Jump to content
Top Shelf Aquatics

El Chupacabra's 3.7G Petco-pico Reef


xEL Chupacabrax

Recommended Posts

xEL Chupacabrax

Hi everyone I just thought i would share my picos progress here. Any comments/ suggestions/ questions are appreciated! I was inspired by andrewkw's Dymax Iq3 and wanted to attempt something similar.. :)


Equipment:

-Tank: Petco 3.7G (AIO) 2.5G display area

-Rio mini 800 return pump

-Manual top off


Heating/ Cooling:

-Heaterless

-fan cooled

-Digital & Manual thermometers


Lighting:

-Rapid LED par 30 4ish inches off top


Filtration:

-8lbs of "Real Reef" live rock

- >1/4 of live sand

-Chemi-Pure Elite 1 table spoon

-Kent reef safe carbon 1/2 table spoon

-Poly filter on mesh screen

-weekly 80-100% water change


Livestock:

-Torchus snail x3

-Hermits x3

-Emerald crab

-Peppermint shrimp

-Fishless

 

 

Coral:

-Zoanthid possiable (green bay)

-Armor of the god's palythoa

-Chalice

-Gsp

-Rodactius mushroom

-Blastomussa

-Mini Maxi anemone

-Misc. Zoas/palys

-Duncan

-Yellow Button polyps

 

 

Goals:

-longevity

-Dense coral growth

-1 year+ mark

 

 

Pics:

 

 

day 1 7/6/14

14683679688_097bf78813_c.jpg

 

 

Crappy cellphone/still learning how to get good pics of the tank

 

 

14683608680_8ae0f93a2c_c.jpg


14890183483_03ce4d93b9_c.jpg

 

 

14683789187_0e7786b176_c.jpg

 

 

14867240441_3a898915e0_c.jpg

 

 

14683790237_34f2b72dcf_c.jpg

 

 

palythoa grandis???

 

 

14867941564_e07370e3d2_c.jpg

 

 

fts 8/8/14

 

 

14890180963_1bbf4ab9d5_c.jpg

 

 

Again any comments more than welcome

 

Thanks for looking :)

Link to comment

Not bad! If I were you I would take a hammer to that rock and break it into smaller pieces, you'd have more options for coral placement. Just an Idea. Welcome to Nano-Reef btw!

Link to comment
xEL Chupacabrax

Thanks guys ^^ As for the rock.. call me weird but i kinda like it like this. Invision a big ball of coral and colors, maybe resacpe down the road but for i think i am gonna let it ride... B)

Link to comment

Looking good! I noticed you put the ricordea towards the top of the tank. Is that ok? I thought ricordea's like to be towards the bottom of the tank.

6th pic, what type of zoa/paly are those? I really like the metallic green/purplish center of them!



Thanks guys ^^ As for the rock.. call me weird but i kinda like it like this. Invision a big ball of coral and colors, maybe resacpe down the road but for i think i am gonna let it ride... B)

 

I'm with the others that breaking the rock might look better, but this is YOUR tank! Your the captain so you make the calls. Hoping you continue to post pics as the tank develops.

Link to comment
xEL Chupacabrax

Looking good! I noticed you put the ricordea towards the top of the tank. Is that ok? I thought ricordea's like to be towards the bottom of the tank.

6th pic, what type of zoa/paly are those? I really like the metallic green/purplish center of them!

 

 

I'm with the others that breaking the rock might look better, but this is YOUR tank! Your the captain so you make the calls. Hoping you continue to post pics as the tank develops.

 

Thanks! That is a rodactius mushroom and it should be on the bottom. My emerald crab though so too and he moved it for me i think he is going to kill it :wacko:

 

That zoa is green bay packers (i think).. the lighting is butchered in that pic but it looks cool

 

Tank update:

i added some corals thanks to an awesome gf!

 

-Sunset montipora (front and center)

-orange leptoseris (placement is meh)

-Red/green acan

-Purple/green acan

-Hollywood stunner echinophyllia chalice

 

... The stunner chalice broke in 3 pieces when i tried removing a funky placed plug kinda bummed as it looked so good. I dont have a frag tank so i mounted them as best i could

 

On a positive note the sunset looks crazy defiantly my favorite coral

 

update pics as soon as flickr stops being dumb B)

 

Link to comment
NorthGaHillbilly

 

Thanks! That is a rodactius mushroom and it should be on the bottom. My emerald crab though so too and he moved it for me i think he is going to kill it :wacko:

 

That zoa is green bay packers (i think).. the lighting is butchered in that pic but it looks cool

 

Tank update:

i added some corals thanks to an awesome gf!

 

-Sunset montipora (front and center)

-orange leptoseris (placement is meh)

-Red/green acan

-Purple/green acan

-Hollywood stunner echinophyllia chalice

 

... The stunner chalice broke in 3 pieces when i tried removing a funky placed plug kinda bummed as it looked so good. I dont have a frag tank so i mounted them as best i could

 

On a positive note the sunset looks crazy defiantly my favorite coral

 

update pics as soon as flickr stops being dumb B)

 

Im a huge fan of leptos, looking forward to a FTS!

Link to comment
xEL Chupacabrax

Ill just use the pbucket.. PICS!!

 

IMG_0425.jpg

 

-sunset monti with aiptasia i love it :wub:

 

IMG_0431.jpg

 

piece in back i like up front not so much. Probably going to fix this

 

IMG_0430.jpg

 

Blurry little acan and doger dave that is the normal color of those zoas

 

IMG_0429.jpg

 

Acan in blasto colors

 

IMG_0428.jpg

 

Hmm lepto in top left hoping it will take to the glass

did a 90% water change today so everyone is a little pissed

overall kind of a ugly phase lol and that piece of chalice has to go i think

 

Thanks for looking commenting guys!

 

 

Link to comment

what a difference a week makes. Before it was a ball-o-rock, now it's starting to become a coral oasis.

 

Damn, looking around these forums, puts my tank to shame. But with the comments in my thread, I'm positive I can bring my tank to elite level! HAPPY REEFING EVERYONE! B)

Link to comment
Angel<3Nanos

Oh man. What a sweet tank. Was a lottle skeptical of the big rock but you are managing to pull it off. I like it.

 

 

Not gunna lie, I first thought this was a Chupa's thread.

Link to comment
xEL Chupacabrax

 

DodgerDave

what a difference a week makes. Before it was a ball-o-rock, now it's starting to become a coral oasis.

 

Damn, looking around these forums, puts my tank to shame. But with the comments in my thread, I'm positive I can bring my tank to elite level! HAPPY REEFING EVERYONE! B)

ball-o-rock cracked me up Thanks!

 

 

 

Angel<3Nanos

Oh man. What a sweet tank. Was a lottle skeptical of the big rock but you are managing to pull it off. I like it.

 

 

Not gunna lie, I first thought this was a Chupa's thread.

big rock ball-o-reef is the plan! Also is there another chupacabra around here?

 

Mini update:

 

1. I hated the stunner placement -fixed hopefully for good

2. GSP separated from main rock so it can cover the side glass and not the main rock

3. lepto moved to the top -Not sure about this..

4. started feeding mysis shrimp via tongs and everything goes nuts for it

5. I was looking for a "centerpiece" coral online and decided the smothered duncan would look good so i moved that too

 

Just a few pics:

 

not as blurry pic of the purple/green acans they look so nice

 

 

14950350112_843b3a2f48_z.jpgI

 

Fts

 

14950270522_da34a1536b_c.jpg

 

Thanks for all the feedback

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...
xEL Chupacabrax

Few days shy of 2 months and i am feeling like an update is in order

 

-sunset removed (it didnt like the big water changes)

-birdsnest added and then removed (same thing)

-added clown fire and ice zoas

-emerald crab and hermits are out also

 

I have been feeding the corals a mix of mysis and some tiny fish pellets with great response and growth

 

FTS:

 

 

14913842618_df9152ddcb_c.jpgI

 

 

The duncan is turning into a monster :lol:

 

as always thanks for looking!

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...
xEL Chupacabrax

Snapped a picture i like of the tank today so i though i would share :)

 

added a few corals took a few out

 

15096953917_0fe22ab88f_c.jpg

 

one thing that i cant get over is the amount of life that pops up from seemingly out of nowhere pods, feather dusters, tiny snails its too cool!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
xEL Chupacabrax

The story of my peppermint shrimp

 

 

So when i first started up my tank i had a tiny aptasia. Then it decided to move to the top an got a little bigger. Next i add a sunset montipora with a single head of aptasia on the plug :furious: The LFS said "peppermint shrimp! it will be gone in a day!!" against my gut i got it and he didnt do jack

 

 

15140129097_ccfeab3bca_c.jpg

 

^^ "satan" the peppermint shrimp laughing at me

 

i manually removed my aptasia and there are luckily no signs of it now but this shrimp..

 

 

he is tearing into acans, de-skirting my button polyps, and carrying around a mushroom like a potato chip!!

 

There is no way he could be hungry because i feed the corals mysis via tongs

Just to hold off his his destructiveness he is fed over and over

 

I had enough. Removal was the only option

 

my initial attempts at netting him were painfully messy and were not even close

so i researched, placed some pellets in a net and waited

 

The lights went out i had a tiny spotlight on the tank

methodically he acessed the situiation.. plotting
using his tiny little claws he reached into the netting from the underside! :rant:
baffled i waited.. and waited for him to go to the top but he never did
he knew what i was up to
while contimplating taking out the entire rock i decided to try another trap
a cylinder with a shrimp sized hole and food in the bottom
so far no luck but im hopeful fingerscrossed
i will keep you all up to date on my latest shrimp adventures as they unfold
15140162660_7a6efcb96a_c.jpg
if anyone has any ideas on removal that dosent involve taking my LR out i am all ears
-Thanks for stopping by!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
xEL Chupacabrax

fts update! i have been fiddiling more than usual lately.. and buying corals.. whoops

 

15169254098_ca528ce5b5_c.jpg

 

just picked up the elegance the other day fingerscrossed hoping it does well

 

also the birdsnest is recently fraged and lookin bare but in time it should look quite nice in that spot

 

starting too look a little less "ball-o-rock" :P

 

Thanks for looking!!

Link to comment

fts update! i have been fiddiling more than usual lately.. and buying corals.. whoops

 

15169254098_ca528ce5b5_c.jpg

 

just picked up the elegance the other day fingerscrossed hoping it does well

 

also the birdsnest is recently fraged and lookin bare but in time it should look quite nice in that spot

 

starting too look a little less "ball-o-rock" :P

 

Thanks for looking!!

Looking good!

Link to comment
NorthGaHillbilly

really an awesome tank, things are looks great. Have you checked ph and alk on your WC water? if those are off that could lead to the the SPS getting pissed. With how distructive your shrimp is being Im wondering if it isnt a camel shrimp, either way, banish that guy

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...