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Samnaz's 20L (upgrading to IM Nuvo Black 30L)


samnaz

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16 minutes ago, samnaz said:

Frogspawn growths or vermetids? or both?

lol the vermetids.  No idea what the frogspawn growths are but might be new heads.

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3 hours ago, samnaz said:

I have read that frogspawn typically grow new heads by spitting at the mouth, or less commonly by growing from a stick form near the base. Something I've noticed growing on my frogspawn fits neither of these descriptions. But if it's not a new head, what else could it be?

 

IMG_9484.thumb.JPG.3cd1e9ad0b924c26492a0e5fb2e13ba0.JPG

 

 

Also recently noticed a couple small ones on the other side, just starting to poke out.

 

IMG_9483.thumb.JPG.578f8dfebcecd6c3ade624c65e52f6e3.JPG

 

And yes, the vermetid snails are becoming a bit of a nuisance.

 

I should have taken your comment/concern more seriously months ago, @yungKitten. How did you take care of them? Just pluck em off with some tongs?


Yeah, mechanical removal is the way to go. As far as I know there's no biological or chemical way to combat them. It'll be a pain in the ass. To be fair, I've never tried superglue, so maybe that will be more effective.

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2 hours ago, yungKitten said:


Yeah, mechanical removal is the way to go. As far as I know there's no biological or chemical way to combat them. It'll be a pain in the ass. To be fair, I've never tried superglue, so maybe that will be more effective.

I usually just put a blob of glue over a tube when I find 'em.  I know other people do too...I am too lazy to scrape them all off lol.

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Gorgeous!  I had a cup coral of some sort once, the dots were whitish though (but it was also under T5 so that may have made a difference).

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My tank has sprung a leak!

 

IMG_9513.thumb.JPG.31daf58b6d97ac1657c07c21f62c4750.JPG

 

It's a very small leak, only a few droplets so far, as far as I can tell. It appears to be coming from the very top, I'm assuming between the glass and plastic rim.

 

Im guessing the best way to go about this would be drain some water and silicone the gaps? Doesn't silicone need to be dry to cure? HELP!

 

Since I don't have silicone, I'm going to lower the water level and hope that stops the leak.

 

Also... my AC is broken, it was 95 outside today and my tank temp has gone from 78 to 80. Everything seems fine and still alive.

 

Option two, move everything to the new tank sooner than I had planned...

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Got rocks from BRS, Reefcleaners, Aquamaxx and Marco! Way too much to choose from.

 

Some of the Marco rocks have what I assume to be dried up mold. It's greenish in color and powder like in substance. Perhaps they weren't cleaned hard enough. Anyone else have a similar  experience with their rocks?

 

Aquascaping fun/mess/struggles:

IMG_9530.thumb.JPG.30f7c16711a6c609471337831f5eed13.JPG

 

 

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NEW TANK IDEAS!

 

I am thinking about going with a Sulewsi Indonesia theme. Specifically the Lembeh Strait. Many scientists consider it one of the most biologically diverse areas of the ocean, and it certainly includes some of the strangest creatures that exist.

 

Substrate:

Keeping with the Lembeh theme, the black/mucky substrate is Lembeh's most defining feature (scuba-divers call it "Muck Diving") and it's definitely essential if I want to realistically recreate the place. Most reefers disagree, but I happen to love the look of dark sand. I think I'll go for it. Still not 100% sure.

 

Fish:

The Angler/Frogfish is one of Lembeh's super weird creatures, and it's my absolute favorite fish. I'm not a huge fan on the thought of keeping fish. Also really not a fan of collecting wild caught fish. So, if at all possible, I want captive bred fish. That leaves very limited options, and obviously... no Frogfish. I remain undecided on that for now. 

 

Corals:  (most importantly)

Aquacultured corals only. NO exceptions! Unless I will literally die if I can't have a certain wild coral, and I definitely don't see that happening. (Go ahead and call me a treehugger for being kind of semi-anti-wild-collection).

 

Now on to the photos....

 

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1 minute ago, samnaz said:

NEW TANK IDEAS!

 

I am thinking about going with a Sulewsi Indonesia theme. Specifically the Lembeh Strait. Many scientists consider it one of the most biologically diverse areas of the ocean, and it certainly includes some of the strangest creatures that exist.

 

Substrate:

Keeping with the Lembeh theme, the black/mucky substrate is Lembeh's most defining feature (scuba-divers call it "Muck Diving") and it's definitely essential if I want to realistically recreate the place. Most reefers disagree, but I happen to love the look of dark sand. I think I'll go for it. Still not 100% sure.

 

Fish:

The Angler/Frogfish is one of Lembeh's super weird creatures, and it's my absolute favorite fish. I'm not a huge fan on the thought of keeping fish. Also really not a fan of collecting wild caught fish. So, if at all possible, I want captive bred fish. That leaves very limited options, and obviously... no Frogfish. I remain undecided on that for now. 

 

Corals:  (most importantly)

Aquacultured corals only. NO exceptions! Unless I will literally die if I can't have a certain wild coral, and I definitely don't see that happening. (Go ahead and call me a treehugger for being kind of semi-anti-wild-collection).

 

Now on to the photos....

 

I like the idea of a Biotope. I love dark sand, I've used black sand in both of my tanks.  The parameters you have suggested are pretty strict. I wish you luck in your noble endeavor. The Tomato Clown is found in Indonesia (I'm not sure if they're in the specific region you stated.) and captive bred specimens are easy to find. Looking forward to seeing this develop.

P.S. What's your invert policy? 

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17 minutes ago, yungKitten said:

I like the idea of a Biotope. I love dark sand, I've used black sand in both of my tanks.  The parameters you have suggested are pretty strict. I wish you luck in your noble endeavor. The Tomato Clown is found in Indonesia (I'm not sure if they're in the specific region you stated.) and captive bred specimens are easy to find. Looking forward to seeing this develop.

P.S. What's your invert policy? 

 

Great question! I haven't given too much thought about acquiring inverts. Because, as far as I know, it's wild inverts or nothing for the most part. I plan to look into this a bit more. If captive bred is an option of course I prefer that, but I'm not at all opposed to the idea of acquiring wild specimens. I want certain inverts bad enough to care less... I feel selfish/guilty just saying that haha.

 

4 minutes ago, yungKitten said:

P.P.S. If you're up for the challenge, captive bred Mandarins exist.

 

Yeah! Well, I won't even consider it until I have a massive healthy pod population. We'll see. 

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Just now, samnaz said:

 

Great question! I haven't given too much thought about acquiring inverts. Because, as far as I know, it's wild inverts or nothing for the most part. I plan to look into this a bit more. If captive bred is an option of course I prefer that, but I'm not at all opposed to the idea of acquiring wild specimens. I want certain inverts bad enough to care less... I feel selfish/guilty just saying that haha.

Yeah, I've investigated this topic myself as well. ORA has a few things, but adding the Indonesia requirement really narrows the field. When I was inquiring about this, Weetie sent me here (http://www.ipsf.com/) as a source for an aquacultured CUC. I haven't stocked my tank yet, but I think I'm still going to get a cleaner shrimp. (and maybe an RFA or two) Making the tank All-aquacultured-except-for-the-shrimp. I wouldn't feel too guilty. In many places where reef aquarium livestock are caught it's like the best job a local can get. Thus canceling out any negativity caused by removing an invert from the ocean... right?

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24 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

Dark sand lends a very nice contrast to corals. :)

 

This is true. I just like dark stuff in general. The back of the tank is black too, and I plan on adding lots of deeper more boldly colored corals - purple, magenta, maroon, gold. Less neon colors. The exact opposite goal for most reef hobbyists. Unusual I know, but it's what I like!

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Nixperience
10 minutes ago, samnaz said:

 

This is true. I just like dark stuff in general. The back of the tank is black too, and I plan on adding lots of deeper more boldly colored corals - purple, magenta, maroon, gold. Less neon colors. The exact opposite goal for most reef hobbyists. Unusual I know, but it's what I like!

The deeper colors will seem brighter with the dark sand and black back. 

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1 hour ago, samnaz said:

 

This is true. I just like dark stuff in general. The back of the tank is black too, and I plan on adding lots of deeper more boldly colored corals - purple, magenta, maroon, gold. Less neon colors. The exact opposite goal for most reef hobbyists. Unusual I know, but it's what I like!

I prefer less neon, more nuanced/subtle color as well.  I had black sand a while back in a tank and had some little yellow and pink and white dwarf feather dusters that looked awesome against the black.  Think there's a few pics on my 1.6 thread in sig. :happy:

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On 6/25/2017 at 10:57 PM, yungKitten said:

Good answer! If you can find one, supposedly these guys eat pellets http://biotapalau.com/usa-wholesale-inquiries/

Ugh, now you've got me wanting one. Doesn't say where or how to go about ordering/purchasing one though. Their site says available direct-to-your-store, and they only sell wholesale, so I guess I'd have to contact the LFS's to see if they carry them, or ask them to place an order on my behalf? I'm not exactly sure how that works.  

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On 6/25/2017 at 10:54 PM, yungKitten said:

Yeah, I've investigated this topic myself as well. ORA has a few things, but adding the Indonesia requirement really narrows the field. When I was inquiring about this, Weetie sent me here (http://www.ipsf.com/) as a source for an aquacultured CUC. I haven't stocked my tank yet, but I think I'm still going to get a cleaner shrimp. (and maybe an RFA or two) Making the tank All-aquacultured-except-for-the-shrimp. I wouldn't feel too guilty. In many places where reef aquarium livestock are caught it's like the best job a local can get. Thus canceling out any negativity caused by removing an invert from the ocean... right?

Well... in my eyes that doesn't exactly cancel it out, but that's just me. And I care too much about protecting the ocean, more than anything else, even jobs (unless the job is helping the ocean, like collecting invasive species, replanting corals, research, etc). I know, I don't belong here on this forum, haha.

 

Where can I find a thread for your all-aquacultured-except-for-the-shrimp tank? I want to know more about this.

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Photos!

 

Forest Montipora, one of my favorites (plus super easy to frag and grows insanely fast). Anyone know what type of Montipora this is exactly?

35549375782_51ba7baedd_c.jpgIMG_2608-21 by Sam Naszradi, on Flickr

 

35549375032_df2661fbf6_c.jpgIMG_2604-20 by Sam Naszradi, on Flickr

 

I still don't know what species this one is. It was a freebie from an online purchase. Any ideas?

35549375712_8effec67da_c.jpgIMG_2617-20 by Sam Naszradi, on Flickr

 

35549374782_9c0898dea2_c.jpgIMG_2638-20 by Sam Naszradi, on Flickr

 

Ricordea splitting in two. Only took it 8 months...

35549375262_ecc804011f_c.jpgIMG_2627-20 by Sam Naszradi, on Flickr

 

This weird thing keeps growing larger. I have no idea what it is. So strange.

35549375552_b2feffec14_c.jpgIMG_2623-21 by Sam Naszradi, on Flickr

 

35717922755_3c698bf618_c.jpgIMG_0360-20 by Sam Naszradi, on Flickr

 

35717922895_625b9d2f81_c.jpgIMG_0357-21 by Sam Naszradi, on Flickr

 

 

Gold-Ringed Cowrie... super cool.

35330739730_bacd80b824_c.jpgIMG_0578-25 by Sam Naszradi, on Flickr

 

35678361216_8f3bec9681_c.jpgIMG_0574-24 by Sam Naszradi, on Flickr

 

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yungKitten
13 hours ago, samnaz said:

 

 

Where can I find a thread for your all-aquacultured-except-for-the-shrimp tank? I want to know more about this.

It'll be up soon. The tank is cycling/ I'm going on vacation for a week so I don't want to put anything besides bacteria in there for now.

Wow! The tank looks awesome!

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/6/2017 at 9:28 AM, Nixperience said:

Dude, it's a frogspawn. 

I was referring to the large black growth protruding out from the left side of the base. I don't think it's a Frogspawn. In fact I'm quite certain it's not... it's just a black stump that seems dead, yet it keeps growing larger and larger. On the other side of this same frag there are 3-4 similar black lump growths.

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On 7/6/2017 at 8:54 AM, chevegan said:

what online vendor did you choose?

For what? I haven't decided on a fish yet and doubt I will be ready to introduce one for 1-2 months. But if it's coral/invertebrates you're curious about, tell me which one's specifically and I'll let you know. I also recently added a livestock list to my original first post on this thread, including where they came from, so that may answer your question. 

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  • samnaz changed the title to Samnaz's 20L (upgrading to IM Nuvo Black 30L)

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