Natalia’s reefbowl: 8 years old!

[natalia_la_loca]

So the other day, probably one of the most hot and humid of the year, our central air conditioning died. It was the reefbowl that first alerted me to the problem when the temperature alarm went off (I have it set for 82F). Hooray for temperature controllers!

 

With a little help from ice cubes in Ziploc bags, I was able to keep the temp below 82 until the AC was repaired. Here it is today, just before the feeding and water change.

 

[holy carp]

Looks unfazed... Nice save!

[Deleted User 9]

Peace Natalia,

 

Great to hear that you've managed to take control of that situation.

However, FYI....There has been times when the temp in Maritza The Vase Reef,

has gone up to 84 for the day, and at night, it would drop to 81, slowly.

 

My temp at the moment is 83.

I just increase the air flow, do a 25% water change, same temp, same s.g. 1.026,

and the reef is doing great!!!

 

Some times when you bring the temp. down quickly, it will do more harm than good.

I'm not saying that your approach was wrong or right,

I'm just informing you that you don't have to panic and feel like something is going to die.

If the temp happens too quickly, whether high or lowering, that may become a problem if not monitor,

and the necessary action are not taken.

 

For the most part, corals are used to this in nature.

 

Glad you were able to successfully maintain the course.

 

Great pics.. Continue in your Success and Happiness.

 

Blessings All.

[natalia_la_loca]

Thanks Mary I actually only used enough ice to bring the temp down to 81F. This time of year, the reefbowl temp goes from 78 at night to 81 during the afternoon, so it wasn't a significant drop at all.

[teenyreef]

Whew, I'm glad you caught it before it got bad, though!

[natalia_la_loca]

The reefbowl's 6-monthiversary is approaching

 

All is well in picosphere country. And I need to clean the glass on the shrimpbowl

 

This is an interesting angle.

 

The bubblegum digitata frag is liking its slightly shady location on the frag rack. The tips are coloring up faster than expected.

 

The branch tips on the bubblegum mother colony are also a brighter green.

 

The two surviving vamps in drag are continuing to recover.

 

Rasta frags are looking lovely

 

I moved the nephthea to the upper left again as it balances the green of the frogspawn.

 

Yeah. I love this reefbowl.

[Deleted User 9]

Peace Natalia,

 

Happy 6 mos. anniversary!

 

Absolutely Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!

Loving this more and more each update.

Love the variety..

Thanks for the update.

Much Success and Happiness.

 

Blessings All

[teenyreef]

Looking great as always! I think this is one of my favorites here on N-R because it's so simple and yet everything grows so well. And that bubble gum

[natalia_la_loca]

Thanks all I won't declare success until I carry it through multiple years like Maritza and Brandon's vase reefs, but they've shown it can be done. So far, so good.

[natalia_la_loca]

I've been out and about a lot lately, so haven't paid much attention to the reefbowl other than the weekly water change. I also was out on a bike tour for a few days and returned to a happy reefbowl with no tank sitter. Here are a couple of quick cellphone pics.

 

Zoas are doing well.

 

A branch of rusty orange digitata is getting very close to, and shading, the green slimer acro. I'm going to give it a trim during the next waterchange.

 

As Brandon, Maritza and Reefjar are showing, the vase reef concept works! It's working for me too.

[Nano sapiens]

Nice to see the bowl doing good...and happy 6 months anniversary!

[holy carp]

Those zoas look awesome.

 

You femto-reefers have got me thinking of setting one up as quarantine / frag bowl

[natalia_la_loca]

Those zoas look awesome.

 

You femto-reefers have got me thinking of setting one up as quarantine / frag bowl

 

Femto-reef, I like it It really is a different thing from a pico reef.

 

As long as a few basic requirements are fulfilled, I think a vase reef system could be great for quarantining small numbers of frags. Cheap to set up, simple to refresh with new water or live rock, and easy to detect and treat problems that escape the initial dipping procedure.

[Deleted User 9]

Peace Natalia,

 

Thanks for the update!!!

It's looking AWESOME!!!

Isn't it great to enjoy your life and and Reef bowl and not have to worry about it

when you get home?

Enjoying all the good things in LIFE!

 

Then, come home to your babies!!!

It shows how stable these little Reefs really are,

once they're cycled and the Corals are spaced.

 

I was out for the weekend too and came home to a very happy Vase Reef, with

very little evaporation, and the Corals I guess, happy to see Me because they are

OPEN completely!!

 

Love Montipora Digitata's.

 

Much Success and Happiness..

 

Blessings All.

[natalia_la_loca]

Thanks Mary It really is a joy to have a system that gives so much growth for such infrequent (but very strategic) maintenance.

 

Here's a photo update from the weekend, just before the latest feeding and water change.

 

The ORA tricolor acropora valida is really starting to look lovely. Polyp extension, color are fantastic.

 

Unlike the zoas and nephthea, which are more temperamental, the acans and SPS look beautiful all the time.

 

The two remaining vamps in drag zoas are looking good again; they have all of their color and are beginning to regain their size.

 

This pic shows how badly the burnt orange digitata was shading the green slimer acro; they were about 1 cm apart. Unfortunately when I trimmed it, the whole branch came off at the base, disrupting my carefully balanced aquascape Oh well, it'll grow back.

 

The bubblegum digitata is encrusting quickly. It's touching the rusty orange digitata now.

 

FBS. Nephthea and some of the zoas were grumpy. But they opened again after the feeding and water change.

[brandon429]

it literally looks like Christmas in the bowl

[Deleted User 9]

Peace Natalia,

 

Thanks for the UPDATE!!

Your Reef is look FANTASTIC!!!!!!

So so colorful and thriving indeed.

As per the certain Zoanthids, Palythoas, and Soft Corals,

They sometimes behave this way and in Vase Reef keeping them,

I've learned that Green Nephthea do great in these systems but don't like the massive water changes.

And they will let us know by being stubborn and not showing off their beauty.

 

With Zoas and Palys, It seems that they sometimes wont open up and the massive water changes and feedings,

gets them going again. Remember that these Corals do have certain Toxins and use them for their Chemical Warfare.

It may be that they're triggering off some of these toxins.

I know that with Palau Nephthea, It was happening with the SPS Corals.

When I removed the Nephthea, now in the Fish Bowl Reef, you can see that she's grown so much

but this was not the case in the Vase Reef. She was very stubborn indeed. Keep an eye on her and watch out for

black spots on the Nephthea, which will indicate a slow death, bacterial infection, and a sudden toxic reaction.

 

Beautiful Indeed....!!!!

Much Success and Happiness..

 

Blessings All.

[natalia_la_loca]

Thanks Mary, those are great tips. I'll keep an eye for black spots on the nephthea.

 

I haven't observed any patterns in the retraction or opening of the nephthea and the zoas in relation to feedings and water changes, but I could see some kind of chemical warfare being involved. Maybe some of the corals release toxins when the snails bump into them?

[HammerLover]

Hi Natalia your setup is just awesome! I was about to quit reefing and almost all of the contents of my reef tank are sold except for the lights, wavemakers and a couple of small softies. Im planning to do a similar fishless setup in my 5 gal that used to be a betta tank. Love the pics <3

 

May I ask what's the maintenance of the system? feeding regimen of corals?

 

Looking forward for more updates!

[natalia_la_loca]

Hi Natalia your setup is just awesome! I was about to quit reefing and almost all of the contents of my reef tank are sold except for the lights, wavemakers and a couple of small softies. Im planning to do a similar fishless setup in my 5 gal that used to be a betta tank. Love the pics <3

 

May I ask what's the maintenance of the system? feeding regimen of corals?

 

Looking forward for more updates!

 

Hey, thank you for stopping by I used to have (relatively) larger systems and can most definitely identify with your desire to downsize. This is my maintenance regime. Once a week, I:

 

-Turn off airline

-Target feed corals a mix of Reef Roids, Rods Food Coral Blend, and Fauna Marin Ultra Ricordea and Zoanthus + Ultra Min D

-Leave airline off 10 minutes

-Run airline 2-5 hours

-Agitate corals, rocks and substrate with turkey baster to release organic solids into water column

-Drain all water

-Treat any small patches of nuisance algae with 35% hydrogen peroxide on a paintbrush

-Scrape glass

-Refill with new saltwater

-Agitate with turkey baster again

-Drain all water

-Fill with new saltwater

 

That's it. I only do maintenance once a week, and I rarely open the bowl between water changes. I don't know why more people don't have systems like these. They are unbelievably rewarding given how easy they are to look after.

[natalia_la_loca]

News and photo dump! A few things have happened since I last posted. We had the windows of our art studio replaced, so we had to move all furniture away from the windows, including the rack holding the reefbowl. In the process of which, I came to discover how wonderfully portable my reefbowl is

 

However, shortly before we started moving furniture, I noticed a little water around the reefbowl. A crack? Overflow from the top? I still don't know. I inspected the bottom of the bowl during the move and didn't see any cracks, and if there is a leak, it's extremely slow. To be safe, I've purchased a spare bowl of the same size. Because the system is 6 months old, I was planning to give the sand a deep rinse anyway per Brandon's recommendation/experience, so when I move the reefbowl back into the studio, I'm going to transfer the whole system to the new bowl so as not to take any chances.

 

And as if that weren't enough, the other day my chalice decided to get territorial with my favorite acan, despite their having lived in harmony for about 5 months. I thought the rock the chalice is on was big enough not to move around, but maybe the snails are stronger than I give them credit for. Anyway, chalice 1, acan 0. Some of the baby heads of the acan survived, so with any luck they'll restore the colony. I've also moved the chalice rock further away.

 

Now the pics...last shot of lovely acan prior to chalice carnage

 

The culprit. She's a mean girl...but so sexy

 

The damage today...note itty bitty babies holding on

 

Gorgeous bubblegum digitata frag destined for a certain vase reef with a lovely name

 

Neon green nephthea looking particularly fluffy today

 

OMG :wub:

 

At least my other acans are happy

 

Top-down FBS

 

Zoa love

 

Because the reefbowl isn't in the studio, here's a side view I don't normally get. It gives some idea of the crazy growth of the bubblegum digitata mother colony. Digitatas love vase reefs!

 

Despite the mean-girl chalice...a pretty happy bowl.

[holy carp]

Wow, all dis shit in only 6 months!

 

Now, let's be clear. The sexy girls are often the meanest. Or craziest. But that chalice is just gorgeous, so no surprise... Seriously, though, it looks like that acan was picked clean...

 

Bowl's looking super great. Could the leak be from condensation escaping the seal? Did you test leak-water salinity?

[natalia_la_loca]

I know, right?

 

I don't think it's condensation. There wasn't enough of it to gather up for testing with a refractometer, but I tasted it and it's saltwater. I suspect it's a tiny hairline crack. Will move everything to the new bowl asap.

[holy carp]

Tasted it! Ha! That cracked me up.

 

I think you'd see salt creep type deposits around a crack pretty quickly. Is it recurring? Otherwise shining a flashlight at a variety of angles would pretty quickly reveal a crack in the glass. It's hard for me to imagine it's leaking...

[natalia_la_loca]

Quickest way to find out

 

No salt creep or cracks that I can see. I also have a very hard time imagining it's leaking. But there is no telltale salt creep to suggest runoff from the top either. Maybe there's a stress point resulting from irregularities in the glassblowing? The bowl is slightly asymmetrical. The new bowl I ordered appears to be better crafted, so maybe that will help.