.66 gal Sunlit Pico

[mmcguffi]

So I have this crazy idea. First here's a picture of the aquarium I will be using (I think it's a vase actually)

 

(pill bottle for size comparison)

 

 

This is what I want to do:

 

First and foremost, no equipment. It will be placed in a sunny place on a window sill (it wont get too hot, I actually have a tadpole that I caught in my backyard in a jar there that's been doing fine).

 

I would place a small piece of LR in the center like an island/volcano a la Konolua's famous tank with part sticking out of the water. Live stock would be asterina stars, majano nems, blue ochtodes macro, and possibly a mangrove growing out of the center of the LR.

 

My rational is that the macro will provide oxygen while exporting CO2. All of those species are very hearty. Maintenance would be a cup of water out every week with a fresh cup in as well as top offs as needed.

 

 

Here's the questions I need your guys' help with:

 

Is this a completely non-feasible idea? Will no water movement prove fatal even for these very tough organisms? Why?

 

Are there any issues with part of the LR sticking out of the water? I can easily just keep it under the surface.

 

Is blue ochtodes hearty and would it do well in a situation like this? I have some and it seems pretty strong but I havent ever tested it in conditions like this.

 

Has anyone ever tried something like this before? I searched old threads and all I could find are sunlit picos but all have some kind of water movement.

 

Am I overlooking anything?

 

 

You guys rock, I love NR

[Kazooie]

I have a aptasia sitting in a bowl of unheated, unmoving saltwater in my window. Had it for several weeks now. The only things I would worry about would be the stars, and possible the plants.

 

Other than that, it's sounding like a great idea!

[Aquanist]

I really wouldn't know if this can be done or not, but I'm kinda concerned of you not having any water movement in there. Bacteria film on surface would be a major problem. Some sort of a micro pump or small airstone could eliminate the risk of that.

[mmcguffi]

Hmm would a biofilm definitely grow on the surface with no movement? Why is that bad (besides perhaps it being not aesthetically pleasing)?

 

Actually Kazooie, have you had any issues with a film on the surface? And that's pretty cool btw, I might have to toss an aiptasia in a jar just for fun

[Aquanist]

It MAY grow on surface preventing gas exchange and rapidly dropping O2 levels.

[Kazooie]

Yeah, I have a gross film, but I stir it up every couple days.

[mmcguffi]

How gross is gross? lol

 

Any chance you can nab a pic?

[Kazooie]

On a normal day? That's when I don't even want to go near it. Right after I stir though, it's not so bad. Use a skewer to move stuff though.

 

I'm hoping the aptasia is going to split soon, so I attached a chepo heater today, aswell as fed it.

 

There's also a Bristol worm and a lone copod.

[mmcguffi]

Thanks for the pics! It doesnt look so bad, it's just a little cloudy yea? Does it have a funky smell at all?

 

lol @bristol worm

[Kazooie]

No problem. Yeah, a little cloudy. No smell as far as I can tell, but I have almost no smelling ability at all though.

 

[.Newman.]

that seems interesting that the aiptasia is fine w/o water movement. i would expect the sessile animals to have some issues with that. asterina stars might have the same issue but I'm not sure. crustaceans like pods should in theory be better off as some can create their own water flow with body parts.

[shaqdan]

This seems like a pretty terrible idea to me. Will your next project involve a thimble and a match for light?

[mmcguffi]

that seems interesting that the aiptasia is fine w/o water movement. i would expect the sessile animals to have some issues with that. asterina stars might have the same issue but I'm not sure. crustaceans like pods should in theory be better off as some can create their own water flow with body parts.

Asterinas are incredibly resilient. In fact someone posted this on an other thread yesterday http://www.iqstartrade.com/sdp/387608/4/pd...03/3804068.html More or less the same idea as mine but the top is sealed. They claim theyll thrive for 2 years.

 

And in regard to the aiptasia, interesting yes but surprising no IMO. It's a nuisance species and damn near impossible to kill if you dont inject it with something or have something eat it. It's shipped across the world in far less than ideal conditions and still manages to perk right up as soon as it hits the water again. I would expect majanos to be the same

 

And good idea, Ill have to be sure to toss in a whole bunch of copepods, isopods, and amphipods. Maybe even a bristle or two (like kazooie) if this thing becomes balanced. Ill probably have to start feeding it tiny amounts here and there!

 

This seems like a pretty terrible idea to me. Will your next project involve a thimble and a match for light?

I hate to break it to you, but marine wetlands (ie stagnant pools of salt water) and tidal pools (ie tiny pools of water that may take days before the water is refreshed) are real habitats and ecosystems. And btw all are powered by the sun. I appreciate you listing reasons why you believe this is a terrible idea and not just making non-constructive remarks.

[garrettparson]

If you feel like you need to add oxygen you could just take a turkey baster to it once a day or something, Im pretty sure it will work though, I do fear that the evaportion would be high though.

[brandon429]

after reading that link about asterinas undergoing fission in two weeks I lol'd/ try 3 years + but hey with that kind of grammar what dya expect.

[.Newman.]

lol the grammar is funny on that site. evaporation on this bowl shouldn't be too bad. likely top off once every two days based on my cubus tank.

 

O and make sure you use established rock! asterinas may be hardy but like other animals they are at a higher risk of death if the bowl has to actually cycle while they are in it. plus they will go hungry if not supplied with established rock from the start.

[vinny409]

Really really cool idea! I think I might copy it haha.

[mmcguffi]

Haha you totally should! I bought some LR a couple days ago and it's been sitting in some saltwater in a bucket. Im going to go buy some sand and set it sometime today and Ill update later with pics

[.Newman.]

cant wait for pics

[mmcguffi]

So I set it up today. I just bought some regular white sand from the pet store. It's formed some weird sand bubble things so hopefully those go away in a few days. The liverock I used is fairly fresh and definitely uncycled.

 

So my plan is cycle it for a few weeks and then add the macro. After that seems like it's taken hold Ill add the majanos and asterinas.

 

If it starts to have a scummy surface Ill either stir it every few days or hook one of these guys up to it if it looks like it's going to be a problem

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/prod...ELAID=529155734

 

here's some pics--sorry about the white balance, it was dark. btw that's red coralline not cyano

 

 

 

aiptasia hitchhiker? some kind of nem

 

brown majano. also there's a stomatella in there somewhere

 

 

just for fun here's the jar with the tadpole

 

 

 

Im talking to some dude who owns a LFS in Washington state who apparently has a whole bunch of really colorful majanos. He's trying to sell them to me for $4 each lol... He 'only has 30 left'. We're still locked in negotiations.

 

cant wait for pics

[.Newman.]

i see, looks good. i think the tadpole is healthy. did you catch him with legs or without?

[mmcguffi]

i see, looks good. i think the tadpole is healthy. did you catch him with legs or without?

without Im actually shocked it's still alive. I caught it about 2-3 weeks ago and Im feeding it fish food. Ive changed about half the water with britta filter water once. There's also a snail in there.

[.Newman.]

is it eating fish food? try fish food with higher vegetable content too, i am sure thats important to them. I thought you had the tadpole for a few months already, I didnt realize he was new. but if he grew legs that is a good sign.

[mmcguffi]

Eh actually both of these experiments are at my parents house. I live in the city in an apartment and actually dont have any sunny windowsills. Im just home for the weekend. To be completely honest I wouldnt be too upset if the tadpole died. There are literally 100+ per sq foot over a HUGE pond in my back yard. Chances are this dude was going to die anyway. I dont know what they feed it exactly but it seems to be fine.

[mmcguffi]

So I went to my parents house this weekend and added a few things to my pico (their pico? they are really starting to like it/be interested in it).

 

I added a few branches of halimeda that broke off in my Edge, a small halieda frag with an aiptasia growing on it, a piece of rock with an aiptasia (a zoa colony used to be on the rock but died), ~5 med to large amphipods, a few tiny blue ochtodes frags that were attached and growing to my powerhead, 3 asterina stars, 2 dwarf ceriths, and a brown/purple mushroom that was growing in the back of my tank. I also added a shot glass full of established sand from my 6 gal Edge. Tons of life in the sand.

 

I tested the water and it was completely cycled but the 'trates sky high (100+). I did a water change and now they are around 40 ppm. Im hoping the macros will make it drop.

 

I unfortunately found out this spot only receives about 1 hour of direct sunlight a day (but it does get lots of indirect all day). Hopefully this will work out. So far everything is well. There hasnt been any noticeable surface scum yet.

 

Now for the fun stuff (pictures)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(halimeda, 2 aiptasia, and the mushroom)

 

 

There's also a brown majano in there that I didnt grab a pic of. It's interesting to see how much they enjoy the aiptasia. They tell me about how during the day is stretches for light or hides in a ball--it's neat to see aiptasia in a context where it can be appreciated.

 

Im currently talking to a couple people trying to get some colorful majanos for this tank. Iamtomm from NR has some green majanos with red tips he's going to ship me which is awesome.

 

~~~

 

The tadpole I caught has completely turned into a frog. When I first came home on friday it was a tadpole with tiny arms and legs. Throughout the day today it has completely turned into a frog. Really amazing how quickly this happened. I actually thought it was a toad tadpole because I havent seen any frogs in my backyard (parents backyard) in years. It's a wood frog.

 

I added some stones so it could get out of the water if it wanted to. I was going to let it go today but my mom liked it too much so she's going to let it go tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

...what it used to look like

 

 

 

...and sorry for the ####ty pictures. I always forget to bring my camera back