellcore.com (Frank Ricciardi)
Subject: Re: Anemone Question #99
Organization: Bell Communications Research
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 92 16:55:23 GMT

	Actually, the skimmer appears to be quite effective. At least once a 
week I empty a large bucket of gunk down the drain. 

	My local pet shop guy advised me to replace my hood w/a double bulb 
model & a glass top to increase the lighting. Also reccomended a new product 
which is a resin base that claims to actively reduce nitrates. 

	I'll post followups to inform progress


	Thanks to all who responded, you've been very helpful.


Frank 



In article <1992Aug11.223812.12916@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>, pprior@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Paul A Prior) writes:
|> In article <1992Aug11.132530.5679@walter.bellcore.com> fvr@broom.bae.bellcore.com (Frank Ricciardi) writes:
|> >
|> >
|> >Tank:
|> > 
|> >45 Gallon High
|> >Triton bulb in hood 12hrs. light/day
|> >
|> >Filtration:                            Readings:
|> >
|> >Sea Reef sr-50 wet dry                          Ammonia: 0 ppm 
|> >	contents:                               Nitrite: 0 ppm
|> >		bio balls                       Nitrate: 60 - 80 pm
|> >		chemi stars                     Ph     : 8.3 - 8.6
|> >		poly filter pad                 Specific Gravity:  aound 1.019
|> >		chemi pure carbon
|> >
|> 
|> Specific gravity is pretty low.  Nitrate is high as well.  Does your pH
|> really range that far?
|> 	
|> >Fluval 203 canister                          Inhabs:
|> >	contents:                               1 Maroon clown
|> >		Prefilter "noodles"             1 Zebra (3 stripe) damsel
|> >		Fluval sponge	                1 Yellow Tang
|> >		chemi pure carbon               1 Scopes Tang
|> >                                                1 Kole Tang
|> >Sea Reef Protein Skimmer                        1 Eilbi Angel
|> >                                                1 Heniocus 
|> >
|> 
|> How is your skimmer running?
|> 
|> -- 
|> --------pprior@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu----(614) 621-8240----------------
|> Paul A. Prior    Ban anchors, not reef tanks   "With friends like this,   
|> 3rd year medical student		          who needs anemones?"
|> The Ohio State U. College of Medicine   Tobacco Kills- Please don't smoke!

-- 
________________________________________________________________________________
"If you got to it and didn't do it, may you never get to it, and do it again"


Frank V. Ricciardi

fvr@bae.bellcore.com
From: garyp@tekig5.pen.tek.com (Gary R Pimm)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
Subject: Re: Spouse Survey
Date: 14 Aug 92 02:21:16 GMT
Reply-To: garyp@tekig5.pen.tek.com
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.

In article <15950002@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com> smyers@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (steven myers) writes:
>/ hpdmd48:alt.aquaria / timv@apollo.HP.COM () /  9:38 am  Aug  7, 1992 /
>I'd like to compile a survey of how spouses/SOs deal with us fish people.
>Put your spouse/SO into one of these catagories. I will post the results.
>Should be interesting!

	1. Absolutely hates it
	2. Tolerates it
	3. Mildly interested
	4. Another fish person.

When we got involved in this insanity my wife was a "3". Now many years later
I have my mid tech plant tanks and she is a cichlidiot. (prefers central
americans).

gary and rose pimm
Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4560 rec.aquaria:6401
From: colliton@las031.enet.dec.com (COLLITON)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
Subject: Fancy Guppy Show
Date: 12 Aug 92 14:50:12 GMT
Reply-To: colliton@las031.enet.dec.com (COLLITON)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation



          New England Fancy Guppy Association
                     presents
          Guppy Show and All Species Auction

                 August 22/23 1992
                       at
                  Sheraton Tara
                 Braintree, Mass

                Route 93 at Exit 6

         Auction starts at Noon time Sunday

               Information Contact
           Jim Russell    (508) 586-7524
           Marlyn Johnson (508) 338-3658
           Ed Chiasson    (508) 297-4187
Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4626 rec.aquaria:6542
From: frazier@maxwell (Greg Frazier)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Water Quality and City Water
Date: 17 Aug 92 16:48:44 GMT
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4

montjoy@thor.ece.uc.edu (Robert Montjoy) writes:
: I have just a couple of questions:
: 
: 1) What to do with a Hard alkaline City Water?
 
There are a lot of very nice fish that like hard alkaline water.
Check out rainbowfish, as well as a lot of neat livebearers
(no, I'm not talking about guppies).  If you are willing to dump
some salt in, you can do brackish water fish as well.  Finally,
there are a lot of cichlids that like hard water.

:    I am trying to setup a community tank. Soft water slightly acidic
:    to neutral.

Well, forget the tapwater...
 
: 2) Should I use a mixture of distilled water and City water? The distilled
:    water I have tested has a PH around 6 - 6.2. 

The pH of distilled water is irrelevent - it has no buffering,
so it will swing any-which-way.  Add a cup of your tapwater to
a gallon of distilled, the resulting pH will be that of the
tapwater.  *HOWEVER*, you can easily drop the pH with peat or
whatever, since it will be much softer than straight tapwater.
 
: 3) I would like to replace the decorative gravel with something more
:    appropriate. Any suggestions?

Lots of suggestions, depending on what you want to do...  if you
really want gravel, get some "natural" gravel.  A fish store here
in LA sells sandblasting sand (coarse - more like fine gravel).
Or you can leave the bottom bare.  Or, you can use river rocks,
or a combination of river rock and pieces of driftwood.  I've been
considering using broken up driftwood and/or river rocks as a
tank floor - it should be relatively easy to keep clean, and I
think it would look good.

: 4) Finally, I have a sick Danio(has been for 3-Weeks). It is constantly
:    laying on the bottom. It scratches itself(head mostly). Also, it
:    swims with its body arched. Also, it appears that it is not eating. 
:    We have treated the tank with Coppersafe and Maracyn II, but it did 
:    not work.

First, you spent maybe more than $10 on medication for a less than
$1 fish.  Second, the longer you keep that fish in the tank, the
higher the probability that your other fish will catch whatever
it has.  Finally, you tried to treat a fish w/out having any idea
what disease the fish might have.  Perhaps I am too quick to kill
sick fish, but unless you have the resources to isolate the fish
and accurately determine what is wrong with it, it seems the best
solution to me.  I also have real problems with giving fish
anti-biotics - creating anti-biotic-resistant bacteria strains in
an effort to care for our fish strikes me as a cruel sort of
kindness - but that does not seem to be a generally held opinion.

--


Greg Frazier	frazier@CS.UCLA.EDU	!{ucbvax,rutgers}!ucla-cs!frazier
From: smyers@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (steven myers)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
Subject: do-it-yourself filters
Date: 13 Aug 92 04:54:56 GMT
Organization: Hewlett Packard - Boise, ID


	Hey all you fishy enthusiasts out there.  This is my first attempt at
writing a note on the net, so bear with me.  
	I want to know if anyone has information, or knows where I can find
some, on building one's own filtration system with sand and charcoal.  I have
been told that one can do it, but no one ever has any specific knowledge as to
how to build one.  I would be interested to hear about any other home-baked
ideas for the do-it-yourselfer.  I plan to set up a large tank pretty soon and
would like any ideas that you might have.  
	Also, I have been told that a person can substitute some types of sand/
gravel for the very expensive crushed coral or dolamite(sp?) used in a salt-
water setup. Again, being somewhat of a novice, I wanted to check these facts
out before charging into the breach.

				Thanks in advance,
				Steve Myers
				H.P. Boise
				smyers@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com
Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4603 sci.aquaria:1216 rec.aquaria:6494
From: sh240031@wvnvms.wvnet.edu
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,sci.aquaria,rec.aquaria
Subject: Live rock and current
Date: 14 Aug 92 18:58:21 GMT
Organization: West Virginia Network for Educational Telecomputing

I'm going to be adding 100lbs of live rock to my tank this weekend and
need some advice.

I want to create a current flow behind and under the rock.  My return
pump from my sump is a large powerhead yet still only has about a
~200 gph flow rate at the present head.  So I'm thinking about using
on of the 400 gph power heads I have in the tank now for added current and
reversing its flow into some pvc tubing.  This would extend from near the
top of the tank to the bottom, teeing off in both directions and continuing
the length of the tank.

This leads me to the following questions:

	1) Is this a required set for keeping the reef healthy?
	2) If it is, what size tube should I use?
	3) How many, at what distances, and what diameter holes should
	   be drilled to ensure even current flow?
	4) Do I need to vary the diameter of the holes in relation to
	   their position form the tee?

Any help on this matter is welcomed.

			Thanks,
				Carl	
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
From: efang@pomona.claremont.edu
Subject: Re: Why not glass? (Was Re: Light Hoods)
Organization: Pomona College
Date: 13 Aug 92 00:03:06 PDT

In article <1992Aug13.044309.15989@mr.med.ge.com>, bednarek@picard.med.ge.com (Dennis Bednarek Mfg 4-6971) writes:
> >  
> I do not know how true it is but I had been told that glass has certain 
> light filtering properties especially in the ultra violet end of the light
> spectrum.  All my tanks have live plants and a minimum of daylight, therfore
> I did not want to loose any more ultra violet light than was absolutly 
> necessary.  
> 
> I am not an optics expert but maybe there are some out there that could
> confirm or deny the "old wives tale" that prompted me to plexiglass.  I 
> know construction would be much simpler with glass and would appreciate
> some comments on this from experts

It iis certainly true that glass does filter out most of the UV light that
passes through it: that is why you can't really tan behind glass. I think plexi
passes more but I also think that it will also flter out significant amounts of
light that you want. Moe in his systems and invertebrates book reccommends that
you do not place anything between the lights and the water, instead relying on
waterproof end caps. I am not a lighting expert; on the contrary I have been
trying to learn about it recently, but I am sure that glass does filter out
much UV.

Eric

> : Albrecht
> : 
> : >water.
> : >Good Luck
> : >Dennis
> : >
> : >--
> : >
> : >  
> : >###############################################################################
> : >### What were the Raven's last imortal words????????????????????????????????###
> : >###############################################################################
> : >   Please note that any comments are not my employeers or even mine at times.
> : >
> : 
> : 
> : ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> :                         Peltier was a cool dude!!
> 
> --
> 
>   
> ###############################################################################
> ### What were the Raven's last imortal words????????????????????????????????###
> ###############################################################################
>    Please note that any comments are not my employeers or even mine at times.
> 
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
From: efang@pomona.claremont.edu
Subject: pumps in homemade wet-dry filters?
Organization: Pomona College
Date: 15 Aug 92 15:30:28 PDT


I've a question for those who have built a wet dry without using a standard
water pump; just powerheads or something like that...

What kind of pump did you use?
How well does it work? How much impaired is it in its function?
What would you reccommend?

Thanks, Eric Fang

Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
From: howardr@col.hp.com (Howard Rebel)
Subject: Re: Earthworms
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 14:01:42 GMT
Organization: HP Colorado Springs Division

In article <1992Aug13.050655.16596@Veritas.COM> oleg@veritas.com (Oleg Kiselev) writes:
>russell@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (David Russell) writes:
>>What are your opinions on the subject.
>
>Grow your own.  That way you will be certain that there are no pesticides
>or other toxins in them.
>-- 
>"... i heard the droning / in the shrine
>	     of the sea-monkey / palace of the brine ..." -- Pixies.
>Oleg Kiselev                                             oleg@veritas.com
>VERITAS Software                           ...!{apple|uunet}!veritas!oleg

Sounds great, lets here from a few fish keepers that are growing their
own and how to set up for it.
-- 
Howard Rebel hpcsos.col.hp.com 

Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
From: mattk@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (matthew.kaufman)
Subject: Re: Earthworms (more details please)
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1992 13:29:07 GMT

In article <1992Aug13.170255.27482@col.hp.com> howardr@col.hp.com (Howard Rebel) writes:
>
>Is it really that easy Phill?
Indoors, now. Outdoors, maybe.
>
>Does the shape of the container matter, will a 30 gallon plastic 
>garbage can work for example.
I'm using those cheapo styrofoam coolers, havnig had a gnat invasion
I wish I'd used a fish styro instead.
>How many adult worms are needed to get it started?
Dozen or two.
>How many adults per cubic foot of container?
Duh. Lots, hopfeully :-)
>How many baby worms does an adult have at a time and how often do they
>reproduce?  Is it seasonal?
I think it's temperature based - warmer is better, but no too warm.
Low-mid 70's works. They're asexual and lay an 'egg' that contains 1 wormlet.
>How long does it take the young to become 1 inch long.
Dunno.
>What temperature is cool?
60's.
>How large a container do I need to supply 200 feeder worms a week?
That's a lot of worms. I typically use about 10 a week from my styor
container, that seems to be 'right.' I think a big, deep container (laundry
tub?) that you can put a lid on would work.

Moisture is important,too. Steve Bartling, who used to show up here,
built boxes with drains in them and kep the soil fairly damp, that does seem
to work for me (borderline soupy).
>Does the culture need to be divided or renewed in some way?
If the soil fouls, yes. I typically bury the food so I have to watch for this.

You're feeding goldfish, so I can see needing a lot of worms. Consider growing
them outside in wood boxes in peat/topsoil. That'll probably produce
more in the warm weather. Still, 1 worm/week is probably enough food
for your average small fish.
>etc.
>
>
>
>-- 
>Howard Rebel hpcsos.col.hp.com 


-- 
"I am the chosen one."  | Copyright 1992 mattk@usl.com. Permission for
                        | reproduction in printed media or by pay-for-read
"And I Choose to be     | services explicitly disallowed. Permission granted to
shopping!"              | USENET and like free facilities.
Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4591 rec.aquaria:6470
From: frazier@maxwell (Greg Frazier)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Earthworms
Date: 13 Aug 92 16:53:57 GMT
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4

russell@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (David Russell) writes:
: 
:   Just soliciting a discussion on feeding earth worms to your fish.
: 
: What are your opinions on the subject.

Earthworms and African red worms (significantly smaller than
nightcrawlers, and red, otherwise the same thing) are *excellent*
food for getting your fish to spawn.  We have gotten a fair
number of eggs out of some of our killies feeding them.  Note
that they are fatty, and should not be the staple food in your
fish's diet.

--


Greg Frazier	frazier@CS.UCLA.EDU	!{ucbvax,rutgers}!ucla-cs!frazier
Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4621 rec.aquaria:6528
From: luden@lehigh.edu (Dean E. Nelson)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Earthworms
Date: 17 Aug 92 14:15:00 GMT
Organization: Lehigh University Computing Center

In article <1992Aug13.150616.5192@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca>
 akarpowicz@mta.ca (Adam Karpowicz) writes:

>     Usually you can start a hatchery by mixing a rich soil or compost in a
>container, keeping it moist by misting it when needed. If left in a cool and
>dark environment they will probably breed and a colony will thus be started.
>However you must make sure that you do not feed the larger adult worms to your
>fish or breeding will not take place. You can also feed fish grubs or maggots.


I also read recently that manure worms should not be fed to fish.  Could 
anyone explain to me why that is true?  I have been raising worms for 
several years now under my rabbits.  Recently, I decided to set up beds 
apart from the rabbitry, because the worms like it moist and the humidity 
isn't good for the rabbits.  But, the main source of food for the worms is 
still rabbit manure.  

I have the worm beds on the ground beneath a shelter with wooden sides built 
about a foot tall.  There are four beds 4 x 8 feet and I cover them with 
burlap to retain the moisture and keep the robins from feasting on the 
worms.  I water them down every night and shovel in new manure once a month 
or so.  I also lightly sprinkle the pits with lime a couple of times a year, 
because the water we have is slighly acidic.  

During the winter, I dig a trench down the middle of the pit and dump in all 
the pears and apples from our fruit trees that have fallen on the ground.  
This gives the worms something to eat, and also creates some heat.  I also 
put a thick layer of straw over the entire bed.  Even after 0 degree lows 
during the winter, the worms have wintered over just fine.

The thing I have found most crucial is the moisture content of the bed.  My 
worms like it very moist, but perhaps other species differ.  I originally 
purchased 3 pounds of redworms (red wigglers, manure worms, etc) for about 
$8 a pound.  I doubt the cost has gone up much since then.

Dean Nelson  den0@lehigh.edu
Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4663 sci.aquaria:1249 rec.aquaria:6662
From: mstephens.520@postman.gsfc.nasa.gov (mark stephens)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,sci.aquaria,rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: DI water---Potable?
Date: 21 Aug 92 15:19:35 GMT
Organization: nasa/gsfc

Oh my God!  I drink this stuff all the time.  It makes GREAT orange
juice but very poor drinking water (tasteless).

          mark


In article <1992Aug21.082936.3480@wvnvms.wvnet.edu>, sh240031@wvnvms.wvnet.edu writes:
> 
> Do anyone know if DI water is potable?
> 
> If it's good for my reef tank it can't be bad for, I thought.  Yesterday 
> a biology Prof. said he wouldn't drink the stuff.  What does the net think?
> 
> 
Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4596 rec.aquaria:6482
From: pprior@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Paul A Prior)
Subject: Re: [M] Crushed Coral Stores Nitrates?
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 13:40:54 GMT

In article <406@bertha.HyperDesk.com> arch@hyperdesk.com writes:
>In an e-mail conversation with Dave Carr [carr@acsu.buffalo.edu] he
>mentioned that his past readings told him that crushed coral acts as a
>buffer or bank for nitrates.  If, say, nitrates are running 20 ppm and
>through better management the nitrates are reduced, Dave's theory
>would mean that the crushed coral would begin releasing the nitrates
>and keep the level high for some period after the original source was
>gone.
>
>Does anyone have any information on the correctness of the "crushed
>coral banks nitrates" theory?

Sure, it's very simple.  Crushed coral, or any other substrate will
"bank" detritus which will continue to release phosphates and nitrates
into the water.  I don't think anyone has suggested that an innate
property of crushed coral perse absorbs and releases nitrate ions, 
but rather that organic accumulation will cause water pollution just
as if you left a hunk of rotting fish in your tank.

Cheers,
Paul

-- 
--------pprior@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu----(614) 621-8240----------------
Paul A. Prior    Ban anchors, not reef tanks   "With friends like this,   
3rd year medical student		          who needs anemones?"
The Ohio State U. College of Medicine   Tobacco Kills- Please don't smoke!