Ant's 3 Gallon- June Update

[antsypants]

Looking good there bro! Hope they will recover for you soon.

Haha hey! Thanks for checking out the tank and the kind words I'll be moving the pipe come morning

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Look fantastic as always Ant!! How have you been?

[JR!]

just love this simple little tank. well done ant.

[antsypants]

Look fantastic as always Ant!! How have you been?

Thanks man, nice to hear from you! I've been well, just started my fall quarter at UCSB. If I feel I can handle it I might try to move this tank into my dorm! Fingers crossed any progress on your tank?

 

just love this simple little tank. well done ant.

thanks dude! I was just lurking on your new thread, it looks great. Get it wet already!

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Nice, I just started classes at AU a few weeks ago.

Well I am alittle busy to do my tank now but I am slowly collecting things for it haha

[antsypants]

Nice, I just started classes at AU a few weeks ago.

Well I am alittle busy to do my tank now but I am slowly collecting things for it haha

 

Nice! Seems like a good school, hope you're settling in well. What's your major?

And sounds exciting lol, what're you planning?

[Dr.Brain Coral]

 

Nice! Seems like a good school, hope you're settling in well. What's your major?

And sounds exciting lol, what're you planning?

Ya it is (The name is Alfred University, AU was kind ambiguous lol). Actually I am still a junior in highschool so no major haha. I am an enrolled student but no major. What about you?

I really like hammers and other corals but with how small my little tank is I may have to stick with ricordeas and zoas. Which are both awesome, just not as cool as some other Lsp.

[antsypants]

Ya it is (The name is Alfred University, AU was kind ambiguous lol). Actually I am still a junior in highschool so no major haha. I am an enrolled student but no major. What about you?

I really like hammers and other corals but with how small my little tank is I may have to stick with ricordeas and zoas. Which are both awesome, just not as cool as some other Lsp.

Ope LOL i looked up AU and it gave me American University in DC.

So you're taking courses at that campus alongside your high school education?

 

And I'm at UCSB right now, planning to study aquatic biology. Just had my first day of sophomore year today!

 

How many gallons are you planning on having? Depending on your scape, you could have a decent nano sized (maybe 2-3 head) euphyllia as a showpiece with rics and z's filling in the rest Plus it'd be pretty easy to frag if it gets too large. I can see it maybe sucking up a lot of alk depending how small your tank is though.

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Well I am taking all my classes at the university. I am home schooled so I can take these instead. I should have my first year and possibly second year of college done by the time I graduate H.S. That way I can focus on pre-med courses.

The little tank I have is only .5 gallons lol. Its the Marina .5 gallon tank. Sorta small for euphyllia haha

[antsypants]

Well I am taking all my classes at the university. I am home schooled so I can take these instead. I should have my first year and possibly second year of college done by the time I graduate H.S. That way I can focus on pre-med courses.

The little tank I have is only .5 gallons lol. Its the Marina .5 gallon tank. Sorta small for euphyllia haha

Oh I know what you're talking about. Do you still attend high school?

 

And oh, lol small any particular reason why you chose that tank?

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Yes and no. I am still technically enrolled in hs, but I am taking all my classes at the univesity.

Ya its pretty tiny lol. I dont know, it was cute and cheap haha

[antsypants]

Yes and no. I am still technically enrolled in hs, but I am taking all my classes at the univesity.

Ya its pretty tiny lol. I dont know, it was cute and cheap haha

Ah, yeah I think my cousins were enrolled in the same program. They called it running start I believe, seemed like a good way to get ahead!

 

And oo LOL I think that's the point of most pico reefs I'm sure there are other options that will allow you enough space for a euphyllia. You should plan for what you want, not just for the sake of having a tank! Patience is key as you already know, not just in terms of learning to care for your animals but also financially. I think Mr. Aqua makes a 1.5g and a 3g for under or around $40, and the picotope is all around awesome Just my two cents. I also want to see more euphys so call me biased.

 

Speaking of college and all that, I moved this tank into my dorm today

 

Sorry for bad cell quality. Didn't have the camera with me. This is it all set up on my desk with my bed above. Process was simple; we drained the tank halfway, packed in a box and that was it. Everything seems to have made it alright. I did knock down the monti cap and had to reglue it.. However, the pipe organ broke into a bunch of pieces I probably should have taken extra precaution but I just didn't think that would happen. It was on its way out anyhow.. Guess I'll have to add that to my wishlist lol

 

I brought enough water to last me awhile, so that shouldn't be an issue. I'm also working on an ATO so I can leave the tank on autopilot during breaks. If I can keep up, I'll hopefully add a shrimp goby after winter break

 

Ugly cell FTS will have to do for now

[yoshii]

Oooh UCSB is such a pretty school Don't get too distracted

Nice, I just moved my tank to my dorm too

Pipe organ breaks really easily. Is it still alive or did it get crushed?

[antsypants]

Oooh UCSB is such a pretty school Don't get too distracted

 

Nice, I just moved my tank to my dorm too

Pipe organ breaks really easily. Is it still alive or did it get crushed?

It really is Sunsets over the ocean on my way home from class is such a luxury.

And, well.. the tank is intended to be less a distraction and more of a break for my eyes after staring at text for 3 hours haha

 

That's great to hear! How're you liking UCSD? Also pics for proof.

The pipe kinda broke into a bunch of pieces horizontally, which is definitely not good for it. When fragging pipe organ, the cut should be made vertically all the way through, otherwise the polyps start to wither. I'm kicking myself for not bagging it but when I unboxed the tank, nothing had really moved much so I'm not sure how it happened. It didn't seem like it was getting better anyhow. I guess this was just the final nail in the coffin

[kimberbee]

Ahh... moving into a dorm room for the beginning of school... Kinda miss it actually...

 

Cute setup you have!

[Dr.Brain Coral]

The tank looks beautiful Ant!! I love the way you have alot of open water and sand I think that makes it more natural looking

Also thats pretty cool that your cousins doing the same thing.

I wanted to go to SUNY Maritime college that is on the ocean too to get things done before a Marine biology school, but I have changed interests a bit to Neurosurgery haha. I love the water though, my favorite place is a local lake haha

[antsypants]

Ahh... moving into a dorm room for the beginning of school... Kinda miss it actually...

 

Cute setup you have!

Haha second year has been much easier than the first. Can't say I love the 8am classes though

Thank you! I also find it adorable.

 

The tank looks beautiful Ant!! I love the way you have alot of open water and sand I think that makes it more natural looking

Also thats pretty cool that your cousins doing the same thing.

I wanted to go to SUNY Maritime college that is on the ocean too to get things done before a Marine biology school, but I have changed interests a bit to Neurosurgery haha. I love the water though, my favorite place is a local lake haha

 

I like the open scape too! Problem is, I have no fish to enjoy it I wish to pair up my pistol with a Hi Fin Goby and then have a more active fish like a neon or green banded but for now, no fishies hehe. And thanks man, tank didn't skip a beat. Everything's opened up already! I tried taking another photo today but my phone just can't handle white light so I had to mess around with the editing on photo bucket. Probably made it worse But you can see me surfin' nano-reef in the background at least..

 

 

And yeah, just visited him this summer in Seattle and he's gonna be a junior this year despite being a year behind me school wise Hehe but yeah, I can see from your name that neurosurgery is quite an interest for you

 

BTW I don't know if I mentioned it, but I took some time to boost my filtration to allow some leeway and cut my water changes down to hopefully 10% a week. The past 2 years I ran 2 sponge pads for detritus collection and relied on live rock and water changes to do the rest. Seeing as I'm gonna be a bit busy, I fashioned a media basket out of egg crate and a loooot of super glue lol.

 

So now, my filtration goes, from left to right, sponge pad-filter floss-second sponge pad-macroalgae-and below the macro algae is another chamber for a bag of chemipure elite along with even more filter floss. I'm thinking the bioload of two small gobies'll be a breeze. Any thoughts?

[Merthynia]

Ah, yeah I think my cousins were enrolled in the same program. They called it running start I believe, seemed like a good way to get ahead!

 

And oo LOL I think that's the point of most pico reefs I'm sure there are other options that will allow you enough space for a euphyllia. You should plan for what you want, not just for the sake of having a tank! Patience is key as you already know, not just in terms of learning to care for your animals but also financially. I think Mr. Aqua makes a 1.5g and a 3g for under or around $40, and the picotope is all around awesome Just my two cents. I also want to see more euphys so call me biased.

 

Speaking of college and all that, I moved this tank into my dorm today

 

Sorry for bad cell quality. Didn't have the camera with me. This is it all set up on my desk with my bed above. Process was simple; we drained the tank halfway, packed in a box and that was it. Everything seems to have made it alright. I did knock down the monti cap and had to reglue it.. However, the pipe organ broke into a bunch of pieces I probably should have taken extra precaution but I just didn't think that would happen. It was on its way out anyhow.. Guess I'll have to add that to my wishlist lol

 

I brought enough water to last me awhile, so that shouldn't be an issue. I'm also working on an ATO so I can leave the tank on autopilot during breaks. If I can keep up, I'll hopefully add a shrimp goby after winter break

 

Ugly cell FTS will have to do for now

I love seeing other picotopes! Your filtration that you have rigged up sounds pretty good. Do you feel like there is good flow around the chamber with the chemipure? I usually put mine in the spot before it spills down into the larger chamber so more water volume touches it. I can't see two small gobies being too much for this tank. I hope you can snag some greenbanded gobies, those are my favorite little buggers!

[antsypants]

I love seeing other picotopes! Your filtration that you have rigged up sounds pretty good. Do you feel like there is good flow around the chamber with the chemipure? I usually put mine in the spot before it spills down into the larger chamber so more water volume touches it. I can't see two small gobies being too much for this tank. I hope you can snag some greenbanded gobies, those are my favorite little buggers!

I might be wrong but I believe that the way the AC filter works is that the impeller pushes water sideways through the bottom half of the filter's body before rising through the various stages of media towards the top and then flowing back into the tank. At least that's my understanding of it and therefore, why I decided to put the chemipure where I did.

The spot you've chosen sounds like it'd work too, but I wanted the water to pass through the two sponges and the two clumps of floss before arriving to the chemipure where it can finish off the rest of the filtration process before giving the leftovers to the macros

 

And yes, I tend to side conservatively with fish stocking not just because I believe they will outgrow the tank, but because of the extra bioload they produce so I'm really tentative about this. I also had a Hi Fin jump and a GBG die for no obvious reason, so I'm feeling extra cautious just wanted to get a consensus before I add em. I know at least two places that carries both for under $20 each so hopefully it works out and I can pick em up by the end of winter break!

[Merthynia]

I might be wrong but I believe that the way the AC filter works is that the impeller pushes water sideways through the bottom half of the filter's body before rising through the various stages of media towards the top and then flowing back into the tank. At least that's my understanding of it and therefore, why I decided to put the chemipure where I did.

The spot you've chosen sounds like it'd work too, but I wanted the water to pass through the two sponges and the two clumps of floss before arriving to the chemipure where it can finish off the rest of the filtration process before giving the leftovers to the macros

 

And yes, I tend to side conservatively with fish stocking not just because I believe they will outgrow the tank, but because of the extra bioload they produce so I'm really tentative about this. I also had a Hi Fin jump and a GBG die for no obvious reason, so I'm feeling extra cautious just wanted to get a consensus before I add em. I know at least two places that carries both for under $20 each so hopefully it works out and I can pick em up by the end of winter break!

I can't say that I've studied my filter while it was on to see if the water starts at the bottom. But your reasoning seems to make sense. My spot just made it easy to get access since I also have the floss in there prior to the chemipure. I lost my first two green bands to ich. Hopefully you have better luck next time.

[antsypants]

I can't say that I've studied my filter while it was on to see if the water starts at the bottom. But your reasoning seems to make sense. My spot just made it easy to get access since I also have the floss in there prior to the chemipure. I lost my first two green bands to ich. Hopefully you have better luck next time.

Ah yeah, well on the box of the AC filter, it shows how you're supposed to position the stock media and it depicts them stacked horizontally so I'm guessing that's the way it should work.

 

And sorry about your GBGs I wish I had a quarantine system to avoid that. Mine just started to become less vibrant and to me, seemed like it was getting smaller though its stomach wasn't arched at all. Then one day I just found it motionless and yeah. Never knew what happened. Had it maybe 4-5 months.

[Merthynia]

Ah yeah, well on the box of the AC filter, it shows how you're supposed to position the stock media and it depicts them stacked horizontally so I'm guessing that's the way it should work.

 

And sorry about your GBGs I wish I had a quarantine system to avoid that. Mine just started to become less vibrant and to me, seemed like it was getting smaller though its stomach wasn't arched at all. Then one day I just found it motionless and yeah. Never knew what happened. Had it maybe 4-5 months.

Wow, that is quite sad. I'm hoping to give them another chance if I find some local.

[antsypants]

Wow, that is quite sad. I'm hoping to give them another chance if I find some local.

Yeah they're usually hardy, so idk. You should, though, they're adorable

Pics of mine are on pg. 3 I think

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Haha second year has been much easier than the first. Can't say I love the 8am classes though

Thank you! I also find it adorable.

 

 

I like the open scape too! Problem is, I have no fish to enjoy it I wish to pair up my pistol with a Hi Fin Goby and then have a more active fish like a neon or green banded but for now, no fishies hehe. And thanks man, tank didn't skip a beat. Everything's opened up already! I tried taking another photo today but my phone just can't handle white light so I had to mess around with the editing on photo bucket. Probably made it worse But you can see me surfin' nano-reef in the background at least..

 

 

 

And yeah, just visited him this summer in Seattle and he's gonna be a junior this year despite being a year behind me school wise Hehe but yeah, I can see from your name that neurosurgery is quite an interest for you

 

BTW I don't know if I mentioned it, but I took some time to boost my filtration to allow some leeway and cut my water changes down to hopefully 10% a week. The past 2 years I ran 2 sponge pads for detritus collection and relied on live rock and water changes to do the rest. Seeing as I'm gonna be a bit busy, I fashioned a media basket out of egg crate and a loooot of super glue lol.

 

 

So now, my filtration goes, from left to right, sponge pad-filter floss-second sponge pad-macroalgae-and below the macro algae is another chamber for a bag of chemipure elite along with even more filter floss. I'm thinking the bioload of two small gobies'll be a breeze. Any thoughts?

I think that would be awesome, especially a high-fin!! The picture is great. Ya theres a story about that too haha. I had this crazy idea for a tank that would someday be for my future office with the center piece being, you guessed it, a Brain coral lol Since then I have drifted in and out of different tank ideas, but I have finally settled on my little tank . I am actually working for my professor this spring so I will have extra cash to dump into a tank

[antsypants]

I think that would be awesome, especially a high-fin!! The picture is great. Ya theres a story about that too haha. I had this crazy idea for a tank that would someday be for my future office with the center piece being, you guessed it, a Brain coral lol Since then I have drifted in and out of different tank ideas, but I have finally settled on my little tank . I am actually working for my professor this spring so I will have extra cash to dump into a tank

Nice! IMO you should save up what you earn from that job and put it towards a tank that'll be able to better support what you'd like to keep. Of course it's your cash and tank but you seem like you really want a euphyllia and I really want to see you have one!

What kind of work will you be doing?