5g ADA Rimless - 24 Months in

[dapellegrini]

Tonight both Pom Pom's were out - and I was able to get some pretty good shots of "the other one". Male, female?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

s/he did not like the camera that much and quick retreated

 

 

from this angle I could actually make out both Pom Pom's, though admittedly not well in photo:

 

 

 

After cleaning things up a bit I am seeing an explosion of these small pods on the glass - they seem to come and go depending on how much food i put in the tank in a given week...

 

 

[Nick's Reef]

Great pics of the pom-pom crabs!

[spanko]

The tank is looking Seusslike with the shaving bush plants. Maybe need a copy of "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" sitting next to the tank now...

[c est ma]

The tank is looking Seusslike with the shaving bush plants. Maybe need a copy of "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" sitting next to the tank now...

 

That's what I was reminded of, too! But I'm really loving the look!

 

Dan, super pics of your other pom pom! Afraid it's another she, but that's fine--you'd never be able to raise the larvae, anyway...

 

And great shots of the copepods as well!

 

--Diane

[spanko]

Diane what are you looking at to determine the sex of the pom-poms?

[dapellegrini]

Well, the Rock/Flower Nem is out. WAY TOO BIG. The thing must have gotten to about 5 inches across and just seemed too big for my ambitions with this tank... and I only had him for a very short while!

 

So, a little more research and I decided to splurge on some Mini Carpets. Hopefully these will stay smaller. Just arrived today. They seem to have shipped quite well and their colors are very cool. Here they are drip acclimating:

 

 

 

 

And then in the tank:

 

 

 

The Sexy Shrimp has been up to no good with the Rock Nem out of the tank... seems that they like to hang around the anemones for easy food. S/he sure took quickly to one of the new Mini Carpets, taking advantage of its sticky fingers to retrieve the Cyclopleeze without much effort. Here are a few shots with and w/o flash - seems like all the fun happens after dark:

 

 

 

 

 

and a couple parting shots w/flash of the porcelain crab out to get his fill:

 

 

[divecj5]

Wow...simply gorgeous tank. I followed this thread a while back but hadn't seen it in a while. Looks like it has been coming along great and I absolutely love all of the variety of macro you have in the tank. Those bottle brush green macro "trees" are so cool. Did you get them locally or online? Do they always grow in the tree formation? I may have to do some more research on these as they are really unique.

 

The mini carpets look great. Look forward to seeing some pictures when the lights are on in the tank. By the way, what camera and lens are you using? Great flash photography as well.

[dapellegrini]

Thanks

 

The latest pics are with my wife's little Canon Elph SD870is - the flash shots are just taken with the camera's "night mode" settings. Nothing too complicated.

 

I got the Shaving Brush Plants (Penicillus of some sort.) from Reeftopia.com - they have rooted quite firmly where I placed them and I have not seen any runners yet, but I am not exactly sure how they propagate. There are different forms of this plant, with different stems and heads - this kind has a nice stocky stem and a good round head.

[dapellegrini]

Spanko - the first couple images on this link give a really good idea of the differences between a male/female crabs:

 

http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/hitchcrabs.html

 

Both of mine have more rounded undersides like the one at left in that link

[dapellegrini]

Adding the Mini Carpet Nems got me thinking - it is high time I start thinking about expanding my current coral/macro stocking... So I headed out this weekend with one thought in mind - find some cool frags!

 

... a few hours later:

 

 

Well, I had been wanting to add some Ricordea - so I went ahead and picked up a Green/Blue one and an Orange/Green one. Once I got the Orange one home I realized how not healthy s/he looked... hmmm... do you think it is still salvageable?

 

 

 

The Blue/Green one is doing great:

 

 

This Green Birds Nest looked quite different from the standard yellow/pink, though I was told that it loose it's green under lesser lights (they had them under 400w MH). I wonder how it will do under my whimpy 70w MH?

 

 

 

I also cracked for a small double colony of zoos:

 

 

And a tiny little frag of Xenia:

 

 

Then they offered me a few little freebies, some duller zoos, and a tiny little piece of bright green star polyps (that don't look real good, not sure if it will make it):

 

 

 

If these star polyps do start to turn around, I am going to move them to an area where they will have more room to spread before causing me problems.

 

While I was out I also picked up some more Macro Algae - I really like the look of some of these things in the display tank, though I know some of this might become more of a pain than it is worth. I believe I have added Caulerpa lentillifera, Caulerpa peltata, Codium and Halymenia Sp. but I might be completely wrong...

 

 

I had to beg for some errant pieces of what I think is Codium - I super-glued them to a small rock, and am hoping they take off:

 

 

You will see the other macros in some of the FTS. I am hoping that adding these macros will help with the mini-cycle I probably just kicked off. I also plan on at least two PWC per week for a while.

 

Oh and I found this guy in a plastic cup begging to be brought home. Seeing as I feed quite a bit of Cyclopeeze and DT's, I think he should be an ok final addition to my crabs/shrimp.

 

 

And a quick update on the Mini Carpets - one has decided to disappear, no idea where he might be. The other, after spending a few days in one spot has now decided to relocate to the opposite side of the tank, just under the Monti Cap:

 

 

 

 

 

Next up, some updated FTS

[dapellegrini]

The Sexy Shrimp has really been bothering my zoo colonies since I got rid of the Rock Nem and as a result a number of them are closed or partially closed. I am going to try these "Formula One Marine Pellets" to see if that will keep it better feed and away from the zoos... plus the mini carpet nems. If that's doesn't fix the problem - s/he will be sent to a farm in Montana (well actually a friends tank down the street, but close enough).

 

So here are a few FTS after adding tons of tiny new frags:

 

 

 

 

[lakshwadeep]

Very nice reef! I really like the macroalgae in your tank. The shaving brushes make your rock look almost like tiny mountains or hills with pine trees; actually everything makes the tank look like a "bonsai" version of a real reef.

[jhealey]

Wow, those are some amazing FW tanks and the reef looks great too. I dont really know how bad of a question this is but i'll ask it anyway...I took a moment to look through your thread and saw you had your zoa's on a frag plug, and took them off of it. I just got my first zoa frags and they are on a plug, how do I go about getting them off? The plug isn't the best looking thing in the world. Thanks for helping a new reef-keeper out!

[dapellegrini]

Thanks

 

Depends on how well your zoos attached to the plug. Using a razor blade or even a flat-head screw driver to knock them off should work fine.

[PurpleUP]

These zoos are incredibly neon! What kind are they?

 

Also, those miniature "trees" look interesting. I recall them looking a bit greener before. How are they doing?

[dapellegrini]

Thanks

 

Not sure what kind of zoos those are. Maybe Whammin Watermelons?

 

The little tree-like macros did seem a lot greener to me too when I first got them. I had to pull one of them up and replant it and I noticed that it had created an elaborate root system. The pom-pom hairs have also grown by about .25 inches, but they seem yellower... Perhaps I should be adding Iron and/or other trace elements... ? Right now I am just doing frequent and large water changes - so whatever is in Reef Crystals is all they are getting.

 

Good observation...

[PurpleUP]

Thanks

 

Not sure what kind of zoos those are. Maybe Whammin Watermelons?

 

The little tree-like macros did seem a lot greener to me too when I first got them. I had to pull one of them up and replant it and I noticed that it had created an elaborate root system. The pom-pom hairs have also grown by about .25 inches, but they seem yellower... Perhaps I should be adding Iron and/or other trace elements... ? Right now I am just doing frequent and large water changes - so whatever is in Reef Crystals is all they are getting.

 

Good observation...

 

Haha. That vision came straight from memory. I just thought I'd ask instead of searching through your past posts. I don't know about that. I think your water volume is small enough that your elements are quickly replenished with every water change. I recently started adding vitamins, amino acids, and extra trace elements to my tank, but will I ever know if it really makes a difference? Psychologically, it does

[disaster999]

HOW DO YOU KEEP THE GLASS SO CLEAN???

 

you scrub everyday? mine have algae on it everyday. its also impossible to scrub the top without water splashing everywhere. TELL ME YOUR SECRETSSSSS

[lakshwadeep]

Perhaps I should be adding Iron and/or other trace elements... ?

 

Here's a link. seems iron dosing is beneficial to macros.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/chem.htm

[Duncan]

Awesome tank! About the sexy shrimps... it's best to take them out, from my humble experience. I fed them with mysis, pellets but they still craved for zoas. In case you find them too jumpy to be capture, I got a 100% sure-catch method. I siphoned my sexy shrimps and they were okay with the rollercoaster ride in the tube. Be sure not to siphon near your corals or you are going to rip their flesh.

[dapellegrini]

RE: the sexy shrimp - I think you are right, but I just like the thing so much I have been putting it off. I think s/he is inevitably going to have to be removed. sigh...

 

Thanks for the link on Fe dosing. I think I might start doing that.

 

As far as keeping the glass clean - I find a razor blade works best, and typically have to scrape it down maybe every 1.5 weeks or so. Sometimes I will go 3 weeks, but it does start to look grimy after about 2. It seems to be mostly coralline and some brownish junk that wants to grow on there. Oh and I never put my hands in there when the tank is full. Glass cleaning is always done during a water change, when the level is a little lower. If I need to get in the tank between water changes I typically use a pair of long tweezers.

 

Thanks again for the feedback! So much to learn!

[Left Coast DJ]

Dan - Sweet tank. As always I click on your thread whenever I see it in the "View New Posts" list. And also great to see a planted tank crossover. Hey, I'll be visiting my in-laws in Phoenix in a few weeks. Don't mind checking out some of the stores in the area. I always try to hit up AquaTouch whenever I'm there. Any other stores that are better than them - preferably in the West Valley?

[dapellegrini]

Thanks Left Coast.

 

Your best bets are Aquatouch (the least east, but definitely not West Valley), About the Reef and Pet's Inc, both in Mesa. Check here:

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...hreadid=1158507

 

Pet's Inc and Aquatouch are also the best FW/Plant stores around here.

 

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On the siphoning technique for sexy shrimp removal, I am going to have to double check the width of my tube and give it a go.

[Nick's Reef]

This is one of my favorite tanks, I love all the macroalgae in the display. It just looks so clean and natural.

[dapellegrini]

Thanks.

 

We'll see how long I can keep this tank under control now - I have heard daunting things about Caulerpa, Xenia and Star Polyps... Next skill to learn will most likely be trimming and fragging.