Natalia’s reefbowl: 8 years old!

[brandon429]

what was I going to do, not click petshrimp.com

 

I ordered a bunch because I had to, not because I know if this is a good season to be shipping shrimp in the cold lol but I figured its time to ship em. whoever remains are the adaptable ones and I predict they're all pretty darn tough. that's the ideal species for my little fw setup so glad you mentioned. how long does the default shipping they use take>?

[kirbaay]

So legit! you could almost pick this up and move it around your house

[natalia_la_loca]

what was I going to do, not click petshrimp.com

 

I ordered a bunch because I had to, not because I know if this is a good season to be shipping shrimp in the cold lol but I figured its time to ship em. whoever remains are the adaptable ones and I predict they're all pretty darn tough. that's the ideal species for my little fw setup so glad you mentioned. how long does the default shipping they use take>?

Awesome, I look forward to hearing about your experiences with them Mustafa is very careful about shipping at optimal times weatherwise. He held my order for at least a couple weeks until conditions were warm enough to permit safe shipping. There is no reason to expect any casualties if shipping is done properly. These shrimp can live 2 decades or more.

 

By the way, these shrimp need brackish water. They don't do well long term in fw or sw.

 

So legit! you could almost pick this up and move it around your house

Exactly

[natalia_la_loca]

So here are a few corals I haven't focused on as much lately...

 

The branches of the nephthea are really beautiful. I love how they sway in the current.

 

This acan is taking on some really nice colors. It seems the better colors come out in the more shaded parts.

 

The Captain America palythoa has a new head.

 

The Mountain Dew chalice has another new head. Again, I'm planning to trade this one in for a different coral because the chalice is so aggressive. (Plus, my partner was like, "That one is ugly!")

[brandon429]

that stinks, I thought they were euryhaline and not anything on that site says brackish, did check. letdown maybe I can negotiate w him only to take ten bucks from me for the mis order, and not charge me the rest nor ship them. my fault for not researching, but it would have been great to read on the description the unique habitats required, it sounded like zero specials required. thanks for heads up, maybe time to intercept

 

maybe I can acclimate them to the reefbowl if poss. I sent him a mail seeing if he'd rescind

[natalia_la_loca]

Yup, probably best to cancel the order if it isn't what you want to go for. Here are the instructions on how to look after them:

 

https://www.petshrimp.com/set-up-a-supershrimp-tank-step-by-step-instructions/

[SeaFurn]

Hi Natalia! I'm new to NR but have been lurking as a guest for awhile. I had a reef tank a long long time ago and I've been wanting to get back in the hobby. I gotta say your reef bowl has sucked me in again! I am completely mesmerized by it and what you've been able to do with it! It's so colorful and vibrant and you've come up with some pretty creative solutions when you've run into challenges. I've also enjoyed many of the other nano and pico tank threads on the site and this month's TOTM is out of this world.

But, as they say - imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - so my plan is to use yours as a guide for my own reef bowl with the hope of getting it stable and looking half as good as yours in the future! I've got a cool bowl - it's not a sphere but more fat bottomed (think brandy snifter) which gives it a little more space to spread out the rock and a wider viewing area when looking down into it. It's a little over 3 gallons with nothing in it and I suspect it'll be right around 2 gallons when sand and rock are in. I still have some things to figure out with it like you did - like finding a lid that fits and how I'm going to get my PAR38 bulb hanging over it at the right height but I'll be working on that while the bowl cycles. I've got all other critical stuff I need and I hope to get it wet this weekend! Just wanted you to know and I'm sure I'll have many questions for you and this awesome NR community!

[natalia_la_loca]

 

so my plan is to use yours as a guide for my own reef bowl with the hope of getting it stable and looking half as good as yours in the future!

Thank you so much and welcome to NR! I think a bowl/vase/jar/brandy-snifter reef is an awesome way to get back into the hobby. I was totally burned out on my bigger reef tanks (even my 8 gallon was a PIA) and the reefbowl was a perfect alternative. I spend far more time admiring it than I do maintaining it.

 

Have you set up a thread yet? I'm more than happy to help in any way I can.

[SelectedByNature]

The artistry and minimalism displayed in this thread are beautiful and inspiring. (Doubly so being interpreted by a person who knows nothing of art or finer points.)

 

I'm just starting my first reef but I now have elegant ideas for new projects! Clearly going bigger doesn't have to be everything in this hobby... Thank you for showing me that!

 

P.S. Your jab at "zero credit card debt" was both cleaver and uncomfortable

 

Cheers,

[natalia_la_loca]

The artistry and minimalism displayed in this thread are beautiful and inspiring. (Doubly so being interpreted by a person who knows nothing of art or finer points.)

I'm just starting my first reef but I now have elegant ideas for new projects! Clearly going bigger doesn't have to be everything in this hobby... Thank you for showing me that!

P.S. Your jab at "zero credit card debt" was both cleaver and uncomfortable

,

Thank you! I really do hope to inspire others. And also show that you can have a beautiful reef system without piling up credit card debt

[SeaFurn]

Thank you so much and welcome to NR! I think a bowl/vase/jar/brandy-snifter reef is an awesome way to get back into the hobby. I was totally burned out on my bigger reef tanks (even my 8 gallon was a PIA) and the reefbowl was a perfect alternative. I spend far more time admiring it than I do maintaining it.

 

Have you set up a thread yet? I'm more than happy to help in any way I can.

 

Yes, I started a thread! Here's the link:

 

SeaFurn's Reef Bowl Build

[HammerLover]

That captain america paly is so dreaaamy

I have a one polyp frag and Im getting impatient seeing it alone in its white frag disk hahaha.

 

And that Nephthea is lovely, I decided not to add a hammer in my cookie jar since Im planning to add a small nephthea at the back space. Your bowl reef is looking really really amazing!!

[natalia_la_loca]

That captain america paly is so dreaaamy

I have a one polyp frag and Im getting impatient seeing it alone in its white frag disk hahaha.

 

And that Nephthea is lovely, I decided not to add a hammer in my cookie jar since Im planning to add a small nephthea at the back space. Your bowl reef is looking really really amazing!!

 

Yup, the Captain Americas are really pretty. And they don't seem to grow at overwhelming speed in my reefbowl, which is something I was worried about. True palythoas reached plague proportions in one of my old tanks. Yours will grow in time.

 

Good call on adding a nephthea. Nephtheas seem to love vase reefs

[zoohed]

This is just stunning! I'm just getting back in to setting up a tank and this has given me ideas for another build already. So I have a question. I'm guessing you're on the east side since I've seen you say Cherry Corals and if I recall that's where they are. Is that the LFS you refer to or another shop. I've been out of the game for a few years and didn't think Cherry had a storefront.

[Slowtwitch]

This is just stunning! I'm just getting back in to setting up a tank and this has given me ideas for another build already. So I have a question. I'm guessing you're on the east side since I've seen you say Cherry Corals and if I recall that's where they are. Is that the LFS you refer to or another shop. I've been out of the game for a few years and didn't think Cherry had a storefront.

They dont have a storefront, but you can visit the warehouse if you make an appointment. I recommend going.

[zoohed]

They dont have a storefront, but you can visit the warehouse if you make an appointment. I recommend going.

Cool thanks for the heads up I will definitely do that if I make a run to that side of the state.

[natalia_la_loca]

+1000 to what Slowtwitch said

[natalia_la_loca]

Here's a night shot of the side of the reefbowl. The bubblegum digitata has all indications of becoming invasive. Pretty soon I'm going to have to cover its right edge with superglue so it doesn't overrun the rasta colony to its right.

 

Generally speaking, I've not been super satisfied with the growth of zoanthids in the reefbowl. Mary (of Maritza the Vase Reef fame) has suggested that the light may be too intense for them. This week, I raised the par38 from 16" (41 cm) above the water line to 18" (46 cm). The zoas seem to be opening more now, but time will tell.

 

L to R: rings of fire and searchlights

 

Rastas with rings of fire

 

The burnt orange digitata has become pink under the new Tuna Blue par38.

 

The reds of the Red Planet have also become more pink. I hope they don't disappear.

 

The chalice-burnt acan continues its recovery.

 

I've had the pink goniopora for a month, and it continues to do really well. Maybe I should get another goni.

 

The green slimer acro has completely encrusted its plug and is now encrusting on the rockscape. I probably should have given that plug a trim, that round shape sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

Here are some of the babies on the blastomussa.

 

And a top-down FBS.

[teenyreef]

Looks great!

 

I've seen the same thing sometimes with my zoas on frag plugs - they only seem to want to grow on the edges. I've assumed it's too much light too, but the searchlights I sent you seem to do very well in high light. So it may be related or combined with some other factor. My new guess is that maybe there's something about the frag plug - my zoas that are on little pieces of rubble rock on top of a frag plug don't seem to do the same thing.

[natalia_la_loca]

Looks great!

 

I've seen the same thing sometimes with my zoas on frag plugs - they only seem to want to grow on the edges. I've assumed it's too much light too, but the searchlights I sent you seem to do very well in high light. So it may be related or combined with some other factor.

Bottom line: zoas are mysterious critters. By comparison, SPS are weirdly predictable and easy in this kind of system. They're like the GSP of vase/bowl/jar reefs.

[teenyreef]

Bottom line: zoas are mysterious critters. By comparison, SPS are weirdly predictable and easy in this kind of system. They're like the GSP of vase/bowl/jar reefs.

So bizarre...

[SeaFurn]

Bottom line: zoas are mysterious critters. By comparison, SPS are weirdly predictable and easy in this kind of system. They're like the GSP of vase/bowl/jar reefs.

 

I was thinking I was going to have some zoas be the first corals in my bowl when it's finished cycling. Based on what you're seeing would you recommend that or should I start with something else?

[natalia_la_loca]

I was thinking I was going to have some zoas be the first corals in my bowl when it's finished cycling. Based on what you're seeing would you recommend that or should I start with something else?

I think zoas would be fine to start out your system. It's just that over the long term, they seem to go through periods of being pinched or closed, more so than the other corals I've kept in the reefbowl. You would probably be okay starting with zoas, montipora digitata, acanthastrea, Xenia (don't put it on your main scape, it is truly invasive), blastos, or nephthea.

[natalia_la_loca]

New frag Last week I saw this beautiful Mr. Freeze leptoseris for dirt cheap at the LFS. I decided to be good and not pick it up, but when I looked this morning and saw it was still there, I had to bring it home. Based on the other leptos I have, this one should be a slow but steady grower in the reefbowl.

 

 

The Duncan now has four babies. The main head is still the easiest to photograph.

 

I'm not wild about the color of the main body of the tricolor valida acro under the Tuna Blue LED, but the blue growth tips and green polyps are really pretty. And it's growing very well, so I shouldn't complain.

 

The zoas seem to be responding well to my raising the light a couple inches. Of course they decided to scrunch up when I turned off the airline and took their picture. Still pretty though.

[teenyreef]

I like Mr. Freeze

 

Glad the lighting change helped the zoas, too.I guess it all boils down to if it's not working, try something else