Nano Sapiens 12g - Ye Olde Mixed Reef

[Nano sapiens]

29 minutes ago, cfaye@Delaware said:

To the tank, Happy Birthday.

To you outstanding. Have a wonderful year with more to come. 

 

Thank you...from both of us

[ml86743]

Truly amazing, congratulations are in order for such a long run!  Best of luck in the following years.

[Nano sapiens]

2 hours ago, ml86743 said:

Truly amazing, congratulations are in order for such a long run!  Best of luck in the following years.

 Thank you!  When it hits 10 years I think I'll name it 'Methuselah Reef'

[kwhyle]

This is incredibly inspiring! Super interesting how you use coral to keep other in check. *ehem* like nature... *ehem* Thank you for posting

[Sk8n Reefer]

Congrats! One amazing tank!

[Nano sapiens]

7 minutes ago, kwhyle said:

This is incredibly inspiring! Super interesting how you use coral to keep other in check. *ehem* like nature... *ehem* Thank you for posting

 

Considering it has no mechanical or chemical filtration...and uses coral to control other coral, I guess it's a 'natural aquarium'

2 minutes ago, Sk8n Reefer said:

Congrats! One amazing tank!

 Thank you

[Nano sapiens]

Mini Update:

 

Anatomy of a slow-motion takeover.  The messiest area in the tank right now as the Mint Green Pavona slowly, but surely, displaces the troubled Sunset Montipora (the red cyano is having a field day feasting on the dead organic residue):

 

 

 

Who ever thought that those cute and adorable GBGs could turn into these thugs 

 

[WV Reefer]

2 minutes ago, Nano sapiens said:

Mini Update:

 

The messiest area in the tank right now as the Mint Green Pavona slowly, but surely, displaces the trouble Sunset Montepora:

 

 

 

Who ever thought that those cute and adorable GBGs could turn into this:

 

 

Those are a couple of fatties!! 

[Nano sapiens]

Just now, WV Reefer said:

 

Those are a couple of fatties!! 

 

'Pork Links!'

[WV Reefer]

9 minutes ago, Nano sapiens said:

 

'Pork Links!'

[natalia_la_loca]

OMG love those fat little sausages 

[Nano sapiens]

49 minutes ago, natalia_la_loca said:

OMG love those fat little sausages 

 

Kind of remind me of the fishy version of these grumpy guys:

 

 

[Weetabix7]

20 minutes ago, Nano sapiens said:

 

Kind of remind me of the fishy version of these grumpy guys:

 

 

 

OMG, so they're like my husband!!!

[Nano sapiens]

5 minutes ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

OMG, so they're like my husband!!!

 LOL...if you say so

[debbeach13]

Congratulations again on your tank. It must be such a pleasure to just sit and watch it. I do not think I have ever seen 2 fish look so fat. 

[Nano sapiens]

4 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Congratulations again on your tank. It must be such a pleasure to just sit and watch it. I do not think I have ever seen 2 fish look so fat. 

 Thank you...and it's still a pleasure after all these years

 

The fish are well fed, no doubt (their main job is to make 'waste products' for the resident bacteria), but these males also have really swollen heads.  Apparently, they use this swollen cheeks technique to intimidate by appearing as large as possible.  

 

Kind of like these guys ('Sarcastic Fringehead'), just not quite as extreme

 

 

[Nano sapiens]

Interesting surprise this week...  

 

Maybe 2 years ago or so I moved an aquamarine Ricordia florida from a smaller front rock to a larger rear one to free up some much needed space.  Early this week, out of the blue, this little blue fella pops it head out of the crowd and says 'Hi!' for the first time:

 

 

It's a bit bleached, but considering it has been hiding away under the skirts of it's larger companions it has more pigment than I would have expected.  While it's too early to tell, it may also be an offspring of a darker blue/purple Ric that can just be seen in the upper left corner (most likely).

 

In a tank this old, one learns to appreciate the little unexpected things that keep it fresh  

[Weetabix7]

8 minutes ago, Nano sapiens said:

Interesting surprise this week...  

 

Maybe 2 years ago or so I moved an aquamarine Ricordia florida from a smaller front rock to a larger rear one to free up some much needed space.  Early this week, out of the blue, this little blue fella pops it head out of the crowd and says 'Hi!' for the first time:

 

 

It's a bit bleached, but considering it has been hiding away under the skirts of it's larger companions it has more pigment than I would have expected.  It's too early to tell, but it may also be an offspring of a darker blue-with-purple Ric that can just be seen in the upper left corner.

 

In a tank this old, one learns to appreciate the little unexpected things that keep it fresh  

 

Cool!!!

Just out of curiousity, what differences have you observed between newer tanks (less than 2 yrs old) and older tanks?

[Nano sapiens]

11 hours ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

Cool!!!

Just out of curiousity, what differences have you observed between newer tanks (less than 2 yrs old) and older tanks?

 A two year old tank is just out of diapers, anything younger still has colic 

 

Although there are a multitude of factors that can hasten or delay a tank's maturity, as a general rule I'd peg the 4-5 year mark as 'getting there', maturity wise, for a medium sized nano.  With a young tank the issues just keep on coming due to a combination of a reefer's miscalculations while handling a new system and the typical near constant stream of new arrivals which contributes to system instability.  As a result, the system is constantly having to adjust and adapt.  Once the system has many more years under it's belt, more of the available space should then be occupied by corals (competition for nutrients and space will help reduce algae) and the more disruptive pests should have been dealt with.  When a system gets really old, it can be easy-breezy as long as the maintenance schedule adequately exports enough waste (in relation to the feeding inputs) and any changes are small and slow.

 

Compared to when it was young, I spend much more time enjoying this tank now.  The only items that I check regularly are temp, salinity and alkalinity.  Ca and Mg I check every 2 weeks or so, but they tend to remain pretty stable so there's no stressing on these.  LFS check for NO3 and PO4 once a year (always the same), just for the heck of it 

[Weetabix7]

1 minute ago, Nano sapiens said:

 A two year old tank is just out of diapers, anything younger still has colic 

 

Although there are a multitude of factors that can hasten or delay a tank's maturity, as a general rule I'd peg the 5 year mark as 'getting there' for a medium sized nano.  With a young tank the issues just keep on coming due to a combination of a reefer's miscalculations while handling a new system and the typical near constant stream of new arrivals which contributes to system instability.  As a result, the system is constantly having to adjust and adapt.  Once the system has many more years under it's belt, more of the available space should then be occupied by corals (competition for nutrients and space will help reduce plague algae) and the more disruptive pests should have been dealt with.  When a system gets really old, it can be easy-breezy as long as the maintenance schedule adequately exports waste (in relation to the inputs) and any changes are small and slow.

 

Compared to when it was young, I spend much more time enjoying this tank now.  The only items that I check regularly are temp and alkalinity.  Ca and MG I check every 2 weeks or so, but they tend to remain pretty stable so there's no stressing on these.  LFS check for NO3 and PO4 once a year (always the same) just so I feel I've done my duty 

 

Interesting, thanks for the perspective!!

I do agree that the constant addition of new stuff early on it's life definitely affects Reef Tanks. 

[Nano sapiens]

Continuing on with the 'Shroomies...

 

Ricordia florida are getting so large and numerous that they have been forcing the R. yuma to the bottom of their rock and one even detached.  Due to this, I removed three of the Yumas and attached them to their own piece of LR (includes the little HH purple Yuma to the upper right of the small pink one):

 

 

This will also allow me more flexibility in manipulating their lighting and makes feeding easier.  The 4" 'RR 'Ironman' LPS had to be moved on to make room for these guys.

 

Mushie-squishies...crowded much?

 

 

...and I also extirpated (removed completely) the Green Birdsnest (S. hystrix).  Beautiful coral, but grew so fast it was out competing my other Seriatopora.

[Christopher Marks]

Wow has it been over 9 years already?! Incredible! The mushroom kingdom continues to expand  

[Nano sapiens]

14 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said:

Wow has it been over 9 years already?! Incredible! The mushroom kingdom continues to expand  

Yup, it has indeed.  As they say, "Time flies when you're growing coral'

[Polarcollision]

Whew! I saw the closed sign on the other thread and was sad thinking it was the tank that had gone. Happy to see it's chugging along, as beautiful as ever. Came by to pick your brain, if you're willing, on what I suspect might be a bit of old tank syndrome. I'm having a bit of a nutrient issue with an algae outbreak and mini colonial hydroids. Nutrients suspended in the water column are testing fine. I suspect the sugar-fine sand has trapped nutrients, feeding the algae. Considering replacing half of the sand bed until it's populated by the current microbiome, then replacing the other half. Part of me holds back remembering the white cloud that no amount of pre-rinsing can stop, unsure if I may end up distressing or killing acros with the lack of light while it settles down. Thoughts?

[Nano sapiens]

49 minutes ago, Polarcollision said:

Whew! I saw the closed sign on the other thread and was sad thinking it was the tank that had gone. Happy to see it's chugging along, as beautiful as ever. Came by to pick your brain, if you're willing, on what I suspect might be a bit of old tank syndrome. I'm having a bit of a nutrient issue with an algae outbreak and mini colonial hydroids. Nutrients suspended in the water column are testing fine. I suspect the sugar-fine sand has trapped nutrients, feeding the algae. Considering replacing half of the sand bed until it's populated by the current microbiome, then replacing the other half. Part of me holds back remembering the white cloud that no amount of pre-rinsing can stop, unsure if I may end up distressing or killing acros with the lack of light while it settles down. Thoughts?

 

Yeah, still chugging along.  The whole Photobucket fiasco just made me want to start a new thread where I can strictly use NR's media hosting instead.  Is it your three year old 24g that's starting to have some issues? 

 

IME, it's not the sand itself that's the issue, but what resides in it.  If old sand itself were an issue, then my mostly 18+ year old sand bed should be causing a mess...which it isn't.  The first thing I'd look at is the sand bed maintenance routine.  Typically, when the tank is doing well, I vacuum 1/2 the sand bed with my weekly WC.  If I start to see additional algae/cyano growth, then I'll use a filter sock over the return pump and stir up any additional detritus prone areas (such as the back the back chambers) with the WC.  I also blast the LR with a turkey baster before the WC and vacuum under one of my five base rocks every 2 months or so to remove the gunk.

 

Might sound like a bit of a pain, but in these small systems it's necessary IMO if one wants to have a long running and visually appealing system.  Determining where the detritus builds up in the system and having a regular schedule to deal with it should help a lot in the long run.

 

As far as the colonial hydroids go, I have these since day one.  But they are now relatively scarce.  However, when I was feeding small fare like BBS and Copepods...yikes, I had a lot!  I currently feed flakes in the morning and larger frozen foods (LRF, Rod's, Mysid).  Just enough for the fish to get full and I target feed the LPS/Yumas 2-3x/wk.  

 

Hope that helps