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Caribbean Picotope


Dane

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Hey guys,

Just a little update. Well I got the caribbean LR and sand from sealife and it's now in the tank cycling. I've done tests the last couple of days and my ammonia is off the charts. Even though I did overnight, I still had fair amount of die-off cuz the rock was sent from florida all the way up to WI. The rock looks good, lots of coralline, macro algae, sponges...even a pistol shrimp (he didn't make through the first night though :( ). I've been "vacuuming" the rocks off everyday, just to get off the bits of dead stuff. I'm also running filter floss the clear up the water and carbon. I'm taking the carbon out soon though - I don't want to filter out all the good stuff. Pics will be coming soon!

 

As a side note, I went to Drs. Foster and Smith coral convention last saturday. It was pretty sweet; I recommend it to everyone. The tour of their coral and fish facility is amazing. Last year the put a half million dollar addition on to it so it was even cooler to see this year then last. Lots of frags - too bad my tank wasn't quite ready yet. Oh well, I'll be there next year...

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BustytheSnowMaam
As a side note, I went to Drs. Foster and Smith coral convention last saturday. It was pretty sweet; I recommend it to everyone. The tour of their coral and fish facility is amazing. Last year the put a half million dollar addition on to it so it was even cooler to see this year then last. Lots of frags - too bad my tank wasn't quite ready yet. Oh well, I'll be there next year...

 

Dane-

 

I think I saw you there, if the person with "Dane" on their nametag was you!

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travisurfer
Hey travisurfer,

It's a small world, I was vacationing in Mishicot for the week with my family. Do you go to Appleton often? Anyway, thanks for the advice - I think I will just go with a nice flower anem. Like I said, I put a piece of filter felt in the tank and it's now turing a light brownish/green. I'm still not sure what is in the water. Could it be algae? I figure it's highly unlikely because there are virtually no nutrience in the water, but who knows. Well stay tuned everyone, I plan to order LR and sand this week...can't wait! :D

Yeah, we try to go at least once a year. I miss it ;) Anyway, if you can go to the Drs., i know etropicals sell some flower nems so you may get to cherry pick if you go there. otherwise, i would use sealifeinc.

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Dane-

 

I think I saw you there, if the person with "Dane" on their nametag was you!

 

Yeah, I was there and my name is Dane. If ya saw a tall, skinny kid with a white baseball cap on - that's me haha. Were you a frag seller or just there?

 

I'm also having a microbubble problem. I think the pump is sucking in little bubbles that form after the water flows down the baffle. Should I raise the water a lil or put a sponge in there to catch them? Let me know, cuz I hate em.

 

Never mind about the microbubbles, I think I just had some precipitating calcium - lil too much purple up, oops.

All cleared up :).

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Okay guys, here are the pics I promised

 

FTS with all lights on

post-7802-1184029683_thumb.jpg

 

FTS with flash and actinics

post-7802-1184029735_thumb.jpg

 

Some coralline that came of the rock - hope it spreads soon

post-7802-1184030642_thumb.jpg

 

FTS full lights with flash

post-7802-1184030747_thumb.jpg

 

fuge area

post-7802-1184030812_thumb.jpg

 

Macro algae that's growing

post-7802-1184030850_thumb.jpg

 

...and more

post-7802-1184030911_thumb.jpg

 

So far everything is going well. My ammonia is still off the charts but should be dropping soon. I have small amount of hair algae starting and the macro algae and coralline is already spreading. The liverock I got from sealife is awesome, there's about 5 lbs in the tank. There were sponges, tube worms, coralline, macro, brittle stars and even a pistol shrimp, but like I said - it died. I run the main lights for 12 hours and the fuge light at night just to keep the levels stable. I can't wait for the tank to cycle so I can start adding stuff. I'll keep you all posted as it gets better.

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ReadyReefer

looks good, i like that corraline a lot, i'm glad to see some more biotopes on the forums, i'm considering turning my 10 gallon into an aussie biotope

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yeah I like biotopes, they just seem more natural...not like craming a bunch of animals in to 3 gallons is but it's a step in the right direction :D

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thanks nanoclown - it's my first DIY anything so I wanted it to be simple. I was pleasantly surprised when it all worked out. Currently the tank has got some green hair algae and i think some cyano - not sure though and I'm still waiting for the ammonia to go down - I must be patient. In the mean time here is a pic of my other hobby: ART. I'm majoring in graphic design right now and i love to draw. I know, shameless plug :D Enjoy!post-7802-1184289751_thumb.jpg

 

I even use fish in my art assignments. Who can find the fish and octopus in this pic? :lol:

post-7802-1184291303_thumb.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

it's been awhile since i posted last. My tank has now fully cycled and i did the first water change. Probably gonna get some CUC soon, but first i have some questions:

 

nassarius: how many can my tank support:

Hermits: Blue leg, red leg or both?

Lettuce sea slug: yah or nay

What's the best algae eating snail, crab, invert?

 

let me know what you think...thanks!

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travisurfer

i would probably just go with a nassarius, one or two astreas, and a single blue leg although the hermits don't do very much.

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i would probably just go with a nassarius, one or two astreas, and a single blue leg although the hermits don't do very much.

astreas are caribbean, right?

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  • 1 month later...

Hey Dane, Great looking tank! Definitely cant wait to see how it is running in a couple months. Looks awesome! I wish they would let me have a fish tank here at work.

 

Couple questions;

 

I heard that just about every anenome gets too big for nano tanks. I wanted one in my 10gallon but you are trying to get one in the pico tank? Did you finally decide on which one your going to get?

 

And what exactly is a "tope", i heard you refer to it as a picotope. Is that just like a themed tank? As far as everything being from the same location. In this case, the Caribbean.

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