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travisurfer's 1.25g Pico

travisurfer

By travisurfer,
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travisurfer

travisurfer

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Ok, this tank has been setup since July 4th so it has been a solid 5 month run since then. Everything has been relatively good so far. I even have some coralline starting to grow on the back wall. I have lost both an astrea snail and a blue-leg hermit to the unprotected filter intake. This has been fixed to prevent any other such disasters although I still don't have any true CIC- the various limpets, pods, worms, and brittle stars. The mojano haven't made a come back yet although I do find hydroids on the glass on a daily basis. Overall, I am pleased with the tank's progress thus far. Everything appears to be completely healthy despite the mere 1.25g total tank volume. Considering at least half of that is probably rock and sand, I think that's pretty good. Anyway, on to the picture update:

 

This purple mushroom has really taken control of the tank. It is pleasing to look at so I don't mind.

12-21-mushroommacro.jpg

However, it is splitting right now and has already left behind two perfectly healthy babies and is working on a third.

12-21-babymushrooms.jpg

12-21-babymushroom.jpg

The orange mushroom continues to do well but hasn't really taken off as much as the purple one. There's another orange mushroom stuck behind the rocks somewhere- it's hard to see but also appears to be doing well despite the lack of reliable light.

12-21-orangemushroom.jpg

The palythoas definitely look much better under the 50/50 again. The 6500k washed out the colors too much so you couldn't even see their fluorescent green centers.

12-21-palymacro.jpg

The gsp is happy again. While not fully extended it is opening up more and more now even after the loss of the snail which shocked the system a bit.

12-21-gspmacro.jpg

I am really surprised how extended the sinularia is. I just pulled it out of the big tank and dumped it in here. Within 30 minutes, it showed full polyp extension.

12-21-sinularia.jpg

I can't forget the money shot either.

12-21-sinulariamacro.jpg

Of course, the moai is happy and smiling as always.

12-21-moai.jpg

He just looks like he's meant to be there, doesn't he? I'd be happy too if I was surrounded by coral like that all the time.

12-21-moaisinularia.jpg

Red bristle worms are everywhere.

12-21-bristleworm.jpg

This is the best pic I could get of the benthic areas of the tank. If you look closely, you can make out the shapes of the cue-tip sponges and various worm species.

12-21-benthicareas.jpg

Don't worry, here's the obligatory full tank shot.

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And of course, I can't post a true update without the corner shot that makes these tanks so great.

12-21-corner.jpg

 

Thanks for looking. :happy:

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jazthree3

jazthree3

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Hey Travis, This is off topic.. but I was wondering about your sigline pics. The worm 2nd from the right. Do you have an ID for that? I have one too. Is it just a fire/bristle worm? Mine has the same exact coloration. I didn't get to see it's whole body though.

Thanks for any info!

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travisurfer

travisurfer

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Hey Travis, This is off topic.. but I was wondering about your sigline pics. The worm 2nd from the right. Do you have an ID for that? I have one too. Is it just a fire/bristle worm? Mine has the same exact coloration. I didn't get to see it's whole body though.

Thanks for any info!

Yes, it is just a bristle worm- too lazy for the scientific name. In general they are just scavengers. I haven't had any problems with them. They occasionally irritate things but I haven't really seen them eat any live corals. I did lose a pink paly due to unknown causes, but the snail died at about that same time as well as a lack of flow for a few days so I attribute it's death to that with the following cleanup by the bristle worms. Someone else had a small write-up on them that you may be interested in:

http://www.reefcorner.com/SpecimenSheets/bristleworm.htm

HTH.

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travisurfer

travisurfer

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looks good for just a screw-in light... awesome pico trav!

Thanks. It seems like no one ever uses these any more- I guess people just like to spend more money. I have always had good luck with them.

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clownfish1124

clownfish1124

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Don't you think that's a big much? Besides the two reefs, I have this betta and another tank just sitting around. More tanks=more problems ime.

it's not like i am gonna set them all up together, having 13 tanks at once would be horrible. they are mainly for upgrades and what not. in the next two years, i want to combine my sw tanks and put them into the 58 oceanic or 36 bow.

and then combine my fw tanks into a nice 65 hex or 40 tall.

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travisurfer

travisurfer

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it's not like i am gonna set them all up together, having 13 tanks at once would be horrible. they are mainly for upgrades and what not. in the next two years, i want to combine my sw tanks and put them into the 58 oceanic or 36 bow.

and then combine my fw tanks into a nice 65 hex or 40 tall.

Consolidation is where it's at. I just have my pico because I like it better than the main tank. Weird I know. Picos are just fun and much easier to stock on a budget. This tank really hasn't cost me all that much.

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travisurfer

travisurfer

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Cliff: Here is the moai from the main tank. I've had it for years now so it is covered with coralline and all sorts of cool stuff.

2905498640069473040S600x600Q85.jpg

Tiny/Acropora: i was hanging out in the lfs one day looking for cheap corals floating around the tanks. One of the guys just came back from maintaining and off-site aquarium. He had the sinularia with him and plopped it into the bio-cube on the counter. I was like, zomg, how much? The owner said $1,000,000 so I just laughed and walked away. Later on, I was talking to the other guy who said that the owner was going to sell it so I was like seriously, how much? He told me $40 so I just said, mine! He was surprised because I had previously asked the price for a lot of other things. This lfs is notorious for having bleh livestock at high prices, but it's the only lfs so whatever. Anyway, by this time, there were other people in the place staring at it. Ended up putting it in my 20H, and watched it fully open up to about 5" or so. So, I fragged a piece off of it and that's what ended up in the pico. Definitely my favorite coral that I own though- it's just so bright and green. :)

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clifford513

clifford513

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Cliff: Here is the moai from the main tank. I've had it for years now so it is covered with coralline and all sorts of cool stuff.

That is definitely a nice moai :happy:

 

Got a new camera for Christmas. I'll be sure to experiment with it to get some cool in-tank shots. :P

:happydance: :happydance: :happydance:

Cant' wait to see what you can do with that!

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travisurfer

travisurfer

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Thanks guys. I'm probably going to play around with it later today. The problem with the pico is that the camera will displace a lot of water so I'd have to drain it to get pics of everything.

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