Mr. Fosi's budget 20L

[bonsai reefer]

Fossi, a naso tang they get huge pretty quick but are murder on hair alge :)I got a really small one and put it in my 20 he out grew it in aboyt 4 mo but got more credit for him than what I bought him for when I returned him to the lfs Or mabye a leuttice nudibranch? you seem to have it under controll now though just my 2c.

 

Keep the faith brother Some of our most trying times in life give us the most opprrtunity to shine!!

[Mr. Fosi]

Update pics (anyone wanna help with stat homework? ):

 

 

Here is the worst bit of GHA. There are a couple GSP under there.

 

 

 

 

This is an area where the GSP is losing the battle. Notice the unhealthy white pallor. I hope it continues to fade away.

 

 

 

 

This is the shroom that was brown & balled up. This pic is a little washed out, but you get the idea.

 

 

 

 

These are the angry green palys. Ideas on how to make them happy?

 

 

 

 

The pink palys, some of which have tenticles, & some don't. Eventually, they'll all have them.

 

 

 

 

The zenia.

 

 

 

 

DIY PCV surface skimmer for the AC70. The date is screwed up, I took this pic yesterday.

 

 

 

And two FTSs. Notice the massive chaeto ball. I think I may put most of it up for sale next weekend.

 

[adinsxq]

you won't need that surface skimmer if you have more surface movement. i honestly believe a few of your chronic problems would be solved with stronger pumps

[Mr. Fosi]

Suggestions?

[adinsxq]

what you go with is entirely up to you i guess.

 

right now all of your pumps are circulating the upper half of the tank. i would add something that pulls the water from the bottom of the tank up to the top.

 

a mj (400 600 or 900) suctioned to the bottom of your tank with the jet angled 45 degrees towards the surface works great in a 12" tank. (i have a mj900 like that in a 15g) you'll get a nice ripple. the surface scum will disappear. the increased circulation should indirectly help out with the algae problem too.

 

try it!

[Mr. Fosi]

Sounds like it's time to make a trip to ebay...

[travisurfer]

lol, tank tank is coming along nicely

[adinsxq]

any news?

[Mr. Fosi]

News? I have a chemical oceanography exam tomorrow that I'm not ready for... Oh! You meant about the tank...

 

Not much. The GHA is taking over the zoa frags and there isn't anything I can do. I am seriously considering the purchase of seahare.

 

I took your (adin) advice about adding more flow, but I didn't use MJs; I put another AC70 on it instead. I know that it doesn't make the deeper changes you were looking for, but it has eliminated the surface scum so kudos to you!

 

I sold off some chaeto, so I have a little more room... Not much else to report. I'd like to do a pictorial update (I know how much you need them adin), but I really need to be studying and grading my students assignments.

 

I'll try to get a pictorial update done over the weekend.

[this1fish]

I think I have found the 3rd path.

 

Here's my reasoning:

- drilling is ideal from an aesthetic perspective, but time consuming, has inherent risks (tank crack now or when it's full of SW & livestock), and locks up a tank for a specific function

- overflow boxes aren't as pretty & need to be watched for gathering air bubbles, but they can be moved from tank to tank

 

This particular model cost me 2 frags (orange zoas & GSP) & will handle 600gph, which is more than I want to run through a 10g sump.

 

Of course, I still don't have the 10g... But I am sure that a solution will present itself.

 

where did you get this piece exactly? i would like to get my hand on one.

[Mr. Fosi]

I traded with a local reefer for that overflow. You can find them online by searching for "continuous siphon overflow" or "hang on back overflow" or other such terms.

 

Here is a link to one at Foster & Smith: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...A&subref=AA

[akbuuur]

heyy Mr. fosi,

how u been man... the 20's looking pretty good, i didnt check out the whole thread ... just too tired right now but maybe check your phosphates(you probably already did it but i thought id ask anyway). I just broke down my 92 and am keeping a 20 L until schools done with. i just read you became a father-congrats... i just had a neice and a nephew this year kids are something else i tell ya.

Take care

[Kool-cat]

Wow GHA epidemic. I have a red hair algae epidemic.

[Mr. Fosi]

i just read you became a father-congrats... i just had a neice and a nephew this year kids are something else i tell ya.

 

Hey man! Good to see you. Yeah kids are something else, especially when they are yours.

 

As for the GHA... I don't think I'd call it an epidemic since it isn't spreading (yet). Still a PITA though.

 

Time for some pics.

 

GHA frag garden. Anyone one low on GHA? I ahve some for sale. I am seriously considering the purchase of a seahare.

 

 

 

 

One of my dutiful astrea snails. This is a relatively new one, as evidenced by the lack of coralline on its shell.

 

 

 

 

My pink palys. They were shaded for over a week while my lastest bach of chaeto deals worked themselves out. Now that they are back in full light, some of them are retreating around the back side of the rock.

 

 

 

One of the smaller striped shroom frags. No GHA to speak of & the little shroom is happy.

 

 

 

 

Diamond in the rough... I think I am going to frag off the shrooms on this rock and cook it. I have a couple other rocks that have been cooking for several weeks, so I think I'll do a swap in a week or two.

 

 

 

 

This tiny shroom looks a lot different than when it was first introduced to this tank. Here is a before & after series.

 

 

 

 

My white/pink kenya tree... I still think that this looks unhealthy. Feedback please?

 

 

 

 

The long-suffering xenia. There are three small colonies, two on the front side & one on the back. They are looking more like adult polyps & are pulsing regularly. I am still gradually moving them into the light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The chalice. It has started looking a lot more "pokey" than before. I take this as a good thing, since the fleshy mantle hasn't receded at all.

 

 

 

This is my recovering shroom. It has colored up a lot more since the last pic.

 

 

 

 

This is a macro that has spouted out of some of my Gulf of Mexico rock. This particular rock was covered with macro when I bought it, but it was all eaten by my hermits. Looks like it is making a comeback under the new, stronger lights.

 

 

 

 

This is where we get into the new stuff. My wife & I hosted blubastion & his wife at our place on Saturday night & blue came bearing gifts. I gotta tell you, blue is one of the most generous guys I know.

 

This is the first thing he showed me: two red mangrove propagules. I am still reading up on them, but I have some neat ideas on how best to use them.

 

 

 

 

The next thing he broke out was a sandwich bag with three frags in it. This is a frag of a Tubs green acropora. I know next to nothing about acropora and I hope my lighting is strong enough to support it. I know it doesn't look too great, but there is at least on polyp alive at the tip, as I have seen it extend.

 

 

 

 

This is a frag of Idaho Grape montipora. I am pretty sure this will do ok under my lighting, now if I could keep the snails from kocking these plastic frag plugs around. I think I am going to get some egg crate & a soap dish to make a little frag rack.

 

 

 

 

And last, but not least, is a frag of Purple Bonsai acropora. If it ever colors up (unlikely under 130W of PC, it'll be purple body with green polyps. If it lives (and grows), but doesn't color up, I won't be unhappy. You can see that it is already encrusting the plug.

 

 

 

 

This is a shot of my main water circulation: two AC70s, one with a surface skimmer.

 

 

 

 

Here is an STS to give you an idea of what the profile looks like.

 

 

 

 

And the obligatory FTS.

 

[reefone]

tanks lookin good except the gha time to get the seahare. how is everything liking the new light? that chalice is sweet. im a lps guy myself.as long as by pokey u mean the flesh is growing upwards and that ur not seeing the skelliton poking through meaning that it is shrinking.but from the pic it looks to be doing good.

[Mr. Fosi]

No skeleton poking through.

 

I had a chalice frag that died on me last year, so I know what to look for...

[travisurfer]

The tank is really coming along nicely. The xenia is looking especially nice. Now, if only I could get some more liverock to really get things in my tank closer to the light.

[bluebastion]

Fosi,

 

How are the SPS doing?

[ProFlatlander15]

Atleast you GHA is only on a few rocks. Mine was on every rock for about 4 months, and one day, it just got up and left. I think the caulerpa overtook it, lol. I just kinda waited my algae outbreak out, I also tried injected Joe's Juice into the GHA clump to see if that worked. Manual removal helps alot too. I used stainless steel scissors to precision snip.

[Mr. Fosi]

Still alive. Hard to say if they are "happy" though.

 

I need to get them higher up in the tank (closer to the light) & my clean up crew keeps pushing those frag plugs around. I see two options: (1) pull one of the cook rocks out early & try to rig something up or (2) get some eggcrate & make a little frag rack similar to the one you have in your M-tank.

 

I like the frag rack idea because the frag plugs will fit in it nicely & I can put it virtually anywhere in the tank. Wanna sell me some of your extra egg crate? I don't want to buy a whole panel & end up with several square feet sitting around my house. I think you know how that feels.

 

The mangroves are fine too, but want to put a little more light over them & I haven't decided how I am going to do that. I really feel like I "need" that 10g sump because it would open my options up.

 

I also read a little about iron (Fe) in reef aquaria & my intuition was correct: it is generally a good thing. It is also not very soluble & tends to complex with things (like OH radicals) in the water, especially at the high pHs (8.0+)of our tanks, & a lot of it remained unavailable to the biology. Also, if you were to dose Fe (like in a chelated liquid supplement) you might end up with a nuisance microalgae bloom in addition to advantaging your macroalgae & plants (mangroves in this case), but that is the same problem you run into in FW planted aquaria.

 

I think I can deal with these issues the same way I do in FW: use Fe-rich substrate & never dose liquid supplements. The fluorite I have has always kept my FW planted tanks happy and healthy & I think it would do the same thing for macroalages & plants in my reef tank.

 

Of course, I have used it as the sole substrate in my FW tanks & I wouldn't want to do that here because I: (1) don't like the way it would look in a reef tank & (2) am not sure how the SW animals would react to it, since it isn't something that is found in their native biome(s).

 

I am thinking about two courses of action: (1)I might plant one of the mangroves in a small amount of the fluorite and leave it in one of the AC70s, but leave the other mangrove unplanted (also in an AC70). (2) Simply place some fluorite in a media bag & leave it in one of the AC70s, then observe to see what, if any effect it has on the tank over several weeks.

 

This "limited use" idea poses has at least one issue not encountered in my FW tanks: in FW tanks, I use a layer deep enough to supply the anoxic, reducing conditions that generate soluble (bioavailable) Fe species. If I use this in the SW tank, I likely won't be using enough to create these low-oxygen conditions, which would reduce the amount of bioavailable Fe in the water. This may be a boon or a bust depending on how you look at it. On one hand it is a low-effect, easily controlled addition, but on the other hand, it may not add enough to do anything.

 

This is another area where a 10g sump would allow me a lot more room to experiment. I could easily put a couple quarts of fluorite in an acrylic box & sink it in the sump. Within a few weeks, the bottom of the fluorite would be completely anxoic & releasing bioavailable Fe (and other trace metal) ions.

 

Mangrove Link #1

Mangrove Link 2

Iron Link

 

 

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I can't think of a reason that additional Fe would bother the invertebrate livestock, especially in the low concentrations that would be added.

[bluebastion]

Hey Fosi,

 

Check out the sump design video on www.reefvideos.com

 

I think you might find it interesting....

[Mr. Fosi]

"Duplex" sump, eh?

 

I like the basic, physical design encorporating a dead-ish zone beneath the main nutrient export. I'll have to do some sketching to see what I could come up with in a 10g.

 

I don't like the idea of using aiptasia as a particle-capture mechanism, though. I see how it might work & I also agree that a UV sterilizer might kill them before they colonize the display, but it is an added layer of complexity that I wouldn't want to add.

 

Gotta get that DVD back to you as well. If you have any time this week during which we could drop off the movie (and maybe buy some of your eggcrate?), PM me.

[bluebastion]

"Duplex" sump, eh?

 

I like the basic, physical design encorporating a dead-ish zone beneath the main nutrient export. I'll have to do some sketching to see what I could come up with in a 10g.

 

I don't like the idea of using aiptasia as a particle-capture mechanism, though. I see how it might work & I also agree that a UV sterilizer might kill them before they colonize the display, but it is an added layer of complexity that I wouldn't want to add.

 

Gotta get that DVD back to you as well. If you have any time this week during which we could drop off the movie (and maybe buy some of your eggcrate?), PM me.

 

 

Looks do-able in a 10 gallon.... That's why I brought it to your attention. I think the mangroves on the upper compartment would be a great place for them...

 

Do you have the rock from the cooker in the tank yet? I'd like to see a picture if you can.

 

As for the eggcrate, I was going to give you a rack that I have already made (and stopped using) at church today but forgot to bring it.

 

We can plan something out this week. I've got drill this weekend. 1 of 3 left, actually.

[Mr. Fosi]

We can plan something out this week. I've got drill this weekend. 1 of 3 left, actually.

 

The clock is ticking down... and down... and down... You'll be out before you know it!

 

Do you have the rock from the cooker in the tank yet? I'd like to see a picture if you can.

 

Not yet. Got bogged down with the baby, grading, & regularly scheduled tank upkeep this weekend. I think I am going to pull it out sometime in the next couple days.

 

I talked to Fisy Business about getting a sea hare. They don't have one right now (of course, right?), but they said that they would order some this monday if I call and remind them. With any luck, I could have it by thursday; I already bought some sponge to protect the intakes with.

 

If I am able to land the hare, I will add the cook rock before I add the nudi just in case there is some superman GHA on it.

 

As for the eggcrate, I was going to give you a rack that I have already made (and stopped using) at church today but forgot to bring it.

 

We missed you at church anyway. Did you guys go to the earlier service?

 

My best times this week are:

- Monday after 5PM

- Wednesday after 5PM

- Thursday anytime after 3PM

- Friday after 5PM (but you'll likely be getting ready for drill)

 

LMK if any of those work for you.

[bluebastion]

I talked to Fishy Business about getting a sea hare. They don't have one right now (of course, right?), but they said that they would order some this monday if I call and remind them. With any luck, I could have it by thursday; I already bought some sponge to protect the intakes with.

 

If I am able to land the hare, I will add the cook rock before I add the nudi just in case there is some superman GHA on it.

We missed you at church anyway. Did you guys go to the earlier service?

 

My best times this week are:

- Monday after 5PM

- Wednesday after 5PM

- Thursday anytime after 3PM

- Friday after 5PM (but you'll likely be getting ready for drill)

 

LMK if any of those work for you.

 

There used to be a guy that worked there, named Andrew, who knew a ton about salt water aquariums... was an avid stonies collector too... but went on doing it service for the corporate office of Ruby Tuesday's or something like that. Since then, most people have been mediocre at that store when it comes to Marine life. Anyways, my point was that when he worked there, he would order anything you wanted AND save it for you to see. That's how I ordered my Sexy Shrimp. I hope it's still that way.

 

As for church, we were there.. we have to go to early service this month... my wife is helping out with the 2nd graders... so we go to the early service, then she helps with the kids the second service. I usually go out to Sandhills mall after that to check stuff out... this morning however, I did the grocery shopping.

 

How about Wednesday? 5:45?