HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: harold@wam.umd.edu (James B. Harold)
Subject: Re: Metal Halid and florescents
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 20:48:26 GMT

In article <1992Jul28.184113.20703@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov> mstephens.520@postman.gsfc.nasa.gov (mark stephens) writes:

<...problems with plants not being red enough...>
>
>Is anybody running a FW plant tank with just MHs and having a similar 
>experience?  Reef tankers use actinics, but can you run a reef tank on 
>MH alone?
>
My 60g cube (lit by one 175W "5500K" metal halide) has rotala
in it.  It's fairly red, but the bits that get to the surface
are much redder then the rest.  When I had some Didiplis diandra
I was disappointed in its lack of red.  And I do fertilize 
with Fe, in case anybody thinks that's the problem.  I'd guess
that we could indeed use more light at some magic frequency.
But then, I've become so enamoured of this open topped tank
that I'd probably do without the redder plants before I'd
go back to a hood with flourescents (I'd have to give up
my ripple shadows too...far too high a price to pay :-)  )...

James Harold
harold@wam.umd.edu

Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
From: mstephens.520@postman.gsfc.nasa.gov (mark stephens)
Subject: Re: Need net wisdom asap - must decide (by 7/17) to return or keep wet/dry
Organization: nasa/gsfc
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 92 14:06:41 GMT

Take hammer hit nail.  I know that my filter which recently meet with a fatal
bio-death accedent did not seem to effect the tank.  I did notice that the 
water sprite roots were quite brown... possibly due to a friendly bacterial
infestation.  No ammonia but the 30gallon had only 8 "fish inches" in it.

So why are we all spending $100 (US) or more on wet/drys and canisters?

Facts!  We need more facts.  Lets all write Consumers Reports! 

           mark


In article <2530173@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM>, booth@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (George Booth) writes:
> 
> In alt.aquaria, enenkel@cs.toronto.edu (Robert Frederick Enenkel) writes:
> 
>     booth@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (George Booth) writes:
> 
>     >break down ammonia, no matter how it is filtered. I would venture a 
>     >guess that just the surface area of the tank itself is sufficient.
> 
>     Ooooh.  You can't possibly mean that.  Robert Enenkel
> 
> Well, why not?  I'm sure filter manufacturers would not like to hear 
> something like that.  Does anybody have an under-filtered tank that could
> give us some guidelines?  An under-filtered tank in this context is a 
> tank that has been set up for over two months (or long enough for bacteria
> to develop) and that cannot keep up with the biological production 
> of ammonia.  
> 
> -------
> George
> 
> 
Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4266 rec.aquaria:5926
From: mstephens.520@postman.gsfc.nasa.gov (mark stephens)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Need net wisdom asap - must decide (by 7/17) to return or keep wet/dry
Date: 21 Jul 92 13:01:37 GMT
Organization: nasa/gsfc

Don't know about the surface scum, but something is keeping my near
bio-filterless tank alive.  Eventhough I want to, I'm not touching
the water sprite which has now taken over the top as it probably holds
a substantial amount of the good bacteria.  After a week or two... toast!

        mark

In article <92Jul20.150543edt.261@smoke.cs.toronto.edu>, enenkel@cs.toronto.edu (Robert Frederick Enenkel) writes:
> 
> booth@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (George Booth) writes:
> 
> >I suspect that
> >there is not a tank in the world that doesn't have enough bacteria to
> >break down ammonia, no matter how it is filtered. I would venture a 
> >guess that just the surface area of the tank itself is sufficient.
> 
> Ooooh.  You can't possibly mean that.  Robert Enenkel
> 
> 
From: booth@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (George Booth)
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 14:46:26 GMT
Subject: [F] Sorry about "my" article in AFM
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Loveland, CO
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria

I just received my September AFM and turned with anticipation to part
2 of my article.  Holy Hack Job, Batman, I've Been Edited!  I don't
know why, but all the text relating to the theory and set up of the
filtration, CO2 injection, substrate, hardness, pH and fertilization
was deleted and the maintenance information was substituted in its
place.  Our course, the four figures that support the text were
published without captions or anything!  There shouldn't be any
confusion because of that, will there :-)

I wonder if it was dropped due to the letter from some North Carolina
bozo (page 4) complaining about confusion in the last, admittedly bad,
article concerning water chemistry.

Or perhaps there was too much information that the editor thought was
"untrue or likely to mislead readers" (editorial, page 2).  Well, I
guess if the majority of the readers are bozos, that could very well
be true.  It wouldn't be too difficult to get a complex "optimum
aquarium" screwed up by taking shortcuts and interpreting the info to
suit the budget.

Well, at least the net.readers and [hopefully] the members of the AGA
had the chance to read all the words and form their own opinions.

-------
George


Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
From: bhaskar@brtph598.bnr.ca (Shaji Bhaskar)
Subject: Re: The Aquatic Gardner
Organization: Bell Northern Research Inc.
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 22:45:46 GMT

I have cross-posted this to rec.aquaria, since some folks there might be 
interested as well.

In article <711656255.F00002@therose.pdx.com> Jack.Honeycutt@f52.n105.z1.therose.pdx.com (Jack Honeycutt) writes:
>Hello George,
>
>16 Jul 92, George Booth writes to All:
>
> GB> The Aquatic Gardener (TAG) is the newsletter of the Aquatic Gardener's
> GB> Association.  I don't have an address or phone number at work, but maybe
> GB> someone else can provide it.  Neil Frank (Neil.Frank@samba.acs.unc.edu)
> GB> is the editor - maybe he will provide more info.
>
>George, if you get the address could you post it for all of us?  I would like to
>get this newsletter as well.

Here's some info, lifted right out of The Aquatic Gardener:

                   Aquatic Gardeners Association
                   =============================

     Purpose:
        to disseminate information about aquatic plants.
        to study and improve upon techniques for culturing aquatic and
            bog plants in aquariums and ponds.
        to increase interest in aquatic gardening.
        to promote fellowship among its members.

     Membership information:
        $15/yr, U.S./Canada/Mexico
        $28/yr, all other countries

        Send check or money order to
            Dorothy Reimer (Membership)
            83 Cathcart Sy.
            London, Ontario
            Canada N6C 3L9

     Editor:
        Neil Frank
        6205 Lookout Loop
        Raleigh, NC 27612
        USA

The Journal of the Aquatic Gardeners Association (published bi-monthly)
comes with membership.

-Shaji.
-- 
Shaji Bhaskar                                   Email: bhaskar@bnr.ca
BNR, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709           Phone: (919) 991 7125
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
From: bhaskar@brtph598.bnr.ca (Shaji Bhaskar)
Subject: Re: brackish tank info needed
Organization: Bell Northern Research Inc.
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 12:27:47 GMT

raible@cbmvax.commodore.com (Bob Raible - LSI Design) writes:
> I already have purchased a pair of Scatophagus argus
> 
> What about plants? I seem to remember a list that Vinnie (???) printed
> here a ways back, but I neglected to save it. I seem to remember Java
> fern and Java moss, and H. polysperma, but how about top cover, like
> water sprite, riccia, etc. ?

Where I grew up, in the South West coast of India, the lagoons (home
of the orange and green chromides) are usually covered with water
hyacinth.  It is such a pest that it affects water transportation,
most of which is still muscle-powered. People use the water hyacinth
as fertilizer, and the green chromides as food - it does make very
tasty meal.

-Shaji.
-- 
Shaji Bhaskar                                   Email: bhaskar@bnr.ca
BNR, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709           Phone: (919) 991 7125
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
From: bn691@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Deron Monroe)
Subject: Re: Attn Midwest Freshwater Fans
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, (USA)
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 92 15:32:27 GMT


A little more info on the aquarium in Tennessee.

Its real name is the Tennessee Aquarium.
Hours are M-TH 10am to 6pm, Fri-Sun 10am-8pm
Last admission ticket sold 1hr before closing.

The building is home to:
4000 living things such as birds reptiles amphibians and mammals, and of course
fish

More than 350 species are represented

More than 50 species of live trees, bushes, and plants

The exhibit tanks contain more than 400,000 gallons of water.

Nickajack Lake (a specific tank) contains 139,000 gallons, the largest 
freshwater tank in the U.S. (I previously stated it at a mere 137,000)

In case you need it:

main switchboard (615) 265-0695
group reservations (615) 265-0698
marketing dept (615) 265-3467
education dept (615) 265-9353

And for you Marine fans out there, there is an exhibit called the Gulf Coast
that has, "Stingrays, tarpon, angelfish,lookdowns, and other saltwater fish."

All of this information came from the brochure produced by the Aquarium.

If I've forgotten anything and you have a question, let me know, and I'll see
if I can answer it for you.

Deron Monroe

Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4274 rec.aquaria:5938
From: steve@celia.UUCP (Steve Tyree)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: [M] Threespot Damsel Spawning?
Date: 21 Jul 92 19:17:10 GMT
Reply-To: celia!steve@usc.edu (Steve Tyree)
Distribution: na
Organization: Rhythm & Hues, Inc., Hollywood

In article <1992Jul21.114323.16008@cbnewsc.cb.att.com> dp@cbnewsc.cb.att.com (daniel.a.parker) writes:
>
->I figured she was just going through the motions.  But then she switched
->to defending an OLD (dead) sea fan that is in a fairly strong current.
->The other damsel still did not participate in any mating except for
->being chased around the sea fan but not away from it.  Then last night
->I noticed a field of very small white dots on part of one side of the
->sea fan... COULD THESE BE EGGS?!  The field is about four square inches
->of several hundred dots that can't be bigger than about 0.5mm.  She
->stayed with them all night as if she were fanning them.  

 My knowledge of damsel fish spawning is limited. The size of the dots is
close to egg size. This would mean that the species was a demersal egg
layer. (ie- attaches eggs to structure). I would have guessed that this
species would be a pelagic egg layer (ie- free floating eggs). Tonight
I will check my references and see what type of spawner this species is.
You should see 2 little silver eyes as the eggs develope. The larvae size
for some damsels is pretty small. Clownfish are a member of the damsel
fish family and have larger eggs and fry. They are also demersal layers.
Hope this info is correct.

 Steve Tyree - Reef Breeder.
Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4354 rec.aquaria:6075
From: frazier@maxwell (Greg Frazier)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Visitherm heater defective???
Date: 27 Jul 92 15:58:32 GMT
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4

Ron.Feigen@panther.mot.com (Ron Feigen) writes:
:   
: I just bought a Visitherm heater (100w) for the 30g in my office.

We own 3 or 4 visitherms...

: that I have to set the Visitherm to 72 if I want 78 water.  When I first put
: the heater in the tank it was set to 78 when it kept heating at 80 I became
: "suspicious".  

I believe our visitherm packages warned that the temp indications
on the heater are likely to be a few degrees off.  In general, as
others have posted, I ignore them.

: Another thing I noticed when setting the temp.  When my tank was at about 78,
: if the Visitherm was turned way down and was off, to get it to turn on I would
: have to turn (I did turn it slowly) the temp up to about 78.  But to get it to
: turn off I needed to turn it down to about 72.  Off course when it went on
: at 78
: it didn't stop, I turned it down when the tank hit 80.  The heater position in
: a strong current stream so the problem should be local temp .vs. tank temp.

That's pretty typical - as Oleg mentioned, they have sticky switches,
and our visitherms behave the same way.  We have found them to be
reliable, though.  Mind you, here in S. CA, even the unheated tanks
stay relatively constant in temp...

--


Greg Frazier	frazier@CS.UCLA.EDU	!{ucbvax,rutgers}!ucla-cs!frazier
Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4396 rec.aquaria:6128
From: ahughes@arch386.hyperdesk.com (Arch Hughes)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
Subject: Vacation Advice Thanks
Date: 31 Jul 92 16:54:43 GMT
Reply-To: arch@hyperdesk.com
Organization: HyperDesk Corporation

I posted this a couple of weeks ago and didn't see it.  We where
having news problems at the time, so it could well have been eaten
locally.

Anyway, thanks to all of you that contributed oppinions about what to
do with my fish during my extended vacation.  I'm happy to report that
I lost NO fish.  I had quite a growth of red algea, though.

I should have sent a similar posting to alt.dogs before our vacation,
though.  During the vacation our Pekingese died.  My wife and kids
were pretty bummed.

-- 
o o|  Arch Hughes, HyperDesk Corp.        Phone   508-366-5050 x103
o o|  Suite 300, 2000 West Park Dr.       Fax     508-898-3841
---+  Westboro, MA   01581                E-Mail  arch@hyperdesk.com
Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4360 rec.aquaria:6083
From: pjs@gvgdsd.GVG.TEK.COM (Peter J. Stonard)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
Subject: [lighting] Triton bulb lifespan?
Date: 28 Jul 92 21:34:36 GMT
Followup-To: alt.aquaria
Organization: Grass Valley Group, Grass Valley, CA
Originator: pjs@gvgdsd

Net Folks,

I have been using the 24 inch 20W Triton bulbs in two tanks for
almost one year, which is about 3000 hours, with the timer I use.

Recently one of them has developed a flicker which looks like it
only lights on half cycles of the ac power. The control gear is
standard equipped Perfecto hoods, which I modified a long
time ago to include starters for use with a timer. Basically
pre-heat non-electronic ballast. 

If I short out the starter switch both ends of the tube glow, 
so the filaments are not open. The glass (more correctly the 
Phosphour) is not discoloured at the ends, like a 'shoplight' tube 
might be before death.

I wonder if this is the end of the bulb's useful life? It 
flickers in either fixture. They still look bright although I 
expect the light output has steadily dropped over time.

Any other Triton fans out there?
 
++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++
Peter J. Stonard        +                                /^\  /^\
Grass Valley Group      +                       /^\     /   \/
Grass Valley, CA. 95945 +                     /     \ /    /  
pjs@gvgspd.gvg.tek.com  +     Fish keeper in the Sierra Foothills
++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++=++
If it looks like; sounds like; quacks like; an Opinion. It's mine.
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
From: dp@cbnewsc.cb.att.com (daniel.a.parker)
Subject: [M] Threespot Damsel Spawning?
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 11:43:23 GMT

One of my two Threespot Damsels started behaving strangely a few weeks
ago.  This damsel bobbed in an exaggerated fashion both near a particular
rock and while chasing the other threespot.  At first I thought "she"
was ill but she continued eating and established her territory.  When
she picked clean most of the green hair algae from one side of the rock,
it looked like she was preparing a site for egg laying--spawning.
However, I didn't see an ovipositor or genital papilla develop on either
fish as I would expect based on experience with freshwater egg layers.

I figured she was just going through the motions.  But then she switched
to defending an OLD (dead) sea fan that is in a fairly strong current.
The other damsel still did not participate in any mating except for
being chased around the sea fan but not away from it.  Then last night
I noticed a field of very small white dots on part of one side of the
sea fan... COULD THESE BE EGGS?!  The field is about four square inches
of several hundred dots that can't be bigger than about 0.5mm.  She
stayed with them all night as if she were fanning them.  

Does this sound like reproductive behaviour of damsels--or A damsel?
They are in a 120 gal tank with a medium queen angel, cleaner wrasse
and two small blue damsels.  The water conditions are good but not great.
The threespots are about two inches long--about two years old.
-- 
Dan Parker, parker@ihlpl.att.com              >=-----0 0-----=<
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville, IL          \__(_< >_)__/
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria
From: Ron.Feigen@panther.mot.com (Ron Feigen)
Subject: Visitherm heater defective???
Organization: Motorola New Enterprises
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 92 08:31:16 MST

  
I just bought a Visitherm heater (100w) for the 30g in my office. The temp drops
to around 75-76 at night and the lights (during the day) heat the water to
around 78.  I bought the heater to keep my water at a constant 78.  The problem
is that I have to set the Visitherm to 72 if I want 78 water.  When I first put
the heater in the tank it was set to 78 when it kept heating at 80 I became
"suspicious".  

Another thing I noticed when setting the temp.  When my tank was at about 78,
if the Visitherm was turned way down and was off, to get it to turn on I would
have to turn (I did turn it slowly) the temp up to about 78.  But to get it to
turn off I needed to turn it down to about 72.  Off course when it went on at 78
it didn't stop, I turned it down when the tank hit 80.  The heater position in
a strong current stream so the problem should be local temp .vs. tank temp.

OK, I know they say the temp scale is accurate, and I hoped it was, even though
I wasn't sure how close they would get.  But 6 is off by a lot.  Mostly the
6 delta between off and on temps concerns me.  

Does anybody else own a Visitherm?  Does yours work the same?  Does mine sound
seriously defective.  I mail ordered mine so I can probably exchange it but it
will be a hassle.

Thanks for any info,

>
Ron Feigen
ronf@panther.mot.com
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
From: tal@ubu.philips.com (Tal Barnea)
Subject: Re: Wonderlites -- where?
Keywords: wonderlites
Organization: Philips Laboratories
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 15:09:45 GMT

Although I don't have their literature in front of me, I believe you
can buy it from them (and maybe only from them?).

BTW, does anyone have any experience or opinions regarding the suitability
of these lights for a marine/reef tank (as a cheap alternative for MH)?


       Tal Barnea                         tal@philabs.philips.com
       Philips Laboratories                       - or -       
       (914) 945-6275                 {uunet|ihnp4|decvax}!philabs!tal
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
From: fssmith@venus.lerc.nasa.gov (Greg Smith)
Subject: Re: wet/dry filter material
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
Date: 23 Jul 1992 11:07 EDT  

In article <2530172@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM>, booth@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (George Booth) writes...
>In alt.aquaria, fssmith@venus.lerc.nasa.gov (Greg Smith) writes:
> 
>    Have you seen the stuff George?  It doesn't have hardly any surface area.
>    If it is useless and the tank can get by without it then why keep it?  I
>    had a friend who had the junk in a wet dry on a 75 gallon salt water tank.
>    He ended up replacing it.
> 
>Yes, I've seen the [black] stuff.  How do you know how much surface area it 
>has or doesn't have?  

The stuff is composed of strings of plastic stuff the surface area is given as
2*pi*radius times the length of the string.  Besides you can look at the stuff
and see that the surface area is minimal.  I am sure you have seen rolls of DLS,
but have you seen the rolls of just the black plastic stuff?

People use chopped up straws, PVC shavings, yuppie
>media, etc.  Who knows how much surface area that stuff has?  Who knows
>how much surface area is needed (the *real* question here)?  *I* don't know 
>that it is useless, thus I recommend that he keeps it.  

Do you know that it is useful?  

> 
>Why did your friend end up replacing it in his 75 gallon tank?  

His coral was dying. Algae was growing everywhere.

>Did ammonia
>and nitrite levels sky-rocket, indicating not enough surface area for 
>bacteria to colonize?  

When he changed it, NO, they went down, (however see the following)

>Once he changed to whatever he changed to, did
>everything get better?  

Yes, but he also added a protein skimmer

> 
>If you have some quantitative information, please let us know so we can
>add it to the net.wisdom.database.
> 
>------
>George

I suppose I asked for it with my "here's the way it is answers".  


I do not recommend the use of a wet/dry in a reef tank.  I advocate using
large protein skimmers.  My response was aimed at one point.  The point being
that the black plastic role has negligible surface area when compared to other
items on the market (DLS, bio blocks, etc.)  Yes DLS clogs and eventually
it should be cleaned, yes most plastic media don't clog, etc. etc. etc..

I took my media out of my sump a while ago and everything is doing great.

Greg
Xref: sparky alt.aquaria:4355 rec.aquaria:6076 sci.aquaria:1146
From: mstephens.520@postman.gsfc.nasa.gov (mark stephens)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria,sci.aquaria
Subject: Metal Halid and florescents
Date: 28 Jul 92 18:41:13 GMT
Organization: nasa/gsfc

On a 75 gallon plant tank (FW) I have two 150W MH bulbs... and thats it.
On a 20H tank at work I have two Triton 20W bulbs.  On this tank the
plants seem to maintain any red pigments they may have, eg, the red
rottalia is much more colorful in the smaller tank; the hygro has a nice 
pink tone.  The MH lit tank the hygro is green.  (Same species, actually
the 20H was a cutting from the tank at home.)

Is anybody running a FW plant tank with just MHs and having a similar 
experience?  Reef tankers use actinics, but can you run a reef tank on 
MH alone?

           mark
From: booth@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (George Booth)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 18:16:28 GMT
Subject: Re: Need net wisdom asap - must decide (by 7/17) to return or keep wet/dry
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Loveland, CO
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria

In alt.aquaria, enenkel@cs.toronto.edu (Robert Frederick Enenkel) writes:

    booth@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (George Booth) writes:

    >break down ammonia, no matter how it is filtered. I would venture a 
    >guess that just the surface area of the tank itself is sufficient.

    Ooooh.  You can't possibly mean that.  Robert Enenkel

Well, why not?  I'm sure filter manufacturers would not like to hear 
something like that.  Does anybody have an under-filtered tank that could
give us some guidelines?  An under-filtered tank in this context is a 
tank that has been set up for over two months (or long enough for bacteria
to develop) and that cannot keep up with the biological production 
of ammonia.  

-------
George
From: antae991@emory.edu (Howard D. Seidel)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
Subject: FAQ question
Date: 29 Jul 92 19:20:58 GMT
Organization: Emory University, Atlanta, GA
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL3

Can someone direct me toward the FAQ that exists for this group.
I'm sure that it will answer some of the basic questions that I
have.  The following is one of them

I'm moving into a new apartment soon and would like to set up
a small salt water system (i.e. a few small fish and/or
invertebrates).  What is the smallest size tank that could be used?

David (antae991@unix.cc.emory.edu)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria