Vic's Vivarium Project

[Withers]

nice tank. how do u like the bumble bee shrimp? do u see them often?

 

Fairly often. They aren't like cleaner shrimp that are always visible, but I think I like it better like that. I usually see them out in the open once every 3 days or so, and if I go looking for them I can almost always find at least 1 of them.

[Deleted User 6]

i like the gorg. what do you typically feed it? if anything.

[Withers]

Lots of light I've had those in every tank of mine for the past 4 years and they always do pretty well with no supplemental feeding. The key is keeping them clear of algae and axing any branches that start to recede.

[Tigahboy]

Very nice! Glad to see you back in.

[adinsxq]

UP

[Withers]

I almost had my hands on a Crinoid Squat Lobster but it died overnight before it could be shipped

[schgr.cube]

I almost had my hands on a Crinoid Squat Lobster but it died overnight before it could be shipped

 

I want one too...

[Withers]

I hope they have a better survival rate than that implies. I reckon next time I'll buy all I can and trade them with locals to better my chances.

[schgr.cube]

I hope they have a better survival rate than that implies. I reckon next time I'll buy all I can and trade them with locals to better my chances.

 

I hate shipping inverts, I just try to get stores to order for me and deal with them. I have to wait longer obviously, but cheaper and safer for me.

 

Hence why it's taken me so long to get my fiddler...lol.

[Withers]

My only issue with that is that I feel bad if they order something for me and it comes in looking like crap. Most squat lobsters are dull and boring, so I don't want to chance having my LFS try to get some. I'd rather buy from a place where it's WYSIWYG.

[lgreen]

It's about 12 lbs, this stuff is really light though. I'm leaving space for rock additions due to adding corals.

 

A couple of additions tonight

Gorgonian

 

Man, just looking at that heater frustrates me again. I wish there was a better solution. I almost thought about putting an undertank reptile heater under the tank and putting it on a digital thermostat haha.

 

 

Hmm, that's an even better idea as long as I can effectively hide the pump. Thanks.

 

Have you thought about doing a canister filter w/ lily pipes? Then you could get an inline heater.

 

 

 

 

nice. are you just buying from other reefers or is that from an online vendor?

[Withers]

That order was from Akwarius. Here's his latest FS thread

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=235383

 

I thought about those reptile heaters too. A canister filter could work, I'm doing research on that right now actually

 

Picked up some new stuff at a recent frag swap

 

Inverts

3 of these guys

 

and one of these

 

Then I found these too

Sold to me as Eyes of Ra, but that's definitely not what they are.

 

Goldeneyes

 

I also got another zoanthid frag that isn't anything special and I've forgotten what he called them and a green monti cap with a purple rim.

 

Then I found this at the LFS about a week ago

[fiction101]

Noooooooo, not sexy shrimp! Those evil little things with pick at your corals. Keep a close eye on them.

[Withers]

Now for the crappy stuff. I managed to bleach my Nightmare frag I wouldn't have thought that a 150 watt 20k bulb wouldn't bleach anything at 14", but obviously I was wrong. I'm not actually sure that this bulb is actually 20k, I rarely have to adjust my white balance on my pictures. I may look for another bulb. I'm also looking to add some actinic supplement through LEDs, but I'm trying to figure out the best way to incorporate them right now. Or maybe I'll just trash the pendant and use it's innards to frakenstein a T5/MH combo out of a T5 fixture or something. I dunno.

 

Nightmares. These have grown 3 new polyps since I got them, so that's excellent at least.

 

Also bleached my Fruit Loops and the Flamingos

 

The rest are doing pretty well though. I threw these in the cave as soon as I saw the Nightmares had bleached, so hopefully I managed to save their color. I just brought them back out into the light.

 

The first frag I got have tripled in polyps.

 

These have sprouted at least 6 new polyps

 

 

Noooooooo, not sexy shrimp! Those evil little things with pick at your corals. Keep a close eye on them.

 

Yeah, I'll be keeping a close eye on them, but as long as they don't kill anything I don't mind if they munch on stuff.

[molo]

 

That crab has one villainous look.

[schgr.cube]

You have me worried now...I have a 150w fixture too, and it is about 14" off the surface of the water too...

I'm using the Phoenix 14k bulb btw, it's always been my favorite bulb.

[Withers]

Mine's only 6" off the surface, I'm sure you'll be fine. I just meant that it was about 14" total from the bulb. I can't raise it any higher with my current set up.

 

I just ordered a Radium 20k bulb, we'll see if they do better under that.

[systemtool]

Awesome tank. It has a nice clean look. Are the pics with your current bulb pretty close to what it looks like in real life? It has a nice colour.

[nikeSB]

i cant wait to see what this looks like under a radium

[Withers]

Awesome tank. It has a nice clean look. Are the pics with your current bulb pretty close to what it looks like in real life? It has a nice colour.

 

Yeah it's pretty close except for the FTS, those are way more blue than it looks in person. The pics are a little heavy on the purple side, but it's not usually severe enough for me to adjust the white balance. The bulb is definitely more like a 10k with a hint of purple. With some actinics it would look fantastic

 

i cant wait to see what this looks like under a radium

 

Me too!

[schgr.cube]

Mine's only 6" off the surface, I'm sure you'll be fine. I just meant that it was about 14" total from the bulb. I can't raise it any higher with my current set up.

 

I just ordered a Radium 20k bulb, we'll see if they do better under that.

 

 

Hahah okay good, I was really scared there for a moment. I haven't had halides in so long that I forgot how powerful the 150w is. I have been debating the radium too lately, as the decreased par values could actually work to my benefit with such a small tank. Can't wait to see how yours looks...

[divecj5]

Tank looks absolutely fantastic Jason. Really diggin' all of the new invert additions. The longer I'm in the hobby, the more I've come to appreciate the smaller critters.

 

Sorry to hear that the Z's and P's are having some issues with the lighting. At least they only got a little bleached and you didn't lose them.

 

What canister filters are you looking at? Just curious.

[Withers]

I'm just looking in general right now, but I don't think it's going to work after all. Even if I could ditch the heater that still leaves me with the phosban reactor and ATO on there right now.

[lgreen]

Well you could ditch the phosban reactor (sell it) and use the canister as a media reactor.

 

I'm still left strugling to come up with a clean ato soution for my tank.

 

I should be able to fire up the 15k xm tonight, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye on how your radium turns out as that would be my first choice if the 15k sucks.

[UncleJT]

Well you could ditch the phosban reactor (sell it) and use the canister as a media reactor.

This is exactly what I will be doing on my build. Canister will only have carbon, a few zeorocks, and phosphate media (as required). I am also thinking about solving the heater dilemma by using an in-line Hydor heater.

 

- JT