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TSTB's 0.9G SPS Pico "Desktop Reef" *ONE YEAR OLD! WOO!*


thesmallerthebetter

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thesmallerthebetter

Man oh man,those Zoa's and Paly's are gorgeous !!! I love seeing updates for this tank man,such an inspiration !!

 

Oh btw,how's the red dragon doing ? I thought I saw it in one of the pictures,but I'm not sure..

 

thanks for the kind words :)

 

The red dragon is still kickin along, polyps are open just about always open.

 

Im pretty sure its growing now, i noticed today while taking pics that one of the branches seemed longer than before so thats exciting indeed.

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Not a problem man,a pico of this stature deserve the appreciation and such kind words !!!

 

The simple fact that it's still going and even growing is always impressive especially for being a deep water species. Haven't you had problems with keeping a frag of it before if I'm not mistaken ?

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thesmallerthebetter

Not a problem man,a pico of this stature deserve the appreciation and such kind words !!!

 

The simple fact that it's still going and even growing is always impressive especially for being a deep water species. Haven't you had problems with keeping a frag of it before if I'm not mistaken ?

Yea, i tried alot of frags of it in here before this one, lost all of them to rtn within a week or two of addition. Most of then were tradeshow peices that were fresh cut frags. This one i picked up direct from Tony from his colony thats been in tanks for a long while now. so it was a better quality frag, not a wild "snip and ship". Thrilled its doing this well for sure.

 

So far 4 of the 5 acros in here are growing, that purple plating acro, a green granulosa, a pink lemonade, and the red dragon. The icefire is on the fence still, only time will tell on that one. If the icefire makes it thats it for acros in here, if not i might try another hawkins or lokani.

 

All 3 montis and the one birdsnest i chose to keep in here are all growing as well. I want to add at least one more monti (starburst cap).

 

I think the biggest hurdle in this tank is acclimation, once the acros get established they seem to take off, just need a good frag to start with and no accidental fragging to occur after mounting.

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Oh wow,I thought you had only tried one,that's crazy. At least you were able to get a good frag of it this time. I love the granulosa you have,that thing is like toxic sludge green lol it's awesome.

 

It's crazy how slow things grow in this tank though. I thought for sure some of the frags you have would have about grown out of this tank or entruded on other pieces !!! But I guess that's good due to the size of the tank.

 

I hope to be able to keep a few birdsnest frags in the tank I'm making for my girlfriend,I know lack of motivation to keep maintaince up on it will restrict me to softies and some LPS's lol.

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thesmallerthebetter

Growth is painfully slow on some things for sure. I think a couple of things are at play with that:

 

1. Available calcium/carbonate by VOLUME not concentration: even at high saturation values concentration wise (measured in ppm) there isnt that much of the required elements for skeletal growth volumetrically speaking.

 

2. Frag size: most frags are just boogers to start with, that means less surface area for photosynthesis, less polyps for eating ect. I think as they grow out they will begin growing even faster.

 

3. Species chosen: most of the sps i picked grow slow to begin with, with the exception of the montis.

 

4. Chemical Warfare: i have softies and sps in a system with no skimmer and low volume, im certain the sps are at least stunted by the chemical weaponry of the leathers and polyps i stock in here.

 

Thats all speculation of course, the tank is also still young, at only 8 months old its barley established. As time progresses and i stop adding new species i suspect growth will pick up and present new space management challenges

 

 

As far as keeping birdsnests they are exactly like lps in my experience, moderate to low flow, moderate lighting, even liking a bit of nutrients in the water.

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Curious question,how many gph is your pump turning out in this tank ? I'm wanting to keeps some sps in my 7 gallon and kind of think my mj1200 won't really cut it,should I maybe look into something around 350+ gph ? The tank is 7 gallons I turned into a AIO but the display area is roughly 10x10x11".

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thesmallerthebetter

Curious question,how many gph is your pump turning out in this tank ? I'm wanting to keeps some sps in my 7 gallon and kind of think my mj1200 won't really cut it,should I maybe look into something around 350+ gph ? The tank is 7 gallons I turned into a AIO but the display area is roughly 10x10x11".

 

i dont know exactly how much water "the pump" moves, but i run it at basically the lowest it can be run at. any more and i get a pretty nasty sand storm. In the testing phase i threw water out of the tank with it.

 

but as a general rule i like 40x an hour turnover done in a random way. that means that unless its a WP or MP unit youll need more than one source of flow. (ie. HOB, powerhead)

 

If i was going to step up or modify flow in a 7g id go with two sicce nano voyagers positioned in a way that they make a turbulent style flow.

 

But sps needing breakneck speeds flow wise is kinda bs. As long as there's noticeable water movement over the colony (try watching bubbles or particles in the water column to gauge flow speed) theyll be fine. more flow encourages thicker skeletal growth, lower flow thinner more branched growth.

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Okay,I should probably be good then. I may just add a y adapter to my loc-line and have the slow kind of going around two side of the tank almost converging in the middle,ya know ? Or just throw a AC50 on the side closer to the wall and add a little more flow. And if worst comes to worst and I get a different pump I'll get something closer to 350 or so gph. I should be good then.

 

In my 5 gallon "cube" I had Birdsnests and they grew like crazy even with just a crappy Walmart HOB filter lol.

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  • 1 month later...
thesmallerthebetter

Time for the monthly update....

 

So everything is doing well, new growth on just about everything (icefire still just hanging on, utter chaos as well just kinda limping along), very happy with the way things are going.

 

I am considering switching over to a "Faux" sandbed, probably starboard.

 

Anyway, enough jabber...PICS

 

FTS:

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo3-22-1.jpg.html'>photo3-22-1.jpg

Top Down:

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo2-22-1.jpg.html'>photo2-22-1.jpg

Acans/Micromussa:

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo2-42.jpg.html'>photo2-42.jpg

Scoly:

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo1-42.jpg.html'>photo1-42.jpg

Plates:

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo5-32.jpg.html'>photo5-32.jpg

Red Dragon:

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo1-42.jpg.html'>photo1-42.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...
thesmallerthebetter

so...some stuff is happening here....

 

i have to leave the tank for a couple weeks minimum, starting on the 14th....its an emergency trip, cant postpone, had zero notice

 

i have staff at the facility but im terrified to have them do much other than refill the topoff bottle.

 

so what im doing is this:

 

1. mixing 5 gallons (about 7 full water changes) of water and storing in a black 5G bucket under my desk.

2. doing a VERY thorough cleaning of the system prior to leaving, removing rock structures, siphoning detritus, scrubbing walls, 2 100% water changes back to back to reset parameters and eliminate dissolved organics.

3. making a checklist of sorts for observations (is everything open, did anything fall off the rack/move, is anything touching that shouldnt be)

4. making a schedule for maintenance.

a. Refill topoff bottle

b. turn off pump

c. 50% water change with water from bucket

d. turn pump on

e. observe tank

f. CALL ME IS ANYTHING IS WRONG!

 

thing is this tank currently gets attention 3 days a week with water changes, feedings and observation by me...this is going to reduced to 2 water changes, zero feedings and an initiated observer.

 

what it boils down to is if i was here it would get 4 feedings, and 6 water changes over the two weeks, with me gone it will only get 0 feedings and 4 water changes (eek)...

 

with the 1 year birthday of this tank coming up i would hate to lose it due to a trip like this.....

 

am i missing anything? any ideas on eliminating variables that could lead to system failure? ideas please

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I think everything will be fine man. Make you can see if they'll send you pictures via text or something ? That way when you're not there you can still keep an eye on the tank.

 

The list looks good for the most part. Is the light on a time or manually turned on/off ?

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thesmallerthebetter

I think everything will be fine man. Make you can see if they'll send you pictures via text or something ? That way when you're not there you can still keep an eye on the tank.

 

The list looks good for the most part. Is the light on a time or manually turned on/off ?

 

i hope so. it should be a pretty stable system by now.

 

good idea on the pics! ill be sure to add that to the list!

 

lights are on a timer, so thats not a concern

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  • 3 weeks later...
thesmallerthebetter

So im back, and all is well with the tank :)

 

one of the zoa colonies is pissed but i think it will recover with time. the black mangrove i had growing in the planter failed due to a lack of spritzing while i was away but it has been replaced my a miniature red mangrove propagule i collected during my journey. ;) the red should do alot better than the black in the long run anyway.

 

Most things even grew noticably in my absence. Very proud of my staff!

 

also the scoly is appearing to be more of a acanthophyllia looking than scoly looking but a little more time will be the deciding factor....

 

 

im taking pics now for the monthly update and will upload them tonight :)

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Glad to hear everything is okay man. How was the trip ?! It's pretty funny to see the sps faired better than the zoa colony lol.

 

Can't wait to see some new pictures man ;)

 

Quick question,have you thought about ever updating your light whatsoever ?

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thesmallerthebetter

As promised pics:

 

FTS:

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo42-2.jpg.html'>photo42-2.jpg

 

Red Dragon (Look at that Growth!)

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo12-2.jpg.html'>photo12-2.jpg

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo1-12-2.jpg.html'>photo1-12-2.jpg

 

Pink Lemonade (Encrusted Finally)

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo22-2.jpg.html'>photo22-2.jpg

 

Mini Scoly (meat coral?) + Red Plate:

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo4-12-1.jpg.html'>photo4-12-1.jpg

 

Unidentified Acropora (such an interesting growth form, even more flat and plating than an efflo, not even a hint of branching):

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo2-12-1.jpg.html'>

 

Mini Hammer:

[url=http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo32-2.jpg.html]photo32-2.jpg

 

Polyps, Granulosa, Seasons Greetings, IceFire:

http://s635.photobucket.com/user/thesmallerthebetter/media/1G%20SPS%20Pico/photo3-12-1.jpg.html'>photo3-12-1.jpg

 

 

Glad to hear everything is okay man. How was the trip ?! It's pretty funny to see the sps faired better than the zoa colony lol.

Can't wait to see some new pictures man ;)

Quick question,have you thought about ever updating your light whatsoever ?

 

Trip was okay, after dealing with all the negative stuff that brought my out there was able to cram in some fishing for exotics and a little bit of collecting (mostly plants, mangroves and tillandsia). I suspect the zoas rebelled due to a lack of feeding while i was gone. I dont feed them directly but im sure the dissolved organics from when i feed the Dendros and plates fuels them quite a bit. It was just the one colony, the wobbegongs that reacted poorly too...who knows.

 

as far as updating the light, this one seems to be working well, and i wouldnt dare change it now that things are so established. i would fear that a change in spectrum or intensity would have negative results on the sps. im a scaredy cat when it comes to changing things. Im gonna leave this tank exactly how it is from now on equipment wise and mostly stocking wise. too well balanced as it is to risk changing it up.

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Man,the growth on the dragon is amazing. It's funny how ( what your 2nd or 3rd frag ) you're experiencing so much growth while people can't even get it to encrust or even grown,and you're pushing the limits and having it grow like you are.

 

As for changing the lights,I don't blame you. Wasn't a suggestion at all,just a question. If you're having results like you are,why change it ? It's working out so well for you.

 

I'm glad to see the trip was good and all I swell with the tank though.

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  • 1 month later...
thesmallerthebetter

All those Monti's though man :o:D !!! I love it,and also that Rainbow Acan in the 2nd to last picture,SWEET JESUS !!

 

Congrats on the tank being set up for a year,that's awesome. Glad to see this thing is still chugging along for you. I can see that you're Red Dragon is slowly taking off !! I know that's exciting for you.

 

I've got a 2.1g going right now,and I'm slowly stocking is for sps heaviness :) So far I've got a Setosa,Superman Digi,Superman Monti,Joe the Coral,Blue Tenuis,Green Birdsnest and a light green bodied monti with dark green polyps !! I plan to soon transfer all my Zoa's and Acan frags to my 7 gallon and keep the 2 gallon for sps only.

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