xerophyte_nyc Posted December 27, 2012 Author Share Posted December 27, 2012 Update Algae scrubber is picking up steam, there are definite strands and clumps of algae forming, and lots of oxygen bubbles on the surface. DT's diatom bloom has gone completely, and only traces of cyano remain. There are a few clumps of hair algae but they will slowly wither away as well. I feed more and more, and the nuisance algae are disappearing. Something is working (for now). Today I spotted what is likely a lone, small, Aiptasia on the Manado Rock. I have ordered manado from Premium Aquatics twice now, 18 months apart, and both times they had Aiptasia. I will wait for it to get a little bigger and then I will smother it with a glob of 2-part epoxy paste so that it stays shut in its hole. I know enough from past experience to not disturb these cnidarians with boiling water, juices or aiptasia-x. Rest assured I have a very keen eye for aiptasia. I spend lots of time peering into nooks and crannies in my aquascape at night with a flashlight when visibility is excellent. There are no others in sight, and if I do spot them in the future I will take care of it. There are tiny worms everywhere. I can see them better on the still white Pukani rock because of the contrast. They are also in the sandbed, protruding from their tiny self-made tubes. And there are pods galore, swarming on the glass and even on the sandbed if you look carefully. Out of focus Terebellid on glass - kind of startled me at first, thought it was a crack in the glass Gummy smile! New Fish This past weekend I added a pair of Ocellaris clowns, unnamed as of yet. The LFS also had a new shipment of Mandarin Dragonets for $15. Knowing I have pods everywhere, I decided to take the plunge. Sure enough, within a few seconds of acclimation, he found a little spot in the corner and started pecking away at pods. He hasn't really stopped ever since, except at night to sleep. Even when only the actinics are running, he is plucking at the rock and sand for pods. I continue to feed phyto and <50 micron golden pearls which is going a long way towards sustaining pods and filter feeders. . Hard to get good photos - I think a new camera is in my future 1 Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted December 27, 2012 Author Share Posted December 27, 2012 Upcoming Upgrades There is an LED build in the near-term. Makers-LED heatsink, 3-ups, OCW, hyper-violets oh my. Typhon controller, PWM, Meanwells, solder gun...will be fun, and slow - hard to find the time. An automatic plankton feeder is also on the way. New coral, inverts, zoanthids I placed 3 orders, to be delivered after the new year when FedEx won't be burdened by holiday deliveries. Joe Knows Reefs Mandarin Orange Zoas Candy Apple Red Palys Blue Hornet Zoas Bam Bams My Clementine Zoas Tyree Orange Rainbow Palys Red Hornet Zoas Cultivated Reef L.E. Event Horizon Favia / PPE Chalice / JC Prism Chalice Mayan Sun Favia ORA Green Birdsnest Armor of God Palys Fruit Loops - Zoanthus sp. Devils Armor Palys Radioactive Dragon Eye Zoanthids - Zoanthus sp. Metalic Green Star Polyp - Pachyclavularia sp. Tropicorium Nuclear Frozen Tundra Favia Red Rock Anemone with a blue center and neon green border Link to comment
Veng Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 We need more pics! Especially of this algae scrubber! 1 Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 We need more pics! Especially of this algae scrubber! Just took it this morning. Last week it was more red, this week green growth is taking over with patchy reds. Soon it will be time for a harvest. 2 Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 2.0 looks great! Love the scape. That tall spire looks like its balancing on a couple grains of sand! Also, I'm digg'n the ATS!!! Link to comment
Veng Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Algae scrubber is starting to look good! Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Scrubber looks awesome! Most people don't get green growth right away, but you and I must be lucky, cause I got green growth within the first week, some don't get that for a month! Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 Scrubber looks awesome! Most people don't get green growth right away, but you and I must be lucky, cause I got green growth within the first week, some don't get that for a month! Luck... or efficient photosynthesis thanks to 660nm LED? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Luck... or efficient photosynthesis thanks to 660nm LED? Ok, maybe a little of both. Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Got Pods? This is what my aquarium glass looks like at night: copepods by the thousands, of all sizes. Maybe I should get more Dragonets? Why so many? Daily, regular and purposeful phyto dosing, and my algae scrubber which must put out millions of pod larvae daily. And I will be adding an automatic phyto doser to make it even BETTER! 1 Link to comment
rO.oster Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 great microfanuna and larval diveristy!!!! Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 My First Algae Scrubber Harvest I decided it was time to scrape some algae. I used a kitchen knife. Chunks of algae came off pretty easily. I rinsed the screen under tap water to kill off the copepods that could eat away the stubs of algae remaining. The pods will multiply and return in no time. The algae smelled nice and fresh. I was almost tempted to sprinkle some sesame seeds and eat it like seaweed salad at a Japanese Restaurant. But I changed my mind after I saw all sorts of little worms squirming around in the water surrounding the pile of scrapings. Screen prior to harvest. I am told the white areas are where the screen hasn't been roughed up adequately, and the algae can't stick. I will have to fix that somehow. Pile of scrapings: Spread out a little so you can see the bright green coloration. 1 Link to comment
penfold2 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I had almost written off algae scrubbers because they seem so finicky. I've seen so many complaints about lack of growth, and not a lot of success stories. This one, however, looks like it worked perfectly right off the bat. I may still have to try one. I love the natural approach in general. Skimmerless, macro/microalgae filtration, lots of food (both manually added and naturally produced). You don't see enough tanks like this IMO. Your Mandarin should be in heaven. I saw another post from someone who had great success cultivating pods using Isochrysis and Tetraselmis algae pastes. He raised them in a bucket, adding algae paste until the water was fairly dark brown/green, and it would be clear again within 24 hours. Stuff like this gives me lots of ideas for my next tank. Anyways, congratulations on the good harvest, and good luck with the tank. BTW, your algae looks like sheets of Ulva rather than hair algae in that last pic. Strange. I think I can see worms in there too. Pretty cool/gross, lol. Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 I love the natural approach in general. Skimmerless, macro/microalgae filtration, lots of food (both manually added and naturally produced). You don't see enough tanks like this IMO. Your Mandarin should be in heaven. I saw another post from someone who had great success cultivating pods using Isochrysis and Tetraselmis algae pastes. He raised them in a bucket, adding algae paste until the water was fairly dark brown/green, and it would be clear again within 24 hours. Stuff like this gives me lots of ideas for my next tank. Penfold...don't I know you from the C&S Forum???? I believe that if enough emphasis is placed on natural methods, then supplemental things like using media for filtration can be used on a smaller scale and the tank is more stable because there is redundancy. It's like having a diverse stock portfolio. BTW, your algae looks like sheets of Ulva rather than hair algae in that last pic. Strange. I think I can see worms in there too. Pretty cool/gross, lol. It does look like Ulva, but it is predominantly hair algae. The "worms" are some sort of red macro-algae. You'd have to inspect much closer to see the real worms squirming around. Incidentally, tiny worms are starting to flourish in the DSB. DIY Frag Rack I've got my first shipment of coral arriving tomorrow from Cultivated Reef. I never used a frag rack, in the past I would just scatter those ugly frag mounts all over the sandbed or flat rock surfaces. I decided this time to make a simple rack out of egg crate and zip-ties. It will hang on the side glass. I will have to make a shelf piece to sit on the arms, but this will suffice. Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Box o' Goodies from Cultivated Reef Shipment arrived in excellent condition, held at FedEx for pick-up. I like how Cultivated Reef seals their bags, instead of the typical plastic bags with rubber bands wound so tight that it's impossible to undo them. I set the bags in my sump for an hour to acclimate to the temperature, then I just emptied all the bags into a plastic container. I empty out enough water so that the frags are barely submerged, then I add the tank water using a turkey baster, a few baster portions at a time, over a period of about 30 minutes. Then I just pluck the frags out with tongs and set them on my new DIY frag rack. Within a few minutes, zoas and palys started openin up, ORA bird's nest polyps are out, and all is well with the world. GSP is PO'd, not unusual. I am eyeing the Sony RX-100...but my Panasonic Lumix P&S will have to do for now: L.E. Event Horizon Favia / PPE Chalice / JC Prism Chalice...3 names for the same coral: Group shot ORA Green Birdsnest, Seriatopora Mayan Sun Favia Another group shot, with Armor of God and Devil's Armor Palys, and Radioactive Dragon Eye Zoas Fruit Loops Zoa 1 Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I have a Panasonic Lumix P&S as well. What settings do you use on yours? Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 I have a Panasonic Lumix P&S as well. What settings do you use on yours? If taking photos under blue lighting, I put it on the "P" setting, and then set the white balance using a piece of white paper. What I don't do (out of sheer laziness) is shut all the pumps off, which would make the photos clearer. Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 Algae Scrubber Growth I trimmed back algae just 4 days ago and already it is close to needing another haircut. I bumped up the lighting time from 5 to 7 hrs at that time, which seems to have sped up growth. My nitrates have slowly been coming down the last 3 weeks (from 25-50ppm down to 2.5-5ppm tested today). I continue to feed the tank heavier than most. For example, the phyto dosage is recommended @ 1 drop per 50 gal every other day, and I dose 8-10 drops every day (I estimate the water volume around 38 gal). There are still areas of GHA but they are in a steady state, not growing larger or spreading. I don't mind it to be honest, it provides a haven for pods and is a good indicator of tank conditions. The Pukani rock is still free of any nuisance algae, it just has a thin coating of microalgae. My dragonet continues to pluck away at pods non-stop. I have spotted many welcome hitchhikers: Terebellids, various other worms, stomatella snails, micro brittle stars, regular brittle stars, isopods, soft harmless hydroids, colorful macroalgae and a few Vermetid snails, among other things. Here is a video showing the water flow through my algae scrubber. The dripping is there only because I pulled back the splash guard, it isn't normally that messy! Parameters: SG 1.026 Alk 8.6 dKh Ca 460ppm (a little high, need to limit the kalk) pH 8.58 (also a tad high but it is consistent so I need not worry) NO3 2.5-5ppm PO4: I don't bother testing, I know if it is high by the appearance of unwanted algae I haven't done a water change in 3 weeks, but will do one today, about 9-gal (25%). I used to do a water change every 1-2 weeks, but will try it every 3 weeks for now. As the DSB kicks in, nitrates will be processed efficiently. As the algae scrubber continues to develop, nitrates and phosphates will be under control. I do use a small amount of purigen and chemipure in a TLF reactor, I like redundancy. Link to comment
nanoreef-R Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Do you supplement your Mandarin's feeding or do the copepods suffice? Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 Do you supplement your Mandarin's feeding or do the copepods suffice? I haven't even attempted to supplement, nor do I plan to. Copepods are their natural food source, so I will simply try to sustain the copepod population via frequent phyto dosing, and via my algae scrubber which probably delivers pod larvae by the hundreds on a daily basis. So far so good. As long as I continue to see pods swarming on the glass at night, the dragonet is in good shape. 1 Link to comment
Rain24 Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 I'm following along because you have beautiful dendros and your algae scrubber for your mandarin approach is going to be something I want to read about. Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 Dragonet foraging Here's a short video clip I took earlier of my dragonet. He is in perpetual feeding mode, like a hummingbird that has to constantly eat to keep up with its high metabolism. Recently he found some good feeding spots behind the rockwork in some tight spaces so he hasn't been as visible. 1 Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 Man, this algae scrubber thing really does work Harvest #2, this time after 5 days. The screen was packed with dense algae. Efficiency of the scrubber decreases if the new growth gets too thick, as it chokes out the older growth right at the screen. This time around, the algae was noticeably more dense and more difficult to scrape off. Full screen Close-up (it is entirely bright green in reality, but the flash only captures some of it. Pile of nitrates, phosphates, and pod/ worm carcasses Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Pile of nitrates, phosphates, and pod/ worm carcasses Link to comment
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