andrewkw Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 I'm still thinking about fragging the chalice at least the part growing around the back. It is cool to see how much it's grown over the years. I recently picked up some PE Calanus and it was a big hit. Seems like it's a fine cyclopeeze replacement. Although I still miss those red bars which were such a pain to use. Link to comment
andrewkw Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 Shot this time lapse this morning this is 51 minutes sped up 5000x Link to comment
brandon429 Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 thats great!! i had no stand in for cpeeze good to know. i still have my old red bar 1.5 yrs ago (it lasts that long on picos) but im sure its stale/oxidized nutritional value and what you mentioned w be my next buy Link to comment
andrewkw Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 Well it's not been FIVE long years since I brought this tank home on a whim. Also on impulse I decided to do some major changes today. Well I have been planning to do this for some time I haven't had time but a water change turned into a big big change.First of all I reluctantly did a 100% water change. I worry a bit about the alk shock of using reef crystals salt but it's the only salt I have currently. I managed to carefully get ALL the rock out of the tank, took out all the bits of rubble that at one time had corals or is just random rubble. I scraped off ALL of the green star polyps off the side. They haven't been doing great lately and the sides have basically become impossible to look through. I scraped all sides and the bottom of the tank the best I could. It's not spotless but a LOT LOT better. I reluctantly cut the big pink chalice that has been in the tank almost since day one. I took one side off of it. I probably should have taken 2 sides off. I also cut one of the newer chalices since it really has no where to go and I'd also like to have it in another tank. I started removing about 20-25 yellow polyps but after they opened up again you can barely tell. I think I will try and remove 90-100% of them in the coming weeks. The aquascape has now changed, everything has not settled yet. It's still not perfect but better then before. Corals are not on top of each other and there is still room for a few things. I added some zoos and acan, and clove polyps which have not yet opened. Also I added a small frag of GSP to replace the mat that was there prior. It should not take long for it to grow over. Still planning to do more in the coming weeks and months. Everything is settling in so I will hold off on the FTS for a day or 2. I also want to slightly rearrange some things but it's real close to being left alone again for a few more years before more major changes. The last full pic of the chalice It even grew over a snail (shell)! Reminds me of a square watermellon In the tank it still looks good The other one I cut has recovered nicely as well.. The old water : More to come soon! Link to comment
brandon429 Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 one of the ways this reef and all aged pico reefs shatter the early 2000s notion of reefkeeping limitations is the access we run on the fully living system, these insults were just guaranteed to cause a mini or full cycle by some of the most seated reef sages we know. Its amazing we run the same biology now that was avail then, massive tank reworks and not a cycle one, but all of the sudden its commonplace now. no one should fail to notice the impacts that smaller reef aquariums had on the hobby, the big guys learned some stuff from us. B Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Can this be the TOTM some time? Seriously. It's an amazing feat to have a pico for 5 years! Congrats Link to comment
markalot Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Can this be the TOTM some time? Seriously. It's an amazing feat to have a pico for 5 years! Congrats http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/_/2011/andrewkw-r47 It's an OLD tank. Congrats on 5 years Andrew! Harry, how old were you when this tank was setup? Link to comment
teenyreef Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Happy birthday, Andrew! Your tank was one of the direct inspirations for my 4g, when I was researching every TOTM that was 5 gallons or less. It encouraged me to try a fully mixed set of corals using basic filtration and a low cost PAR 30 light. I just went back and re-read your comments on your TOTM entry and I was like "Yep, that's right...yep, absolutely correct...yep...yep...nailed it!" Looking forward to the new FTS Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 agreed this tank is phenomenal to see. Link to comment
ABC Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 It's great to see a five year old pico!! Link to comment
xcom Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 The amount of corals packed in this pico is awesome! Link to comment
andrewkw Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 I've been meaning to post for a while and rereading some of this has me almost reconsidering but I'm afraid I'm going to take this tank down. It's probably not a surprise to some long time viewers as I normally update more frequently. I just don't pay much attention to it anymore. Some of the corals like the chalice and the anemone and a few palys have been in here more than 5 years the pink chalice probably 6 but the tank has just become too much of a pain. I can't fit anything in to keep the acrylic clean. I forget about water changes ect. I always thought when I moved I'd just throw the whole tank in a 5 gallon bucket but now as I get ready to move this summer I am looking to downsize before I upsize. It has nothing to do with being bored of the hobby or reefing or anything I just have other tanks on the go. Some of you may or may not know but I have lots of other tanks. I am shutting down this tank then my frag tank. I also have a 90 gallon garden eel tank which previously held octopus and cuttlefish before them. That tank is going to be shut down as well. my 180 gallon mixed reef which lately has had my old 112 gallon plumbed into it as a large display fuge will be kept and hopefully upgraded to something in the 300 gallon range. When I first started this tank I wasn't doing too much with reefs and keeping some of the weird creatures listed above as I grew frustrated with my main reef. Overall this has still been the most successful tank ever. It convinced me LED's were for real and the lights will indeed last years and years. I learned 100% or greater water changes are fine for healthy corals, and got to keep a few tiny fish and inverts that would never last in my bigger tanks. I've been reefing for 11 years and still haven't found my theme. I'm looking to get away from the big random mixed reef where everything does okay and go either sps or lps dominated. With that being the case I probably will still operate other styles of tanks so I don't rule out a new nano / pico. With that being said the one condition will be having a strong enough tank that is big enough to support a magnet that can keep the viewing panels clean. This tank started as I picked it up off the shelf while I was waiting to check out at big als. Who would have thought it would last this long. When I do move and upgrade to the "final" tank I am hoping to get many decades out of it. thanks for all the support of this tank over the years and being featured as a tank of the month is still a great honor to me. Andrew Link to comment
markalot Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 All good things ... Sorry you are taking it down but I think you pretty much accomplished, and recovered from, everything. Link to comment
Merthynia Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 This tank has certainly been an inspiration to me. I'm excited about what new things you may do in the future. Someday I hope to have a corner-chalice half as nice as yours! Link to comment
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