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SeaFurn's Reef Bowl


SeaFurn

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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. Natalia_la-loca’s reef bowl has sucked me in again! I am completely mesmerized by it and what she’s been able to do with it! It's so colorful and vibrant and she (along with the help of many of you) have come up with some pretty creative solutions when challenges came up. 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.

 

Rather than recreate the wheel, my plan is to use hers as a guide for my own reef bowl with the hope of getting it stable and looking half as good in the future! My LFS thinks I’m crazy (which makes all of you crazy as well) and doesn’t recommend anything less than 20G. Ha!

 

So here’s the start to a build thread. Hope you’ll follow along.

 

FBS - 1/14/17

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Reef bowl - from Home Goods. Slightly more than 3G with nothing in it. I suspect it will hold around 2G when sand and rock are in.

 

I’m also going to use an ABi 12W PAR38 Tuna Blue bulb. I wasn’t sure the more expensive Coral Compulsion bulbs were worth it.

Up until yesterday I was having trouble finding a fixture that would put it at the right height (15”-16”) above the bowl. That changed when I went into my teenage son’s room (which I try to avoid as much as possible) and saw the IKEA floor lamp he was using next to his bed for reading. It’s perfect. I didn’t even realize he had it and so I snagged it!

 

Found this lid yesterday. Came from an acrylic container that I ended up disassembling. It already has a rubber gasket on the bottom and it fits the bowl opening perfectly but I still intend to use large airline tubing around the rim of the bowl itself like natalia_la_loca’s to create enough clearance for the heater cord, temperature controller probe, and airline tubing. I don’t anticipate much evaporation between water changes or salt creep in general and I hope there will be enough gas exchange.

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I’m working the rockscape. Torn between these two options.

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I like the arch of the one on the left but the other with lower flat area might be more functional for coral placement. Thoughts?

I have a few other small pieces that I might throw in behind these main pieces I plan to use no more than ½” of sand (CaribSea Live Original Grade) on the bottom.


Off to mix up some salt water and put the pieces together!

 

Edited by SeaFurn
Pictures readded after site upgrade.
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Got everything set-up today and started the cycle using Red Sea Reef Mature Pro. Funny that you just need to use drips instead of dropper full doses with this size bowl!

 

The only snag I've run into is my small Tetra 50W heater doesn't seem to work with the Finnex Max-300 digital heater controller. I tested it to make sure it was working using my 100W heater for salt mixing and it worked fine....granted that one is a Finnex too. The controller is rated for 300W so it should be able to handle the 50W heater. It must be something with the circuitry of the Tetra. So for now I've just plugged the heater directly into the power strip. Will need to find a very small heater that's compatible with the temperature controller. I've see some posts on this site that address small heaters so I'll start there but if anyone has a strong reco please let me know.

 

Also, I'm not running an airstone at the end of the airline tubing in the rear of the bowl but I'm not sure I'm getting enough water movement. I may T the airline tubing near the bottom of the bowl and run a branch to the left and right a couple of inches.

 

Here's how it looks today.

 

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natalia_la_loca

You're off to a great start :) Great choice of bowl. I suggest you invest in a pair of long tweezers if you don't have some already--will help you avoid having to reach your hand in there. Can't wait to see how this evolves.

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Wow another pico!! :D

So excited for you!

Yes people will call us crazy for setting up tiny bowls/jars/vases as a reef tank. And what's more funny we only use air bubbles, an led lamp and a heater to successfully grow sps, lps, zoas and other corals.

 

Im so excited with your setup, mine is still fairly young at 4 months. And through the months and years we can see how a tiny bowl/jar/vase evolves into a fully functioning reef with vibrant colors. With a bonus of not ripping our pocket with bills haha.

 

Please post pics when your cycle is done! I really cant wait for this setup! :wub:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's the update. Getting close to being cycled - I think. I'm on day 14 using the Red Sea Reef Mature Pro program.

Did a small water change today. Water cleared up within an hour or so.

Params (after water change): Ammonia 0.2, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 7, alk 10dKH

Haven't had to use the KH Coraline Gro buffer that comes with the kit so far since alk has never been below the 8.4 dKH threshold to use it.

 

Haven't been running the light and there's no algae to speak of.

 

Still need to get a small inconspicuous heater that will work with the Finnex temperature controller. The heater I have has been working keeping the water temp constant but don't want to risk it's thermostat going bad and cooking the coral.

 

Will check ammonia again tomorrow to see if it's down to 0. If so I think I'll be able to add the first coral next weekend.

 

Love the sound of the bubbling water in the living room now!

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So all the parameters were right where they needed to be so I added an acan and a zoa yesterday! My first corals!

I started with the lights out and then used a piece of tissue paper over the lid as my DIY method of dimming the light a little for acclimating them. It worked great and interestingly it removed the disco ball effect while it was on there. I removed the paper mid-day today and everything seems fine. Now this newbie has to figure out how take decent pictures. The one below will have to do for now - it's terrible though!

(Makes me cringe after just looking at Metrokat's latest tank photo.)

 
First Corals.jpg
 

Still not sure the air bubbles are providing enough flow.

And it turns out the bowl holds 3 gallons after rock and sand. A little more than I thought.

 
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You can try snapseed to edit your photos :D

Also for reducing the light's intensity I use masking tape and Nathalie uses artist tape I think.

 

Since its 3 gallons it can hold more corals! Mine is only 1.7 gallons of water

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update:

Upgraded the air pump to a Whisper 40 and definitely getting more flow now!  I'm hoping it's enough for the size of the bowl.  The curvature of the bowl helps get the water into a good circular flow. 

 

Water parameters: temp 78.5  salinity 1.026  pH 8.2  Nitrates 1-2   KH 10.5dKH  

Checked CA and MG just so I know where they are after a water change - CA 430  MG 1380

Doing 100% water changes each week.

Rocks aren't so white anymore (see below) and getting some diatoms now I think.  Took the FBS below with regular LED light on...still can't quite figure out how to get a good picture with my iphone and the PAR 38 bulb on.  This is the best I can do with that so far after editing it in Snapseed. Thanks for your help with that @HammerLover.

 

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FBS 2/19

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A little concerned with bubbles coming up from under the acan.  Dinos?  I'm going to be removing it from the plug next weekend and mount it on a new one or on the rocks if I can pick a place I like. 

 

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And got another frag of zoas today (right side of FBS).  They opened right up after dipping and getting them in the tank.  I'm going to fill the lower part of the rock on the right completely with zoas!  

 

Hopefully I can get some decent pictures soon. 

 

 

 

 

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natalia_la_loca

Looks great. I doubt the bubbles on that acan are anything bad. However, am I seeing a little bit of hair algae, or some hydroids or aiptasia, on the right side below the bubbles? I'm not sure because the pic is blurry.

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Dipped the zoas in peroxide and spot treated the acan's frag plug earlier in the week.  Seems to have done the trick for now.  

I know new tanks go through an algae cycle.  My rocks were brown, I assume diatoms, and now they are starting to look green. Is this jus part of the normal cycle?

 

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Actually picked up a trochus snail yesterday who is a machine and has already done a number on the algae on the rocks! I swear it must not have stopped cleaning all night.

I had been waiting to get one because up until now there hadn't seemed to enough algae in the bowl to keep it alive. 

 

Still working on getting some decent photos.  May need to borrow my son's DSLR.

 

 

 

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  • SeaFurn changed the title to SeaFurn's Reef Bowl Build - Dip Star Polyps in Bayer?

I also got a frag of star polyps yesterday.  I followed my normal process of dipping in Bayer, rinsed well, and got them in the bowl.  They didn't open up yesterday but that didn't bother me as they still looked a healthy bright purple.  Tonight they look dark purple and more shriveled.  So, they are either really pissed off stlll or I killed them!  Anyone else dip star polyps in Bayer?   

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Good news! I didn't kill them!!  A few brave polyps decide to check things out. Hopefully more decide to represent tomorrow! Ha! 

Cell phone pic - and tried some Snapseed adjustments. And it seems like taking decent pictures would be the easy part of this hobby...

 

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Day 46 of my reef bowl and here's my collection. And the picture's not half bad - at least for me! My throchus snail is in the background. I'm amazed at how effective he's been at cleaning up the bowl! 

 

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  • SeaFurn changed the title to SeaFurn's Reef Bowl Build - Day 46

Wow, they look great! Are those polyps the same ones you were worried about?

 

Also, when you dip in peroxide, is that the 3% solution that you can easily find anywhere? Do you dip in both bayer AND peroxide?

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8 hours ago, Rain24 said:

Wow, they look great! Are those polyps the same ones you were worried about?

 

Also, when you dip in peroxide, is that the 3% solution that you can easily find anywhere? Do you dip in both bayer AND peroxide?

Yes, those were the polyps I thought I killed! Can you believe that??  I guess my expectation was that they'd open up much sooner.  The zoas open up quickly the times I've dipped them. I'll be interested to see how angry the polyps are after tomorrow's water change.

 

Yes, the peroxide is the 3% kind - Kroger brand 57 cents haha  ..mixed 50/50 with tank water.  I dip in Bayer when initially adding them to the bowl. The peroxide has only been to treat for algae and I've done at a separate time. 

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Water change yesterday and glued down the frags into more permanent positions. Will make algae cleaning a little tougher since I can't just pull them out of the bowl to do so. Everyone seems to be happy in their new spots. Only concern is one side of the acan is a little shaded - at least more than it was. Not sure this is a big deal or not. Will monitor.

 

And got this one today! It's so bright I swear it's still gonna glow when the lights go off!! (Another cell phone pic so not the best.)

 

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  • SeaFurn changed the title to SeaFurn's Reef Bowl

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