~LadyBug~ Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 {Serenity Cubed} 7.5 Gallon Anemone and LPS Garden the concept-a lush, colorful garden of maxi mini and rock flower anemones in the foreground, with flowing euphylliasp. LPS in the background and up. Current FTS- (Summer, 2013) why?-this is what has always done well in my tank(LPS) and what I have just fallen in love(nems) with that has also done well. i love zoas and SPS and xenia...but it's all been pretty hit or miss for me. i'm in school, and have a small budget, so "hit or miss" isn't something you like to see. these can be found affordably, and in great color variations without breaking the bank with exotic/LE/designer morphs.what i've done-i have a very low-tech approach, and don't really dose or test. my philosophy is that if i don't add it, i can't overdose it. i use a heater and power heads/pumps for circulation and live rock for filtration. water changes are the cure-all. i have fed grocery store shrimp to LPS in the past and they've done well with it, but now i've switched to mysis.what i'm changing-switching to mysis. i don't like how 'dirty' the tank feels, so this tank is going to have a filter and carbon will be run. i'd also like to find something that i can cloud feed that will benefit both the LPS and the nems. also, i know this tank is going to be a death trap for fish...and strangely(or not so strangely, with the siren call of corals), the girl who was obsessed with Nemo three years ago is okay with that.Hardware:12" 7.5 gallon Mr. Aqua cube + stand from a local reeferHagan Marina S20 Slim filter for water cleaning + water flow100 watt Marineland Stealth Pro heater2 TruLumen LED strips, 3:1 blue/white ratio in gutted PC strip made for 5 gallon tanksFish:1 small blue chromis1 golden damsel 1 black clown Inverts:Peppermint shrimpPacific Turbo x 2 Peppermint shrimp (2.0 )Anemone:White Rock FlowerPink + yellow/green Rock FlowerOrange + green Maxi MiniPurple +green Maxi Mini Green bubble tip anemone Corals:Pink Tip Frogspawn x 2 headsPink Tip Hammer x 5 headsDuncan x 6 head Purple + Gold Tip Short Tentacle Torch x 1 headLemon-Lime + White Short Tentacle Torch x 2 headNeon Green Long Tentacle Torch x 1 head Grape + Green Frogspawn x 1 head Pink on Pink Frogspawn x 1 head Xenia Yellow Ricordia Lavender and Green Yuma Green Mushroom Purple Mushrooms Red Mushroom + babies Macro Algae: Dragons Breath Mystery Algae and finally, the thread title. everyone always comes up with something so fun and creative, and i wanted to keep that going. i was tossing around ideas, and while watching Castle heard a Firefly reference...and thus, the Serenity Cube was born (12/7/12) (4/??/2013) Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 I LOVE this on so many levels. I love Firefly. I love your tank approach, quite probably because your views are very similar to mine, and well, obviously, I'm pretty wonderful, right? (since you don't know me, I suppose I should explain the above was tongue in cheek. ) I'm interested to see what happens w/your feeding approach. Also, you might want to consider adding a couple of the more attractive Macroalgaes. Since they are so good at sucking up the various nitrogenous compounds, they help w/giving you a wider margin for error. Plus, they look cool. 1 Link to comment
~LadyBug~ Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 Hi! I've seen you around, nice to meet you (I'm sure you're very wonderful ) I actually started with Castle, and loved it so much when I stumbled on Firefly I watched it based off of that(read: Nathan ). Have you seen this pic? Quite possibly one of my favorite moments I've actually thought about pumping a sump into this one and making a macro/seahorse display out of it. Unfortunately, it's probably going to be cost prohibitive, especially since I haven't been able to find a local source for macro. But at some point, fingers crossed! I love the macro pics in your sig! Link to comment
~LadyBug~ Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 So, I'm in the thick of the waiting game on this tank. The stand I'm using was made by a local reefer, and is really nice. Except it's black, and all the other furniture in the room is white. So I'm going to sand it down and repaint it white. While I'm at it, I'm shopping for a really pretty accent knob for the door. It's one knob, and the function of the stand isn't related to anything else in the room-the perfect chance to get a great knob that would be exorbitantly expensive to use on, say, a dresser. I also need to gut the light strip and spray it white on the outside, metallic silver on the inside(they have chrome spray paint at Lowes-I've stored that little tidbit for years because I knew at some point it would come in handy while reefing.) And I'm still debating what to do with the back-clear, white, frosted? I think black is going to be too stark...but it's classic and really makes the corals pop... Like I said, still debating heatedly with myself I won't have all the bits I need to start any of that until next week, so in the mean time, here's some pictures of the soon-to-be first inhabitants of this tank- Moon white rock flower anemone- Orange/green maxi mini- Pink-tip Frogspawn- (and just for kicks, the same frogspawn under 50/50 PCs-) and the Pink-tip Hammer- Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Great concept tank!!! Like to see it finished! Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 But you DO have a local Macro source! You can get Macros from both keydiver & got2envy, who are in S. Florida. Because they are in the same state, Priority shipping from them is overnight to you. I'm getting some Macros in a few days from keydiver myself. Also, the pic you linked was a most excellent moment! Link to comment
~LadyBug~ Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 Great concept tank!!! Like to see it finished! Thanks! I'm really excited. But you DO have a local Macro source!You can get Macros from both keydiver & got2envy, who are in S. Florida. Because they are in the same state, Priority shipping from them is overnight to you. I'm getting some Macros in a few days from keydiver myself. Also, the pic you linked was a most excellent moment! Ah, I didn't realize Maria was still in the macro game. Last I heard Moo had nuked her entire tank and she shut it down. Now I feel sheepish . Hmm, that does make it more tempting. Thanks for letting me know, now I'm going to have to think about it harder Link to comment
neuwave Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Sounds like a fun nano. You won't have any problem getting maxi minis and follower nems here in Orlando. Just an idea but you could get a few nem shrimp to host all those nems. So many varieties you can get. Link to comment
blizzardscout2 Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 That is a beautiful maxi nem. I haven't seen colors like that. Link to comment
dormreefer Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 That moon white nem is the bomb! Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Anemone Shrimps would be totally awesome in this tank! I had 2 of them from KP Aquatics in my 4g Pico when I had it set up before and I really, really loved them. They're perfect for Picos plus they host in small anemones. And since KP Aquatics is also in Florida, they're another place that can ship overnight to you with Priority shipping. :sigh: So jelly. Anyway, see the top 2 items in this link, they have them in stock now. They go fast, so you have to grab them when you see them. http://sealifeinc.net/catalog/index.php?cPath=31 Link to comment
~LadyBug~ Posted November 3, 2012 Author Share Posted November 3, 2012 Sounds like a fun nano. You won't have any problem getting maxi minis and follower nems here in Orlando. Just an idea but you could get a few nem shrimp to host all those nems. So many varieties you can get. Thanks! Where have you seen maxi minis and rock flowers? I've checked almost everywhere, and only Top Shelf Aquatics has rock flowers, and Serenity Saltwater Livestock has the best prices on maxi minis (I can't swing $35 for one nem, which is why I'm not buying from The Living Reef, etc). And since you mentioned nem shrimp, have you seen any around for really great prices? All I ever seem to see are ~$20 sexies. That is a beautiful maxi nem. I haven't seen colors like that. Thanks! That moon white nem is the bomb! I'm in love with it, it's been my background on my ipod for weeks Anemone Shrimps would be totally awesome in this tank! I had 2 of them from KP Aquatics in my 4g Pico when I had it set up before and I really, really loved them. They're perfect for Picos plus they host in small anemones. And since KP Aquatics is also in Florida, they're another place that can ship overnight to you with Priority shipping. :sigh: So jelly. Anyway, see the top 2 items in this link, they have them in stock now. They go fast, so you have to grab them when you see them. http://sealifeinc.net/catalog/index.php?cPath=31 Nice! Do you know what the difference is between the Pederson and Spotted anemone shrimp? Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 From what I know, there's just a slight difference in coloration and where they have their spots. Behaviour, size, etc. I believe to be the same. Link to comment
~LadyBug~ Posted November 3, 2012 Author Share Posted November 3, 2012 From what I know, there's just a slight difference in coloration and where they have their spots. Behaviour, size, etc. I believe to be the same. Cool. I think I like the pattern on the Pederson a little better. Based on their website, shipping would be $40, so I shot them an email asking if there was a reduced rate for Florida, so we'll see. The sexies are cheaper from them too, I know everybody always has trios, but I wonder if one would be okay? Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 I'm pretty sure they do have a reduced shipping rate for Florida. I think the Pederson's are what I had before and I really liked them. Honestly, I don't trust Sexy's. I've had them before and had problems w/them nibbling on coral. Link to comment
~LadyBug~ Posted November 3, 2012 Author Share Posted November 3, 2012 Did you have a peppermint in with your pederson? Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Did you have a peppermint in with your pederson? I don't trust Peppermints either, I've had them be worse than Sexy's about taking bites out of coral, particularly LPS. Link to comment
~LadyBug~ Posted November 4, 2012 Author Share Posted November 4, 2012 That stinks I got one to take care of a pest nem problem and the little guy has been a dream. I need to research whether or not he'd get along with a perderon's. Link to comment
neuwave Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Thanks! Where have you seen maxi minis and rock flowers? I've checked almost everywhere, and only Top Shelf Aquatics has rock flowers, and Serenity Saltwater Livestock has the best prices on maxi minis (I can't swing $35 for one nem, which is why I'm not buying from The Living Reef, etc).And since you mentioned nem shrimp, have you seen any around for really great prices? All I ever seem to see are ~$20 sexies. Thanks! Nice! Do you know what the difference is between the Pederson and Spotted anemone shrimp? Ya the flower nems can have good price tag to them especially for the ultra colors ones. I don't know anyone has any in stock except for top shelf at the moment. They have a basket of maxi minis in the floating black basket ($25-$35). Too bad you weren't there a couple weeks ago cause they had a Pederson shrimp there living with all their maxi minis. It was awesome! I regret not buying it. But they have sexies all the time for $15. Also they have porcelain crabs and other nem shrimp. As for the Pederson and spotted shrimp. I've had both. The spotted shrimp acts more like a cleaner shrimp and will be more adventurous around the tank. Mine even clean my clowns. Both shrimp will sway back and forth with the current, mimicking the flow of the ocean as it sits on its nem home. Awesome to look at. The Pederson is a tad more fragile and don't move much from their nem home so you may have to spot feed close to their home. The spotted will swim to the surface and eat right from your hand. Hope this info helps. Dave And one more thing here's a pic of my spotted. Link to comment
poloaa009 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 That is a great site! I saw the information is very usefule! Link to comment
owenj Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Sounds like a great concept, & that white rock flower nem is to die for! Link to comment
~LadyBug~ Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 Thanks for the info on the nem shrimp Dave. I'd rather have a shrimp that's out than a 'hidden jewel' Thank Jaime. I was just looking at you build thread a few days ago, I loved your Halymenia, I'm sorry you're having issues I went into Top Self today because they were having a sale. I picked up a beige+white tentacle/green disk rock flower. I'd planned on not buying anything until the tank was up, but I had a store credit burning a hole in my back pocket and with the sale I couldn't resist! The store was super busy, so while I waited I took a few pictures (Pics are a little lighter than in person ) This is the (nuvo?) tank on the front counter- The maxi mini basket- And one of the tanks in the front of the store- I'd love some hammer like that- I didn't get home from church until late, so the new nem is still settling in, pics soon Link to comment
owenj Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Thanks Anna, actually, the halymenia is doing the best out of all my macros! Finally getting the fiery tips everyone loves them for. That display duncan colony is amazing! I wish my two heads would settle down & fluff up again... Link to comment
~LadyBug~ Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 Thanks Anna, actually, the halymenia is doing the best out of all my macros! Finally getting the fiery tips everyone loves them for. That display duncan colony is amazing! I wish my two heads would settle down & fluff up again... That's great. Those LPS colonies were huge, probably 10+ inches in diameter Do you feed your duncans? Link to comment
~LadyBug~ Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 Here's the newest addition! In the store it was a light green with white and beige tentacles, but under my lights it looks more yellow and almost pink. The camera didn't do a great job catching the color, and I tried to edit it back to normal, but it's still not exactly right It's about a third of the size of the white one, it's really pretty now, but I can't wait to see it bigger! This little guy gave me a scare-I got home and it was entirely beige under the LEDs. I'd stepped out of the store while they bagged it up to get my jug for RO water, and since they're an hour away, I was really worried about how to handle it. After acclimating for 20-30 minutes, the green/yellow started to come back, working from the outside of the disk in. So the moral of the story is, these guys loose color when stressed! My first was white, so I didn't know. Link to comment
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