Nano sapiens Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Awesome! 9 years and still going strong is remarkable, especially considering the small size. 10 years will be here in no time! Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 I cant wait for the update, this tank is reaaaaaly fricken sweet. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 What is it you do to maintain the DSB? Link to comment
brandon429 Posted October 7, 2014 Author Share Posted October 7, 2014 Its a pretty simple trick, goes like this A brand new crisp 6 inch dsb is harmless we all know. Looks good, if not too silty it stays in place, classic reef tank look we all saw in the beginning but the point is a new dsb is harmless. Same presentation to the overall tank as no dsb, since the new one doesn't reduce nitrate very well and its also not leaking anything either, rather neutral, at that time. Let's say some luck and planning allows you to take the typical sandbed out three years- Then you get into aged tanks with deep sandbeds, they look funky. All sorts of colors, dark spots, light spots, accumulations and aggregations of this and that since we typically followed hands off let the microfauna do it mode of dsb aging. Eventually comes ots, you have old tank syndrome, typical phosphate issues that won't stop, maybe some nitrate issues, you stir up that bed and you get ammonia tank death which is why everyone hates typical dsb approach now and its not the norm. Sure, large tank keepers may have a 12 yr old untouched sandbed, but we are talking nanos. Their bed may have a 20 yr possibility with the dilutions they run, but for nano and pico reefs its faster progression to bad You can continue the no touch mode, preventing your mass wipeout, but its still a leaking diaper at that point slowly putting all that stored waste back into the tank, in addition to the daily bioload from the tank. Not just the extra worms and pods the dsb supports, but months of stored coral poop and detritus from the thousands of respiring animals in the system that produce whole waste because we degrade feed fully in the typical dsb tank, and, let animals poop on top of that then natural particulate motions transport that deeper into the bed. Nano sapiens wrote good terminology for that in another post Ive forgotten the term But At this point, the typical dsb adds to the bioloading of the tank is a liability So consider these oppositions I want a dsb due to the old school look, and because it raises my rock stack into the middle curve of the bowl for the magnification effect But I wanted none of the bad aspects, so all I do is not feed the tank until I know I'm doing a water change a few hours later. This is exporting uneaten food unlike the common aspect of feed daily export only bi monthly. Using fish in a small pico ages it at an unnatural pace, partly because you have to feed in the typical ways and because you can't perform tidal ebb simulation water changes which is what a micro coral only tank must have to live indefinitely. Using fish would speed age my tank. Coral mass was my goal, and the inclusions reflect that all except for the bad mis call of ever trying a mushroom frag When I change water, its 100% never partial. Sometimes two drain and fills back to back like this And I'm pouring in HARD at other times (this one was for peroxide demo)> I'm not kid gloves soft, animals don't do my bed or my algae work, I do, thats the diff in care and longevity compared to typical small tanks Forceful water changes purposely stir up the top two inches of sandbed at least monthly, but my feed doesn't degrade In the system either so that slows bed incursion rates. Since I'm not partial changing, bed disturbance doesn't hurt its exportive and very effective since I'm changing one or two hundred percent. I can simply change water in a way that large tanks can't because it would take all weekend and a hundred bucks worth of change water The way I change water accomplishes the same means as taking apart the whole system and rinsing it, without taking out anything. Then you factor in blast changes: in addition to these steps, annually or bi annually I set the bowl in the sink and pour 20 gallons through it, hard Imagine how clean it is then So....getting natural nitrate reduction shown in that video above at the top of this page isn't the goal,its a by product of truly keeping an exported sandbed which is what you have to do to make them work My sandbed is actually about a year old detritus wise, even though its 9 simply due to easy resets and cheats that are appropriate for pico reef keeping. I worked with the space and the tools I had to keep it basically free of diaper like waste. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Thanks for sharing. I love 100% WC's... whenever I moved to a new apt. I wouldn't bring old water with me but just make 100% new water and I always saw an explosion of growth. As you said though, not feasible in large tanks. I have a 7.2g coldwater which is somewhat small with a DSB. I have a lot of filtration on it though but I figure maintaining the DSB is still something I will need to do. Right now, I do near 100% WC's as the sand and rock doesn't leave much water left so its pretty easy. How often do you do your waterchanges? Link to comment
brandon429 Posted October 7, 2014 Author Share Posted October 7, 2014 I once did twice a week 100% (because that meant I was blast feeding mixed mysis and cyclopeeze) for three years just to fatten up the lps and shrimp/crab, my older youtube vids before the shrooms took over. it doesnt look much different than the vid from last year, the bowl has a stasis going other than shrooms attacking my prized blastos in that pic above, that have only been grown in vases since 2001 been busy Ill get pics or vid up soon but, that lost lps grows back. If you keep corals long enough, you will even see them regenerate from the center corallite structure from dormant tissue, caulastrea heads do it all the time and rather fast but some will be lost forever and become actual cemented coral skeleton holding the rocks together. Thats a real reef. loss and growth even though much loss can be prevented through deliberate action and planning. In this case, its just a test to see how long it will run with a repeated care and dosing schedule. I dont believe you can get gallon reefs out this long without dosing, in addition to water changes. I think a reason a lot of smaller reefs dont last is because they are told not to dose, but when searching online for old tanks this size, they had to dose. Maybe that can be changed in the future, certainly there is some degree of water change frequency that will offset any dosing benefits, but Im using dosing to lower my water change requirements as there is a tendency towards a low pH condition in aging DSB small tanks . A reduction in weak links is key for this packed vase...thats why there's only an airpump and single heater, very few fail points. has backup battery pump for outages, can run 36 hours on same air which has actually saved it, once. My friend Newman here has correctly identified a pending issue for prediction. I dont think I would have thought of it, too pure in its simplicity which is exactly what is needed to get another decade: change out the heater preemptively. Prob the best advise Ive been given in a long time, we all read the threads. why would you let an original heater cosing only 25$ run -until- it locks out or quits....$25 is worth the money to simply put in a new tetra preset and get to 2024. That, and the majano wand to kill back these shrooms is whats coming The shrooms will not permanently kill all my lps even though it looks bad, it just takes more years to regrow. This reef, through my neglect and unwillingness to take it down to access all invaders (something I often recommend to others) is going through a natural challenge, a shift on the reef towards soft coral dominance and away from stony coral dominance. I have my hands in much more immersive hobbies right now vs pico reefing that the bowl is very much neglected compared to how I used to run it when I was happy with the balance. But it is a true balance. I change water weekly 100% still but now only feed about twice a month. the sandbed and rock structure is so colonized with calcium spires from various worms, and sponges despite the heavy peroxide use, that the bowl is certainly and verifiably its own food pump at this point. The various pelagic castings of juvenile animals, gametes, living tissue into the water is what keeps it going and the beginning protein input (100% of reef tanks require feeding, none are self sustaining without it) is some cyclopeeze input maybe twice a month. The rest is self supporting time, the corals growing off the castings from other animals and from photosynthesis. Tamberav your coldwater reef is a fascinating difference in tank proceedings the bacterial loading and oxygen demands on the tank are lesser due to temp the animals selected to comb the sandbed and rocks are different in nature, this kind of system is slower to grow eutrophic and algae dominant vs a normal nano or pico, additionally many algae are selected against at nontropical temps anyway, neat potential you have there. Its command for calcium and alk should be notably lower than tropical tanks, but it would be neat to see how this changes as it matures and different types of stony but nonphotosynthetic corals are included Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Coral mass was my goal, and the inclusions reflect that all except for the bad mis call of ever trying a mushroom frag Although we may cuss them out Discosoma are really one amazing organism. It doesn't take much to get them going, but eliminating them completely from packed rockwork is a major challenge! The term for water flow being forced into the sustrate is 'advection'. Link to comment
brandon429 Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 No matter how I look I dont see pic attachment options. I have image shack ready...am looking on both ipad 3 and note 3 browsers, it says post and reply options only...attach files is disabled how in the world attach pics haven't attached a pic at nr.com in two yrs. I'd like it to not be a link but the whole pic full screen http://imageshack.com/a/img537/5871/y36Yfd.jpg[/url Link to comment
brandon429 Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 How do you make imageshack pics large here Soon I'll get these full size Link to comment
Tamberav Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 I use http://minus.com/ as it doesn't downsize the pics and make them crappy or require an account. Just hit upload and place the link in the image button on the forums. Link to comment
Angel<3Nanos Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 This is truly a work of art. I'm so inspired by your tank. I've seen it before, but reading your posts about the caring schedule and procedures you do to maintain this vase is what I really love. Keep it up man! This kind of reefs is what keeps us going. Knowing there's a person out there who has done the impossible. About that majano wand. Shoot me a pm with your paypal addy and I'll make a small donation towards this beauty. You have gained a forever follower of this vase Link to comment
brandon429 Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 angel oh my goodness that's too nice of you I couldn't!! But u have a lifelong reef friend now I am blowing money that could be used for majano wand on hobby drones lol Link to comment
Angel<3Nanos Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 angel oh my goodness that's too nice of you I couldn't!! But u have a lifelong reef friend now I am blowing money that could be used for majano wand on hobby drones lol Well I'm here if this tank ever needs anything! Don't hesitate to ask Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Truly awesome I follow Mary arroyo on YouTube and that's how I heard about yours, is she on NR do u know? Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Fully reducing sandbed lots of microfauna Not frags, colonies all grown into the rock, cemented together. Coral holds all rock structure in place Lots of 35% peroxide used as needed to clean glass, burn off coralline etc Full water changes weekly Blastomussa m. frag comes from a line of coral I had in reef bowl one from 2001, so about 13 years cloned in a vase pico it is a fast grower. Over 100 full polyps From 5 transplanted Sps has plated over the reef like a rock eye patch. Hey Brandon! Im thinking of making one of these as a fun summer project- a large flower vase, an extra Neo-Therm heater, and a Whisper air pump. It sounds simple... .TOO simple! haha So I can just start by filling it with a DSB like yours, about 5 inches, the heater, and water? I can chip up a bunch of ReefCleaners dry rock and epoxy them in a column like yours... Right? Very excited for this project Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 angel oh my goodness that's too nice of you I couldn't!! But u have a lifelong reef friend now I am blowing money that could be used for majano wand on hobby drones lol Nice! You building your own or going with consumer drones, like DJI, 3DR, etc? Im in the process of building a QAV-250 FPV Racing Mini-Quad, and am just waiting for an adapter for my Spectrum DX7s Link to comment
brandon429 Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 Hey thanks for the kick ! Pics before the mushroom invasion lol priceless Its literally that easy as you say. If you want to go ahead and break all reef laws: Buy the single chunkiest funkiest twisted purple quality undeniable live rock that looks like this https://imageshack.com/i/id90IpCDj Or anything purple w years of coralline and bugs worms on it, from their display tank if needed, and make them bag it wet like a fish and bring home a few pounds. Non negotiable Then use wet pack caribsea arrive alive sand rinsed powerfully over and over till zero dust cloud. It leaves some bacteria in place even so, but none here are needed yet the rocks got it covered. Set up the entire system in one day with a little frag of sps called the little engine that could It'll do just fine with you skipping a cycle and day 1 reefing. Do some type of community service to offset what you've just done and continue reefing for a very, very long time. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Hey thanks for the kick ! Pics before the mushroom invasion lol priceless Its literally that easy as you say. If you want to go ahead and break all reef laws: Buy the single chunkiest funkiest twisted purple quality undeniable live rock that looks like this https://imageshack.com/i/id90IpCDj Or anything purple w years of coralline and bugs worms on it, from their display tank if needed, and make them bag it wet like a fish and bring home a few pounds. Non negotiable Then use wet pack caribsea arrive alive sand rinsed powerfully over and over till zero dust cloud. It leaves some bacteria in place even so, but none here are needed yet the rocks got it covered. Set up the entire system in one day with a little frag of sps called the little engine that could It'll do just fine with you skipping a cycle and day 1 reefing. Do some type of community service to offset what you've just done and continue reefing for a very, very long time. LOL where the hell can i get rock like that! Right right.... Screw dry rock. Hmm. Link to comment
brandon429 Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 Harry guess what I'm specifically getting ready for a racing 250 but haven't owned one!! I do long range slow stick flights as a plane platform or dji phantom modified But I'll tell you what I don't like crashing an 800.00 pig I want a nimble fast tfitty thats expendable and not punishing like a single hard bump to a phantom Here's two of my drone vids just for fun Here's that lighted phantom daytime running the aquarium drone monitor Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Harry guess what I'm specifically getting ready for a racing 250 but haven't owned one!! I do long range slow stick flights as a plane platform or dji phantom modified But I'll tell you what I don't like crashing an 800.00 pig I want a nimble fast tfitty thats expendable and not punishing like a single hard bump to a phantom Here's two of my drone vids just for fun https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eYeVUBHjn-M https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=de4-93hx0No Here's that lighted phantom daytime running the aquarium drone monitor https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrnqoc2hOZs OMG what the hell.... WHY AQUARIUM FPV MONITOR?!?!?!?!? I have a 3dr drone that by far my favorite- the PixaHawk flight controller is incredible. I can easily program 5km missions without any worry! Im actually working on adding another channel so I can drop packages and such- just a simple servo. Yeah 250 size quads are amazing! Im so excited to get this one off the ground- I only used top-notch equipment like Lumenier, BlackSheep, DragonLink, etc. Ill try to get pictures in a bit SOOOOOO vase huh.... I have an awesome one thats like 3.5 feet tall and 12" wide at the largest point. It tapers at the top and has a lid! Not exactly a pico, but pretty cool.... Link to comment
brandon429 Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 There is only one specific reason to create an aquarium drone monitor So that if the term aquarium drone ever becomes viral or useful a pico reefer got to it first Your specialty vase can work The key design element that allows airstone use is a lid system that seats all the way around on the inner diameter of any fluted vase neck On the edge, or outer diameter fits w make salt creep http://s903.photobucket.com/user/brandon_1_2010/media/Mobile%20Uploads/PhotoGrid_1435104056042.jpg.html Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 There is only one specific reason to create an aquarium drone monitor So that if the term aquarium drone ever becomes viral or useful a pico reefer got to it first Your specialty vase can work The key design element that allows airstone use is a lid system that seats all the way around on the inner diameter of any fluted vase neck On the edge, or outer diameter fits w make salt creep http://s903.photobucket.com/user/brandon_1_2010/media/Mobile%20Uploads/PhotoGrid_1435104056042.jpg.html Heres your picture haha.... You need to paste the Direct link! Link to comment
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