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Cultivated Reef

Merth's 3g Grass-covered hills


Merthynia

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Thank you! I thought it was an amazing gift. I've never had a skunk cleaner shrimp before. He is extremely friendly!

If someone ever bought me a reef critter for my birthday, I would be beside myself. It would just be soooo way cool :).

 

They are great shrimp!!!! They will steal food from everyone else, but they are worth it. Everyone always notices the shrimp :).

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I'm so glad I can finally put some critters in the tank! I'm still thinking zoas, mushrooms and maybe a nice acan in here. One of the LFS around here has green banded gobies. That is what I had in mind for fish. They are so tiny!! Has anyone ever kept a pair in a tank this small? I've heard of a pair doing great in a 5 gal tank, technically I have the fuge on the back for added water volume. Thoughts?

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I'm so glad I can finally put some critters in the tank! I'm still thinking zoas, mushrooms and maybe a nice acan in here. One of the LFS around here has green banded gobies. That is what I had in mind for fish. They are so tiny!! Has anyone ever kept a pair in a tank this small? I've heard of a pair doing great in a 5 gal tank, technically I have the fuge on the back for added water volume. Thoughts?

They will do great in there. They don't do a whole lot of swimming, mostly perching, so they don't need a lot of space. GBGs are adorable. :)

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Perfect! I love how they dart around and perch on things. Plus they are super tiny and cute!

 

They will do great in there. They don't do a whole lot of swimming, mostly perching, so they don't need a lot of space. GBGs are adorable. :)

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Okay, so I have a question for whoever is around.

http://coralcompulsi...led/led-21w-18k

I like this light but it has been out of stock for awhile now and my message to the company hasn't been returned.

 

http://www.ecoxotic.com/ecoxotic-par38-aquarium-led-lights.html

This light was also suggested, but I since it only comes in a single color, would the following light be better?

http://www.ecoxotic.com/par38-tri-color.html

 

Or maybe something completely different? I love LED lights and like the ability to dim the lights, but it isn't a requirement. Thoughts?

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My BoostLED Par30 over my 2G has been AWESOME. Nice color and I am getting nice growth. A Par38 might be better for corals demanding more light corals if that is where you are going. Just make sure you get an adjustable fixture. Gooseneck worked for me, but others have reported some issues.

 

A little more expensive, but they communications was good, the product excellent, and the results can't be refuted.

 

HTH. MOAR PICS!

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My BoostLED Par30 over my 2G has been AWESOME. Nice color and I am getting nice growth. A Par38 might be better for corals demanding more light corals if that is where you are going. Just make sure you get an adjustable fixture. Gooseneck worked for me, but others have reported some issues.

 

A little more expensive, but they communications was good, the product excellent, and the results can't be refuted.

 

HTH. MOAR PICS!

I was hoping to have the option of keeping one or two more demanding coral. I was planning on going the gooseneck route if there is no way to dim the lights.

 

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YES! I am spoiled! :wub::wub: Birthdays should come more often! (I'm just kidding, I feel old enough as it is.)

I could not be happier with the heater! I honestly have no idea why I never put down the money for a refractometer either, there is just no comparison to the swing arms. I feel much more confident in my water changes now!

 

Now onto more exciting pictures!

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I moved a couple corals over to the pico yesterday. I haven't made a hard choice on where I'm going to put anyone except the zoas. I'd like to get the new light before I do anything too crazy with gluing everyone down. I also discovered that it is a heck of a lot harder to break the frag plugs than I was anticipating. So I'll be attempting that again in a day or two.

 

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CC seducers! I was able to successfully break these little guys off without destroying them and then glued them to a satisfactory spot (I hope!). They are open today so I'm thinking that all is good for now. You can see one of my tiny hermit crabs. I don't know about anyone else, but they are some of my favorite critters in my tanks!

 

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And last but not least, the cleaner shrimp! He was going nuts while I was trying to take pictures! :rolleyes: I figured it was because he wanted everyone to be able to bask in his glory again! :lol:

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And last but not least, the cleaner shrimp! He was going nuts while I was trying to take pictures! :rolleyes: I figured it was because he wanted everyone to be able to bask in his glory again! :lol:

He was hungry and begging for food. They are bottom-less pits. :lol:

 

 

Refractometers are great! Reminds me that I need to recalibrate mine...I keep putting it off. It's off by a .02 measurement.

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  • 11 months later...

What a year it has been. This little tank has been up and running this entire time. We've had some trials and tribulations, but the tank keeps plugging along. I'll attempt to get everything all up to speed tonight when I get off work. Looks like my pictures from before are no longer visible, not sure what happened.

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Okay, as I was saying before, it has been one heck of a year since I set this little pico up. I did end up getting a PAR 30 from BoostLED that worked great for about 6ish months then went poof. After many many months of attempting to get in touch with their customer support staff with no luck I ended up getting a Nanobox Tide for Christmas. During the in-between time before getting the tide my corals suffered a lot, I just had the stock light on the tank since I was unable to afford anything in the meantime. I moved some of the more demanding corals to my bigger tank and left a couple mushrooms and zoas that I couldn't move. Now that my Nanobox has been set up for about 3 weeks now the corals are finally starting to bounce back and zoas are opening up more and more each day. I am VERY pleased with the Tide since I also got the storm controller with it, I'm slowly acclimating the corals to higher and higher intensities as time progresses. I'm happy to say that the little scarlet cleaner shrimp is still around, he outgrew the pico and currently resides in my 36g reef. The only inhabitants of my tank currently is a single zebra hermit, a emerald crab, and a tiny cryptic wrasse. There are several different varieties of zoas, 3 different types of mushrooms, a sps frag that I don't have an ID on and some macro.

 

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Each day I am seeing improvement in those corals that I was sure were not going to make it. This light is incredible. Today I spotted skirts on a group of zoas that haven't been open in months! I can't wait til this tank is back to the predark age flourishing! :)

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Watching my tank come back to life is amazing in itself. I'll be finishing adding corals back into the tank in the next few weeks as everything perks back up. I need to look at future plans though since I will be uprooting at the end of April and moving to Illinois...I have never been to Springfield, but I will be there for a year finishing my schooling before I graduate. Is anyone from there?

 

In preparation for the move, I am saving up for an ato so that I can safely come home for a few days here and there without worrying overmuch about the tank crashing due to salinity. I know they aren't perfect 100% of the time, but I'm hoping to purchase a high enough quality one that I won't have to run into problems. I was thinking the Hydor would be effective. In the time prior to moving I have been packing up all my junk around the house, but my 36 gallon taunts me. I cannot take it with me, plan is to move it next month to my brother's place which is thankfully only across town. My plan on moving the 3 gallon is to take a 5 gallon bucket and drop the rocks, corals and fish into it with a powerhead powered by a power converter in my truck to make the 7 hour trip. I will be tossing out the old sand at this point and either putting a tiny layer of new sand or leaving it barebottom once I arrive. I also think I may do a slight rockscape change since the right rock is SO tall, I would like to break off 2-3 inches off the top of it. Other future plans include a fuge light and a mame skimmer if I can swing it. They captivate me!

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Picking up a small piece of chalice tonight. I Want to be able to mount this to a magnet to place on the left side of the tank. What stores have the rare earth magnets that would be safe for this purpose, and do any of you place a little felt under the magnet to reduce the likelihood of scratches? I'm hoping for a camera I can borrow to get better pictures of the tank!

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I lived in Springfield for a few months right out of college. I liked it there but left because I hated my job!

 

Cute little tank, glad to hear your corals are recovering!

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What a nice setup! I love how the lighting and filtration don't seem to protrude bulkily from the tank footprint, that's hard to manage with such small size displays. Can't wait to see everything a few months later, when they all start to grow.....what are all the livestock you have in there?

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I lived in Springfield for a few months right out of college. I liked it there but left because I hated my job!

 

Cute little tank, glad to hear your corals are recovering!

 

Thank you!! I'm hoping the area is nice, I've never been there. Do you remember any decent LFS?

 

I have an assortment of zoas, a new chalice, some gsp, superman rhodactis, some spotted mushrooms, ironman mushroom, a lepto that is coming back from the brink, I'm honestly not sure what the flowerpot type coral is named, a sps, a single zebra hermit, a single snail, and a small cryptic wrasse. He has done an amazing job cleaning up the flatworms I had in here months ago and is very curious about every moving thing in the tank.

 

I'm in the process of try into destroy the vermetid snails in the tank, I seem to be having mixed success.

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  • 1 month later...

The countdown continues! 5 more weeks of packing and planning. My 36 gal salt and 5 gal fresh tanks have both been torn down/moved. This little tank is the only one left in my apartment. My 7.5 gal upgrade should be here friday. My ATO and aqua lifter should be ordered next week. omgomgomg

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  • 2 months later...

Well life seems to love throwing some loops into my plans! I finished my semester of class and I'm now here in Illinois. The 3 gal made it with a few casualties. I placed everything into a 5 gallon bucket for the move, they had to stay in there for a little over a week before I could place everything back into the tank. I ended up losing my chalice and a couple of the zoas melted. The 7.5 gal never made it to the store (And they STILL don't have it), but my brother ended up selling me a 5 gal PicO that he had bought but never got around to using. :D Both tanks are currently set up an running in my room. The 3 gal is running bare bottom which is a new experience for me, the 5 gal is filled and has a small sand bed and a really beautiful rock centerpiece in place while it cycles.

 

One thing I am very disappointed with is the complete lack of anywhere selling RODI water. I have been using distilled for the time being until I can come up with a better option. The other problem I am facing is where I may be able to find livestock for my tank. Any Illinois reefers out there with suggestions or frags they would like to sell? :happy:

 

I want to also give a HUGE shout out to Dave with Nano Box, during the move I discovered that my Tide was no longer functioning correctly. I sent him an e-mail and he responded promptly. I just received my light back, he not only fixed the original problem but he also fixed a few paint chips that my family had accidentally put into the fixture. I absolutely LOVE these lights and the customer service is top-notch! :wub: :wub:

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Well I have mixed news today. I was able to find a LFS that has RODI water and a great selection of corals, inverts and fish. Plus they are friendly and willing to try to find anything I might be interested in. This is all a big plus in my book! I am excited that they are here in town so that I won't have to travel so far to find what I'm looking for! :D

 

I also took a few pictures now that things are opening back up with the light back in place! Excuse the mess since they aren't placed how I'd like them to be since they will be moving soon.

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Also a full tank shot to document both tanks. Once I get everything moved I will likely be removing the picotope to storage or a QT. :happy: I just realized that I forgot to take my cover off the picotope for the picture, oh well! :rolleyes:

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Now for the sad news.

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I've already sent an e-mail to see if there is anything that can be done about this. It is only on the front pane of glass. I discovered it after putting the water, rock and sand in since I didn't have the light yet. Unfortunately, this chip only shows up with the light on it. I'm bummed, but trying to think positive. I'm hoping there is a chance to repair this or make it structurally sound. :(

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Well, today I made the trip to go see Chris as Pico Aquariums, he is going to repair the tank. :happy: I'll get to pick it back up in a week or two, meanwhile the rock is almost done cycling so I've stored it in a 5 gal bucket with a powerhead/heater to keep it going. I also picked up a tiny acan frag today while I was out and about. One 25% water change on the 3 gal later and I'm feeling accomplished for the day. I've put some feelers out for a pair of green banded gobies, we will see if my LFS is able to get some in sometime in the next few weeks.

 

I know it sounds a little crazy, but I'm fairly sure that the green/white rock flower nem is a female! ;) I've seen her release eggs twice now. I'm not sure what the red one is since I've never seen anything of the sort occur from it. I'd be really surprised to see tiny rock flowers pop up in this tank.

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