Birth of a biotope or Spanko is crazy

[c est ma]

I have to admit I had my doubts when you first broached this project, but those fts's you posted on the 11th are starting to look really cool! I can't wait to see more.

 

How is the hawkfish adapting to the set-up? Where does he like to hang out? (And BTW, what do you feed him?)

 

And when do you plan to get the damsels?

 

--Diane

[Toomin]

you really make me wanna go BB too.

whats your take.

 

$20 on a bottle of cyano remover

or

remove all my sand and go bb?

[spanko]

c est ma I have been following your posts in various threads for a while now and I must say I am honored that you chose to post in this thread. The hawk is a recluse. Usually cannot be seen. Hides in the tunnels made from the rockwork on the bottom of the tank. If I look with the magnifying glass through the tunnels I can usually spot him in one or another but very rarely, so far, out where you can see him. He does come out when I turn the pumps off to feed him some Cyclops (Ocean Nutrition) though and will grab some of that. I have tried other things, mysis, krill, cyclopeeze even some sinking pellets but I think his mouth is too small to eat it. I am guessing he is mostly living off of pods he is finding. I have a small bunch of Chaeto in the display as a refuge for them and I do see them in the tank. The pom-pom crab is the sam way for the most part, in the rockwork until I through some food in the tank then he is out waving his nems around grabbing stuff. I thought the Damsels would have been in last week so that I could add them this week after sitting a week in the LFS for ovservation, but I am now starting to understand the logistics of Trans-shipping from the east and the delays - mixups etc. that happen with orders. Soon I hope. The same with the A. cytherea or A. hyacinthus. The LFS had on their manifest that they were getting an A. millipora which is not quite what I was looking for but I was excited to see it. It never made it to their door. Either it was not really loaded in the far east or the consolidator in L.A. might have liked it and thought they needed it more than me. Oh well, I can wait. Thanx again for posting.

 

Toomin, the bottom is always clean. I have the output form the sump on the bc 29 running down the back corner and breaking off into a Y shape with two ouputs. on pointing towards the front, one along the back. Any detritus accumulates at the far right back corner where the input slots to the sump are. Easily siphoned during water change. I have found that my nitrates are consistently zero, however I do skim and have filter floss and carbon running one week per month, and just filter floss for the rest of the month. I have also found that since setting up the tank BB with the configuration above I am not having to clean my glass but once per week and even then I don't see the green algae I used to and could probably get away with less cleaning but I am a tad anal. I will not go back to a substrate in a SPS tank, and I would do some careful consideration about using a substrate in any tank. Of course I have probably limited severely the amount of beneficial critters that are normally associated with a substrate but I guess I don't need them without the substrate to clean. I have one Nassirius snail left in the tank, must have been hiding in a rock somewhere when I took out the substrate. He is still alive and kicking. I wonder if and how long he will last with out the sandbed to work in. Throw away the cyano remover - and go BB if you can adjust to that look is my opinion. Thank you for your post too. Honored members like you and c est ma always have such timely and accurate information to share.

 

Oh yeah, when I noticed the difference in glass cleaning frequency it just happened to be after adding the Sunpod metal halide also. Coincidence, combination of BB and halide? Only the shadow knows.........

[c est ma]

Gee, I don't know about you, Toomin, but I think I'll be coming back here whenever I need some reassurance...Spanko, I've always thought of you as a great reef role model! I've also been following your thread on MI Reefers...

 

Personally, I think it's kind of cool to have inhabitants that just appear out of nowhere when they sense food. Even my little tank turns into a zoo when I feed--fish, hc's, pom pom, emerald, brittle stars, worms...like a conjurer's trick.

 

But I also wouldn't be surprised if your hawkfish became significantly more outgoing when you add the other fish.

 

Speaking of the hawk, is it not yet full grown? Because it sounds like an ideal nano fish to me right now--cool like a hawkfish but no real danger to other inhabitants...Not to mention its beauty.

 

Interesting commentary on the ins & outs of shipping...Being a reefer in MI no doubt has its drawbacks...And man, do you make bare bottoms sound desirable! (Hope no one excerpts that for their sig!)

 

--Diane

[spanko]

"And man, do you make bare bottoms sound desirable!" Aw I bet you say that to all the boys!

 

Here is some of the info I used to pick this particular hawk as a resident:

Rarely available to aquarium hobbyists, the Plectranthias inermis, or Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish is colorful and animated. Scientifically, it is a closer relative to Anthias and Groupers than Hawkfish, but is associated with Hawks because of its overall shape and behavior. It may be seen resting on and moving from perch to perch. There is a perceived benefit to its perching and swimming over corals as it is thought to help facilitate water movement among the coral heads. It may bother extremely small shrimp and snails, so it should be introduced to a reef aquarium with caution. It will typically tolerate other Hawkfish, but should be kept away from other large Hawkfish as the Geometric Pygmy Hawk only grows to about 2" in length. Because of its size, it is a perfect fish for Nano aquariums.

Mine is about 1.5" right now. I am also thinking the the addition of other fish may coax him into the open more often, we'll see. I also think that when I add the tabling acro and it grows out some it may come out more. The reason I think this is that maybe the turbulence in my tank right now is too much for him and the acro may break it up some moe. I have the pump form the sump putting out 350 gallons per hour and in display I have a Koralia #3 at 850 gallons per hour. In a 19" x 19: tank this is a lot of water movement, and may be why he only comes out when the pumps are off for feeding.

Speaking of the addition of the other fish, which will be 2 Talbot's damsels and lastly a gold stripe neon goby, I am thinking I need to add all three damsels at once. Normally I would caution anyone from doing this especially in a 29 gallon, but I feel the need to introduce all three at once to avoid any territorial issues that may develop from the addition of one at a time. As I have said before I am a heavy filterer, skimming, filter media, carbon one week per month so I hope that will help to avoid any ammonia spikes. Before adding the three I pland to feed the tank a bit more heavily than I have been for a week or two to try to build up the bacteria colony some before the addition. I also plan to monitor for ammonia daily or every other day for a week or so after the addition and have enough water ready for water changes if I see a rise in ammonia.

Yours or anyone else's thoughts on this plan.

 

Again thanx for looking.....oh yeah bare bottom rules........

[spanko]

Just as an update I have that nasty viney Caulepa growing in the tank. I have read that there is not much you can do to rid yourself of it in the normal ways you take care of an algae problem, ie. starving it of nutrients etc. If you are interested read some of the things they are going through in California and Europe with their infestations. I have read that the Diadema urchin is a reef weed killer. There are interesting articles on this also as they are introduced to areas with so much algae that is is over running the coral and killing it. After the Diadema get introduced the algae problem gets taken care of and the coral start to come back.

All that being said I have introduced a small Diadema to my tank. (I had planned on introducing a Tuxedo urchin at some point but have not found one yet and don't know if they have the same affect on the algae) It has been about 4 days or so now and I am not seeing any real dent in the Caulerpa yet. Seems the urchin is still investigating the tank. I will keep him for a while to see if he does anything, knowing that with all creatures it is hit or miss on them doing what they are claimed to be good for. If I don't see any real progress I will tank him back and go back to my regimen of manual removal of the Caulerpa.

 

Just a note to keep whomever is interested updated.

[spanko]

Well the maxima died over the weekend. He began throwing himself to the bottom of the tank on Friday and I kept moving him back up on the rocks, in different places, to see if I could find him a home that he liked. Well on Sunday his shell was open but there was no sign of him. Took it out and there was nothing left inside but a blob. So as he was just a shell of his former self he was removed and giving a proper send off.

The good new is that the LFS has told me that they expect a trans shipment today and it should include The Acropora and the Damsels I have been waiting for. Gonna go there after work to see what's up. I'll keep you all posted.

[SPS20]

I like the tank and am interested to see how the concept comes to fruition. I am particularly interested in the geometric hawkfish. My LFS has some of these in stock and I was interested, but i didn't get one since I don't know much about them. Is he aggressive at all? I have an algae blenny, a gold neon and a hector's goby. So far, my fish mostly ignore each other, which is what I was hoping for. Does your fish seem like he might develop a tandency toward bullying, or is he more mellow than that? How is he eating prepared foods? Does he have a favorite? (so i know what to target feed him when/if i get one)q

 

Also, as regards your longspine urchin: He will indeed eat any and all algae in your tank, but that also includes coralline algae. If you have dense coral growth, it won't make much of a difference, but keep in mind the newly denuded rock (the rock he has stripped of algae) makes an ideal attachment medium for green hair algae. Of course, the urchin will probably eat any hair algae that pops up, but I just thought you might want to keep that in mind.

 

BTW... wow, that is some heavy turnover for such a small tank! My tank only has about 800-1000 GPH turnover total, including refugium, return pump and powerheads. I suppose you would almost have to run BB with that kind of flow. Your sand would just end up in your filters anyway LOL!

 

As far as the eternal sand vs. BB debate, I have always preferred sand for aesthetic reasons, and for the food it provides my SPS, but I must admit it does require additional maintenence. Every several months I have to siphon a portion of the sand out, rinse the hell out of it, then return it to the tank. Only once a tank has been set up for a year or more and is lousy with worms can I forgo that extra maintenece and just let it be. Until a tank is truly "mature", bare bottom is just easier. Do you have any plans to let something encrust the bottom? Maybe put a plating monti frag on the bottom and see if it forms a "floor". That would be a pretty cool answer to the GSP mat I have seen so many times. Just an idea.

 

Anyway, i'm loving the tank and the concept behind it, and I can't wait to see how it plays out.

[spanko]

Well the maxima died. Too much flow. Kept moving around and eventually became a blob in a shell. Took out the Koralia 3 and put in a Koralia 1.

 

Looking at the P.lobata last night and found what I believe is a commensal crab. Cannot find information on the yet but here is a picture. Cool looking critter for what you can see of it. Little striped claws and waving in the breeze antennae.

 

 

Some of the worms on the Porites.

 

 

And with the reduced flow I am trying a T.crocea.

 

 

And a new FTS.

 

 

Am still looking for a A.cytherea or A.hyacinthus.

Will keep you posted.

 

Oh yeah and for those of you who followed and and had input into the thread about adding the D.scopas it is now in the tank and munching away on the dreaded Caulerpa. Will keep you all posted on that also.

[spanko]

Lions lost again. Nothing to do. Post some pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is this a shroom starting to grow?

 

 

Diadema

 

Mollusk Hitcher?

 

This is the Scopas I have added for a month or two to take care or an outbreak of Caulerpa. The LFS has agreed to take him back.

[AcroporaLokani]

Nice long spine sea urchin, What are you feeding it?

[spanko]

Once in a while I will put a small pc. of Nori in it's spines and watch it disappear. for the most part I am relying on this quote from the Shedd Aquarium:

"At night, longspine urchins feed on algae, tiny animals, waste material and rotten matter, helping keep reefs from being overgrown with algae that can smother the corals.

 

Sea urchins eat using five sharp wedges that come together like a beak and that are moved by muscles. This whole muscle and beak structure is called Aristotle’s lantern. Aristotle’s lantern is one of the most complex feeding structures of any animal in the world. This beak-like device allows the urchin to scrape algae off the hard reef coral and rocks. Even as the sharp wedges wear down from harsh use, they continue growing. The urchin can pull or push Aristotle’s lantern into and out of its body."

 

As I have a good supply of all different kinds of algae in the tank right now I figure he has what he needs to get along. I will probably trade him in at some point when I can see that the reef no longer needs him and that he will not have enough to fend for himself. until that time there is plenty.

[DarkMazda]

love the geo hawk! Have you had any problems with it so far? Any tips you can give me on its upkeep/behavior? I thinkin of getting one, but I do have a clean up crew that includes a blood shrimp. Im not sure if this would be the best idea...

[spanko]

I don't have any shrimp in the tank so I can't talk to it's behavior with them. It is a shy fish in my experience with it so far. It likes to stay hidden in the rockwork for the most part. When I turn the pumps off to feed it comes out. I like it, cool little guy, just wish he was out and about more.

[spanko]

Just to keep up on things, the Scopas has gone back to the fish store. He was cool, was eating algae but not the Caulerpa. I took him back because I see now why they are not meant for smaller tanks, not because of the Caulerpa thing. I could see him wanting to swim. He would get going and immeditaly have to change direction and it didn't look like that was a good thing to me. I felt sorry for him not having enough room. So in the meantime I took all the rocks out and did a Caulerpa harvest. Don't know where I will go from here with it because the tank looks great without it right now but I know it will be coming back sometime.

 

Oh well!

[edacsac]

Nice setup! That urchin doesn't cause any problems with rock arangment or anything? I've read so much bad about urchins, but I still really want one. Nice job!

[spanko]

I have two urchins in the tank now. A tuxedo (Tripneustes gratilla) and a long spine (Diadema savignyi). They are both doing well. Most of my rock are large enough that right now they don't affect them when moving around. Also have all of my coral super glued to the rock work and so far so good there. The only worry I have right now, besides providing them with a good habitat, is my Crocea clam, but so far so good there too. I want to keep the algae growth(especially Caulerpa) at a minimum and hope that I can see some benefit for them.

Thank you for looking.

[spanko]

Just an update. The Crocea died. I just cannot keep a clam for some reason. The Deresa I had did fine. Traded him inot the LFS, but the maxima and crocea both started to peal away from the edge of the shell and the turn into the BLOB.

I give up for now. However I have received a A.cytherea and a blueberry polyped monti from the one and only propagator. (great seller) They went into the tank last night and I will be posting pics later today or tomorrow when they settle in and get some PE going.

 

1 neon goby

1 geometric pygmy hawkfish

1 long spine urchin

1 tuxedo urchin.

 

Still waiting to find the Talbot's Damsels.

I think I am pretty much set on the coral aspect now and will wait to see how it grows out.

 

water parameters are all fine but am finding that I am dosing B-Ionic more ofter to keep calc and alk in check.

[spanko]

Quick FTS. In a hurry with camera wife needs it for Christmas work party.

I'll get some more later.

 

[spanko]

Here is a link that takes you to the new thread I started which is a continuation of this tank. I will be posting there from now on.

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...d+the+beginning

[dshnarw]

Here is a link that takes you to the new thread I started which is a continuation of this tank. I will be posting there from now on.

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...d+the+beginning

 

 

ack!! AIO forums...boo!!!

[Amerijuanican]

cool... I'll be following this one...

[spanko]

I just posted some new stuff in:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...20#entry1526557

 

Check it out an let me know what you think please.