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Dawn's pony garden.


vlangel

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3 hours ago, Pjanssen said:

as always, :wub:

Thank you Penny!  It is codium a green macro algae.  Its really nice and is soft and rubbery so it make great hitching posts.

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20180120_200202

Some goodies for the seahorse tank.  The most exciting find was a yellow frilly sponge.  I added 3 more peppermint shrimp, 2 margarita snails, and 1 blue legged hermit.

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Ok, so I have been pondering for a while of making a BIG change in the seahorse garden.  I can't believe that I went to the trouble to build this tank so that it can be bb and now I am thinking of going back to a sandbed!  I love and I hate how clean it is...am I crazy?  Its so clean that its practically sterile, which is great for the ponies but for someone who loves a natural look its really lacking. 

 

I read an article on DSBs which I have always had until seahorses came into my life, and I am starting to wonder if I was wrong in the assumption that they are not good for ponies.  I am thinking of adding a partial DSB.  Not only could I get the biological benefits but also I think it could make for a more interesting scape since I am thinking of creating a multi-level.  I will use some of my large rock to make a natural rock wall to hold back sand.  That rock wall could be adorned with macros and coral and sponges.  I may have to epoxy smaller rocks to plug holes.  The DSB area will be a sandbed plateau, again where coral and macros can adorn it.   

 

I will need to keep the ponies in my 30 XH cycled emergency tank while I am doing this since I expect that there will be die off from the buried portion of LR.  I can move them back into the seahorse garden as soon as I don't detect ammonia or nitrites.  It will be a while before the DSB is functioning as such so I will leave the DSB in the sump's fuge intact for 6 months or so until I believe the DSB is functioning in the display.  Then I can remove it so that the fuge has more room for rock and macros.  

 

There of course is some risk which is why I have been pondering this for months.  I don't want to compromise the ponies which is why I have been reading so much about DSBs.  I am finally to the place that I think I can do this and not put my beloved ponies in too much danger.  Any change is hard but nothing new is learned without testing some new ground and I think I am up for the challenge...stay tuned!

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Interesting idea.

 

You know, those new Stax rocks seem like they would make it easy to build a nice looking "retaining wall" for the sand. You wouldn't have to worry about the LR die-off since it's dry rock. 

Just a thought. It may not be the look you're going for.

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40 minutes ago, fishfreak0114 said:

Sounds like an interesting plan!  I can’t wait to see it :) Best of luck with it!

Thanks, I hope I am not being foolhardy. ?

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24 minutes ago, SeaFurn said:

Interesting idea.

 

You know, those new Stax rocks seem like they would make it easy to build a nice looking "retaining wall" for the sand. You wouldn't have to worry about the LR die-off since it's dry rock. 

Just a thought. It may not be the look you're going for.

Thanks Seafurn for the tip, I had not heard of those.  I will check them out but they are probably not the look I am going for however.  I am not as much looking for a retaining wall 'look' as a retaining wall 'function'.  My 2 enormous dense rocks have the weight to hold the sand back and already have coral and macro algaes growing out of them.  That way I know the pressure of the sand wont collapse them and they will already have a natural mature look.  Those 2 properties make it worth going through the die off which I only anticipate to be 2 or 3 weeks with all the biological function in my tank.

11 minutes ago, Sharbuckle said:

Very interesting. Really interested to see how it turns out. 

Thanks Sharbuckle, no pain, no gain, right?

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2018-01-23_04-49-06

 

Here is what the rock wall will look like.  The coral and macros will not be as crowded because some can be up on the plateau of sand.

 

2018-01-23_04-48-16

This is what the wall looks like from behind where the DSB will be.  I am sad to cover up so many cryptic sponges(all those black spots on the rock)  but its the way the rock fit together the best.

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I am going to look at this layout for a few days as I can still go back to what I had been doing at this point.  Once I add sand I have somewhat made my decision.

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Christopher Marks

I think it would look really neat to fill that back corner with sand, and give you some new surface area to place coral and macro. I wonder if you could just slowly build up the sand bed over a few weeks time, to minimize any big changes or potential die off? A half inch a week, perhaps?

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I'd think there would be a more drastic worry when it comes to removing the old sand from your fuge than when you add the new sand. There will be minimal die-off from the edges of the LR that is buried, however, the system will be able to neutralize said die-off considering the maturity and size of your system. I'd worry most about when you go to remove the fuge sand. All that gunk that has built up over the extended amount of time you've run the DSB in your fuge will be released at once and it might be enough to overwhelm the system. 

 

Maybe just disconnect the fuge and then do a big water change when that time comes? Just spitballing here

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5 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

I think it would look really neat to fill that back corner with sand, and give you some new surface area to place coral and macro. I wonder if you could just slowly build up the sand bed over a few weeks time, to minimize any big changes or potential die off? A half inch a week, perhaps?

Thanks CM, I am hoping for a more natural look.  I think I will be able to just fill it up an inch or a wee less at a time and not even have to move the ponies.  Just add sand every 2 or 3 weeks.  Here an interesting link I read that subsea had posted elsewhere.  After reading it and remembering how many DSBs I have had that were maintenance free and every one of them were a positive thing for my tank, I became sold on the idea.

 

http://www.ronshimek.com/deep_sand_beds.html

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4 hours ago, Pinner Reef said:

I'd think there would be a more drastic worry when it comes to removing the old sand from your fuge than when you add the new sand. There will be minimal die-off from the edges of the LR that is buried, however, the system will be able to neutralize said die-off considering the maturity and size of your system. I'd worry most about when you go to remove the fuge sand. All that gunk that has built up over the extended amount of time you've run the DSB in your fuge will be released at once and it might be enough to overwhelm the system. 

 

Maybe just disconnect the fuge and then do a big water change when that time comes? Just spitballing here

Thanks Pinner for the heads up but I can just turn my return pump off and let the 2 powerheads in the DT provide flow.  I also have a prizm pro hob skimmer to help with filtration while I am removing the sandbed.  Its an hour or 2 job at most.  I will just keep the rock and macro algaes in buckets of saltwater until all the sand is gone.  

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