Seabass's 17.4 Gallon (taken down)

[Amphiprion1]

what if you sunk a glass/cup/piece of pvc into the sandbed and filled it back up with sand? do these guys walk?

 

Not a bad idea, actually. The trick is making sure the anemone stays put, but it would work pretty well.

 

 

 

You could try one of the carpet anemone species. They all love living in seagrass.

 

There are plenty of tube anemone species that also live in seagrass, The tube would protect them from roots not a problem. There are plenty of them near where I live, also carpets. This is a pic of a large haddini.

 

Gold Coast, Australia

 

There are tons of anemone species that live in seagrass beds in the wild. That was what I originally tried to create in my small system--it just didn't work well given all the circumstances. That includes having a very fast growing seagrass species which compacted the sand bed considerably. I had trouble getting my finger to push into the bed, so I can only imagine what the anemone would've had to deal with. I also let the foliage growth get too thick, which didn't help a small specimen. In the wild, at least some of that is curbed by herbivory and sheer surface area. If it is going to be replicated in an aquarium, I think a slower-growing genus, like Thalassia or Syringodium, would be a better choice. That, or a much larger anemone specimen, which would have the strength to push down into the sand (my old H. crispa was large and very strong). Obviously, however, the latter wouldn't be ideal for small tanks.

[.Newman.]

jawfish

[seabass]

jawfish

open top + jawfish = tank without jawfish +

[spanko]

open top + jawfish = tank without jawfish +

 

 

Doh, close top!

[~LadyBug~]

open top + jawfish = tank without jawfish +

lol

[poidog]

have you thought of getting garden eels? those would be awesome since you have such a keep sand bed.

[seabass]

Thanks for stopping by! That would look very cool, but it wouldn't be very practical for my little tank.

 

There is less than 10 gallons of water in this tank and I'm set on keeping an open top. Then either it would disrupt the seagrass or the roots would restrict its ability to move throughout the sand.

[nor_cal_nano]

As promised, I tested for nitrate and phosphate today. Both were undetectable using API test kits.

 

I finally installed my RO/DI system (it's not just for this tank build; so I didn't repost it on this thread).

 

That's a sexy lil' water makin' station, seabass

[seabass]

Thank you n_c_n! It's handy, and the sprayer under the cabinet (which I'll keep in a little container to protect against drips) is nice for rinsing out 5 gallon buckets or whatever. The best thing is no more Walmart water.

 

 

Plus, I figured that I'd never setup my 100 gallon tank without an RO/DI system.

[qwuintus]

Any updates?

[seabass]

Here you go...

 

FTS:

 

New oar grass growth on the left side:

 

The oar grass is declining some on the right side, but the shoal grass is becoming more established:

 

Check out the oar grass under the substrate.

But notice the stupid flatworms?

[~LadyBug~]

Check out the oar grass under the substrate.

..................

 

But notice the stupid flatworms?

 

lol

[Amphiprion1]

Interestingly, you'll see that certain areas are more conducive to groth for some species compared to others. You'll see it change over time, too, favoring another species.

[pyrocreep]

I know it's not what you were trying to get a shot of, but I love the detail that you managed to get on your plate. You can see every little nook and cranny...

 

 

 

 

I just wanted to use the phrase nook and cranny

[latteslave]

Not a bad idea, actually. The trick is making sure the anemone stays put, but it would work pretty well.

 

 

 

 

 

There are tons of anemone species that live in seagrass beds in the wild. That was what I originally tried to create in my small system--it just didn't work well given all the circumstances. That includes having a very fast growing seagrass species which compacted the sand bed considerably. I had trouble getting my finger to push into the bed, so I can only imagine what the anemone would've had to deal with. I also let the foliage growth get too thick, which didn't help a small specimen. In the wild, at least some of that is curbed by herbivory and sheer surface area. If it is going to be replicated in an aquarium, I think a slower-growing genus, like Thalassia or Syringodium, would be a better choice. That, or a much larger anemone specimen, which would have the strength to push down into the sand (my old H. crispa was large and very strong). Obviously, however, the latter wouldn't be ideal for small tanks.

Tube nem in a PVC pipe works well to keep the happy. Had mine this way for a long time. Only issue I see is that you would need to bury it in your sand bed.

[spanko]

Just read Amphiprions thread two. Is very interesting to now follow both of you along this grass scape adventure. Gonna do anything about the flatworms? Will have to look to see what they feed on, but if you already know will they eventually wane in numbers because you don't have whatever it is in your tank?

[seabass]

Hi spanko. Yeah, I think I will need to treat the tank. I'll siphon out as many as possible, remove the rocks (and use a turkey baster to blow them off), treat the tank, and repeat in a week or so. I believe they feed on pods and other small life, so they probably won't run out of food.

[.Newman.]

idk, if those are red or rusty red color, they might be feeding on an actual coral like that plate.

[animalmaster6]

The tank looks great Seabass!

[seabass]

Thanks AM! It's finally looking like a seagrass nano, as advertised.

[seabass]

Playing in the seagrass:

[spanko]

Nice. Fishy needs a pal though!!!

[seabass]

Thanks; I agree. I'll get her a juvenile when I move her to her new tank. Then I'll get a couple of gobies for this tank.

[animalmaster6]

Nice Video.

[seabass]

Thanks AM!