HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: putzolu@toadflax.cs.ucdavis.edu (David Putzolu)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Skimmer Plans?
Date: 2 Sep 92 19:28:43 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of California, Davis

Hi all! Well, I've been urged (and decided) that a BIG protein
skimmer may be a good thing for my reef tank to be. My wallet isn't
nearly that big, so I want to go the DIY route. I have a few ideas
(and a hydraulics person to bounce them off of) but I'd like more.
Does anyone on the net have some DIY plans they could send me?
I'm planning on a system for a tank in the 70-100USG area, so
I plan on making a skimmer in the 3-4" * 36-48" range and putting
a Hagen 402/802 and a Whisper 600/700 or so on it. Am I being
underpowered? Anyway, if anyone oout there could send me any
plans they have be easily available, I'd be most pleased. Thanks!

| David M. A. Putzolu               | putzolu@cs.ucdavis.edu              |
| Senior Undergraduate              | op disclaimer(opinion : ptr mine)   |
| Computer Science and Psychology   |      Money? Who needs money?        |
| University of California at Davis |          I've got fish!             |
From: cigliano@bu-bio.bu.edu (John Cigliano)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: cuttlefish
Date: 3 Sep 92 19:46:55 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Biology Department, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

In article <1992Sep3.162047.24197@cs.ucla.edu> frazier@kona.cs.ucla.edu (Gregory Frazier) writes:
>Class 110B Student (110b18@physics.ucla.edu) wrote:
>: I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with cuttlefish. I've
>: never seen one in any store, and was curious as to if they are available,
>: and if they're hard to keep, etc.
>: 
>
>There was an article in FAMA earlier this summer on keeping cuttlefish.
>If my sieve-like brain can recollect this, I'll try to find it tonight.
>--
>"They thought to use and shame me but I win out by nature, because a true
>freak cannot be made.  A true freak must be born." - Geek Love
>
>Greg Frazier	frazier@CS.UCLA.EDU	!{ucbvax,rutgers}!ucla-cs!frazier

I don't have direct experience with keeping cuttlefish but I spent some time
at a lab that does so I'll pass on what I learned. Cuttlefish probably are
the easiest of the cephalopods to keep (squids being the most difficuly).
They aren't as mobile as octopuses so they won't escape and they will eat
frozen prey such as fish, shrim and crabs (and probably many other things). 
However, they are champions when it comes to inking. I've seen _Sepia
officinalis_ (the common cuttlefish found in the mediterraneum and eastern
atlantic) project ink out of its tank and hit a wall over 10 m away. 
The amount of ink is enough to turn water in the largest tanks black. You
would need a heavy duty protein skimmer and a very good filtration system
to remove the ink. As to where to get cuttlefish, I don't know. I've never
seen one in a pet store. The research labs that have cuttlefish either
collect them themselves or get them from other labs. Also be aware that 
some cuttlefish are large (_S. officinalis_ weigh over a kilogram and can
get up to a half a meter) and live for only 1 to 2 years.

I would be happy to answer any other questions on cephalopods.

John Cigliano
Xref: sparky rec.aquaria:7013 alt.aquaria:4848
From: cichlid@pine.circa.ufl.edu (KUTTY)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria,alt.aquaria
Subject: Re: Hurricane Andrews Damage
Date: 31 Aug 92 13:51:49 GMT
Reply-To: cichlid@pine.circa.ufl.edu
Followup-To: rec.aquaria
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Florida  (ufl.edu)
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4

In article <1992Aug27.051420.7177@mr.med.ge.com>, bednarek@picard.med.ge.com (Dennis Bednarek Mfg 4-6971) writes...
>I wonder about all the tropical fish farms in Florida.  We might be in for
>a scant winter as far as plants and Florida raised tropicals are concerned
>and that may lead into higher prices on the remainder of live-stock.  Old
>economics of supply and demand.


Relax! Most of the fish farms in Florida are in the Tampa area, not near
Miami. There are dozens of fish farms down here and only one or two
have been damaged. If you see price increases, someone is cashing in
on the disaster!



                                               Vinny Kutty


Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: nclennan@churchst.ccs.itd.umich.edu (Neil F. Clennan)
Subject: Re: [fresh] weird fish symptom
Date: Tue, 01 Sep 92 12:18:38 EDT
Organization: The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

In article <1992Aug29.235039.19392@panix.com> plee@panix.com (John Lee) writes:
> 	I noticed that the fish in my tank has been dying in the same 
> manner.  First, they start to swim at an angle.  Then they either float with 
> the head showing on the water or they would be laying on the gravel.  Next
> thing would happen is they would be floundering.  Struggling very hard to 
> swim straght or swim at all.  A day later, the fish would be dead.  One 
> strange thing is that the body would sizzle when it is lift out of water. 
> It takes about two weeks from its first symptom to the untimely demise.
> 
> 	Another thing I noticed is that the water is always acidic even
> though I change the water twice a week.
> 
> 	Can anybody explain this?
> 
> JPHL

What species of fish, and how acidic is the water? Also, what is the
temperature of the water? At least some of the symptoms you describe
could be due to a swim bladder disorder, which can be caused by too
low a temperature, or wide fluctuations in temperature.

Neil Clennan
nclennan@churchst.ccs.itd.umich.edu
From: oleg@Veritas.COM (Oleg Kiselev)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Gallons (was: Re: [F] Setup for plants and fish)
Date: 28 Aug 92 10:46:37 GMT
Reply-To: oleg@veritas.com (Oleg Kiselev)
Organization: Palo Alto Killifish Loft
X-Disclaimer: I speak for myself only unless explicitly indicated otherwise

srs@oasis.icl.co.uk (Steve Strong) writes:
>Jartsu (jartsu@vipu.hut.fi) wrote:
>: 55 gallons make about 208 litres... external power filter (something
>
>When people talk about gallons on this group, are they using the
>US gallon or the British gallon? 

Doesn't matter.  If it's within 50%, it's precise enough.

>Could someone tell me what the 
>conversion factor is? I guess it's about 2 US to 1 British, but I 
>could be totally wrong :-)

That's the currency exchange rate you have there.  And it changes hourly.
I refuse to call up my broker every time I want to quote a tank size.
-- 
"Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and 
child." -- Dan Quayle
 
Oleg Kiselev                                             oleg@veritas.com
From: storm@atlantis.CS.ORST.EDU (Mutant Wierdness)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Question about Frogs in FW Tank
Date: 31 Aug 92 23:22:32 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Outreach Services - Oregon State University

dhiggs@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (General Protection Fault) writes:


>Yes, it's normal.  Yes, they do come up to breath.  CAUTION: most frogs are 
>escape artists!!!  They can get out, hop across the room, dry out, and die (in 
>that order usually).  Seal the top or your tank if you're going to have these!

 I never had any problem with any of my frog trying or getting out. Although
 , I would not put it past the little buggers.....

-- 
_______________________________________________________________________________
# storm@atlantis.cs.orst.edu                                                  #
# storm@jacobs.cs.orst.edu               Disclaimer: I will deny everything   #
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: mstephens.520@postman.gsfc.nasa.gov (mark stephens)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Algae bloom from trace elements
Date: 26 Aug 92 16:44:14 GMT
Organization: nasa/gsfc

Ditto my experience.  I haven't seen "thread" algae in a while and
could not be happer!  I also have small egg shaped lumps of green stuff,
easy to remove, inhabiting the brighter portions of the gravel, right
near the front of the tank.  For algae, it's not bad looking.


In article <2800196@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM>, booth@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (George Booth) writes:
> 
> We currently have our Fe levels at about 0.1 ppm and most alga has
> disappeared.  I'm not sure if "thread" algae is a startup problem
> or an iron problem, but we haven't seen it in any of our tanks for
> quite a while.  The fuzzy green stuff is still present in the 100
> gallon AOA - don't know why. 
> 
> ------
> George
> 
> 
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria,alt.aquaria,sci.aquaria
From: Igor Livshits <igorl@uiuc.edu>
Subject: Re: Fish + Reef Compatibility
X-Xxdate: Thu, 27 Aug 92 19:19:56 GMT
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d9
Organization: NCSA
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 18:23:26 GMT
X-Xxmessage-Id: <A6C286FC9B0114C6@spiff.ncsa.uiuc.edu>

Hermit crabs are fine (and even necessary, I would argue, in reef tanks).
 The perform the crucial task fo cleaning up the garbage.  My only
problem is thta I have trouble keeping more than one of these guys.  Even
with plenty of empty shells, they fight for the current ones.  I saw one
my crabs evict another, try out the shell, spend five minutes in it, go
back to the original shell and meander away.  The evected crab quikcly
scrambled back.

Unfortunately, I did find the target shell empty a week later...and only
one hermit crab.

Igor
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: brian@picasso.icd.teradyne.com (Brian Hunter)
Subject: Re: wet/dry + reverse ug -- more questions than answers?
Organization: Teradyne, Inc. Boston MA
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1992 22:14:28 GMT

In article <1992Aug21.153740.29712@ncar.ucar.edu> murf@spike.comet.ucar.edu (John Murphy) writes:
>I still have more questions than answers concerning the debate of whether
>or it is a good thing to return the flow of a wet dry filter to a u/g filter
>reverse flow.  I have further questions--- 
>
>1. Can the u/g filter still harbor bacteria when running reverse flow.  If
>it can then does the return flow from the wet dry contain these bacteria?

Everything in the tank harbors bacteria.

>If there is no anerobic bacteria in the return flow of the wet/dry filter then 
>u/g reverse flow seems like a good idea.  If it does contain bacteria is it
>possible for the bacteria to get caught in the u/g filter when the water is 
>flowing up, not down?
The direction of the water would have little ato do with it.

>
>2.  Most people now reccomend nothing on the bottom of a reef tank.  If you
>like the asthetics of something on the bottom is the reverse flow u/g wet/dry
>combo a compromise solution or a bad idea period?
>
Yes, scrape the Wet/Dry you don't need it.
>3. What are the advantages/diadvantages of using sand instead of nothing or     
>instead of this wet/dry reverse flow u/g idea?
>
>questions, questions, questions.....if I get a consensus of what seems to be 
>best I will definitely post what I figure out.
>
I have an arangement simular to what you are thinking.  I have a sump (18 gallons)
under the tank with the return split between  a direct return for water motion
and running a RUGF.  I would not return all the water through the RUGF unless
you have an alternate method of airriating the water in the tank.  As the water 
passes up through the RUGF most if not all of the o2 will be removed by the
bacteria in the substrate.  This is the same reason why having substrate in the
wet portion of a wet dry is not usually recommended.  Of the 400 (measured)
gallons per hour I circulate through the sump I estimate 50-100 gph flow through
the RUGF, That valve is nearly closed.  I also have about 100 lbs of live rock
in the tank, if I didn't I would move more water through the RUGF (I think).

I like the substrate but can't boast the 0 nitrate readings others have.
I currently have ~10 ppm.

Brian Hunter

>John
>
>--
>John Murphy			murf@comet.ucar.edu
>UCAR/COMET			(303) 497-8494
>PO Box 3000
>Boulder CO 80307-3000


Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: andrewt@watson.ibm.com (Andrew Taylor)
Subject: Re: Coral safe for Freshwater tanks?
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 22:04:41 GMT
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In article <1992Aug21.134745.4610@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> pprior@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
(Paul A Prior) writes:
>I agree most vehemently with the anti-touch laws, and I found it very
>sad that a friend of mine recently came back from a scuba trip to
>Australia (Great Barrier Reef) and told me that their guides actually
>-=encouraged=- them to touch all the corals and other critters.  I couldn't believe it.

While I have seen and it claimed many times than corals are damaged by being touched 
I have never seen any evidence given for the claim. The various accounts I've seen disagree
on whether gloved or ungloved hands are worse. Its surprising to me that corals
would be so easily damaged.  N.B. I'm not talking about the mechanical damage that snorkellers
and divers do when they break coral formations.

Does anyone know which corals are damaged by being touched and how they are damaged?
A reference would be great.

Many guided nature programs (both above and below water) encourage touching.  It adds an extra
dimension to the experience. Of course, it should be done so the creatures involved are not harmed.
There are lots of things you can touch on a coral reef without harming them.  Personally,
I believe divers focus too much on handling and feeding animals. More can be experienced,
with less disturbance, by staying more distant and watching relationships and behaviour.

Even if your friends were unknowingly harming the corals and other animals they touched, they
probably did much less damage than was done in the collection of corals, anemones, fish etc.
for your reef tank.

However if they were careless or clumsy divers with poor buoyancy control, they probably did 
signifcant amounts of damage by breaking formations.

These concerns are really more about protecting tourism than conservation. The Great Barrier Reef is
gigantic. Recreational scuba divers may damage popular diving locations (and this is bad) but they
are unlikely to have significant overall effects. Although on a personal level, we each
want to minimise the harm we do.

Andrew Taylor
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: ffujita@s.psych.uiuc.edu (Frank Fujita)
Subject: Re: Gallons (was: Re: [F] Setup for plants
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 17:49:04 GMT

Does anybody have all of the things in metric?  Like how many
centimeters of fish to liters of water or square meters of surface area?
I've read the FAQ, and it seems to be an exclusively US measurement
system document.  (of course, maybe it was all there, and I only read
the stuff that interested me.)

Hey, I think we should change.  But I'd also rather have measurements
that I can understand.  

JMHO
Frank Fujita
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: jle@cfm.brown.edu (Jon Elion)
Subject: Re: Experiences with a new plant tank
Organization: Brown University / Cardiac Image Processing Lab
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 01:34:42 GMT

mstephens.520@postman.gsfc.nasa.gov (mark stephens) writes:

> Do you have the number/address for that needle valve?

The idea for the needle valve came for a posting from Gary Biship
(article 12722 of rec.aquaria).   Gary said:

    Needle Valve: ...  The valve is the model "NO1" from The ARO
    Corporation, One ARO Center, Bryan, OHIO 43506, phone (419)
    636-4242.  It provides infinite control from full-close to
    full-open.  It has a neat color scale to indicate the degree of
    openness and can be locked at any setting.  The adjustment is very
    smooth; I can go from off through incredibly slow flows to just
    right and beyond to way more than I need.  I haven't used the $42
    Nupro S series valve but if it is better than this one, then it may
    well be over kill.

I called ARO and they gave me the name of the nearest dealer.  This valve
made a BIG difference in my ability to control CO2 flow.
From: mwerling@snoopy.umd.edu (Michael T. Werling)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Doctor X Pet Center
Date: 4 Sep 92 18:44:25 GMT
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park

While I would normally agree, I have to point out that there are exceptions
to this rule.  I was at the local mall and went into the pet store.  Doctorx
or Pets Plus or some such (my girlfriend wanted to look at the kittens).  I
ended up having a half hour chat with two of the employees who each have
a couple of 55gal reef tanks and seemed very well educated on the subject.
And I was talking to them while they were cleaning the freshwater tanks
in the store.  Several of the other stores I shop at for aquaira and fish
also qualify as 'pet' stores in the sense that they have supplies for most
other pets as well.

Not trying to flame you, just letting others know that shopping
around is the best plan, not just going to one place.

Mike

In article <1992Sep4.053055.196018@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu> tes0@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (THOMAS EDWIN SCHMIDLIN) writes:
>A friend of mine recently got a tank, and although he knows that I love fish,
>he decided to do it all on his own.  He made a big mistake.  He went to the
>local mall, to the Doctor X Pet Center, and bought a bunch of fish.  They
>neglected to tell him several things.  I have to laugh, but when I saw the
>miserable state of their tanks later, I wanted to cry.  They neglected to tell
>him that he could not mix African and South American Cichlids.  Scratch one
>gorgeous African.  They sold him a Jack Dempsey that looked remarkably like
>the Black Convicts that I raise.  Wonder of wonders, it WAS a Black Convict.
>
>I went to check this place out, a place I normally avoid like the plague, and
>I was apalled to see all of the fish making love to the filter and doing the
>backstroke.  They had fish mislabeled, living in swamp water with their dead
>brethren, and sucking the top to breathe.  I was apalled at the conditions in
>this store.  I'm sure all pet veterans know, but for those of you who are new
>to the scene, never go to one of these stores.  The staff is uncaring,
>untrained, and totally clueless.
>
>It is truly a shame that stores such as this are allowed to exist.  Perhaps
>the SPCA should get involved, because cruelty is exactly what is going on.
>-- 
>
>
>Tom Schmidlin       DEEP THOUGHTS: By Jack Handey - If God dwells inside
>TES0@LEHIGH.EDU         us, like some people say, I sure hope he likes
>215-758-0865            enchiladas, cause that's what he's getting.
From: dhiggs@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (General Protection Fault)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Water changes
Date: 26 Aug 92 14:54:38 GMT
Organization: is the refuge of the unimaginative!


In article <ggawron.25.0@comm.mot.com> ggawron@comm.mot.com (Glenn Gawron) writ
es:
+Has anyone had any experience with the "PYTHON" water changer?
+I'm thinking of getting one and would appreciate any advice.
+Thanks
+Glenn

By all/any means, GET IT!  It's $$ very well invested in something which really
does what they say it does!  You could assemble a work-alike device yourself 
but you'd have to pay more for the appropriate parts than you would by just
buying a Python.

Keith.
-- 
D.K.Higgs  DATA+@osu.edu  a.k.a  dhiggs@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu _____   __o
Ohio State University Libraries, Acquisitions Department      -------    -\<,
Continuation Acquisition Division                              ------ ( )/ ( )
~~(614)292-6314~~~~~~fax(614)292-2015~~~~~~~~~~\_________/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: frazier@kona.cs.ucla.edu (Gregory Frazier)
Subject: Re: FW: filtration switch questions
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 92 18:26:10 GMT

Jonathan Herr (herrj@valnet.UUCP) wrote:
: All of the tanks I've seen that aren't built on a stand have a base
: that elevates the bottom plate of the tank.  So, no.  I don't think
: you're 'wierd' in having them.  Anyone care to explain why tanks are
: made this way?

This is guess work /deduction (i.e., no "expert" told me this)...
The purpose here is to avoid having the flat side of a piece of
glass resting on an uneven surface.  If the entire bottom of the
was resting on a table, and there was any irregularity in the table,
then the glass would break.  By supporting the tank only at the
edges, this is prevented and the bottom glass gets the benefit of
the support of the side pieces where the tank does rest on a surface.
The real question is what do those bottom joints look like?  I had
been under the impression that the bottom piece of glass was "suspended"
between the four side pieces of glass, and that the plastic edging at
the bottom of your tank strictly acted as a "coaster" for the bottom
edges of the side pieces (picture 'A' below).  Someone else suggested to
me that the sides of the tank actually rest on top of the bottom piece,
and that the plastic edging at the bottom of your tank is actually a
"rim", supporting the weight of the tank (picture 'B' below).  Anybody
actually taken the plastic off and know which it is?  Bad ascii
graphics follow...

(A)	||                                (B)      ||
	||                                         ||
	||                                         ||
	||                                         ||
	||                                         ||
	||========                                \==========
        ||                       plastic "rim" ->  \ /
       \||/                                         -
        --  <- plastic "coaster"
--
"They thought to use and shame me but I win out by nature, because a true
freak cannot be made.  A true freak must be born." - Geek Love

Greg Frazier	frazier@CS.UCLA.EDU	!{ucbvax,rutgers}!ucla-cs!frazier
From: trimpe_b@wums.wustl.edu
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: OSCARS? Quest.
Date: 4 SEP 92 10:38:04 GMT
Organization: MIT PLASMA FUSION CENTER
NNTP-Posting-Host: msnews.wustl.edu

Hi gang-
	Well I'm a little bored with my tank these days.  I've been
wanting to get something a little more interesting.  I've had a basic
community tank(30 Gal) for years then gradually went to a semi-
aggressive tank with angels,gouramis and paradise;I wanted some bigger fish.
I don't think I'm ready to go marine yet cuz I'd like a bigger tank for 
that.  Anyway I've been considering getting an oscar or some other 
"intersting" fish.  I was told Oscars are okay in a community tank as 
long as there are no other cichlids(i would trade in my angel), that
one alone will be all right and that my tank will be large enough to
keep him happy.  I would only keep a few other essential fish like
cats or something.  I've also been told that an oscar is like a "true pet".
A friend swears that his oscar knew when he walked in the room- would 
eat out of his hand etc. Is all this true?  Anyone have ideas for some
other more interesting fish that are on the larger size- say 5 inches or
so?  Discus are fascinating but I dunno if I would be successful given
their delicate constituion- they are also much $$ from what I can see-
(i'm in the midwest).  I think a species tank might be neat.  
Any advice or suggestions appreciated
e mail okay
Thanks
Beverly
Wash Univ. in St. Louis
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria,alt.aquaria