Amphiprion1's 25g seagrass cube REDUX

[Amphiprion1]

Thanks, the grass really does grow well. I'm a bit bummed about that Pocillopora colony, since a recent bout of extra warm water temps (no A/C) really hit hard. It was a bright, almost neon pink color. I actually had to get rid of my small anemone in there, since the grass literally forced it out of the sand bed. Stuff is downright invasive when it gets the chance. I was also able to confirm the relatively short life spans of these grasses, since older patches will die out. They are quick to fill back in, however.

[Guest TheBlueLorax]

Very well done I've enjoyed watching this

[SbCaes]

update?

[ls7corvete]

WOW! I have been waiting years to see someone get a good grass of oar grass going! Now I am excited to get my own tank full of it.

[sean151]

Reminds me of my old 20H FW planted tank. I've always wanted a SW macro tank as I think they can be aquascaped quite well, but space and school have made it not possible for me.

[keydiver]

wow! looks great, this is inspiring me to start a seagrass tank

[Amphiprion1]

Well, some updates. I've been a busy one, especially in regards to this tank. The Aiptasia scourge got the better of me, so I ended up tearing everything down and disposing of practically all grass, rock, sand, etc. I've retained the corals in an attempt to eliminate the Aiptasia from them using Aeolidinella slugs in a small quarantine. In any case, I've been extraordinarily careful not to let any Aiptasia make it into this new system, which is why I've gone out of my way to use mostly dry materials, minus live sand, which I've gotten from various sources. In any case, I've also decided to do a few things differently, such as making the substrate deeper and finer, as well as including mud this time around. I also want to give some Thalassia a shot in this setup. I've included a pic of the clean setup on the first page, but I'll also show pics of the quarantine/Aiptasia garden:

 

 

 

I'm using 2 40w + 1 30w spiral compact fluorescents to provide enough light in the interim. The whole lighting rig cost all of $35 to pull together. Looks ugly, but it will work for something temporary. Why go through the trouble, one might ask? I'm just attached to those specific pieces. Several of them are well over a decade old (my first and second corals that I ever had, in fact), so I'm definitely keeping them. Hopefully the slugs will do their job after all the preparation I've given them.

[seabass]

Wow.

 

I envied your Oar grass. Sorry to see it go, but I'm sure you'll have a new crop growing in no time.

[Amphiprion1]

Yeah, going for the minimalist look . I was a bit sick when I realized I really couldn't save 99% of it, but I couldn't risk Aiptasia introduction. It should look much better as things fill in after I get some more grass in., though I've also decided that I'm going to be far more vigilant about pruning things back. I think one of the primary declines in vigor in my old setup was sheer crowding. I wasn't dedicated to clipping things back.

[DaveFason]

You should have let it keep growing and picked up Berghia nudis for the aptasia. They really do work and would destroy those evil things!

 

-Dave

[BJK2]

This tank is purely inspirational! Can't wait to see it back up and going. Also, where'd you get the oar grass from?

[Amphiprion1]

You should have let it keep growing and picked up Berghia nudis for the aptasia. They really do work and would destroy those evil things!

 

-Dave

I did at one point, but they ended up not making it. The sheer amount of grass made it difficult for them to get around. They eventually dwindled and died out. I'm hoping the QT will bypass all of those issues with the incoming shipment of Aeolidinella/Berghia.

 

This tank is purely inspirational! Can't wait to see it back up and going. Also, where'd you get the oar grass from?

Thanks for the kind words. I originally got them from John at Reefcleaners.

[yoshii]

Why not use peppermint shrimp?

[Amphiprion1]

Why not use peppermint shrimp?

 

Tried that, as well. I had a small horde at one point that did nothing but eat my infauna and fish food. I'd see them munching down worms, etc., but no Aiptasia. I haven't had the best luck with them in the many times I've tried them, to be honest.

[Uhuru]

Im having the same problem. Actually all of my tanks are suffering from this since they are all connected. I have a berghia order coming in on thursday and plan to set up a small breeding station for a constant supply. I've also tried a bunch of peppermints (10 of them) with no luck. Maybe they eat some baby ones from time to time but thats about it. I'm considering an aiptasia eating filefish. I just don't know how well my OSFF will tolerate the new addition.

[Amphiprion1]

Now, the bristle-tailed filefish definitely wok IME. However, once you get rid of it (if you get rid of it), they will come back in full force, so it is different from Aeolidinella, which outright exterminate them. It may not be a bad idea to knock the population back a bit, though.

[Uhuru]

yeah, I'm hoping to attack these guys from multiple routes... they are the most resilient pests ever!

 

BTW, I did try nudies before and they wiped out the aiptasia but did not get every single one... eventually they starved out and lo and behold the aiptasia returned in full force. So I think no matter what its a constant battle you have to have a continuous source of aptasia eaters. Unless you are doing what it looks like you are doing and QT'ing what you can.

[Amphiprion1]

Got all my stuff today. I actually received a few freebies, like some extra Thalassia shoots and a sprig of Syringodium--in addition to the huge amount of Halodule. I also had some inoculated live sand from a few different sources shipped to me to help boost everything. I'd get some pics, but right now, the tank is far too cloudy. They'll have to wait for now. I couldn't even finish planting the Halodule, because I could no longer see where I was placing it.

[Amphiprion1]

Now for some pics. My order was actually really generous, as I had a ton left over from only a single unit. It also allowed me to plant densely from the beginning, unlike last time. Now I just wait and see what happens. FWIW, I adjusted the white balance a bit because of the phytoplankton I added, which made the water much yellower than it actually is. The pictures are very close to what the Iwasaki makes the tank look like.

 

 

 

[ajmckay]

Nice, glad to see it all coming back together. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the aptasia is gone now for good.

 

Can you give us some more information on the sand bed? I'm interested in planting some sea grasses in my display sump area and I'm thinking that the oar grass might be a good one to start out with. I'll keep researching it I suppose!

[Amphiprion1]

Minus the inclusion of about 5% Fiji Mud, there's not much special. I tried to include as much diversity in this sand bed as possible from the very beginning, though. I placed orders for live sand from various sources, as well as picking up bits of sand from LFSs. I think having good diversity and movement in the sand bed is still important for the grasses, so I've done as much as possible toward that idea. Beyond that, I just made it deep and with a broad grain size distribution--basically 90% fine (~5% of that ultra fine clay), ~8% medium grain size, 1.5% large grains, and ~.5% rubble/shells.

 

Edit: One thing to note is the detritus that came with the live sand--I included as much of it as possible. If it looked dirty and silty, I kept it purposefully.

[Amphiprion1]

Update pics. The tank is clearing up and the grass is already spreading and growing (esp. the oargrass). What was a single sprout is now several. Older foliage also shed, which is normal. That's why it actually looks somewhat more sparse, but actually is not. Anyway, here they are:

 

 

 

 

 

I'm loving the overall texture and consistency of the sand bed. It happened completely by accident, but I'm definitely happy with it--the grasses appear to like it, too.

[seabass]

Cool!

 

Is the thicker grass eelgrass? Is there a total of three species (eelgrass, shoal grass, and oar grass)? How deep is the sand bed?

[Amphiprion1]

There's actually 4 species in total--oargrass, shoalgrass, turtle grass, and manatee grass (only one of the latter--in the middle). Other than the one manatee grass sprout, the others are just variable thicknesses of shoalgrass. The sand is 5-6 inches deep, with a bit more thickness toward the center of the tank.

[JerseyChick]

very cool, kinda looks like a snorkel adventure

 

I dig the natural look ya got going