Fishstik's Tiny Trashy Tank (Spec V)

[Fishstiks]

Ok guys, pics tomorrow. The "uglies" are pretty much gone, thanks to my trusty little clean up crew :-)

Finn (the firefish) is doing great.

I bought a bottle of pods to add to the tank last week, and when I poured them in, Finn thought it was christmas dinner. Not sure if any of them survived his feasting, but he was sure fat and happy. $25 dinner for him! Lol

Added a koralia nano to the tank for extra flow, been slowly adding a few small frags to the tank.

 

Downside is I cant seem to keep my alkalinity and calcium stable and up. Not sure why. Twice weekly water changes, just a few frags in there. Might have to look into 2 part dosing if things dont stable out. Might try removing the cpe from the filtration for a while.

Anyone else experiencing super low alk/calcium in your spec tank?

[lecroj]

I am dosing with Kent Marine Nano Reef A&B to keep Ca and Alk up. It also has trace elements, Mg and iodine, so should be an all in one product.

Also, I cut a piece of thin acrylic to cover the long hole on top to reduce evaporation and it seems to we working well. When I feed, I just slide the piece down towards the return area.

[NanoClown]

Im currently dosing with Seachem Reef Fusion part 1 and 2, supplemented with Seachem Reef Plus for all of my other trace minerals/elements. It has been working great for me so far. Ill probably buy the same supplements again once I run out.

[Fishstiks]

Thanks guys. I ended up getting the Red Sea liquid 2 part (actually a 3 part, has alk, calcium & Magnesium). I have been trying to do a few water changes with good fresh mixed salt first to see if I can get these numbers up without dosing, as it seems with so little in the tank, I should not be loosing alk/calc like I am. If the water changes dont help, I will begin dosing.

 

Super sad news...............Finn jumped today. I did a water change, and I think the siphon scared him. I didn't see him jump, but he hides in his cave (which happens to be on the back side of the rock where I cannot see him while he is in it) normally when I do a water change. I assumed he was hiding as usual, so I never bothered to check around the tank for him. When I went to feed this afternoon, he was still not out, and didnt come out for food...that was when I knew. SUre enough, he was behind the tank half dried up. Poor little guy. I feel really bad because if I would have just done a double check, I could have noticed this and perhaps saved him :-(

 

On a brighter note, my recently added Pom Pom crab is doing well, and starting to come out from hiding.

 

Question regarding flow. I added a koralia for extra flow, but not sure I need it with just zoas and lps in the tank. I put a frogspawn on the center rock, which is eactly where I want it, but it was not happy with the extra flow from the koralia. Does anyone have a suggestion for a nice centerpiece coral I could put there instead that likes a higher flow? No matter how I move that powerhead, the main flow really hits that area, and the frogspawn is not happy about it. I will move him if I can find a nice replacement for that spot. See attached picture. Sorry for the blah shot, the whites were dimming and my phone sucks. Lol

 

**PS, look closely in the center hole of the left rock, you can see my pom pom just "hangin" out. :-)

 

[Fishstiks]

Update:

Tank seems to be doing well. Have not gotten a new fish yet, think I am going to keep this tank invert only, at least for the time being. Going to swap the blue background for black, the corals look kind of washed out with the blue glare. Also have a WP10 that is sitting in the closet, so I think I am going to swap the koralia out for that and see what happens. It may be too much, even on the lowest setting, but I think I will try it out and see.

New additions: another pom pom crab (this make 2 total) and the first sexy shrimp. My LFS only had 1, and they didn't get any on thier last order, so I just have 1 for now. He is pretty stinkin' cute though :-)

 

Question, how many sexy shrimp could I feasably keep in this tank? I would really like to get another 6 of them (I hear they do better in odd numbers?), and they sure seem small enough to do fine in a 5 gallon, but would 7 of them be too many?

 

Also got my first rock flower nem, and it is sweeeeeetttt! Thinking I am going to move the 2 zoas to the left rock with all the other zoas, and add some more rock nems to that right side rock and keep it a dedicated nem garden.

 

Now, on to the pics. Sorry for the crappy pics, I need to bring a better camera to work one day.

FTS, and pic of new shrimp, Fabio ;-)

 

[Fishstiks]

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[ninjamyst]

not worried about sexy shrimp munching on your zoas?

[Fishstiks]

I am slightly, yes, but I have read if you feed them well, they should leave them alone. So far, the one I have has not bothered them,......but it is definitely a risk. (crossing fingers)

[Kijho]

Looks pretty good!!

[Fishstiks]

Hey guys,

It's been a while since I updated, but things are well.

I finally added a new fish to the tank a few days ago (though temporary, just hangin out until my large tank at home is fully cycled). Cute little multi-colored damsel. I let my nieces pick him out and they named him George. So far, he has been the perfect gentleman, but..........he is the only fish in the tank, so it's kinda hard to judge him right now :-)

 

The tank has several zoas/palys and a few soft and lps corals. Planning to add some GSP, and long fingered xenia, and work on getting some rics in there. The 4 sexies and pom pom crab are doing great. I love watching these little sexy shrimp. They have so much personality! Planning to get a couple more for an even 6 when I can find em locally.

 

In other news, I may be upgrading this little tank. I ordered one of the new IM Nuvo 10 gallon tanks. I may or may not use it here at work, just depends on how it fits on the desk, looks, etc. I love this little tank, but I feel very restricted on the lack of fintration space. Not so much for filtration, but there just is no room to hide the heater or add an ato to the tiny space back there (and the extra few gallons of water in a bigger tank is always nice). If the nuvo fits my needs, my sexies will be getting a slightly bigger abode.

 

Sept FTS (dont mind the white floaty in the tank, one of the shrimps molted and photobombed the tank, lol)