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[Stock] WarEagleNR88


WarEagleNR88

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WarEagleNR88

INTRO

This is my first post on Nano-Reef.com! :D My stock class 10G glass aquarium will display species of macro algae as the main focus of the tank. Everything else will be added on the fly as the tank progresses. Nitrogen production from nitrates instead of nitrate reduction will be the main focus and the reason for success in an aquarium such as this. I've got to get the algae to grow well and maintain its growth in order for this reef setup to be successful. From there I plan on adding soft corals such as colony polyps and ricordeas, and I may attempt a small clam on the sand bed. I look forward to this contest as well as my time spent here on Nano-Reef.com. Good luck to everyone in both the stock and the custom categories. Thanks for following along.

 

EQUIPMENT

Standard 10 Gallon Glass Aquarium

Current USA Satellite 20" 40W 50/50 Power Compact Fluorescent Fixture

Marineland Penguin 200 BIO-Wheel Power Filter

Aquarium Systems MaxiJet 600 Powerhead

WON Brothers Pro-Heat 50W Titanium Heater

Coralife Digital Thermometer

2 Standard 6 Outlet Power Strips

2 Intermatic Heavy Duty Timers

Custom Built Light Dimmer

 

LIVE ROCK / LIVE SAND

7 lbs mix of Marshall Island and Fiji Live Rock

15 to 20 lbs Live Sand Mix:

--- Nature's Ocean BIO-Active Live Aragonite Reef Sand

--- CaribSea Aragonite Select, fine grain

--- CaribSea Geo-Marine Aragonite Formula Florida Crushed Coral, coarse grain

--- CaribSea Eco-Complete Planted Aquarium Substrate

 

WATER AND REEF MAINTENANCE

Instant Ocean Salt Mix

Seachem Reef Builder

Seachem Reef Advantage Calcium

Kent Marine Super Chelated Iron and Manganese

Greg Watson's Potassium Nitrate 13.5-0-46.2

Greg Watson's Mono Potassium Phosphate

Ocean Nutrition Forumla One Small Marine Pellet

American Marine Selcon Concentrate

Reef Nutrition Phyto Feast

Sweetwater Zooplankton

Kent Marine Micro-Vert Fine Filter Food

 

STOCKING

Macroalgae:

--- Caulerpa spp.

--- Codium sp.

--- Valonia sp.

--- Actinotrichia sp.

--- Coralline spp.

--- Sargassum sp.

--- Other unidentified algae species

 

Fishes:

--- 1 Randall's Goby, Amblyeleotris randalli

--- 1 Ocellaris Clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris

--- 1 Barnacle Blenny, Acanthemblemaria sp.

--- 1 Neon Goby, Elacatinus oceanops

 

Invertebrates:

- Corals:

--- Acropora sp.

--- Seriatopora sp.

--- Zoanthus spp.

--- Actinodiscus spp.

- Motile:

--- 6 Blue Leg Hermit Crabs, Phimochirus operculatus

--- 4 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs, Paguristes cadenati

--- 1 Trochus Snail, Trochus sp.

--- 2 Astrea Snails, Astraea tecta

--- 4 Cerith Snails, Cerithium litteratum

--- 4 Tonga Nassarius Snails, Nassarius sp.

--- 1 Common Nassarius Snail, Nassarius vibex

--- 1 Randall's Pistol Shrimp a.k.a. Candy Stripe, Alpheus randalli

--- 2 Sexy Shrimp, Thor ambeonesis

--- Feather Duster Worms, Bispira sp.

- Motile Hitchhikers:

--- Stomatella Snails

--- Micro Brittle Stars

--- Asterina Stars

--- Zooplanktonic Animals (Amphipods, Copepods)

 

ENTRY PHOTO - October 7 ( Go to Post )

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OCTOBER - October 24 ( Go to Post )

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NOVEMBER - November 22 ( Go to Post )

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DECEMBER - January 03 ( Go to Post )

S52.jpg

 

JANUARY - January 31 ( Go to Post )

S60.jpg

 

FEBRUARY - February 27 ( Go to Post )

S73.jpg

 

MARCH - April 8 ( Go to Post )

S75.jpg

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interesting concept, similar to the seagrass themes. i've seen some gorgeous algae layouts though (a couple on seahorse.org and ann's 2.5g contest entry/sargassum).

 

the stomas are a good choice as i believe epiphytic algae will be the main problem.

 

welcome and good luck! :welcome:

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WarEagleNR88
interesting concept, similar to the seagrass themes. i've seen some gorgeous algae layouts though (a couple on seahorse.org and ann's 2.5g contest entry/sargassum).

 

the stomas are a good choice as i believe epiphytic algae will be the main problem.

 

welcome and good luck! :welcome:

 

Thank you! I'm hoping to learn a few things from the macro algae pros before really diving into this project, though.

 

I was stoma-less for a while after I sold my large system. But on this last frag I bought a few weeks ago I found two of them. Now I have a few more stomas crawling around that I've noticed!

 

What do you guys think of trying to go trimless? Should I? Those ADG tanks look really good and I'm not sure if they have anything extra for support.

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Looks good. Like tiny said, you'll hit the same hurdles as a seagrass-type setup; I kept thinking of pH swings in such a small tank with so much macro.

 

Also, I think the addition of nitrates will do far more to boost growth than CO2 dosing - although perhaps I read your post poorly.

 

Yours and seabass's tanks are very interesting to me - I'll be following closely. :)

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WarEagleNR88
Looks good. Like tiny said, you'll hit the same hurdles as a seagrass-type setup; I kept thinking of pH swings in such a small tank with so much macro.

 

Also, I think the addition of nitrates will do far more to boost growth than CO2 dosing - although perhaps I read your post poorly.

 

Yours and seabass's tanks are very interesting to me - I'll be following closely. :)

Yes the hurdles you speak of I have considered. And the pH swings are definitely a concern. But one thing I've learned from keeping planted freshwater tanks is the hardness must be high or your pH will swing very easily. Some of the best planted setups typically have a very stable pH because the hardness is high.

 

The advantage I see in the saltwater is the amount of buffering that is provided by the simple "equipment"--if you can call it that--we use. There is aragonite as a substrate, live rock as "decoration" and filtration, saltwater mix for regulation of SG and many of the other minerals and nutrients and even buffer additives that can be added in order to boost and maintain that hardness. Personally I think the pH will be fairly stable even if I do add CO2 from a bottle. I will utilize my Milwaukee pH meter and try to give very accurate readings of my pH throughout these next few months. Once the tank gets established, I'll check it before the lights come on in the morning and before the lights go off at night... I may even hook up my pressurized CO2 w/ controller and have regulated pH monitoring 24/7.

 

I once saw a picture of coralline algae pearling under CO2 addition. So yes, NO3s and CO2 are both very important with "plants"--if we can call algae that. I will be adding KNO3--maybe CaNO3 if I can locate a source--as well as CO2, if able. I'd like to be able to figure out which one has more effect on macro algae... NO3 or CO2. My guess at this point is they are both significant. And if that magic proportion can be found, growth will be phenomenal.

 

Please stay tuned. I'm not looking to break ground... but planted marine setups are the next big thing.

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Fishfreak218

sounds cool... finally there are becoming more and more Macro tanks.. i have been collecting different macro's for a while now to set-up my maroalgea tank.. i am going to set-up a 30g. macro tank.. i have the three major colors (green, red, brown)..

this should be interesting..

also i asked C. Marks on the cut-off date and he said just on coral.. so fish, shrimp, anemones, featherdusters etc. can be added after the cut-off date...

good luck

-josh

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WarEagleNR88
sounds cool... finally there are becoming more and more Macro tanks.. i have been collecting different macro's for a while now to set-up my maroalgea tank.. i am going to set-up a 30g. macro tank.. i have the three major colors (green, red, brown)..

Yes, I thought I would try something different with this contest. Although I've kept a variety of small tanks, my current tanks are a FW Planted 20G Long and a 10G Reef. I'll be transferring my Reef into the 20G and my Plants into my 10G tank for room sake. My 10G is not packed but am just adjusting for growth. Plus there is a 3-4" GSM clownfish along with a 1" Kupang damsel in there that should have some more room. The 20G should open those walls up.

 

For this little 10G, my ultimate goal is to develop this tank into a booming "macroalgae refugium" utilizing as much nutrients and fertilizers as it takes to learn what macroalgae needs. Then if I can get everything stable and rocking, I want to plumb the two tanks together (20G Long and this tank). After doing that, I want to see just how large a "Planted Reef" I can get.

 

I'm EXCITED about this! :D Now if I can carefully and skillfully get the trim off this tank, then I'll be set.

 

Fishfreak, what types of macroalgae are you growing to stock your 30G with? I'm interested to hear what you have and what your experiences are with them.

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Fishfreak218
Fishfreak, what types of macroalgae are you growing to stock your 30G with? I'm interested to hear what you have and what your experiences are with them.

 

I have alot of caulerpa and cheato... bu i also have alot of red's... no one has been able to ID my reds :( ... i have 5 different varieties.. as for my brown i also have Sargassum and Dictoyota [sp]... i also have Dictyota in red

oh and i also forgot Codium, Halmedia, Shaving Brush

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This should prove to be interesting. My seagrass tank will share many of the same qualities as your macro tank. I was even intending to enter the stock category, but I really wanted to use the dual daylight 6700°K/10000°K bulb instead of the standard daylight 10000ºK/actinic 460nm bulb.

 

However, I think that you are right; the light should be adequate. It will be interesting to see if the judges will allow a CO2 system in the stock category. CO2 should be the limiting factor; but the less lighting that is available for photosynthesis, the less the demand for CO2 should be. So without the addition of a CO2 system, the standard 50/50 bulb should be more than adequate.

 

You will probably want clarification on this, but a tank leak would require a replacement; and I’m not sure that the judges would allow that. Therefore I personally wouldn’t take the trim off for this contest. I’ve noticed quite a bit of flex on my AGA; although I seem to recall that some of the tanks offered by Wal-Mart used thicker glass.

 

Good luck, I will be following along.

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i wouldnt go w/ a Co2 system on this tank.. ph swings and stuff.... not good especially w/ this small of a tank.. macro algea isnt that hard to grow...the reds can be a little bit sensitive (at least mine are.. i think they dont like the metal halides).. but u really shouldnt need a Co2 system on this...

just keep your nitrates up... and your calcium up to... for Halimeda and Udotea

also where are you getting your Scinaia from?? i would LOVE to get my hands on some of that stuff :)

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Since my last post I packed up my home in Oklahoma and moved to Phoenix, Arizona--along with my aquariums. After some careful planning, I suffered no losses to my livestock this move, the last one was a disaster. Three words you can type into Google that made it VERY easy: "Gamma Seal Lids". Now I can finally get started on this little nano! And the picks are much better now that I am in a major metropolitan area! :D This little project has been on the backburner since my entire home is in disarray at the moment and I'm more or less unpacking things as I need them. But to the contest and on with the pictures!

 

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I ordered my Current USA Satellite 40W 50/50 light, Penguin 200 Bio-Wheel Power Filter (instead of the AquaClear), and MaxiJet 600 Powerhead from Drs Foster and Smith and it arrived yesterday (Friday the 13th :lol:) afternoon. I decided with the Penguin for the fact it has an aerating paper wheel for some great nitrate production. Plus algae won't grow in the intake tube like the AquaClear.

 

Today I painted the back of the tank black, set it all up, filled it with water and dumped some salt into it to mix. The little shelf above the tank is for a gravity T.O. I'm going to put on this tank along with supplements. Plus it helps to keep my cords out of the way. I also drove to a well known LFS in the PHX area and picked up 7 pounds of what looks to be a mix of fiji and marshall island live rock. I tried to pick irregular shaped rock with the most gunk on them hoping to get some good hitchhiker algae. I think I picked one that has a small growth of halimeda on it and another has what looks to be a type of caulerpa. Hopefully those will last through the cycle--ammonia/nitrite+light should fuel their growth. Tomorrow I'll be adding the rock to the 10G to cycle and get my Bio-Wheel growing.

 

Stay tuned! :D

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I love how you are doing every thing against the grain. It's awesome. You are going for nitrate production where every one else is looking for nitrate reduction.

 

I can't wait to see where this project goes.

 

Why are you cycling the rock in a separate bucket?

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Love the shelf idea! I may have to steal the idea muhahaha!
Ah, it's just a beefed up shelf. I picked up some 50lb drywall anchors so I can hold my 2G top-off reservoir. It is very sturdy! The L brackets are 90 cent white brackets. The shelf is a pressed wood--I think 24"--board. I'll detail my top-off when I get it up and running.
That LR looks nice!
:D Thanks, now to see how it looks in the tank. I'm hoping that hitchhiking macroalgae survives. We'll see.
I love how you are doing every thing against the grain. It's awesome. You are going for nitrate production where every one else is looking for nitrate reduction.

 

I can't wait to see where this project goes.

 

Why are you cycling the rock in a separate bucket?

The nitrates are going to make the algae grow and that's what I've got to provide if it's going to survive. I'm aiming for the things that algae like just like a person keeping SPS would look for light, flow, and extra clean water with calcium added. I'm telling ya, marine planted tanks are going to be the next big thing in aquaria. We'll learn to incorporate nitrates and phosphates and use plants and algae to keep them reduced instead of adding tons of chemical or mechanical removal. People are doing it already but it is not mainstream yet.

 

The bucket is just to keep the rock wet. The tank wasn't ready yesterday but the extra bucket of saltwater I brought with me was. With the powerhead it helps to cycle the rock by keeping the water moving. When it stops smelling, the cycle should be complete. Right now--and even with the drive home--it has a slight ammonia bite to it. I give it maybe a week to make it through the cycle. Maybe more, maybe less.

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The bucket is just to keep the rock wet. The tank wasn't ready yesterday but the extra bucket of saltwater I brought with me was. With the powerhead it helps to cycle the rock by keeping the water moving. When it stops smelling, the cycle should be complete. Right now--and even with the drive home--it has a slight ammonia bite to it. I give it maybe a week to make it through the cycle. Maybe more, maybe less.

 

Yeah, I know all that haha. I was just wondering why you weren't letting it cycle in your tank?

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Yeah, I know all that haha. I was just wondering why you weren't letting it cycle in your tank?
Oh ok. Here's why. Yesterday I hooked up my RODI filter to my faucet and pumped out over 60 gallons of pure water. 20 gallons went to my new 20G long tank, 10 went to this tank, 5 went to my blue water storage container, and 30 to my Brute for safekeeping. When I start tanks, I put all the water into the tank, add salt and let it mix there--since it is the best place for it to mix IMO. I let it mix for 24 hours. During that time I put an airstone and let it bubble for a few hours. I don't know why it just makes me feel good to air it out. I tell myself it is to add oxygen to the water and oxygen is good. :D

 

After pH, temp and salinity all look good, then it's time to add things. The rock will be in there shortly.

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I ordered my Current USA Satellite 40W 50/50 light, Penguin 200 Bio-Wheel Power Filter (instead of the AquaClear), and MaxiJet 600 Powerhead from Drs Foster and Smith and it arrived yesterday (Friday the 13th :lol:) afternoon. I decided with the Penguin for the fact it has an aerating paper wheel for some great nitrate production. Plus algae won't grow in the intake tube like the AquaClear.
I’m glad that you ultimately decided to come over to the Dark Side. ;) Here's to the return of bio-wheels in reef aquaria. Now all you have to do is get some bio-balls for it and you should be producing a good amount of nitrates for all that macro.

 

For my lagoon, I aim to keep nitrates at 5 to 10ppm; I just hope that my nitrate factory will be able to keep up after I get a decent amount of plants. This could be particularly important to your macro tank; as lack of nutrients could lead some species to go sexual. Along those lines, here is an article (which might interest you) on dosing iron in a reef environment.

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Yeah in Randy Holmes-Farley's article, I find it VERY interesting that the majority of people who dosed iron didn't experience sexual reproduction by caulerpa. So it may not be light inhibited or anything else but the absense of iron causing it to go crazy. My take on it is the aquarist has forced the caulerpa into a corner by keeping nitrates and iron low--and who knows what else--and it's last ditch effort is to explode into gametes and hope for a more fertile area to grow. It has no idea it's in a closed system unlike the vastness of the ocean.

 

I put the rock into the tank yesterday and it is looking good. I think I've identified at least the genus of most of the algaes I received as hitchhikers on the rock. Caulerpa, Halimeda, Udotea. No reds other than coralline that I can tell. The only algae I'm fairly certain of is that the Caulerpa is Caulerpa scalpelliformis. At least that's the one it most looks like on the Algae Page. Also when I picked the rock out, I thought I saw a colony polyp on the rock, but I've been unable to find it so far. As far as mobiles go, a lone nassarius is stalking the reef at the moment from my sand out of my other nano. I think I saw some baby bristleworms in the sand as well, but they stay hidden most of the time anyway.

 

For the substrate, I mixed a combination of substrates to give all kinds of shapes and sizes along with nutrients. Plus I think it has a good mix of colors that will give a good look to the tank. I added ~5 lbs of Nature's Ocean BIO-Active Live Aragonite Reef Sand from my other nano. I added ~5 lbs of fine grain CaribSea Aragonite Select. I added ~5 lbs of coarse grain CaribSea Geo-Marine Aragonite Formula Florida Crushed Coral (what a name!). And for the last goodie, I added in ~5 pounds of CaribSea Eco-Complete Planted Aquarium Substrate from my FW tank--lots of nutrients and mulm there! I gave it all a good mixing in the tank, added the rock and now it's clearing. With the power of that Penguin filter, I should be able to get a really good picture tonight.

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I'm excited to follow along with this tank. I have a 29 seahorse tank that I set up as mostly macros and a few softies. I've really gotten into macros and have been trying to collect some of the more interesting ones. I just got a small bit of blueish-purple Ochtodes sp. from a club meeting this weekend! I'm really hoping it'll grow in my tank.

 

Let me know when you start stocking your tank...maybe we can work out some trades.

Chris

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