Natalia’s reefbowl: 8 years old!

[brahma04]

Grrr why did i have to read this thread! I already have a 5g fluval FW (planted) FULL of Red Cherry shrimp/fish/snails, and an IM nano 10 Reef tank and thanks to you all I realized I'm missing something on my desk at work! Tiny desktop shrimp tank it is! I'll post something when i come up with the jar/innards of setup. following~

[natalia_la_loca]

Grrr why did i have to read this thread! I already have a 5g fluval FW (planted) FULL of Red Cherry shrimp/fish/snails, and an IM nano 10 Reef tank and thanks to you all I realized I'm missing something on my desk at work! Tiny desktop shrimp tank it is! I'll post something when i come up with the jar/innards of setup. following~

 

Ha! Give in to the power of the opae'ula Please do post pics when you get the tank set up! They really are wonderful little shrimp.

[brahma04]

 

Ha! Give in to the power of the opae'ula Please do post pics when you get the tank set up! They really are wonderful little shrimp.

I was thinking red cherry shrimp with a twist. Do you think there would be any reason NOT to just use sand and some dried live rock with some Malaysian drift wood to give it a strange, "fresh salt water" kinda hybrid look? I have Christmas moss, java moss, dwarf hair grass and a marimo ball.

 

Would regular sand from Home depot cause a big spike in phosphates or something along those lines?

[natalia_la_loca]

I was thinking red cherry shrimp with a twist. Do you think there would be any reason NOT to just use sand and some dried live rock with some Malaysian drift wood to give it a strange, "fresh salt water" kinda hybrid look? I have Christmas moss, java moss, dwarf hair grass and a marimo ball.

 

Would regular sand from Home depot cause a big spike in phosphates or something along those lines?

 

I don't have much experience with cherry shrimp. The only issue I could maybe see is that I think cherry shrimp are somewhat more delicate than opae'ula and would require more maintenance, especially with a really small system.

[natalia_la_loca]

I'm trying out a new white balance filter for my iphone.

 

 

Still not super great, but it's nice to have less windex effect.

 

Also, I keep finding more f**king vermetid snails They are so sneaky! One of my zoas was closed for three days, it turned out there was a huge vermetid growing right underneath it. So I pried up the zoa, pulled out the vermetid, glued the zoa down. The zoa opened the very next day.

 

Just last night I glued shut the tubes of three more vermetids. None of these were new (they all had coralline growing on their shells), so hopefully I've stopped their spreading and will have them completely eradicated soon. The magnification effect of the reefbowl is great for spotting pests!

[Enchelycore808]

can those shrimp live in ocean salinity?

Yep they can handle full ocean no problem. I have them and the larger sp in my macro tank at 1.025. I only start getting problems below 1.010. To the OP, how much did u pay for that quantity if you don't mind me asking?

[Sunstar]

If you were in canada, I would give you some of my tiny mysis shrimp. they would rock your bowl.

[Enchelycore808]

I'm trying out a new white balance filter for my iphone.

 

 

Still not super great, but it's nice to have less windex effect.

 

Also, I keep finding more f**king vermetid snails They are so sneaky! One of my zoas was closed for three days, it turned out there was a huge vermetid growing right underneath it. So I pried up the zoa, pulled out the vermetid, glued the zoa down. The zoa opened the very next day.

 

Just last night I glued shut the tubes of three more vermetids. None of these were new (they all had coralline growing on their shells), so hopefully I've stopped their spreading and will have them completely eradicated soon. The magnification effect of the reefbowl is great for spotting pests!

Looks awesome! Makes me want to set up a reef bowl

[natalia_la_loca]

To the OP, how much did u pay for that quantity if you don't mind me asking?

I paid $2.50 per shrimp, plus $15 shipping. It's more than some sellers charge, but these are captive bred.

 

Set up a reefbowl I think as long as certain guidelines are followed, these systems can thrive for a long time and are very economical to set up and maintain.

If you were in canada, I would give you some of my tiny mysis shrimp. they would rock your bowl.

That would be fantastic I won't add any crustaceans for quite a while because I'm dipping all corals in Bayer insecticide, and there will surely be trace amounts of it in the bowl. Once I have a good coral population going and after lots of water changes, I might add some live mysis, I like that idea.

[natalia_la_loca]

I got a new macro lens attachment for my phone

 

 

 

 

 

[yoshii]

[Enchelycore808]

I paid $2.50 per shrimp, plus $15 shipping. It's more than some sellers charge, but these are captive bred.

Set up a reefbowl I think as long as certain guidelines are followed, these systems can thrive for a long time and are very economical to set up and maintain.

 

That would be fantastic I won't add any crustaceans for quite a while because I'm dipping all corals in Bayer insecticide, and there will surely be trace amounts of it in the bowl. Once I have a good coral population going and after lots of water changes, I might add some live mysis, I like that idea.

Maybe I will one day. I can barely keep up with the tanks I have now lol!

[natalia_la_loca]

Maybe I will one day. I can barely keep up with the tanks I have now lol!

 

Yeah, I wouldn't advise it if you can barely keep up with the tanks you've got. Although I have to say, this reefbowl is SOOO much less work than either of my previous tanks It is a dream to maintain.

 

The smartphone macro lens also came with a wide-angle lens attachment, which works well for capturing the dimensions of a bowl.

 

Some of the opae'ula in the shrimpbowl are bright red now. I'm basically in love with this bowl.

 

This is the frag of Unique Corals fire hornets. They haven't recovered their color yet but are opening well now. On the right you can see a couple of hydroids that I haven't smothered with superglue yet, but I've made a lot of progress. This frag plug was covered in hydroids when I brought it home.

 

Yesterday I did the weekly feeding of the reefbowl, this time with Rods Food Coral Blend, and did another water change a few hours later along with gluing some more hydroids and three more vermetid tubes. I also made my first use of 35% hydrogen peroxide in this bowl; the digitata had come in with a little hair algae on two branch tips that had gone necrotic at some point. I didn't keep the peroxide on long because it was in direct contact with live coral tissue, so we'll see if it kills the hair algae. And finally, I gently tugged the xenia away from the main rock structure again as it keeps wanting to attach itself there.

 

This is my first euphyllia, and I gave it kind of a lot of food, which I'm pretty sure it ingested. But later on I found two big lumps of Rods Food-colored organic matter at the bottom of the tank as I was doing the water change. I'm pretty sure the euphyllia took in more food than it could handle at one sitting and spit some of it out.

 

All in all, things are going well in picosphere country...

[ReefWeeds]

looking good What macro lens attachments did you get?

[natalia_la_loca]

looking good What macro lens attachments did you get?

It's called the TECHO Universal Professional HD Camera Lens Kit. $25 on Amazon. It's no substitute for a DSLR, but it is cheap and convenient and overall a great value.

[holy carp]

It's cool how the curve of the bowls naturally magnify the things inside. It's already like macro.

[Cencalfishguy56]

It's called the TECHO Universal Professional HD Camera Lens Kit. $25 on Amazon. It's no substitute for a DSLR, but it is cheap and convenient and overall a great value.

my budget:)

[natalia_la_loca]

It's cool how the curve of the bowls naturally magnify the things inside. It's already like macro.

Yup, that's a big part of the appeal of bowls to me. Makes a little frag look big

[Deleted User 9]

Peace Natalia.

 

Your Reef Jar looks great!

Hope all works out well.

Keep an eye on the Xenia's because they will creep under and choke some of your Corals.

Love the simplicity of Bowl, Jar, Vase Reef Keeping.

Much Success and Happiness...

 

Some People Keep

Cookies and Candies,

In A Cookie or Candy Jar.

We Keep Live Corals

& Inverts In Ours.

 

^{Blessings All..}

[natalia_la_loca]

Peace Natalia.

 

Your Reef Jar looks great!

Hope all works out well.

Keep an eye on the Xenia's because they will creep under and choke some of your Corals.

Love the simplicity of Bowl, Jar, Vase Reef Keeping.

Much Success and Happiness...

 

Some People Keep

Cookies and Candies,

In A Cookie or Candy Jar.

We Keep Live Corals

& Inverts In Ours.

 

^{Blessings All..}

 

Thank you thank you I'm really enjoying the simplicity of this system.

 

I'm keeping a close eye on the xenia and plan to frag it regularly. Hopefully I can keep it under control, I enjoy seeing its movement in the bowl and it really seems to like the water conditions I'm providing.

 

Last night I covered the two white diodes in the center of the lamp with white artist tape, so now I have 4 whites + 6 blues. The difference is fairly subtle, but the blue light is more prevalent now.

 

I'm starting to see a little hair algae elsewhere in the bowl now, presumably brought in by the digitata frag, so I've added a trochus snail to help keep it from spreading too quickly. Will treat with 35% hydrogen peroxide in any areas where the snail isn't keeping up.

[Deleted User 9]

Peace. If you look out the window when it's Sunny, then you look into your Jar Reef, you will see the difference. You will see the Blues making more of a difference with less White. 2 White Diodes covered is a BIG difference. As per any type of " Bad Algae", you should never introduce them to the Reef. If you purchased a Coral with it, you should remove it immediately. Even if you have to lose some of the good Coral.

 

I always Dip Corals, a must!!! And if I get a Coral with a frag plug , I remove the Coral and change the plug after Dipping the Corals. You don't want to get Nudis, Flat Worms, Red Bugs, etc..No matter where you get the Corals from, please Dip and change the Frag Plugs.

 

Prevention is easier and more effective than trying to Eliminate and Cure.

 

Hope it works out.

 

Blessings All..

[natalia_la_loca]

Peace. If you look out the window when it's Sunny, then you look into your Jar Reef, you will see the difference. You will see the Blues making more of a difference with less White. 2 White Diodes covered is a BIG difference. As per any type of " Bad Algae", you should never introduce them to the Reef. If you purchased a Coral with it, you should remove it immediately. Even if you have to lose some of the good Coral.

 

I always Dip Corals, a must!!! And if I get a Coral with a frag plug , I remove the Coral and change the plug after Dipping the Corals. You don't want to get Nudis, Flat Worms, Red Bugs, etc..No matter where you get the Corals from, please Dip and change the Frag Plugs.

 

Prevention is easier and more effective than trying to Eliminate and Cure.

 

Hope it works out.

 

Blessings All..

 

What do you use to dip your corals? I dipped all my frags with Bayer insecticide and removed all frag plugs that were removable (not always feasible with zoa frags, and the leptoseris and monti had encrusted over most of their plugs).

 

In retrospect, I probably should have treated the hair algae on the digitata frag with peroxide immediately on arrival (or passed the frag up entirely). Given Brandon's reported success in using 35% peroxide to kill algae in his vase reef, I was perhaps too complacent about the hair algae threat. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it under control.

[Deleted User 9]

 

What do you use to dip your corals? I dipped all my frags with Bayer insecticide and removed all frag plugs that were removable (not always feasible with zoa frags, and the leptoseris and monti had encrusted over most of their plugs).

 

In retrospect, I probably should have treated the hair algae on the digitata frag with peroxide immediately on arrival (or passed the frag up entirely). Given Brandon's reported success in using 35% peroxide to kill algae in his vase reef, I was perhaps too complacent about the hair algae threat. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it under control.

Peace.

 

I use Reef Dip by SeaChem. The Bayer Dip is fine also. Just make sure it's dipped in clean water before placing back into your Jar Reef. As per dipping the Montipora with Peroxide, the Algae will die. So will that part of the Montipora. I know it looks nice to have the corals already encrusting. But it that coral had Bad Algae already, it will be a matter of time before that pretty encrusted frag takes on the hairy look and the spores will be all over the Jar Reef fast!!

 

I rather clip the frag off the plug, lose some of the encrusting, and place a clean Coral with a Clean Plug, and let the Coral encrust and stay healthy in the Vase Reef. They encrust fast enough. One or Two months that you wait for the Coral to encrust nicely to the plug or rock is much better than fighting Algae for the next 1-2 months.

 

As per Brandon's treatment for Algae, it does work. But Brandon also advise that Prevention is Key. I've scored some great deals on Frags with Algae on the Plug, and on the bottom of where it's encrusting on the Corals. But when I get home, I immediately CHOP the Frag down, lose the encrusting coral and the frag plug, and re-glue the frag onto a new rock or clean, algae free, pest free, frag plug.

 

That's how I'v avoided all these problems in Maritza The Vase Reef and All. It's a salvageable situation and will be saved.

 

Blessings All.

[natalia_la_loca]

Peace.

 

I use Reef Dip by SeaChem. The Bayer Dip is fine also. Just make sure it's dipped in clean water before placing back into your Jar Reef. As per dipping the Montipora with Peroxide, the Algae will die. So will that part of the Montipora. I know it looks nice to have the corals already encrusting. But it that coral had Bad Algae already, it will be a matter of time before that pretty encrusted frag takes on the hairy look and the spores will be all over the Jar Reef fast!!

 

I rather clip the frag off the plug, lose some of the encrusting, and place a clean Coral with a Clean Plug, and let the Coral encrust and stay healthy in the Vase Reef. They encrust fast enough. One or Two months that you wait for the Coral to encrust nicely to the plug or rock is much better than fighting Algae for the next 1-2 months.

 

As per Brandon's treatment for Algae, it does work. But Brandon also advise that Prevention is Key. I've scored some great deals on Frags with Algae on the Plug, and on the bottom of where it's encrusting on the Corals. But when I get home, I immediately CHOP the Frag down, lose the encrusting coral and the frag plug, and re-glue the frag onto a new rock or clean, algae free, pest free, frag plug.

 

That's how I'v avoided all these problems in Maritza The Vase Reef and All. It's a salvageable situation and will be saved.

 

Blessings All.

 

Excellent tips. In my desire to be gentle with my corals, I sometimes put them in danger by not being aggressive enough about circumventing potential problems. I'll take your advice to heart. Thank you so much for all of your thoughtful responses!

[natalia_la_loca]

Here are some pics from before and after taping off two of the white diodes. Sorry, I didn't clean the glass It catches a lot of little bubbles.

 

Before

 

After

 

The neon sinularia is perking up since I moved it a bit further away from the airline; you can see it peeking from the back. My hope is that it will grow in height and complement other corals in front that have more subtle colors. I have it sitting on its own loose frag plug in the back so as to move it around if necessary.