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My Bonsai Reef


sam_the_reefer

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  • 1 month later...
sam_the_reefer

Did many things:

  • Did a rescape (inspired by Hey's tank [totm last month])
  • Manually turned down the whites using electrical tape to get a higher color temp.
  • Dosed Aquavitro fuel for a month.
  • Gave some LR to a fellow local reefer and took out brown encrusted leptastrea rubble.

Will be adding some ochtodes and dragon's breath macroalgae in the near future.

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  • 2 weeks later...
sam_the_reefer

I was very excited to go to the beach yesterday to look for dragon's breath and ochtodes in the usual "macroalgae spots", but things didn't go so well. The ocean here goes through ugly phases and it looks like it's going through a particularly nasty one right now with filamentous algae choking everything. It could be from the runoff and salinity changes from heavy rains lately. The one interesting unknown purple macroalgae I got turned into my hermit's quick snack (well, at least he had a treat). In the end all I got was a few strands of chaeto, a vey small piece of gracilaria and a lot of jellyfish stings.

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  • 3 weeks later...
sam_the_reefer

Many updates for the past few weeks. First, I thought that my fluffy toadstool was getting too big for my small tank so I gave it to a fellow local reefer. Next, my first attempt at incorporating macroalgae wasn't very successful. I found out there was a stone crab hiding in one of my rocks that made short work of any macroalgae I put in. That, plus my scarlet hermit likes macroalgae too. :( However, I managed to collect some very exotic LS with the help of another fellow local reefer.

 

First is this Green toadstool. When closed, it has a green cap similar to a rare green japanese toadstool. I'm not sure if this is the same because it's not rare where I collected it and it's not found in deep water, but in shallow seagrass beds.
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Next are these micro zoas. They are 1/4 the size of my normal zoas and they are found in "hardened silt" subtrate which was quite a challenge to work with when mounting. They are really small and you really need a good eye to spot them in their natural environment, which my fellow reefer friend had.
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Then there's these nice purple leptastrea with purple skirts and blue green eyes.
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Lastly, here's a FTS:

 

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My reefer friend also gave me a briareum frag (above the green toadstool) It looks like GSP but is light green with stiffer tentacles. I rescaped the tank and got rid of the stone crab while mounting the LS and currently have a diatom bloom from all of the sandbed disturbance. I've placed some Phosguard in my HOB which should help a bit with silicates but these diatoms should eventually go away. Nitrates are at 5ppm and Phosphates are at 0 before I added the Phosguard. Hope these new guys thrive in my system.

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  • 1 month later...
sam_the_reefer

Just some updates. The diatoms have died down and things are oddly more stable now that I only need to clean the tank walls after 2 weeks. Hopefully things will grow in and get bushier. I did have to re-glue some of the zoas since my hermit crab loves dislodging them.

Left side view:

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Close ups:

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FTS:
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Fun to collect your own animals. Good to see the sand bed algae under control :)

 

The micro-zoas can be tough to keep going long-term. The ones I had eventually faded away. If I ever try them again I'd try light daily feedings since I think they might be prone to starving in a clean reef setup.

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sam_the_reefer

Fun to collect your own animals. Good to see the sand bed algae under control :)

 

The micro-zoas can be tough to keep going long-term. The ones I had eventually faded away. If I ever try them again I'd try light daily feedings since I think they might be prone to starving in a clean reef setup.

Thanks for the tip! So far they've been spreading for me. Could be because my setup isn't so clean.

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Thanks for the tip! So far they've been spreading for me. Could be because my setup isn't so clean.

 

They spread for me too, then started a slow decline that took many months.

 

Hope yours continue to do well :)

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  • 1 month later...
sam_the_reefer

Tank Update:

 

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Also, new resident: Many-lined Basslet (liopropoma multilineatum). He's not used to the bright lights but does come out when the lights are off and just started feeding pellets.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
sam_the_reefer

Updates:

 

Had to free the juvenile pteragogus because it was getting bullied by the clowns and the basslet (yup the basslet is a bully and doesn't want to share his caves/nooks). But the good news is, my flaming prawn goby is still alive! It was just hiding in the rocks and hanging out in its burrow all this time! Also, added a skunk cleaner shrimp, some yumas, and got some dragon's tongue and new zoas from a fellow reefer and rescued his candy canes.

 

Current FTS

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Yumas

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Rescued candy canes

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Chaeto experiment...putting it in a clam shell with nylon netting. Got this idea from working with riccia in my old freshwater planted tank. Also, the dragon's tongue.

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New zoas. I fragged the old colony.

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The macroalgae has been in the tank for a few weeks now and I've removed the chemical media (phosguard and purigen) to get them to take off. Also dealing with low alk/Ca problems now...I'm using NSW and the levels are on the lower end. Looks like I'll need to dose soon.

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  • 2 weeks later...
sam_the_reefer

Shot under natural sunlight. Trying to get everyone in a pic. We had a power outage this week and I noticed everyone comes out when the lights and pumps are off.

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Shot under tank lights.

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Chaeto in clam shell experiment is going well so far.

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Updates:

 

.But the good news is, my flaming prawn goby is still alive! It was just hiding in the rocks and hanging out in its burrow all this time!

 

 

That's good news!

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sam_the_reefer

 

That's good news!

Yup! :) It's very shy though and immediately hides when it notices me. Maybe it will come out more once the macroalgae grows more dense and it has more shaded spots to hang out in.

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  • 1 month later...
sam_the_reefer

Crappy pic. I wonder if adding more of them makes them come out more...haven't seen him in a week.

 

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In other news, the chaeto in a clamshell experiment was a success and I've expanded it to 3 shells now. Just makes it easier for the chaeto to stay put and makes it easy to trim. Will take an updated fts once it's grown.

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  • 4 weeks later...
sam_the_reefer

Many tank updates, but no pics. I added a yellow hammer coral because a fellow local reefer was giving away some frags and I couldn't pass it up. I've also added and moved some things to balance the scape now with the yellow hammer in it. I have mixed feelings because the frag is quite big and I feel it won't have any more room to grow where I placed it. :( But it's certainly beautiful and is now the "centerpiece". The green zoas also have lost the bright green color and is now a dull green and the candy canes aren't doing so well. I'm thinking it's a nutrient issue (nitrates were at 20ppm) so I just started using purigen again after a 50% wc.

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Nano sapiens

The green zoas also have lost the bright green color and is now a dull green and the candy canes aren't doing so well. I'm thinking it's a nutrient issue (nitrates were at 20ppm) so I just started using purigen again after a 50% wc.

 

Do you vacuum your sand bed regularly? Clear detritus from under the rocks occasionally? In these little tanks it's relatively easy to develop nitrate issues if the sand beds are left untouched for too long.

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  • sam_the_reefer changed the title to My Bonsai Reef

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