My humble 5.5g

[el fabuloso]

That jungle tank looks awesome, don't get rid of it! I can completely relate to your desire for space. The more stuff I put in my tank and the more I think of other stuff I want to put in my tank, the more I'm aware of my space limitations and the fact that eventually I will need to move stuff out of it. This is why I'm stoked about setting up a kitchen tank for my friend as it'll give me extra space when things start to grow out of my tank! But my pico will always be my star attraction.

[JonathanS]

Thanks, Michelle!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Momentous Decision

 

Maybe...

 

Well, of course for some time I've been wanting to start a new tank, and just as regularly talking myself out of it. But within the last week I think I finally arrived at a rationale to do so that I can live with. To wit--I need a new tank so I can go away, once in a while!

 

For most of the time I've had this tank, it's been very low maintenance and I've been able to leave for a week or two with confidence that my tank-sitter could handle its modest needs. But since things have matured and space is so limited, it now takes a lot of "intimate" knowledge to keep things in harmony...For instance, I spend a lot of time keeping certain things away from certain other things. The main reason the pink rics seem to be climbing the front glass is because I keep removing them from the pathway that leads to my little blasto colony. Twice I let the rics contact the blasto, and I lost 3 blasto polyps each time... Then there's my hitcher Porites colony, which fascinates me--also always in danger from the rics in close proximity. (Happily, it regrows over the areas the rics kill, but that can't be good for it.) And mostly, I am just so enthralled with my little plate generating site; and after waiting so long for the second detachment, I would really like a safe place for the "baby." In addition to not having any safe stretch of substrate for it to sit on without coming into contact with another coral, I don't even have sand, which I'm rather sure would be far better for it than the crushed coral.

 

In addition, I'm really noticing the absence of my emerald crab. I remember noticing the same thing when I returned my first emerald to the lfs (after it had killed my first baby plate )--after each emerald loss, the algae took off with a vengence. So I'd love to add another emerald to my tank, if it weren't for the presence of the baby plate...

 

Last fall, when I left for 10 days, I lost a candy cane frag that had simply not been anchored to anything and fell over in my absence. I just don't want to worry about these things anymore. It sounds pretty silly--setting up a new tank, just to be able to move a blasto colony and a little hitcher Porites and a baby plate...but I'm very attached to these things, and would love to perpetuate them as long as possible. Plus, I would really like to have my current tank revert to the softies-only tank it essentially is, and not have to worry about internecine warfare so much when I'm gone!

 

LOL! I guess it sounds like I'm still trying to talk myself into this idea. But realizing how great it would be to just have a place to transfer the crittters I worry about has really resulted in a lot of emotional relief. Along with that notion came the realization that some of my more grandiose ideas also needed downsizing. I really don't want to jump into a significantly bigger tank. It's time to abandon my desires for frogfish and Scolymia. No more thoughts of biotopes, though I will continue to be entranced by others' efforts in that area. I can't kid myself that any additional tank space wouldn't still go to the latest thing that catches my eye that I haven't tried...

 

So now I have the rationale...I just need the site. I don't envision going any bigger than a 10g--maybe w/ a 5 fuge...And I know exactly where I want to put it. Another amenable chunk of drainboard...I am SO compatible with kitchen tanks, and all the ease they bring with close running water, etc. And the place I have in mind is viewable from 3 sides, being a counter between the kitchen & family room...

 

There's only one problem:

 

 

This is a 10g FW that has existed about as long as we've lived in this house, some 20+ years. It is not one of those modern "planted" tanks, but the sort of jungle I've always ended up with in FW, which works for me and the inhabitants, too. While we're all kind of attached to it, and it takes essentially no maintenance, I sometimes wish it would just crash so I could move on... The other option would be to move it, which I'm not wild about, but am growing more and more amenable to with every day.

 

 

It supports an amazing number of fish. I've had the (now) large gourami for around 10 years, as best as I remember. In addition it has a pair of Otocinclus, a pair of Corydorus that I got as babies and are now huge, a pair of Odessa barbs, and 4 pygmy corys.

 

 

 

The gourami looks a little strange in this pic, but I include it because it show an Otocinclus to the right:

 

 

This shot has a gourami blur, a barb blur, a cory, and an algae covered flowerpot:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So...will I get up the energy to move this thing? (And will it survive a move?) Drama.

 

Stay tuned...but don't hold your breath.

 

--Diane

a piece of heaven, i love it, its like chocalate icecream, i wanna start one, give me advice please......thanks for the view.

[varanus37]

I second the not getting rid of the FW planted. That is a beautiful tank. It's always impressive to see something like that. You've had it for so long and it looks so good when there are all those people who have fish/pets for a year or less and either lose them or get rid of them. That is something to be proud of I think.

 

I also agree with the low and a bit longer tank idea. You could do something like my 1/2 10 that I have but with more length maybe? The volume of mine is 4.2 gallons but what if you got a lopped off 20L and had roughly 10 gallons? That would be a nice setup for your squat LPS type corals. Good sand space and some kewl ways to shape rocks. That way you could actually shape your rocks to block your plate site into a corner or something. Keep it safe. That's what I've done with the corals in my tank to keep them safe from the bubble.

 

Either way, that FW is amazing and your SW continues to be so.

 

Bill

[dshnarw]

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE!!!

 

You've run out of ways to talk yourself out of a new tank, so you posted pics and let everyone else talk you out of a new tank

 

It is very nice (for a FW tank)

 

 

 

(I keed, I keed as Prop would say)

[c est ma]

I was trying to talk myself into changing my FW into Brackish because I lost interest in it. But now that my SW is about on auto pilot I'm turning my attention back towards the FW. If you are really that INTO the SW maybe you should move your FW and get a 20Long or maybe a 10Long if that suits you better. A shallow tank will be what you need I think.

 

I think you're right. I'm just a little leery of moving this thing...

 

By 10 long, do you just mean the regular 10g tank? I'm not familiar with another one...

 

 

That jungle tank looks awesome, don't get rid of it! I can completely relate to your desire for space. The more stuff I put in my tank and the more I think of other stuff I want to put in my tank, the more I'm aware of my space limitations and the fact that eventually I will need to move stuff out of it. This is why I'm stoked about setting up a kitchen tank for my friend as it'll give me extra space when things start to grow out of my tank! But my pico will always be my star attraction.

 

Glad you like the jungle. I am quite fond of the lush plants myself. Hey, are you going to start a thread about your "commissioned" tank?

 

a piece of heaven, i love it, its like chocalate icecream, i wanna start one, give me advice please......thanks for the view.

 

Seriously? If so, PM me. Thanks for the comment!

 

 

I second the not getting rid of the FW planted. That is a beautiful tank. It's always impressive to see something like that. You've had it for so long and it looks so good when there are all those people who have fish/pets for a year or less and either lose them or get rid of them. That is something to be proud of I think.

 

Bill, thank you. You have tapped into one of my more recent paradigms...many years ago I realized that I was too interested in the next new thing. I purposefully tried to cultivate an appreciation for longevity, continuity, and commitment; to not get bored with what I had when it was no longer new. I'm not entirely successful, but my run of geriatric animals of late (sigh ) has been a sign of at least some success...(just had to have my 19-year-old cockatiel euthanized last month...)

 

This FW tank has just "been" for so long...a few years ago I had a fish die--a clown plecostomus--that I'd had for 18 years. At least one of the cryptocornes in there is as old as the tank, 20 years or so.

 

This whole idea is why I'd feel so bad if I lost the tiny, relatively insignificant things in my SW that I mentioned earlier--the hitcher Porites & plate site...They came on the first frag I ever bought. And they are the most vulnerable, now, in the tank's current state...

 

And I do need to be able to leave more often. My elderly parents are on the west coast, and I don't get out there nearly enough as it is...

 

I also agree with the low and a bit longer tank idea. You could do something like my 1/2 10 that I have but with more length maybe? The volume of mine is 4.2 gallons but what if you got a lopped off 20L and had roughly 10 gallons? That would be a nice setup for your squat LPS type corals. Good sand space and some kewl ways to shape rocks. That way you could actually shape your rocks to block your plate site into a corner or something. Keep it safe. That's what I've done with the corals in my tank to keep them safe from the bubble.

Bill

 

Wow, I really like those ideas! That sounds very much like what would suit me. And it would also be a great idea because the prospective site is under the kitchen cabinets, which does not leave a lot of overhead room. With a "1/2" tank, I might even be able to get some top down shots...Thanks so much for the input...my mind is churning...

 

 

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE!!!

 

You've run out of ways to talk yourself out of a new tank, so you posted pics and let everyone else talk you out of a new tank

 

It is very nice (for a FW tank)

 

 

 

(I keed, I keed as Prop would say)

 

LOL! You're almost right--but see above (answer to Bill). Change is VERY hard for me, though...but...WTH, nothing ventured, nothing gained...

 

(See, I'm actually still trying to talk myself INTO it.)

 

 

Okay, token pic for this post:

 

 

Thanks everyone for the comments!

 

--Diane

[divecj5]

Decisions, decisions, decisions Sounds like you have been mulling this one over for a while now. I agree that that planted tank is simply gorgeous and if it's been going that long, no need to stop now. That is amazing that some of those fish in there are 15+ years old...wow.

 

Either way, we all know that your next tank will be simply amazing....you won't know what to do with yourself with 2x the gallons

 

If your beautiful rics ever get too unruly, I think there are a couple of people that wouldn't mind taking a couple off your hands to make more room in your haven

[xmen0075]

Beautiful tank! I'm speechless! Great pics!

[mkpadgitt]

Diane,

 

What an inspiring tank!

 

I'm sure that you did mention this somewhere, (I promise that I did read the whole thread, it's just been a few weeks... ) but I was wondering how much live rock you have in your tank? I'm considering setting a 5.5g up, and I'm trying to figure out what I'm looking at, both initial costs and aquascaping options.

 

Thanks!

Midge

 

P.S. This wouldn't be our first tank, I just want to run a softie tank, and my boyfriend insists upon adding stony corals all the stinkin' time!

[opaquelace]

I think it's great that you get so attached to your corals and tank inhabitants. I do too, and in fact when I had my temp drop and then the temp rise again all in one day I cried, thinking I would lose everything. I didn't though, but my power outage 2 weeks later did kill my beloved clownfish which resulted in another tear fest. I've been looking into getting a better tank for myself, the Finnex tank with the built in fuge and skimmer...but I keep talking myself out of it too. Ah, decisions decisions.

[el fabuloso]

Glad you like the jungle. I am quite fond of the lush plants myself. Hey, are you going to start a thread about your "commissioned" tank?

Yes! I've been anxiously waiting for the tank which is finally arriving tomorrow. I'll be sure to have the thread up by the weekend and I'll make sure you're the first to know! And I won't spare you with the details.

[klarion]

Many thanks for the FTS. I could just study them for hours if I didn't have my own tank to look after .

 

I've also been thinking that I'm in need of a fuge and contumplating converting my FW (which only has one plant really) into a fuge. I might just do it. Of course, I hope you keep yours because it's so lived-in and mature, but it would be great to see you start another nano. Just imagine the possibilities.......

[Lalani]

I'm really loving those macro shots, Diane! I need to find my +10 diopter again.

[el_vulture619]

You sure can take a good pic! I struggle forever with my crappy camera and take 55637880092 pictures just to get 1 good one! stupid over priced camera!!

 

Move the 10G!! Go to Meijers and buy a the 10G stand they have, they are only 25 bucks, and are nice! They have a rack on the bottom larg enough for a 5g and about 4 feet tall this is why I like this stand its nice and tall and simple. It is what I have my nano on. They are just as the same size as the tank and can fit in any place you can find for it!

 

The 5 is great but grow to a10g and put nothing else in it, just let the corals you have grow.

[klarion]

Diane,

 

I saw your post about Mexican Red Leg hermit crabs on H2O's thread and I'm wondering what's the 02 on those? Good algae cleaners?

[JJW]

Diana, love your tank - you buck the trend of fancy equipment/lighting and prove keeping it simple is just as beautiful, if not more. I also notice shrooms and rics like dim light and dirty environment. I didn't change water for 4 weeks at one point of time and hair algae was crawling out of the tank, up my stairs and tapping on my shoulders. But the rics and shrooms expanded (to get more light, I guess) and thrived. Now that the tank is cleaned, they shrink back to tiny size.

[Duncan]

ok, time to 'fess up all your tanks. we need pics of all tanks you hid from us.

[c est ma]

Adam, xmen0075, opaquelace, Lalani, Jesse, JJW--thank you all so much for the nice words and helpful suggestions. I very much appreciate them!

 

 

Diane,

 

What an inspiring tank!

 

I'm sure that you did mention this somewhere, (I promise that I did read the whole thread, it's just been a few weeks... ) but I was wondering how much live rock you have in your tank? I'm considering setting a 5.5g up, and I'm trying to figure out what I'm looking at, both initial costs and aquascaping options.

 

Thanks!

Midge

 

P.S. This wouldn't be our first tank, I just want to run a softie tank, and my boyfriend insists upon adding stony corals all the stinkin' time!

 

Midge,

 

This is a tank I "inherited" from my son, when his interests went elsewhere. He set it up originally in college, and when I first saw it, it looked like this:

 

 

Believe it or not, the whole thing is just 2 pieces of LR. I have no idea how much that was...Don't they usually use a pound per gallon as a rough estimate? But of course, it depends on how dense the rock you're using is...

 

Good luck with that tank!

 

 

 

 

Diane,

 

I saw your post about Mexican Red Leg hermit crabs on H2O's thread and I'm wondering what's the 02 on those? Good algae cleaners?

 

 

Boris,

 

This hermit, Clibanarius digueti, is my all-time favorite. It's been with me from the beginning, so for one thing, it's hardy.

 

It's also almost perpetually active, unlike my scarlet, which I'm also quite fond of but which has an obviously lower activity budget...The MRL is busy, entertaining, and comical.

 

Despite the reports of many others, however, I do not feel that either of my hermits really attacks macro algae (and in that category I'm including hair algae, Bryopsis, etc.). While the MRLs (I now have one in my fuge, too) are constantly picking at surfaces, they seem to be working at the diatom-film, organic debris level. So I would not recommend them for algae per se, though I'm sure they intercept sporules, etc.

 

BTW, while I think "Mexican Red-legged" is the most common name for this species, at least in my neck of the woods, I find it rather a misnomer. Only the tips of the legs are red--the rest of the legs are blue-spotted. There are a raft of other common names for this species, and additionally, the name "Mexican Red-legged" is sometimes applied to different species, so you have to know what you're looking for!

 

Here's a pic of my little guy back when I had a gorgonian. He was wonderful at climbing the gorg and cleaning off the film that would settle on its delicate branches. (I esp. liked the added "decoration" of his shell of choice, here ):

 

 

Here's a more recent pic of him, relieving the Porites of a sinking pellet...

 

 

Here are some links with various pics & common names for this species. Note that the Marine Depot listing calls them both Clibanarius and Coenobita sp!

 

http://www.moabyte.com/reef/crab.html

 

http://dtc.pima.edu/~nschmidt/gallery/arth...us_digueti.html

 

http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/r90013.htm

 

http://www.infinitysoft.net/Reference/RefD...ord.asp?ID=2311

 

http://www.athiel.com/lib4/digueti.htm

 

http://www.marinedepotlive.com/ps_ViewItem...Depot_Live.html

 

 

HTH,

 

--Diane

[c est ma]

ok, time to 'fess up all your tanks. we need pics of all tanks you hid from us.

 

 

 

Duncan, I have no other fish tanks ATM. This one used to be my son's FW tank when he was a child; it was started in August of 1995. Over the years we gradually lost the fish, but the plants remained vigorous, so about 5 years ago I dropped the water level, added some branches and philodendrons, and turned it into a fire-bellied toad viv. The sword plant and cryptocornes took on emersed forms and thrived:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only other occupied viv I have at the moment contains a pair of dart frogs. It looked like this when I first set it up:

 

 

 

 

Sadly, several months later I discovered it was infected with bromeliad-eating scale insects. This is sort of like having AEFWs for a viv. I was loath to start over and go through all the steps necessary to defeat the scale, so I lost the majority of my broms. I just threw in some philodendron and have done very little with the viv since. It is now a mess--looks like this:

 

 

The jewel orchid, coffee plant, and a few other things besides the philodendron are doing well. I hardly ever see the frogs, but they sound very happy.

 

--Diane

[c est ma]

Limpet

 

A tiny little thing--but it still fascinates me.

 

On January 23rd I went to an lfs to find some snails for the fuge. While picking them out, I noticed the tiniest limpet on the side of the lfs tank--about the size of a sesame seed. On a whim, I asked if I could have it, and the clerk threw it in for free. Once home, I added it to the fuge where it promptly disappeared, even tho the fuge is relatively tiny and bare. I assumed it had just been too small to survive the handling/transport, or that my also new teeny hermit had eaten it...

 

But, lo and behold, weeks later I looked into the fuge and saw the little limpet on one of the side baffles. It had even grown noticeably, tho it's still very tiny:

 

 

In another day it was on the front panel of the fuge and I was able to get pics of it showing its cute little eyespots:

 

 

Through the loupe:

 

 

Then it made its way over into the fuge section with the pump:

 

 

 

And again got in range of the loupe:

 

 

 

 

 

Now I see it most of the time. Of course I have no idea what species it is, but that's the beauty of a fuge...one can take a chance. It is a most industrious creature and works away at those diatoms like nobody's business. It also seems quite hardy--when we lost our power for half a day and the tank dropped to 68º, I lost 3 of the 4 Astraea in the fuge, but the limpet showed no stress...

 

Near as I can tell, he decided (intelligently) not to investigate the inside of the pump. Probably, being lightless, there's not as much to graze in there, tho when I clean it it appears to have a succulent film on its innards..I've already found the pump not working once and dismantled it, only to find a tiny cerith blocking the impeller blades, a snail which had to have crawled the entire length of the tubing from the main tank to the fuge, into the pump, and out into the blade chamber...and the good news is that the cerith (and the pump) are doing fine, after the former was removed to the main tank again...

 

Fun.

 

--Diane

[Duncan]

Thank you for the detailed story on your tanks! Beautifully done, every each of them. But how bad does the vivarium smell when you open the lid? I kept some frogs when I'm a kid. And they don't smell exactly like a flower.

 

I see you got a new pet! It's always funny when someone throws you a freebie and you just get more excited about it than that $50 coral you bought in the first place. I wondered how the limpet can see with his eyes facing down, if not for the glass.

[Weetabix7]

Awesome limpet pics!

I had a full size one a while ago, a keyhole limpet. He was pretty cool, although he had a taste for leather corals. That was the only kind of coral he ever bothered, he seemed to really like eating the slime layer on them. Luckily I'm not super into leathers and I just traded the one tiny frag I had into the LFS.

I do so enjoy seeing pics of your fuge!

[divecj5]

Ah yes....another wonderful creature in Diane's tank Cool little guy and glad to see that it continues to do well and grow.

 

That dart frog viv looks great....sorry about the bromelids though.

[c est ma]

Adam, thanks!

 

Thank you for the detailed story on your tanks! Beautifully done, every each of them. But how bad does the vivarium smell when you open the lid? I kept some frogs when I'm a kid. And they don't smell exactly like a flower.

 

Actually, both the FBT and the dart frog viv just smell like...well, plants, humus, etc. A good smell. The secret of a good viv is that it cleans itself...frog waste just fertilizes the plants...

 

I see you got a new pet! It's always funny when someone throws you a freebie and you just get more excited about it than that $50 coral you bought in the first place.

 

Exactly! That's sure how it is with me.

 

I wondered how the limpet can see with his eyes facing down, if not for the glass.

 

Funny, that's what I thought too when I first saw those eyespots. I mean, I'd never seen a limpet that wasn't firmly appressed to its substrate. But you'll notice that I got some pics of it that actually show some antennae and a little proboscis/ mouth thingy sticking out. So I guess the little guy can sometimes use some vision. Wonder if it's much more than a light/dark sensor?

 

 

 

Awesome limpet pics!

I had a full size one a while ago, a keyhole limpet. He was pretty cool, although he had a taste for leather corals. That was the only kind of coral he ever bothered, he seemed to really like eating the slime layer on them. Luckily I'm not super into leathers and I just traded the one tiny frag I had into the LFS.

I do so enjoy seeing pics of your fuge!

 

Well, then...just for you...

 

I was too eager to get some Xenia cuttings out of the main tank to wait till I got the proper materials, so I just made a "temporary" shelf out of a cut-up deli container. Here it is shortly after I dumped in the Xenia and a tiny piece of rubble with some zoas on it, that's been rolling around the bottom of my tank for a while:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have two extremely tiny hc's in there--here's the Mexican red-legged. I'm always amazed at how they climb up tank seams:

 

 

A couple days later I was happy to see that one of the rubble bits still has some of my dinky, clove-type hitcher softy on it. Look for the snowflake (but 8 pointed!)-like polyps here. These things are most tiny--and almost ghostly:

 

 

My little scarlet hc is so tiny I can get him through the loupe--tho he's almost too "wiggly" for that:

 

 

And some "distance" shots. I really do change the filter pad on the left once in a while, honest! For some reason, I only find myself taking pics when it's in dire need of changing. But you can see it's doing lots of good.

 

 

 

So you can see, I'm having a ball with this thing! Thanks so much, Weetie!!!!

 

--Diane

[Weetabix7]

Awesome pics!

I can totally see myself doing the same thing with the makeshift deli cup, seems like I end up having to do inventive stuff like that all the time for one reason or another! I saw your little ghost polyps, they look cool.

What will you do with the frags, trade them in at the LFS?

I know what you mean about hermits climbing seams, they're nuts that way!

I actually only have one hermit right now though and because he's in my seamless acrylic tank he is unable to engage in hermitlike extreme sports!

That's probably a good thing for him though cause I worry about my Yellow Coris trying to take him out if he comes out in the open too much. I'll probably move him once I get the new 10g setup going.

[Monkfish]

Your photography and lalini's is awesome anychance you could recommend a good beginers camera for decent tank shot? Every time I look at your tank it blows my mind....