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Coral Vue Hydros

Sunlight Clam Pico II (1.25g)


tinyreef

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Tiny, it's looking awesome. Good luck with the clam. It looks great under natural sunlight. I was kind of suprised as to how well the colors looked to be honest.

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Ok, I have kind of a stupid question here, but we're on the topic, so what the heck.

To be perfectly honest with you, my knowledge of phytoplankton is pretty basic.

Can you explain it's effects on this kind of a setup, both positive and negative?

i'm basic too in my understanding so don't worry (i've always been a "monkey see, monkey do" reefer :) ) but for my pov it's the base (or one of the bases) of the food/ecosystem. so from that aspect i've always strived to keep algae-rich setups.

 

yeah, that's my story and i'm going with it. :P

 

but i've noticed that such setups tend to reach their own equilibrium over time and are able to handle things themselves. it's not always the most optimal diversity but i view it as (sorta) natural selection/evolution. so it's partly my 'natural method of reefing' (not to be confused with the traditional definition of natural reefing though).

 

the other aspect of phytoplankton promotion is to feed certain reef "difficult" livestock. and yes, i have ANOTHER experiment in mind, actually it's been knocking around longer than this or the previous sunlit pico! and i would've gotten to it on the last pico if it weren't for those meddling kids and that dog!

 

jk (but i do have another project in mind! :ninja: )

 

so when the phytoplankton showed up so nicely (and effortlessly :P ) in the last tank, without a humongous bloom, i felt it could serve another purpose. i.e. feeding the younger filter-feeding tridacna clams as well as the usual microfauna filter feeders everyone finds in the typical reef.

 

as a photosynthetic livestock, i think it aids in bioloading for these smaller setups too. like an army of freefloating chaeto/harvestable algae!

 

those are the main pro's for me.

 

the main con's imo are: a slight tint to the water and (usually) a difficult balance of cultivating phyto or fouling a tank.

 

traditionally, phyto-dosing a tank limits the types of phytoplankton to what's commercially available and concern of adding too much or incompatible phyto/microplanktons.

 

i believe there are other types (besides the preserved/commercial phytos) that can dominate and replicate more naturally the actual reef environments. these sunlits have been partly motivated by that. i always suspected it could be but i didn't know for sure (for my purposes) until the last tank.

 

but if handled "incorrectly", phyto can easily foul and cascade into other algae problems. imo, it's that prospect that is the "algae bloom monster" most people immediately associate with "sunlight + fish tanks". hth

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thanks, diatome!

 

had some temp fluctuation yesterday. when i got home it was 80F+ rather than a steady 78F~79F range. normally, i don't even bat an eye at that (heck, i had 69F~90F+ variations last week! :o ) but obviously with the clam in there i want the temp ranges to be as tight as possible.

 

the slight increase told me that maybe the fan wasn't on long enough during the day and i also worried it wasn't coming on early enough. it's actually too cool on cloudy days though*sigh* hence the need for a good accurate heater. so i expanded the fan timer slightly and i'll check on it again today.

 

i thought this was an interesting perspective. it shows the morning sunlight contrasted against the 'shade'. most of the pics i've taken are of 'shade' light or indirect sunlight. direct sunlight is simply too bright (see below).

2008-1010-1.jpg

 

here's a side view a few minutes later showing the sunlight beginning to creep into the tank.

2008-1010-3.jpg

 

normally, i don't have the fan coming on until a few hours after this but i've changed that to about 30-minutes from this point. hopefully, it'll be cool enough and not too much evaporation. i'll most likely be adding the ATO this weekend.

 

i think this top/down view shows the sunlight intensity pretty well. it's juuuust creeping in on the mantle of the clam on the right.

2008-1010-2.jpg

 

so i think the lighting is actually probably more intense than mh lighting (most people's concern), which i run on my display tank. so really the issues i'm more concerned about are the duration of the intense lighting (only a few hours) and the temp control.

 

for those put off by my problems, don't be. i'm trying to do this within a reasonable budget and 'on the side'/part-time (like most of my reefing).

 

temp control can easily be achieved with an ATO and/or chiller. it's just $$$ then.

 

whereas, the lighting intensity/duration is really only applicable on high intensity lighting livestock (crocea, carpet anems, acros, etc.). everything else i think is easily kept.

 

thanks for reading! :happy:

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Clams are cool I would like one. How long should I wait. My tanks thread is in my signature
clams should be considered a 'difficult' livestock. i wouldn't try them until you're very comfortable with easier LPS and SPS types. it's more of a comfort and knowing what to look for than simply the maturity/age of the tank/setup.

 

ezcompany (member) is the one clam expert i can think of off the top of my head. you're best to check with him on advice for clams and such imo. barry (clamsdirect?) is also obvious a good choice but i'm not sure if he's around that much anymore. hth

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weekend update!

 

finally able to take a front-view closeup of the new crocea. part of the clam is still in morning shade (upper right) while the rest is absorbing the morning sunlight.

2008-1011-3.jpg

 

clam poop. stringy, ain't it? i had been wondering what bits and stringy matter was collecting on the prefilter lately. post-1446-1223759104.gif

2008-1011-2.jpg

POOPING! :o

 

did my first waterchange on the tank today too! (10%) oh yeah, i'm working! :P

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Wow, that's really cool.

I wonder if I could keep a clam in my Pico.

What do you feed your clam?

so far i don't feed it anything and i really don't plan on feeding it at all. i'm hoping the natural phytoplankton being generated from the sunlight will sustain it both indirectly and directly.

 

but i've only had the clam for a few days so it's still early. :unsure:

 

thanks for the comment!

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Nice clam, wonder how it'll do in the long run.
thank you, that's what i'm here to find out. check back in the future, i intend to document its progress - good or bad.

 

new clam development! green highlights from the side view. some green highlight was visible from the front (where it looks like a green crocea) but not from the side/top views (where it looks like a typical blue croc or max).

2008-1012-2.jpg

this pic i did touch up a bit in ps. i tried to bring out the actual green fluorescing but it's still somewhat muted in the picture above. meh.

 

sunshine! B) it's pretty intense. i think it's more than enough for the clam or anything else even at the NJ latitude. again, the only real issue i'm concerned about (regarding lighting directly) is the duration of the high intensity. but most literature points to a peak period of photosynthesis during the tropical day so i'm hoping it's enough to replicate that. (the tropical peak lasts longer than the jersey peak, obviously. >.< )

2008-1012-3.jpg

 

edit: meh, now that i've posted it that green highlight does look like crap.

 

it's fluorescing, not like just the green tint (barely) showing above. bleh.

 

really, it's almost glowing. that's what caught my eye first thing this morning. *sigh* my photos skillz are the sux.

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Nah, great pics Tiny!

 

Having fun following along and checking out the weekend updates.

 

While I'm at it let me say Thank you for all you do here Tiny.

You are a respected and valued member that we are lucky to have among us.

Your kind, caring, and repeated answers to beginners questions are appreciated by many.

The effort you put in does not go unnoticed. I have and hopefully will continue to learn from your posts as will many others I'm sure.

 

Carry on Sir!

 

:)

 

--Richie

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Nah, great pics Tiny!

 

Having fun following along and checking out the weekend updates.

 

While I'm at it let me say Thank you for all you do here Tiny.

You are a respected and valued member that we are lucky to have among us.

Your kind, caring, and repeated answers to beginners questions are appreciated by many.

The effort you put in does not go unnoticed. I have and hopefully will continue to learn from your posts as will many others I'm sure.

 

Carry on Sir!

 

:)

 

--Richie

 

^^ What he said. :happy:

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:blush: thank you! i appreciate the comments!

 

but i'm shopping for a better camera still. not sure if i can recreate the actual colors. i've seen similar laments from real photogs so i'm not sure what a photo-idiot like myself can do about it. :(

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In the last couple pics of the clam, it looks like it may have been gaping a little bit. I may just be crying wolf, but you never know. Or it could just be the pictures, I can't really tell.

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In the last couple pics of the clam, it looks like it may have been gaping a little bit. I may just be crying wolf, but you never know. Or it could just be the pictures, I can't really tell.
no, it's not gaping but it is stretching toward the light a bit because it hasn't anchored itself yet. i'm a little concerned about that but not overly so...yet.

 

the clam does actively orient itself during the day to best match up with the sun though (active phototropism, i guess :lol: ). it was kind of startling to see at first actually, but then i realized what it was doing, i.e. leaning slightly to the 'left' in the morning, middle later on, and then ever so slightly to the 'right' towards the end of high intensity period. so i'm not sure if it wants to anchor down just yet.

 

but the mantle does stretch forward from the back to pivot the top half of the mantle to get the most light. i'm not happy with it stretching that way but until it anchors and 'pulls itself slightly upright' it has to stretch like that.

 

i'm actually more concerned with how it looks at night but i think it's more that i haven't had a crocea in years (clam noob). the last couple of clams i've had are maxima (current), squammy, and another maxima (both years ago too). i stopped trying clams because of the clam plague that hit the hobby a few years back. the current maxima in my display was a 'gift' from a fellow reefer.

 

the blanching/bleaching in the center is also a concern but that was actually pre-existing. once that colors up (with blue) i'll worry less. i'm still a little undecided whether or not that green-edge highlight i noted previously is a good sign or a bad sign. i'm thinking coral-wise for it to be a bad sign but that might be an erroneous application (different animals and possibly different dynamics).

 

*sigh* we'll see, i guess.

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so far i don't feed it anything and i really don't plan on feeding it at all. i'm hoping the natural phytoplankton being generated from the sunlight will sustain it both indirectly and directly.

 

but i've only had the clam for a few days so it's still early. :unsure:

 

thanks for the comment!

 

Ooo so all they need is light? I have a light.

 

Welcome! :flower:

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Ooo so all they need is light? I have a light.
well, i think clams need more than just the light and moreso when they're younger to supplement the symbiont algae production.

 

that's why the phytoplankton production in my tank is so critical. if there wasn't that phyto being produced i probably wouldn't have opted to put a clam in there at all. i hate dosing/feeding food. too much like work.

 

chances are though that most tanks lit up (by the sun or artificial lighting) will produce some phyto though. i just think the sunlight will be optimal for the phyto and should sustain clams and such feeding on it constantly. hth

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snuck home in the middle of the day. heh.

 

extreme phototropism! the clam leans toward/follows the sun as it travels throughout the day. this pic was taken around 10:50AM so the sun was to the "left" of the clam slightly still at that time. (sorry for the glare)

2008-1016-1.jpg

 

here's a rearview of the same point in time. (coloration varies a LOT from the angle!)

2008-1016-2.jpg

although it IS reaching a LOT the bottom of the clam isn't. the 'reach' is more because of the angle (or lack of) it's still sitting on. still waiting/hoping for it to latch onto the rock behind it and settle into an angled/horizontal position. unfortunately i don't think it knows enough to do so. hrm.

 

showing a little growth in the shell. not much but i think it's a good sign. better than tissue recession and gaping. :unsure:

2008-1016-3.jpg

this pic i touched up a little "auto-color" in ps. it was really blanched because of the glare.

 

temps were pretty good. it was 76F with the fan going. i figure it probalby tops out around 80F~81F at high noon and then re-settles back to the upper 70's later in the afternoon. the marineland heater's been keeping it a steady 78F~79F most of the time though.

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ty! :happy:

 

anyone else besides us with these tanks? i haven't seen many (or any!). i thought they were a perfect size and shape. figured there'd be more of these tanks set up by now. :huh:

 

c'mon, people, chop-chop. :P

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thanks, deb! i'm actually beginning to enjoy it too. for a while there it was just "meh" because the colors were simply so drab in the tank. and i was too lazy to really put any effort into it and too cheap to get something really nice. :P

 

i like the challenge of the clam though. it really forced me to concentrate and focus on stability, upkeep, and monitoring. whereas i had felt that the corals could always just fend for themselves. :lol: i'm also learning a lot from the challenge.

 

i've been testing with the ato and kalk. that'll be my next step. im already 100% top-off with kalk but i've been testing a greater and greater and quicker and quicker introductions of the kalk to better simulate an actual ato event, rather than learning elsewise afterwards. >.<

 

my dang old reserve kalk reactor leaks though. :angry: poor ebay workmanship. hmph.

 

thanks for reading!

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jk (but i do have another project in mind! :ninja: )

 

I know\ have an ideaaaaaa !!! :D

 

ty! :happy:

 

anyone else besides us with these tanks? i haven't seen many (or any!). i thought they were a perfect size and shape. figured there'd be more of these tanks set up by now. :huh:

 

c'mon, people, chop-chop. :P

 

Maybe so, if you didn't Bogart the details of where to get one, or how much it is ! :o

 

I have been waiting in the bushes on this one . Finally time to speak up !

Well done sir !!!! :bowdown:

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I know\ have an ideaaaaaa !!!
shhh! :ninja:

xoqubt.jpg

 

Maybe so, if you didn't Bogart the details of where to get one, or how much it is ! :o

 

I have been waiting in the bushes on this one . Finally time to speak up !

Well done sir !!!!

actually, travisurfer was the one who pointed out the tank to me with his thread. i think i got my tank from petsmart? $20?

 

and thanks for the comments! :happy:

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