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Ant's 3 Gallon- June Update


antsypants

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Hey NanoReef!
I hear you guys are friendly :D

My name's Anthony, I'm 18, and I love fish. :lol: I plan on studying marine biology so I decided I might as well get into saltwater aquariums (I have a bit of freshwater experience). I received the tank around June, 2013, did a boatload of research including a rigorous readthrough of El Fab's pico and began cycling in August. Now onto the fun stuff!

Current FTS: 6/12/2016
IMG_7190_zps6vztlyld.jpg

Parameters:

(8/12/15):
Temp: 78
Salinity: 1.024
pH: 8.0
NH3: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: 10
PO4: 0.03
Ca: 400
Alk: 119


Equipment:

3 Gal JBJ Picotope
Coral Compulsion Par30
Coralife Power Center
AC70 Fuge w/foam, filter floss, & Chemipure
25W Hydor Theo Heater
~1.5 lbs Live Rock

~1/2 in. Caribsea Seagrade Aragonite Sand

 


Livestock:

 

Fish/Inverts:

Nano conch (Columbellidae)

Nassarius snail (Nassarius sp.)


Corals:

Green star polyps (Briareium sp.)

Waving hand (Xenia sp.)

Zoas (Zoanthus sp.)

 

Macroalgae:

Caulerpa (Caulerpa cupressoides, prolifera)

Barbata (Cymopolia barbata)

Halimeda (Halimeda opuntia)

Halymenia (Halymenia elongata)

 

 


Monthly (Sort of) FTS:

 

September, 2013 (Setup in June)
Screenshot2014-05-08at72528PM_zpsd107581

October, 2013
IMG_2159_zps3dcd8940.jpg

November, 2013
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December, 2013IMG_3015_zps457ab05d.jpg

January, 2014
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February, 2014
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March, 2014
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April, 2014
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May, 2014
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June, 2014
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July, 2014
b7de446f-94c1-4dfe-a5a1-27a6b1becfe4_zps

August, 2014
902729a8-23ab-4555-9715-25f281d42fd9_zps

September, 2014
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October, 2014
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November, 2014
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December, 2014
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January, 2015
IMG_9485_zps1cb5499c.jpg

February, 2015
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March, 2015

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May, 2015

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June, 2015

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July, 2015

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August, 2015

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September, 2015

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May, 2016

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June, 2016

IMG_7190_zps6vztlyld.jpg

 

 

 

Thanks for looking,
Anthony

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So I've been unsatisfied with the rockwork lately, and changed it up a bit. I got some dry rock from the LFS (and picked up 2 little kenya trees for $5 at the same time :) ) anyways, the basic design is going to be kind of this crescent moon shape but I'm not sure how it's gonna turn out. Everything's a bit annoyed but they oughta be fine lol. Eventually, the mushroom rock will be taken out and maybe clear up some space. Unfortunately, I've nowhere to put it atm and it's got a couple of really cool, tiny, red feather dusters (coco worms?) on it, which I'd really like to keep. Any ideas? hehe :D

 

Anyways, here are some pictures :o

FTS, still a bit cloudy

IMG_0832_zps133891ea.jpg

 

 

One of the new kenya's. Waiting for it to attach. The other is in a tough spot to photograph, so I'll wait til it opens up

IMG_0836_zps30022743.jpg

 

An old but amusing picture of my pompom crab making an appearance B) waving a leg. the xenia in the back has since healed

IMG_0169_zps299a4450.jpg

 

I'll be back with more soon!

Quick question though, I've begun to notice thin tunnels(?) in my sandbed? Looks kind of like the work of worms. Should I be worried?

-Anthony

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Bad news. >:(

One of the kenya trees completely disintegrated! I'm talking branches and polyps falling out, melting, shriveling. I can't even get a good picture of it, all that's left is the base and a few strands of the stem. The other kenya is turning brown and giving off this slime, and I don't think that one's going to make it either. To make matters worse, the chemicals they let out caused my xenia to close up. :angry: I'm not talking closed up like when resting, I mean the polyps aren't pulsing. I don't know what to do. I've already thrown in some activated carbon but aside from that... :( Anybody?

 

The intact kenya

http://s1361.photobucket.com/user/antsypants77/media/IMG_0943_zps11cd249d.jpg.html'>IMG_0943_zps11cd249d.jpg

 

Closed up xenia

http://s1361.photobucket.com/user/antsypants77/media/IMG_0942_zps25a49f7e.jpg.html'>IMG_0942_zps25a49f7e.jpg

 

Xenia before the kenya

http://s1361.photobucket.com/user/antsypants77/media/IMG_0823_zps1c645b84.jpg.html'>IMG_0823_zps1c645b84.jpg

 

Well hopefully, the xenia recovers. I guess I'll have to try the kenya later. As for everything else, everyone seems fine. If anyone can chime in, please do. :(

Thanks,

Anthony

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  • 3 weeks later...

I had this problem in my 28 a few years ago. It was so bad that all of the xenia completely died even after I put it on the other side of the tank. I hindsight I'm glad I found the only way to kill xenia as it was going to get out of hand.

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  • 1 month later...

I had this problem in my 28 a few years ago. It was so bad that all of the xenia completely died even after I put it on the other side of the tank. I hindsight I'm glad I found the only way to kill xenia as it was going to get out of hand.

Haha yeah I've seen tanks overgrown with it. Mine was rather docile though so I was rather sad to see it go :/

 

On another note, I know it's been awhile since my last update, busy with college apps ._. but I haven't been neglecting my tank :D In fact, I updated the lighting to a SolarFlare LED 15W, and it looks pretty incredible. I also made some additions to the livestock, but unfortunately, lost a few great guys as well. Both the cerith snails kicked it, one of the turbo snails died, and I was really upset to find that my peppermint shrimp passed overnight. :( I'm not too sure what happened, I think it may have died while molting though because I found scraps of its shell leftover... I'll really miss him, he added a lot of movement. Otherwise though, everything looks great.

Some pictures of the current tank:

FTS

IMG_2159_zps3dcd8940.jpg

 

Couple glove polyps I picked up

IMG_2162_zps181e41ea.jpg

 

New Kenya Tree

IMG_2164_zpsf5bcf393.jpg

 

Piece of the large brown ricordea mushroom that broke off and started growing another mushroom! And a free chunk of goniopora hehe. Hope it grows in fast.

IMG_2160_zps9b68acc0.jpg

 

Funny story. I bought these black widow zoas for $30. Forgot to ask the man what the price was o___e thought it'd be 10-15. Didn't want to seem rude so I just gave him a very weak smile. They do look quite nice though.

IMG_2167_zpsa73557ff.jpg

 

IMG_2169_zps0102e08a.jpg

 

GSP with the blue LED's on

IMG_2174_zps4b1a1760.jpg

 

The Glove Polyps

IMG_2175_zps0d50fb1b.jpg

 

Cool looking mushrooms

IMG_2176_zps15e74e26.jpg

 

And finally, FTS with the blue's on

IMG_2177_zpsad7926bb.jpg

 

The right side of the tank isn't done yet but I hope to finish it soon. Otherwise thanks for reading, any comments you've got, please tell me! :)

-Anthony

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Looks great! Sorry about your losses. Did you test the water to see if you could find a cause?

Thanks! At this point I'm blaming nitrates as the cause for the snail's death as I'm having trouble lowering it as it goes between 0-5ppm and 5-10ppm every now and then but I'm not sure. The other snails and inverts seem to be doing just fine though. As for the shrimp I feel that he may have had an issue molting and my nass finished him off... :(

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hey antsy, i'd let your tank go for a while to let everything settle down and grow a bit... cloves and kenyan love a little nitrate...you'll see them grow fast....let your algaes cycle for a while. looks good....i like your light...are you using the picotope filter?

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Thanks, yeah I'm taking a break from stocking and just kicking back for now.

No I'm not using it actually, I replaced it with a modded AC70, adds a lot more flow to the tank. As for algae, I've got a lot of green stuff growing on the glass, is that what you mean? Either way, I've tried scraping it off but stuff is tough lol. Should I go get an algae scraper or just let it grow for now?

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Thanks, yeah I'm taking a break from stocking and just kicking back for now.

No I'm not using it actually, I replaced it with a modded AC70, adds a lot more flow to the tank. As for algae, I've got a lot of green stuff growing on the glass, is that what you mean? Either way, I've tried scraping it off but stuff is tough lol. Should I go get an algae scraper or just let it grow for now?

i would scrape what you want to remove and do a water change....inverts only is easy to maintain a low nitrates and algae free dt...

i use a 'toothbrush on a stick' that i've made, a couple of them actually, to scrub glass and the odd rock....i also use a hyperdermic needle glued to the end of a stick for scraping that hard to get chlorella off of the glass...it scratches glass if you use it too hard. i haven't worried about those little scratches though. they're unnoticeable when the tank is full of water...

with a pico, 50% water changes are easy and cheap, i suggest a gravity drip over a few hours. when you've removed most of your algae, and done a good wc, then you'll see that algae cycles diminishing, and your microfauna increasing...

what and when are you feeding?

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A toothbrush'll do it?? xD I gotta try that hahah

I'm feeding mysis/coral food every now and then, maybe three times a week. I just cut off a small chunk off of the cube, melt it in tankwater, turn off the filter and pour in a little at a time.

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Following!

Just curious, what colleges are you thinking of? Because I'm really interested in marine biology too but a lot of research has told me to major in biology first and then specialize later on, which is why this whole college thing is quite bothersome too >_>

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I'm in Cali so I'm thinking of UCSD or UCSB but I'm not sure. If all else fails I might go out of state and study in Washington. Puget Sound is all sorts of fun :P But yeah, bio is more general so you've got more options and maybe majoring in marine biology isn't the highest paying job but (and yes this sounds naive) I think I'd just have so much fun doing field work. It's like getting paid for doing things I did as a child x)

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I'm in Cali so I'm thinking of UCSD or UCSB but I'm not sure. If all else fails I might go out of state and study in Washington. Puget Sound is all sorts of fun :P But yeah, bio is more general so you've got more options and maybe majoring in marine biology isn't the highest paying job but (and yes this sounds naive) I think I'd just have so much fun doing field work. It's like getting paid for doing things I did as a child x)

I was considering those schools too, but it might be a bit more difficult for me since I'm all the way in New York. I'm sure I'd enjoy it more than just plain old biology, that's for certain.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, I'm back with an update. I've basically been taking it easy, cleaning the tank, changing water, making sure everything stays constant. Unfortunately, with the cold weather settling in (really Cali? xD) the temperature's been swinging from 80 to 76 :scarry: Luckily, everybody seems to be doing alright.

 

I didn't add any new corals but I did restock my CUC a bit. 1 astrea and 1 nass just weren't cutting it anymore. -_- Anyways, I did some 'remodeling', not really, but let me know what you think :o

 

A new astrea I got from Amazing Reefs and Aquariums. :D He's got a little commensalism (symbiosis?) going on with that feather duster on his shell hehe. Not sure what to name him... Dustin maybe? Hahh. I also got two replacement ceriths, hopefully they last longer than the others. fingerscrossed

IMG_2862_zps76589f69.jpg

 

ANYWAYS, I did lose a glove polyp .-. It started looking emaciated, way skinnier than the remaining one I'm posting here. I pulled off what I think was a parasite on the stem but it didn't get much better and well I dunno, didn't make it :/

IMG_2867_zps083c023b.jpg

 

At least the baby xenia is doing better omgomgomg I'm starting to understand how people consider it a weed now though hahah. It's small now but it's growing...fast. (sorry for blurry shot, best I could do given its location)

IMG_2869_zpscebd8a12.jpg

 

Aaaand here's an FTS w/white lights

IMG_2857_zpsc4bb337b.jpg

 

And one with blue light. Looks the same as last time .-.

 

IMG_2870_zpsc65162de.jpg

 

Also, thought you guys might like this. I was at Ali's and he's got a clownfish with a dollar sign on it! :bling: It's pretty awesome haha, I took this pic with my non-smart phone so it's pretty bad but.

I think his name was Buck

buck_zps1fbf0e6c.jpg

 

 

OH. Happy b-lated Thanksgivings guys :D hope you had a good time!

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