5g ADA Rimless - 24 Months in

[dapellegrini]

Thanks all. When I refer to simple maintenance - that is more about trimming and plant care. I still dose daily and do 75% PWC every week, but those are down to about 15-30mins of my time at this point.

 

Here is the equipment under the 72-gallon FW in a dated photo:

 

 

Running two Rena XP3 Canisters for a 10x per hour turn over of water

CO2 Reactor and Inline 300w Heater plumbed into one of the outakes

pH Controller and Solenoid for CO2 control

Drop Checker with 4dkH solution for CO2 cross check

I have upgraded to a 10lb CO2 cylinder since that photo

3 Stage lighting - 108w dusk dawn and 324w full day blast for 10 hours.

Misc timers

Water alarm to let me know if I have a leak

 

The smaller ADA FW tank is run on much of the same equipment, but just under my desk (no photo):

 

Eheim PRo II Caninster

Tek 96w T5HO ligthing

200w Inline Heater

5lb CO Tank with pH Controller and Drop Checker cross-check

Instead of a reactor I have the CO2 going through a diffusor and then blown out through a Rio 50 pump.

Misc timers

 

 

Needless to say my little SW reef tank is currently my most simple setup.

[c est ma]

Yes - That is Halmedia on the fiji rock - there are in fact three spots of it now. The other macro algae looks to be Sargassum - also growing in three different areas. I plan on letting this stuff grow out and keeping an eye on things. I also have some yellow and orange sponge (I think) that I am hoping grow in a bit.

 

I read through the links you posted about Coralline and am wondering if you (or anyone else) knows of a good site for identifying the different types of Coralline. From what I have gathered, there are at least a couple of different growth patterns and it still remains a mystery to me in general. Some of mine grows in plates, others in bumps/spots. The turquoise and green stuff seems thinner than the purple/pink/red stuff. Hmmmmm.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

 

Dan, sorry, I can't help you out with coralline ID. Although I do have a collection of algae links with pics, some of which contain corallines. Sometimes one can use these and a site like AlgaeBase to get a pretty "definite tentative" ID. I'd be happy to send them to you. As far as I can tell, not much coralline info has made it out of the academic databases into the more commonly available resources...There are indeed many different growth patterns, some interesting competitions, mutualisms, etc.

 

Since I starred this thread I see you've added several more posts with pics, all of which are red x's for me at the moment. I'll have to come back so I can tell you how beautiful your FW tanks are!

 

--Diane

[dapellegrini]

every now and then my photo server craps out. should be ok again.

 

thanks for looking everyone

[dapellegrini]

Algae continues to recede and is almost completely gone - minus some hard stuff on the glass. There are a number of kinda awkward bald spots on the rocks that used to be covered with algae - you can see them here between the purple coralline.

 

 

 

 

I stumbled on this cool red macro - what I believe is a Scinaia complanata - and am surprised at how little information is available about this.

 

 

 

I also seem to have some Red Gracilaria, I am guessing growing on one of my rocks with some of the last bits of algae:

 

 

 

 

Finally got a couple of shots of some of my wondering starfish. One of my asterina has divided:

 

 

 

 

And a random shot of one of the many micro/brittlestars that rarely show more than their arms

 

 

 

I found these brightly colored, tiny zoos and thought I would see how they turn out. If these do well, I may consider more of these. They are sooo small, I wonder if they will stay this way or get larger like my others??? They had some larger colonies at the store that were all small, leading me to believe that perhaps these are a smaller type, which would be awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

My scarlet hermit smelled the algae infested frags and quickly installed himself for a feast. Along with the snails, they have cleaned off about 70% of the crap so far.

 

 

 

Also thought I would see if I could turn these quite unhappy little polyps around... They are already looking better than they did at the store, but if they don't color up, they will probably end up in a friends frag tank...

 

 

 

And a couple full tank shots. A little unbalanced, but here it is anyways... I set the frags in the lower corner to move them farther from the light for an initial period and to make sure they get good flow while I keep my eyes on them.

 

 

[dapellegrini]

On the NOT SO GOOD list, I have seen a number of red flatworms on the glass, along with some larger clear/white ones (guessing these are not as bad), and am starting to see a lot of these (thinking probably Aiptasia) spreading around some of the naked areas of LR:

 

 

None seem to to be causing any problems yet.

 

Vermitids are my new arch-nemesis. Every time I think I gouged one completely out of my LR, it seems to find a way back, spitting nasty little webs of mucus all over the place.... Errrrr...

[keith1569]

nice man..i love watching ur tank progress

[c est ma]

Dan, things are looking beautiful! Wow, that red macro really looks nice in those fts's!

 

I think your aip-like things could be brown hydroids...do they have a stalk that doesn't retract? Here's a mixed bag of threads on brown hydroids that have various pics in them:

 

N-R threads re brown hydroids

 

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=hydroid

 

 

--Diane

 

Edited to remove 2 broken links.

[dapellegrini]

The first two links don't seem to work...

 

Yes, they do have stalks that do not retract! Are they related to these that I was seeing on the glass a couple of weeks ago?

 

[dapellegrini]

Some more pictures, with names/IDs...

 

These were sold to me as "Rare Uber Blue" - not my favorite and more of a purple under my light:

 

 

And these were sold as "Rare Blueberry Fields" - more black and green in my tank - I think they may actually be "Purple Puddles":

 

 

 

These little ones I got from a hole-in-the-wall LFS - I really liked the bright yellow/green ones. The orange was mixed in. I think these are "Bumble Bee" and an "Orange Delight"

 

 

These were gifted to me from a friend at work who did not know what they were. I can't figure it out either

 

 

Here are a couple more of this poor little polyp that I picked up. I am guessing some kind of Clavularia sp. I would like to swap this one out for a more colorful version, but have yet to find a good source...

 

 

 

Here is an accidental shot. I was trying to get a starfish and ended up getting an ok picture of one of my more common feather dusters. I must have at least a dozen of this sort, along with about 5 other varieties. You can see some of the yellow sponge coming back off the top of the pic

 

 

And a completely washed out FTS (full tank shot), with the various new frags arranged a little bit better:

 

 

-------------------------

 

I am going to switch in a 14k Astra Lux light and see if I like that any more than my AB 13k. I am now also seriously thinking about doing a small ECCO canister filter, and mod-ing it into a fuge, with a light and heater. I think using a nice/small intake/outake may further reduce the clutter and help insure stability...

 

 

Thanks for looking

[Nick's Reef]

Beautiful tank! I really want to set up a 18 gallon ada.

[c est ma]

The first two links don't seem to work...

 

 

Sorry about that--try these:

 

N-R threads re brown hydroids

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...c=82630&hl=

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...c=81306&hl=

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=hydroid

 

 

Yes, they do have stalks that do not retract! Are they related to these that I was seeing on the glass a couple of weeks ago?

 

 

Very likely, though those little medusae could also some from an even tinier white hydroid, which can be very hard to see...Here're pics of one of mine...these white ones are typically tinier than the brown, without the firm stalks, and may be joined together in "chains..."

 

 

 

 

More hydroid links if you're interested:

 

Shimek article with pics of “dots with legs”

http://www.ronshimek.com/Animal%20Groups%2...0Cnidarians.htm

(Note--in addition to the crawling medusae there are also ones that will pulse around in the water column)

 

Shimek hydroid article

http://web.archive.org/web/20020815020152/.../wb/default.asp

 

wetwebmedia page with pics & descriptions of hydroid and other tiny medusae

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/jellyidfaqs.htm

 

wetwebmedia pages, hydroid FAQs

http://wetwebmedia.com/hyzoanidfaq.htm

http://wetwebmedia.com/hyzoanidfaq2.htm

(Note: last example on last page WRONG—it’s a ctenophore, not a hydroid)

 

Hydroids are much better to find than Aiptasia!

 

 

Nice collection of zoas you've got there, and the fts is lovely. You sure can integrate new frags well! Sweet duster pic, too.

 

--Diane

[dapellegrini]

Well I am just about 3 months in now...

 

Maintenance is down to weekly water changes (between 2 and 4 gallons, removing 1 gallon at a time, replacing and repeating), and weekly or bi-weekly (that means every-other-week, right?) scraping of glass to keep it shiny.

 

I cracked for a Sexy Shrimp, ended up with two and they have declared open session on my Zoo's... All of my cool mini bumblebee zoos were eaten, along with a few heads of each of my other colonies. The more aggressive one later jumped out of the tank (found him dry on the carpet) and since my zoos have been doing notably better.

 

Anyways, I thought I would post up a bunch of shots taken with my wife's new little digital camera.

 

Starting with a few FTS:

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some different strains of Coralline Algae, or at least I think thats what all of these are. Note the lumpy ones and that last shot with the red stuff growing up off the rock kinda like a mushroom...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tank is overrun with Amphipods - if you look closely you can see them everywhere. I have watched them prey on smaller pod-type creatures - I hope having too many is not a problem. ???

 

Here are some more obvious shots of a couple:

 

 

 

 

Here is a slightly clearer picture if the two-headed feather duster:

 

 

 

 

I also have a lot of these little tiny red feather dusters, but very hard to get them clear in a picture:

 

 

 

 

Various wild, red macro algaes:

 

 

 

 

And finally a strange new things - no clue what this might be - any thoughts???

 

 

 

 

Current inhabitants:

 

- 1x Scarlet Hermit Crab

- 1x Sexy Shrimp - soon to find a new home

- 1x Blue Porcelain Crab

- 2x Pom Pom Crabs

- misc Snails

- misc Zoa colonies

- 1x Orange Monti Cap

- Small Colony of Clove Polyps of some sort

 

I was feeding the tank with Marine Snow along with frozen mysis (just a tiny bit) for a while and I think that was causing a more than average amount of junk on the glass. I have now backed down feeding to once a week at most, the night before water change day. The Hermit Crab has molted once, as well as the Porcelain Crab and both of the Pom Poms. I am anxious to be rid of the sexy shrimp, and bummed that they are certifiable zoo killers... All of my other critters only like to come out at night.

 

Overall things are going quite well, the tank seems to be settling in nicely and I am enjoying it.

[Nick's Reef]

Your tank is beautiful! The little yellow things are some sort of sponge.

[Rubicon06]

Awesome Tank, I love rimless tanks, where did you get it? if you don't mind my asking

[dapellegrini]

Thanks. Got the tank at a local store, but you can get them online at adgshop.com

[c est ma]

Wow, everything about your tank is so interesting and aesthetically pleasing--I just know I'd stare at it for hours if it were mine!

 

I'm sure I've already said it, but every fts you post looks like so much more tank than a 5g--great 'scape and choice of inhabitants. I really like the backless look and the light blue of the walls really sets off the display. You sure have managed to minimize as much as possible the visible equipment, cords, etc., in the tank.

 

You have a wonderful variety of corallines, both in color & growth form. Unfortunately, your last coralline pic is currently a red X for me, but I think I know what you mean. I used to have a coralline species that looked for all the world like a shroom...I had to convince myself several times that it had no mouth!

 

It's rather unusual to get such good pics of amphipods, right out in the open like that! Big or small, they're all nice to have--the only reason to want more small ones would be if you had something that absolutely had to eat them. Personally, it's been a long time since I've seen a big amphi, and I miss them!

 

Congrats on all the red duster hitchers. They really add nice little spots of color--I wish I had more. They don't seem to multiply as rapidly as the white ones in my tank.

 

I agree with Nick that the yellow-green thing is a sponge. I have a few that look similar but none nearly as well developed or displayed so nicely.

 

Always glad to hear negative experiences with sexies, as it's been all I can do to keep from trying them myself! Sorry about your losses, though.

 

I look at the beautiful cleanliness of your tank and it almost makes me with I'd never added fish to mine. BTW, I've heard less than stellar reports on marine snow. Ever think of trying DT's?

 

Wonderful pics & update altogether! Great job.

 

--Diane

[bherrin]

Thanks. Got the tank at a local store, but you can get them online at adgshop.com

Great tank. I really like the aquascape.

 

It is kind of hard to see from the pictures and I don't believe I saw it mentioned in the thread. What size rocks did you use. It looks like you used many smaller pieces. If so did you find you had to use more pounds of rock? I have been going back and forth on ordering 5 lbs of rock for my 3g picotope or ordering 6 lbs or live rock rubble. I think I would be better of trying to build the shape I would like with many smaller pieces, but I'm new and haven't maintained a SW tank in years.

 

Thanks,

Brooks

[Gerber77]

Thats a great tank. Everything is coloring up perfectly.

[dapellegrini]

Thanks Diane. I am pretty bummed about the sexy shrimp. They are extremely cool little creatures, but definitely no good with zoos. Perhaps is a larger small tank with fish where you have more feeding waste for them to forage through. Or if you have very large colonies and don't mind loosing a head or so a week...

 

Also thanks for the confirm on the sponge. It definitely qualifies for one of the stranger things I have found in the tank.

 

On the mushroom-like coralline, the better picture (where you can see it coming off the rock) is actually with the amphipods. Seems that all of my red coralline is of this sort - grows in circles and the edges lift off the rock.

 

 

 

 

It is kind of hard to see from the pictures and I don't believe I saw it mentioned in the thread. What size rocks did you use. It looks like you used many smaller pieces. If so did you find you had to use more pounds of rock? I have been going back and forth on ordering 5 lbs of rock for my 3g picotope or ordering 6 lbs or live rock rubble. I think I would be better of trying to build the shape I would like with many smaller pieces, but I'm new and haven't maintained a SW tank in years.

 

I am using 8lbs of rock. I bought 3 larger pieces and then a bunch of rubble upto 4-inch type pieces. The lower rock on the right is mostly one piece with a few smaller pieces used on the back and then in the front to create the kind of "fingers" or sloping down effect. Perhaps this will give you a better idea:

 

 

With a small tank you should splurge on the best rock available locally - and hand pick your pieces. Look for good details and varied sizes. I am not as happy with my larger stones on the left side as they have more of a convex form in the middle, where I think they would have been better concave - but I think it worked out ok.

 

I used a whole tube of Aqua Mend to stick the rock mound together at left, but I find it still quite ready to fall apart on me during cleaning. Still more stable than when they were just stacked together though.

[sammy113]

That is the cleanest ADA I've seen. Awesome tank and lots of coralline growth and color so fast.

[bherrin]

With a small tank you should splurge on the best rock available locally - and hand pick your pieces.

 

I used a whole tube of Aqua Mend to stick the rock mound together at left,

 

Thanks for the help. I've thought about using my lfs, but the rock they have is completely cured and looks to have little or no hitchhikers. Since this tank is going to sit at my desk at work and will not have any fish in it I would like it to have as much mini life as possible.

 

I'm thinking of going with these guys Sea Life Inc. as their rock is loaded with with life. Maybe I could just order a couple of larger pieces from them and go to the lfs and handpick the smaller pieces.

 

I'll have to add Aqua Mend to the list.

 

Thanks,

Brooks

[dapellegrini]

My Scarlet Hermit Crab even has a Red Feather Duster friend:

 

 

A couple other of my less welcome inhabitants... Vermitids - I think I am down to only 2 or 3 of these now. They like to throw out their mucus webs during water changes:

 

 

And my "volcano worm", or at least that is what I call him. I have a thread up in the ID forum to try and figure out what this guy is. He likes to mess up my perfect substrate lines by blowing a little volcano mountain against the glass...

 

 

[wav3form]

Very nice! Oh and they do make furniture like they used to but it's not sold at Target.

[c est ma]

Super micro macros, Dan! How are you taking them?

 

I doubt you'll get much more info on the worm, other than some sort of polychaete or another! I've got 'em too--like to watch their little substrate "volcanos" develop.

 

However, the duster on your hc looks like a Spirorbid to me.

 

--Diane

[PurpleUP]

I've been wondering how your tank has been doing. How long have you had the orange monti in there now?