pat_man_ta Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 I needed a reason to get up for work on time so, here is my nano: 5.5 AGA glass top single bulb cheapo light fixture modified to sit high. 2 x Aquaclear 200's 1 with floss and carbon 1 with live rock rubble 8lbs Figi pink sand 3 lbs Kailini/Tonga LR 2 lbs Marshall Island LR 3 lbs LR rubble (from premiumaquatics.com) 3 lbs Branch LR (from Gills in Brookline, MA) I am using NSW and RODI for top off (from the lab at work) 1 peppermint shrimp 3 unidentified crustaceans (with scissor-like butts) fair amount of 'pods about 6 teeeeeeeeeeny fan worms waddya think? Link to comment
UNCCwill Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 very nice, good reason to go to work Link to comment
onthefly Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Let the stocking begin!!!! Link to comment
pat_man_ta Posted March 27, 2004 Author Share Posted March 27, 2004 I am thinking of picking up 1 or 2 polyps at a LFS that has some that have propogated onto lone rocks and shells. They're deep brown though, i think they were supposed to be green...is that from too much or too little light? Anyway, i figger that's a good way to start off. Any stocking suggestions are welcome. I'd like to add 1 fish and maybe a pom-pom crab as well. i am still a bit dumb about coral stocking/care though. Link to comment
SeaSide Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Nice tank. Looks good. Do you have any upclose pic of your "light fixture modified to sit high". I want to see how did you modify your fixture. Link to comment
pat_man_ta Posted March 28, 2004 Author Share Posted March 28, 2004 it's just a standard AGA 16" single bulb light strip with 2 pieces of plexiglass glued in and notched to fit snugly with the glass top. I will likley scratch build a hood in the future. Link to comment
Sting Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 Is that a Peppermint Shrimp or a Camel...I'll ahve to dig up some pics but for some reason I think that looks more like a Camel. If so, be careful, they are not fully reef safe and can and will eat corals. Nice tank though, what fish are you planning on buying? Link to comment
spongebillyboi Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 dark brown polpys....not enough light....better, brighter light = pretty color corals for some like zoos, mushrooms, xenia, brains... any stony's will die w/o correct lighting.. be care w/ lights req's. Link to comment
pat_man_ta Posted March 29, 2004 Author Share Posted March 29, 2004 got into work this morning, got diatoms starting on the sand and on the rock. I blasted it off the rock as best I could, hoping he mechanical filter will catch it so i can remove it. Gonna do a water change and suck out as much as i can. The shrimp went nuts when i blasted the rocks. It started apparently feeding on whatever particles were flying about in the water. Do peppermint shrimp eat diatoms? Link to comment
Caesar Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 how offten do you have to top off. I have a 5.5 and my sg goes up .001 per day if I don't top off but I do not have a glass top. I wonder if that will make a big difference. Link to comment
pat_man_ta Posted March 30, 2004 Author Share Posted March 30, 2004 i lose about 6-8oz/day max at this point Link to comment
pat_man_ta Posted March 30, 2004 Author Share Posted March 30, 2004 Added today: 1 Astraea snail 1 Margarita snail 2 Red Tip hermits Link to comment
Caesar Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 how does that affect your SG Link to comment
pat_man_ta Posted March 30, 2004 Author Share Posted March 30, 2004 I am not shure yet, i just started logging today. I need a better measuring device for the long term. I have one of those cheapo floating thermometer/hydrometers made by aquatic gardens. I'm only running LR and inverts at the moment though. Link to comment
pat_man_ta Posted March 31, 2004 Author Share Posted March 31, 2004 I just had to banish the hermits i just bought to the LR filter. They were spossa be blue legs and turned out to be red tips. They tore up the branch rock pretty good, chipping off coraline and spitting it all over as well as making obscene amounts of solid waste. Link to comment
pat_man_ta Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 Hermits moved to the 3g container at home. Noticed tiny green algae hairs on the back glass with all the pods. Pod population seems to be exploding. Astraea snail has parked itself on the mechanical/chemical filter outlet. Peppermint shrimp is getting bold in its foraging and exploring new facets of the rockwork. I wonder what it's eating, i assume pods and other meaty organics. Link to comment
pat_man_ta Posted April 2, 2004 Author Share Posted April 2, 2004 I have counted 3 teeeeeeeeeeeny snails of different types as of today. Pods are moving onto the side and front glass now too. I chased them away with pippet and the magnetic scrubbie thingy. Link to comment
pat_man_ta Posted April 13, 2004 Author Share Posted April 13, 2004 Getting tons of White Soiral Tube worms of some sort on the LR and back glass. As described HERE and also HERE . Traded those big red-tip hermits for 2 tiny blue legs. Briefly had a Royal Gramma that died due to internal parasites that came free of charge with purchase. As detailed in this RC thread. . The peppermint shrimp seems to be thriving along with the pod population. I am getting shoots of unidentified macros (i think) on my LR. I have a couple macro clippings in my LR filter now as well. Overall parameters are holding stable with some nitrate @ 5ppm, 0 nitrite, and pH holding stable at 8.0. Hopefully I will remember to bring my camera to take more pix soon, the coraline is starting to take off. Link to comment
pat_man_ta Posted May 14, 2004 Author Share Posted May 14, 2004 I have added to my formerly abysmal lighting setup. I went to Home depot and got 2 5.5" clamp lights and 2 19w Daylight bulbs. These are an amazing improvement! I am seeing rapid growth all over the system! I also got a 14w ZooMed 50/50 bulb for the old AGA light hood which adds some to the color spectrum. I'd like to just get a blue actinic lamp in there instead though. New Livestock: 1 Yellow colonial polyp (now splitting) Yellow & Pink Zoanthids Anthelia Green Monitpora capricornis (probably actually M. delicatula) Red Lobophillia (open brain) a brown polyp of some sort a starburst colony (with some sort of purple polyp in their midst that won't open, any ideas what i should do?) tulip and mini carpet anemones Hopefully I can get some good pix soon. Link to comment
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