Tashayar's 30- FL/Carib biotope, sunlight-only

[BustytheSnowMaam]

After 6 years, I decided it was time for a new tank. I wanted to try something different, perhaps a biotope, so we could observe critters in their natural environs, with other critters that they would normally interact with. For Easter, we bought our new 30.

 

It's always kind of bothered me that anytime I go in someone's LR, the TV is the focus of the whole room. When we bought our new house, I wanted my LR to be a room strictly for reading/unwinding/conversation. I wanted a nice tank to be the focus of the room, not a TV. I've never been a TV person anyhow.

 

So after some thought, a lot of trips to the LFS to mull over tanks in different sizes and shapes, I chose a 30-long tank.

 

 

Husband painted the back blue with Krylon spray paint:

 

 

I ordered 50 lbs of Florida LR from Sea Life Inc as well as 10 lbs of LS, to seed the "live" Caribsea sand I bought from the LFS. The color of the Sea Life rock as well as all the cool hitchhikers I got amazed me. Best LR I've ever seen.

 

A pic a day or so after I put the rock and sand in. Tank is still a little cloudy.

 

 

Some cool hitchhikers- keep in mind that I don't care if the hitchhikers are "good" or "bad"- the point of this tank is to see them in their natural environs (as much as that is possible) and to watch them interact. I doubt the tunicates will survive because we do not have the plankton-rich water of the ocean, but so far they're hanging in there. Here we go:

 

A pencil urchin

 

 

An unidentified crab:

 

 

Giant Tunicate (rock is covered in much smaller tunicates):

 

 

C'est ma, what the heck is this? It buried itself in the sand.

 

 

Lots of wormies:

 

 

And the best hitchhiker of all, a beautiful 3-inch long emerald-green mantis, I believe it's N. wennerae:

 

 

When I opened the box of LR, he was lying in the bottom on his side. I thought he was a goner, he didn't seem to be moving much. I thought mantises were the devil, that he would devour everything and then smash a hole through the bottom of my tank when he was done (still a possibility). So I put him in a sm container filled with salt water and watched him for a moment. Then I said "what the hell!" and dumped him in.

 

Can you find the mantis in this picture ? He's watching you

 

 

After about 2 weeks, the ammonia cycle seemed to be complete- everything was reading at 0. I know they're not totally accurate, but I use these Lifeguard test strips. It takes 5 seconds, and it tells you if it's at 0 or not. I figure that's all I need to know.

 

I waited about 4 more weeks just to be sure things were stable, then added a few critters.

 

Some scarlet hermits and astrea snails, and a rock with 9 ricordea florida, some orange/purple and some blue/green. You can see in the picture where there's more mushroom "tissue", and this tissue is starting to form mouths and little bumps.

 

 

Then I did kind of a stupid. I'd been researching Caribbean fish, and confused my facts for a chalk bass with the facts for a tobacco basslet at the LFS. In a moment of weakness, I purchased a tobacco basslet. Partly because it was very pretty/different, partly because it's a crappy LFS and I felt sorry for it, and partly because I thought it was a peaceful fish that would be fine in a 30. Then I get home, re-read my facts, and find out it's supposedly not a peaceful fish and needs (depending on what online fish vendor site you're reading) between a 50 and 100 gallon tank.

 

However, he looked pretty harmless, seemed to just want to hang out in his cave and chill, so I decided to give him a try.

 

 

A couple of days ago, I added my next fish- a flame cardinalfish.

 

 

I shouldn't have worried about his compatability with the tobacco basslet, they both hang out in the same cave and go bowling together (sorry pic is a little blurry):

 

 

I might add, for those of you concerned about the mantis, that their cave hangout is only an inch or so from the mantis' den. The first time I dropped a piece of shrimp in to feed the fish, the mantis sped out of his den and stole it. I watched the flame cardinal zip in and snatch the shrimp right from the mantis' claws, then peck at the mantis until the mantis hastily beat it back to his den with his tail between his swimmerets. The fish could care less about him, and he's not interested in them.

 

I'm trying to do this tank as sunlight-only to see how things go. I love the natural look of sunlight on the tank, how it makes the water shimmer and moves through the rocks. No light means the tank is very quiet, and the tank itself makes the room relaxing and peaceful, with only a bit of waterfall noise.

 

 

You can see my parrotfish on the couch . I'll add more to this thread re equipment, livestock, mantis adventures, and progress as I have time. Thanks for checking it out!

[spanko]

Nice! Tagging along.

[dtfleming]

nice carb setup. if your looking for gorg. I have yellow sea plume, purple sea plume and orange sea rod I setting in my frag tank.

[Lalani]

Yay! It looks great Tasha, and those fish look like they have taken to each other.

The little crab on the spoon, I had one hitchhike on the Sealife LR too and he is so cute. He hasn't caused any trouble at all, and he's very shy. He loves flake food!

[BibleSue]

I love what you have done & the look of the 30L. Do you plan to control the amount of time the sunlight is on the tank? The only thing I see missing is the comfy chair right up next to the tank for hours of close up viewing! Looking for lots of good stuff from this tank! I think it calls for the Sponge Bob Thumbs Up Award!

 

 

[BustytheSnowMaam]

I love what you have done & the look of the 30L. Do you plan to control the amount of time the sunlight is on the tank? The only thing I see missing is the comfy chair right up next to the tank for hours of close up viewing! Looking for lots of good stuff from this tank! I think it calls for the Sponge Bob Thumbs Up Award!

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

The tank is in an east window and gets roughly 4 hours of direct sunlight each day. So far, it seems to be adequate- the rics are fine and all the macroalgae that came on the LR is still thriving. I'm kind of thinking this sunlight thing is the way to go.

 

I worried a lot about algae but so far have had none whatsoever- a small diatom bloom in one corner which went away, and that's it. I do get a lot of algae in the fuge, however- I have a couple of astrea snails in there and they keep the lawn "mowed" so to speak. I'm not sure why I get tons of algae in the fuge and none in the main tank. .

 

Lalani- I've only seen this crab once, besides the time I held him on the spoon- he's so small I'm not surprised. You're lucky yours is more visible.

 

dtfleming- I will keep you in mind Still not sure if sunlight is going to be sufficient for anything more than ricordeas.

[spanko]

Are there any heat issues (fluctuations) with the sunlight for 4 hours?

[Mr. Fosi]

How many hours a day does it get and how much will that change as we move into fall/winter?

[xbwolfx]

To supplement the sunlight inconspicuously, I would get a floor lamp or standing reading lamp and sit it next to the tank with one of the 20w Coralife 50/50 pc bulbs like this.

 

That way it would look like the tank still didn't have a light, but get at least some indirect (or with a reading light it could almost be considered direct) supplemental lighting. They make the bulb in a few configurations - I believe 10k is one of them, if you prefer to keep a "sunlight" look rather than add actinic. Just my thoughts...

[BustytheSnowMaam]

How many hours a day does it get and how much will that change as we move into fall/winter?

 

Right now it gets about 4 hours, from about 7 am to 11 am. By 11, the sunlight is mostly on the far left side of the tank. I'm not sure how that will change with the seasons, obviously I imagine it will get less light in the winter. I think there is adequate light for the present occupants of the tank. My thoughts (which may or may not make sense, I'm often on to something I don't quite get) are that artificial lights can't replicate the ever-changing spectrum and angle of natural sunlight.

 

My main goal for the present was to experiment and see if I'd get a horrible algae outbreak, but that doesn't seem to be happening. I do have on order a T5 HO 5x39 watt light. I plan to keep it waiting in the wings just in case.

 

Are there any heat issues (fluctuations) with the sunlight for 4 hours?

 

It goes up about 2 degrees towards midday and stays generally anywhere between 75 and 77 degrees. I've never used a heater in either of my tanks. With this tank, I've read that mantis shrimp are attracted to the glowing red light of the heater and may smash it. I don't know if that's a real concern or not.

 

 

 

 

To supplement the sunlight inconspicuously, I would get a floor lamp or standing reading lamp and sit it next to the tank with one of the 20w Coralife 50/50 pc bulbs like this.

 

That way it would look like the tank still didn't have a light, but get at least some indirect (or with a reading light it could almost be considered direct) supplemental lighting. They make the bulb in a few configurations - I believe 10k is one of them, if you prefer to keep a "sunlight" look rather than add actinic. Just my thoughts...

 

That's a great idea, I will definitely think on that. Thanks for the suggestion.

[qbical]

good stuff

[noobofreefs]

That's a really cool room!

 

Now I need to find a parrotfish...

 

NOR

[BibleSue]

Doesn't the painted back cut down on the light? I like the floor lamp idea if you need to suppliment.

 

dit: NM I went back & looked. I see it is below the window & too close to the wall for that to be a problem.

[spanko]

Doesn't the painted back cut down on the light? I like the floor lamp idea if you need to suppliment.

 

dit: NM I went back & looked. I see it is below the window & too close to the wall for that to be a problem.

 

You can see the shadow on the rockwork though from what you are talking about Sue.

[greeneyes]

Tash, that is just awesome.

[pattykat99]

Tasha,

Your new tank is awesome!! Good choice on the fish. Can i come over....sit on your comfy looking couch and stare at your tank ?

[Mudfish]

Very nice! I hope you get to continue with the sunlight-only idea. And I likey the fishys!

[travisurfer]

awesome tasha. i hope you enjoy keeping a mantis. to this day, that is still the most fulfilling part of my reefkeeping to date. i can't say i don't enjoy my little clownfish though

[plainrt]

tank looks nice.Love the color on the rock.

[BustytheSnowMaam]

awesome tasha. i hope you enjoy keeping a mantis. to this day, that is still the most fulfilling part of my reefkeeping to date. i can't say i don't enjoy my little clownfish though

 

Agreed- I love my mantis! He's fun to watch and so far seems to be well-behaved.

 

Here's some pics of feeding time. I'm fortunate to have an unlimited supply of small snails I can feed him. They're a strombus species of snail and they self-reproduce in my 10 gallon tank.

 

Spoiled little guy gets room service, then tosses the shell out the door of his cave like an old beer can.

 

 

He smells it:

 

And he snatches it!

[Captain]

wow...cool pics!

[greeneyes]

How cool that you captured that.

[Reef Aquatics]

Thats awesome!!

[maydodo]

Very nice keep going. How is your 10g tank doing? Do you plan to move some of your stuffs in the new tank?

[BustytheSnowMaam]

Very nice keep going. How is your 10g tank doing? Do you plan to move some of your stuffs in the new tank?

 

Nope, I still have the 10. I need to dig in there and weed it out quite a bit. I want to keep this exclusively Caribbean/FL, so I'm not putting anything from the other tank in there.

 

Researching corals- I'm still torn about putting a light on the tank, I like the looks of natural lighting so much. Still might stick to rics, maybe some sun corals, as they don't need the light.