A Carib.Castle: Naughty Nibblers... June '15 pics/vid, Razors, 125g, diy LR

[eitallent]

wow thats brilliant.Love what youve done so far. Did you order the feeder directly from the UK and if so what was shipping like?

Hello, Rehype. Thank you! I purchased this on eBay directly from the UK for about $38 USD + $25 USD shipping back in January of this year.

 

Here is his eBay Store.

 

EDIT: This item has gone up a bit in price. Currently listed here

 

Also look into decapsulated artemia eggs.

 

 

 

That is true and I think I will next time. The little amount I purchased will probably last me another six months! I use the simplest of hatchers so that I can feed the nano tank and the CCMS.

 

CCMS= Caribbean Castle Made of Sand :: I know I selected a name that is too long for the 125 g when I have to use an acronym and that is too long also!

[jedimasterben]

That is true and I think I will next time. The little amount I purchased will probably last me another six months! I use the simplest of hatchers so that I can feed the nano tank and the CCMS.

Since you are so DIY, you can do this for what you have now: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa023

 

And another tutorial: http://www.ventralfins.com/misc_articles_decap_bs.html

 

 

[eitallent]

Since you are so DIY, you can do this for what you have now: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa023

 

And another tutorial: http://www.ventralfins.com/misc_articles_decap_bs.html

 

 

 

Oh, this is perfect. I have two seperatory funnels with stop cocks the are perfect for hatching decapsulated eggs.

 

I knew they would come in handy some day!

 

http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/eitallent/media/MyAtlantis/2013-04-15_13-35-12_997_zps7217f278.jpg.html'>

[Felicia]

I think you're stealing my title of "Mad Scientist" right now with that chemistry glassware

[Blubbernaut]

Oh wait... What? I am dying to know what else you got there!

 

The peacocks are a PITA!

They have to have their wings trimmed or else they are waaaay up in the trees at night and we cannot get them into the roosting house. We have lots of nocturnal predators so they have to be put up at night. The male displays to the chickens, rooster, goose, gander, dog or anything that moves! He is quite a Cassanova.

I also have a bullfrog in my pond......That tries to mate with the goldfish I've certainly had to save a few of them.

Lol @ the peacocks. sounds like they have the intelligence level of the average slug xD

[eitallent]

I think you're stealing my title of "Mad Scientist" right now with that chemistry glassware

 

Hey, we could both be "Mad Scientists!" Mwaaahaha!

 

I also have a bullfrog in my pond......That tries to mate with the goldfish I've certainly had to save a few of them.

Lol @ the peacocks. sounds like they have the intelligence level of the average slug xD

 

That poor bull frog must be very frustrated and the goldfish must be suffering from PTSD by now!

Peacocks are dumber, I believe, than domesticated turkeys! Now that is DUMB!

[eitallent]

So I am working up to my elbows in CCMS when I feel a stinging. I look and sure enough an amphipod is biting me. I pull him off my skin and plop him in the opposite side of the tank from where I am working. I continue to move some stuff around and again there is another stinging sensation on a different spot. I remove a second amphipod that has got a hold of me. What in the world? It reminds me of sand fleas at Jones Beach in NY!

 

Has this happened to anyone else or am I just that appealing to amphipods?

[jedimasterben]

You may just be extra tasty.

[eitallent]

You may just be extra tasty.

 

 

I may have to eat less fish and veggies!

[gena]

Your farm sounds like my dream farm. I would love that acreage!!!! I'm totally into the organic living and wish I could grow my own. I'm going to need pictures of your farm this summer when everything is growing and lush

 

 

Ok...hold the phone...what tank is that on the right? With the clownfish????

 

Oh...maybe not a clownfish. Is that your fuge?

[eitallent]

Your farm sounds like my dream farm. I would love that acreage!!!! I'm totally into the organic living and wish I could grow my own. I'm going to need pictures of your farm this summer when everything is growing and lush

Ok...hold the phone...what tank is that on the right? With the clownfish????

 

Oh...maybe not a clownfish. Is that your fuge?

 

OMG! Gena, I bet you find Waldo like in two seconds!

I have said it before and I will say again you are the most observant person I know. I love it!

 

Yes it is a clown fish. It is in the fuge. An acquaintance (friend of a friend) of mine lost power and the tank crashed. She gave me the clowns for safe keeping until/if she gets it back up and running. I rescue stray cats, birds, dogs and now fish!!!

 

The farm is more work now than we can handle. But it is lovely. There are so many birds that I do not need to turn on the radio. The humming birds just started to come through and we've had tons at the feeders. Ah, spring!

[eitallent]

Off topic but I thought you may like to see a few shots from around the farm:

 

This is the peacock who has caught sight of a cute chick.

 

He quickly decides to turn on the charm and woo her.

 

Not much luck with the Buff Orpington so he tries for the rooster. Notice that he is ignoring the peahen to the right.

 

You can catch sight of his colors at the very beginning of the video. He is still trying to get the rooster's admiration. He turns away from me when I try to go in front of him at the end of the video. He must not think I am worth wooing.

 

 

 

 

More pictures of the farm:

http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/eitallent/library/Farm

[Nemo101]

Wow! your tank is sooo cool! I just found this thread and it is amazing! I wish I would have thought to make my own rock like you did, it looks so real! Plus the live rock was pretty much the most expensive part for me anyways! hahaha... Also the chromis are super cool looking! What else do you plan on stocking fish-wise?

 

On a side note the peacock is pretty cool looking! I used to have chickens too but we had to give them away...

[eitallent]

Wow! your tank is sooo cool! I just found this thread and it is amazing! I wish I would have thought to make my own rock like you did, it looks so real! Plus the live rock was pretty much the most expensive part for me anyways! hahaha... Also the chromis are super cool looking! What else do you plan on stocking fish-wise?

 

On a side note the peacock is pretty cool looking! I used to have chickens too but we had to give them away...

 

Hi, Nemo101.

 

Thank you for the kind words.

I am getting the Molly Miller Blenny next. Hopefully that will go well and depending on how they do in the tank I will research some more and find something that goes well with them. As you can tell I like to add livestock slowly and see how they do.

 

Live rock is really easy to make if you follow the proportions and have the patience to let it cure long enough to get the pH down. I love the freedom of form making your own rock gives you.

 

Yeah, the peacock is so colorful. Chickens are really entertaining animals also. Roosters are gorgeous too but best suited for the country life where neighbors are spread out and cannot really hear all the crowing they do. They will crow in the middle of the night for goodness sakes!!

[Nemo101]

Yeah, we had our chickens at my grandma's house in the country and every morning the rooster would crow... hahaha, i loved them, but my grandma didn't want to risk going out in the "minnesota winter"(which, by the way, is still happening, in MID APRIL! We literally had thunder and lighting during a blizzard last week ) which is why we had to get rid of them...

 

The blenny looks really cool also and I hope everything goes well for you! I might just try making a few small homemade racks to fill in a few gaps in my tank. that way they can cure while I go with no fish for a couple more weeks because I may or may not have had ick ... oh well, I will persevere! lol

[Blubbernaut]

That poor bull frog must be very frustrated and the goldfish must be suffering from PTSD by now!

Peacocks are dumber, I believe, than domesticated turkeys! Now that is DUMB!

Yeah, if fish can get AIDS, mine have it......As far as the peacock goes...Lol, just lol.

[eitallent]

Yeah, we had our chickens at my grandma's house in the country and every morning the rooster would crow... hahaha, i loved them, but my grandma didn't want to risk going out in the "minnesota winter"(which, by the way, is still happening, in MID APRIL! We literally had thunder and lighting during a blizzard last week ) which is why we had to get rid of them...

 

The blenny looks really cool also and I hope everything goes well for you! I might just try making a few small homemade racks to fill in a few gaps in my tank. that way they can cure while I go with no fish for a couple more weeks because I may or may not have had ick ... oh well, I will persevere! lol

 

WOW! That kind of winter is no fun. Poor Grandma having to take care of chickens in the winter. Poor chickens come to think of it. It was a good decision.

 

My rocks took about 10 weeks to cure. At first they made the water go up to pH 11.5 so take care curing them for maybe 3-4 weeks outside the tank with lots of water changes. I did my water changes every day because I was sooo impatient to get them in the tank.

 

Yeah, if fish can get AIDS, mine have it......As far as the peacock goes...Lol, just lol.

 

Yikes! Sorry about your fish.

[gena]

 

OMG! Gena, I bet you find Waldo like in two seconds!

I have said it before and I will say again you are the most observant person I know. I love it!

 

Yes it is a clown fish. It is in the fuge. An acquaintance (friend of a friend) of mine lost power and the tank crashed. She gave me the clowns for safe keeping until/if she gets it back up and running. I rescue stray cats, birds, dogs and now fish!!!

 

The farm is more work now than we can handle. But it is lovely. There are so many birds that I do not need to turn on the radio. The humming birds just started to come through and we've had tons at the feeders. Ah, spring!

Well, not THAT fast, but I am pretty good at finding Waldo LOL

 

How come you don't show off your fuge very often, if at all? I don't remember seeing it before. Now that it has some fish inhabitants, I think we need to see it

 

LOVE the farm animal pics!!!! I'm not a fan of geese...been chased too many times by them as a kid, though they are pretty. Do you have a pond on your property? Those Buff Orpington (sp?) chickens are my VERY favorite. They are gorgeous. Seeing them makes me want chickens again. We tossed around the idea of getting some. We're allowed up to, I think, 4 hens (maybe more) in the city. No roosters, for obvious reasons. I would get a cute little pink hen house for them LOL.

[eitallent]

Well Gena, the fuge is pretty cool and I like it cause I made it from plastic containers, but really nothing too exciting happens in there.

->I have a few pieces of LR .

->When I rearranged the nano I moved the rock with the anemones that have no ID into the fuge. I call them the Little Green Nems from Mars. I sent a couple of those to IslandofTiki for his nifty pest tank.

->Of course I have the macros in there; chaeto, titan, red grape and dragon's breath.

->I put my lone Green Chromis survivor ( I call him oneofseven in the Star Trek: Next Generation tradition).

->I also have Zig the Blue Neon Goby that jumped overboard into the back chamber because of aggression from his buddy Zag.

->Now I have the rescued pair of Clowns. They are very cute together and sleep on the sand by an orange rock that used to be the plug of the long gone Goniopora.

 

I am glad you like the pics. I went out and took those just for you, my country-life loving friend!

 

The Geese are okay if you grab a switch and keep them at bay. I love them because they are so protective of their families and they sure put out the alarm if any one walks, runs, cycles or even drives by slowly. I always know when someone is near.

 

Oh, chickens are soooo wonderful. Their soft cluck-clucking is so comforting to me. However, I do not know when the term "chicken feed" meant that something was not worth a lot of money, because chicken feed is expensive!! Luckily ours are free ranging, but they still eat a lot of feed. It is cheaper to buy organic eggs from the store but they are NEVER like our chicken's eggs. Our eggs have an deep yellow yolk and the whites are firm not runny. Mmmm...

 

I would love to see you get some chickens and have a pink palace for them.

[eitallent]

I have my phytoplankton culturing station all set up. Weeeeee!

 

I put up a shelf so that I could store my aquarium "stuff." On the bottom shelof I place my buckets of salt. On the self aboce that I placed my sterilite bin with tubing, plumbing pieces, testing kits, B-Ionic bottles I purchased when I thought I need to dose to correct pH , cleaning tools, etc. In the third shelf I set up the phytoplankton culturing set:

 

>2-two liter glass bottles with drilled corks for rigid air tubes

>magnetic stirrer + stir bars

>air pump

>phytoplankton (Nannochloropsis sp.) from Fl. Aqua Farms.

>6500 K fluorescent light

 

Note to Felicia: Am I now really worthy of the "Mad Scientist" honorific?

 

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http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/eitallent/media/MyAtlantis/2013-04-17_07-00-25_937_zpsbdcd836e.jpg.html'>

[Felicia]

Yep, you can also be called the Mad Scientist now for sure! Glowing green beakers are definitely an automatic in! Mark just calls me the Mad Scientist because I work in a research lab and told him where to buy test tube holders for his test kits. I don't have any beakers of glowing green liquid at my house, so you're ahead of me!

 

That peacock is hilarious. I love that he was trying to woo the rooster. Hilarious. I live in a super urban area, but Berkeley is crazy so urban chickens are super popular here. The house right behind my apartment building has a pet rooster that wanders around and is constantly crowing. I've gotten used to hearing him crow in the morning and I just sleep through it now.

[eitallent]

Yep, you can also be called the Mad Scientist now for sure! Glowing green beakers are definitely an automatic in! Mark just calls me the Mad Scientist because I work in a research lab and told him where to buy test tube holders for his test kits. I don't have any beakers of glowing green liquid at my house, so you're ahead of me!

 

Well, that is the only thing in which I am ahead of you.

 

Here is an update on the phyto station. The culture is becoming darker green or more opaque. You cannot see through the liquid at all. It will be ready to split on Sunday.

http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/eitallent/media/MyAtlantis/2013-04-19_07-52-52_36_zps61cc19aa.jpg.html'>

 

Here is a close look at the stopper with the rigid tubing. I have one short segment of tubing to allow air exchange.

http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/eitallent/media/MyAtlantis/2013-04-19_07-55-21_474_zpsa9023839.jpg.html'>

 

A green bubbly brew...

http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/eitallent/media/MyAtlantis/2013-04-19_07-55-33_700_zpsbf6b0d32.jpg.html'>

[gmod]

Looks great...I would have gone bare bottom though...

[eitallent]

Looks great...I would have gone bare bottom though...

 

Hi and thanks for visiting. That may have been cool looking but I imagine you would have to grow some kind of coral on the bottom. A six foot long tank would be hard to maintain a nice clean glass bottom if my nano is any indication with all the poo that snails and other critters produce.

 

I have kitty frag ready to ship!

 

http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/eitallent/media/MyAtlantis/2013-04-17_10-18-47_360_zps927eccfd.jpg.html'>

 

http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/eitallent/media/MyAtlantis/2013-04-17_12-17-57_780_zpsc929c7b4.jpg.html'>

[Mr. Microscope]

I can haz frag?