5.5 Gallon Mixed Reef

[Lorekeeper]

2 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

The branching macro is very pretty, much smaller than it looks in pictures, but I like it a lot.  I love dragons breath but am still struggling to find a frag that will live for me.

Lol, small is actually good at this point. Not sure I want something huge for now, which is part of the reason I only have zoas. The only other frags I could find around here are too big to really even fit into the tank. It's funny how finnicky these things can be, isn't it? Two people can have the exact same tank and equipment, and they might not be able to get the same things to live in their tank.

 

In other news, pretty sure my hermit is stuck on the tank floor. Might have to make him a little ramp out of rubble or something.

[Lorekeeper]

I mixed my SW for this weekend, and decided to test my water while I was at it. I'm happy, confused, and also a bit concerned about the results.

 

Ammonia: 0 PPM

Nitrite: 0 PPM

Nitrate: 0 PPM (this is the one that concerns me!)

Phosphate: 0-5 PPM (closer to 2-3)

PH: 8.1

 

I took samples of my water to my LFS, Petsmart, and a LFS about 20 minutes down the road, and got pretty much the same results. Tomorrow, I'll take a sample to school and test it with a lab test, which should give me numbers to the hundredths place lol.

 

Normally I'd be happy to see that, but considering I just moved the rock to a new tank, added new stock, and can see detritus on the floor, why are my nitrates showing as 0? Maybe it just needs more time to get processed by the tank? Or the algae is eating it up as quick as it comes? With the macros coming in next week (probably), I'm just a bit worried the water's gonna be a bit too "clean". 

 

While I was getting my water tested at the not-so-LFS, I saw a few clown gobies in stock for $4.99. And I was so, oh so tempted! Not sure I want any fish in this tank, definitely not until I get everything a bit more under control, but... ideas. Might have to wait until a size upgrade that'll inevitably happen, although if I could shove one in here, that'd be pretty cool.

[Lorekeeper]

The 5.5 has been acquired! Got it for $10 from PetSmart. Been wanting to upgrade due to a certain little guy that I got for pretty much free and feel bad with him in a 2.5 for more than a few weeks. Gonna wait a bit to move everything over, but probably in the next week or so.

[Lorekeeper]

I said I'd wait, but that didn't quite work out  I'm impatient, and that tank was just calling my name!

 

So, the reason I decided to upgrade was mainly that I ended up with a small 4-striped damsel from a LFS that I didn't necessarily need, but I got for free. He's about 0.75", so pretty tiny. They were having to get rid of all of their Saltwater stock, and were going to start culling whatever they couldn't sellnext weekend. So... oops.

 

But, the upgrade was coming anyway, since I've been wanting just a bit more space for the freedom. I like the footprint of the 2.5, but it really is small for a main tank. The 5.5 seems like it'll keep me satisfied for years to come.

 

For lighting, I'm using the Finnex LED fixture and a 6500k daylight CFL. Not an amazing spectrum, but it'll keep everyone happy till my PAR 30 gets here. Using a Top Fin 10 Gallon HOB and the Internal Top Fin 10 gallon filter for flow. No sand. I also added in about 4 lbs of base rock, so I've got around 6lbs of rock in here. A few chunks aren't very porous, but the majority seems like it's just dried out reef rock.

 

Pics soon!

[Lorekeeper]

Here are some not so great pics of what I've got so far:

FTS. The idea is to have the big mound of rocks for all of your usual corals and macros, and then keep the left side of the tank as open swimming space, tiny frag city, and probably GSP land. So far, both zoas have responded well to the light, but I think a lot of it is the extra flow. They're both directly under the filter output, so it's kind of a whirlpool in there.

 

The best picture I could get of the damsel while feeding. He's spent a lot of time hiding in the rocks and behind the filter, but he comes out to eat mysis and every now and then just takes a swim to explore and pick on the white worms on the filter. He's quick, so it's blurry, but hopefully this gives you an idea about how small he is. Hopefully he'll settle in a bit over the next few days so I can actually get a few decent pics.

[Lorekeeper]

This hermit is slowly becoming an enemy of the state. He keeps on foraging for algae between my zoas, which is why I bought him. But he seems to also be picking at the zoas while he does it. I'm assuming unintentionally, but still. He may get banished.

[Lorekeeper]

So, I got a few pieces of GSP from a local reefer for a decent price. He kept it in a low-nutrient, high-light SPS tank, so I was more than a little worried about the transition between his tank and mine. I took it home, acclimated it to the 5.5 gallon, and threw the majority down onto the bottom of the tank on the left. A little piece with 15-20 polyps got thrown in my 2.5 gallon without any acclimation. The funny part?

 

Under a 6500K bulb, in a relatively unestablished tank, the GSP is almost fully open. Color isn't great due to the bulb, but it seems okay with it. In the 5.5 gallon, that I acclimated it to? Hasn't opened up other than for a few minutes this morning. All the polyps are closed, although I have a few theories and would love to get some input from people with more experience:

 

1. Where the gsp is in the 5.5 gets a little less flow than where the gsp is in the 2.5 gallon. Are they that flow dependent? Should I try to get it a bit more flow?

2. The 2.5 is consistently a bit warmer, due in part to it's location. It's right under a heating vent, so it's going to be just a bit warmer than the 5.5. Not enough to matter, I'd imagine.

3. The mat in the 5.5 is covered with some sort of macro, some sand, and a feather duster or two along with a few spaghetti worms and what looks like some small starfish. Could this have anything to do with it? It had the same macro and hitchikers on it in his tank, and it was very open and looked happy. Some of the sand seems to be integrated into the mat, so I think that removing that would just agitate it further. Ideas?

[Lula_Mae]

On 2/5/2018 at 12:33 PM, Lorekeeper said:

This hermit is slowly becoming an enemy of the state. He keeps on foraging for algae between my zoas, which is why I bought him. But he seems to also be picking at the zoas while he does it. I'm assuming unintentionally, but still. He may get banished.

My hermit will pick around the zoas sometimes but he doesn't bother them other than to irritate them into closing for a bit.  What kind of hermit is he?

 

10 hours ago, Lorekeeper said:

So, I got a few pieces of GSP from a local reefer for a decent price. He kept it in a low-nutrient, high-light SPS tank, so I was more than a little worried about the transition between his tank and mine. I took it home, acclimated it to the 5.5 gallon, and threw the majority down onto the bottom of the tank on the left. A little piece with 15-20 polyps got thrown in my 2.5 gallon without any acclimation. The funny part?

 

Under a 6500K bulb, in a relatively unestablished tank, the GSP is almost fully open. Color isn't great due to the bulb, but it seems okay with it. In the 5.5 gallon, that I acclimated it to? Hasn't opened up other than for a few minutes this morning. All the polyps are closed, although I have a few theories and would love to get some input from people with more experience:

 

1. Where the gsp is in the 5.5 gets a little less flow than where the gsp is in the 2.5 gallon. Are they that flow dependent? Should I try to get it a bit more flow?

2. The 2.5 is consistently a bit warmer, due in part to it's location. It's right under a heating vent, so it's going to be just a bit warmer than the 5.5. Not enough to matter, I'd imagine.

3. The mat in the 5.5 is covered with some sort of macro, some sand, and a feather duster or two along with a few spaghetti worms and what looks like some small starfish. Could this have anything to do with it? It had the same macro and hitchikers on it in his tank, and it was very open and looked happy. Some of the sand seems to be integrated into the mat, so I think that removing that would just agitate it further. Ideas?

If there's detritus on the mat itself, you can try taking a toothbrush and gently brushing it off (I have a dedicated toothbrush for each of my tanks).  GSP can be stubborn about opening up in new tanks sometimes, I've had it take 2-3 weeks before.  You could try giving it more flow but I would probably just give it a few days to quit pouting and see what it does.  I'm not sure why one piece likes the 2.5 and the other piece doesn't like the 5.5 when they came from the same place but GSP is funny lol.

[Lorekeeper]

On 2/7/2018 at 3:14 AM, Lula_Mae said:

My hermit will pick around the zoas sometimes but he doesn't bother them other than to irritate them into closing for a bit.  What kind of hermit is he?

 

If there's detritus on the mat itself, you can try taking a toothbrush and gently brushing it off (I have a dedicated toothbrush for each of my tanks).  GSP can be stubborn about opening up in new tanks sometimes, I've had it take 2-3 weeks before.  You could try giving it more flow but I would probably just give it a few days to quit pouting and see what it does.  I'm not sure why one piece likes the 2.5 and the other piece doesn't like the 5.5 when they came from the same place but GSP is funny lol.

He's a scarlet hermit, pretty tiny. I don't think he really did any damage to them, just annoyed them. Still, I think I'm going to prefer snails in the long run lol. Great cleaner though.

 

The GSP has fully opened up in both tanks, and has begun attaching itself to the rock in the 2.5. Just seems to be happier in there... whatever lol. It's got a decent color in both tanks as of now, although I suspect it might lose a bit due to the weaker lighting. Still, I love the movement of it.

 

The macros (finally) came in! The dragon's breath is looking great, with only one or two patches of white on it's tips. It was actually pearling tonight, which got me a bit excited. The red branching macro, not so much. There's more white on it than there is red, and it seems to be a much duller red. Any tips?

 

At the moment, they're both sitting at the bottom of the tank until I do a WC and glue them down. I moved the branching macro directly under the 6500K CFL, in an area with moderate-low flow, as I figured that'd probably be the best place for it to recover. Any tips, or should I just let it be? Worth noting that it didn't get anything but a temp acclimation, as I was in Louisville and my mom had to just drop them in. They don't seem to have whitened anymore in the past 24 hours, so that's a good thing.

 

The damsel has gotten a bit brave... He ate mysis out of my hand today, and it noticeably more active and colorful than he was. Glad he's begun to liven up!

[Lorekeeper]

Anyone have any idea what this macro in the GSP is?

 

 

Seems to be fast growing.

[vlangel]

Maybe some sort of caulerpa?

[Lorekeeper]

1 hour ago, vlangel said:

Maybe some sort of caulerpa?

Possibly, although I haven't found any species of caulerpa that look like it. Whatever it is, it's not bothering the GSP, so I'm alright with it.

 

Tank got a large water change today, and seems to be progressing well. Got some green coralline growing in on the new base rock, so I'm feeling good about stability and such.

 

New light should be in tomorrow or the next day, so hopefully that'll make my lighting situation a bit less ghetto (two freshwater planted fixtures) and help me color everything up. Should also free up my LED strip for use in my 2.5 gallon "pest" tank (not very pesty so far, sadly).

[Lorekeeper]

So, I've ordered some goodies from SaltyBottomReef, and my light came in!

 

I ordered 2 grass shrimp, 6 ceriths, and some caulerpa prolifera. Both grass shrimp, 2  ceriths and the majority of the caulerpa went into my 3 gallon jar, and so did the bulb. Turned out be a bit weak for the 5.5, but I may either order an ABI bulb or just DIY my own LED fixture for it. 

 

Pics!

 

 

 

Here's a blurry, dirty FTS from this afternoon. I'll try to post a pic after I get done scrubbing on Saturday, but until then, this is the best it's gonna get. Still haven't found a place I'm happy with the branching macro, but it's got some new growth and has recovered from shipping well. If anyone has placement suggestions, please speak up! The dragon's macro isn't doing well in this tank, but is flourishing in my jar. Don't know if it's the higher nitrate in the jar (been dosing to keep it high for them to experiment), or the more direct lighting, or possibly the higher temp. Of course, the GSP is doing well, and has some new growth, and I've got some sort of encrusting algae growing on the large piece of rock front and center.

 

 

Here's a pic of the new ceriths shortly after being put into the tank, doing snail things with a damsel photobomb. Don't even know why I took this one!

 

 

And the largest portion of caulerpa in the tank. There's another bit behind the rockscape, that I'm hoping will end up growing out and over. Either way, as long as it doesn't go sexual or anything, I'm liking it! Adds some much needed green.

 

Since I don't have a thread for the 3 gallon jar (was supposed to be a pest tank, but I've had trouble finding any pests. Can't even find any aptasia! Guess it'll just have to be a regular desk jar), I'll post a pic of it in this thread every now and then.

 

FJS: 

 

And here's the female grass shrimp, front and center of the pic if you can see her:

 

She's berried, so maybe I'll get some that hatch and feed my corals? I don't even know if they have a planktonic stage, will have to research that!

 

The bulb doesn't seem too bad for $4. Granted, it took a month to get here, is weaker than I was expecting, and I can't speak for long-term performance. But the color is a nice 14000K-ish, and is reasonably bright for a tank as shallow as this one. Optics are supposedly 120 degrees, but they seem to be much, much narrower.

 

 

[vlangel]

Cute jar.  Did the creative container contest influence you into trying one?

I may move a few of my feeder shrimp into my 3 gallon reef jar too.  I am curious if they will stay on the bottom of the jar or if they will walk all over my coral and irritate them.

[Lorekeeper]

8 hours ago, vlangel said:

Cute jar.  Did the creative container contest influence you into trying one?

I may move a few of my feeder shrimp into my 3 gallon reef jar too.  I am curious if they will stay on the bottom of the jar or if they will walk all over my coral and irritate them.

I actually had this jar set up as my main tank. Recently moved into the 5.5 so that I could have a bit more freedom and stability. The main inspiration for this version of the tank came from the various pico "pest" setups, although I'm still having issues finding pests for it.

 

The feeder shrimp so far have been all over the place. On the glass bottom, on the rocks, on the equipment, and a few times, I've seen them on the GSP. It never seemed to mind though. I'd think more sensitive corals might get a bit annoyed, but I'd try it. They're a lot of fun to watch!

[vlangel]

2 hours ago, Lorekeeper said:

I actually had this jar set up as my main tank. Recently moved into the 5.5 so that I could have a bit more freedom and stability. The main inspiration for this version of the tank came from the various pico "pest" setups, although I'm still having issues finding pests for it.

 

The feeder shrimp so far have been all over the place. On the glass bottom, on the rocks, on the equipment, and a few times, I've seen them on the GSP. It never seemed to mind though. I'd think more sensitive corals might get a bit annoyed, but I'd try it. They're a lot of fun to watch!

Thanks lorekeeper, I think I will move some ghosties into the reef jar.  I look forward to following.

[Lorekeeper]

So, I've spent my morning ROYALLY pissing off everything in both my tanks.

 

I woke up to my GSP being face-down underneath a rock in the 2.8 gallon. Righted them and moved their rock to the bottom of the tank so that I wouldn't happen again. Apparently the epoxy I used isn't snail proof?

 

Speaking of snails, the ceriths are all doing great. They're all cleaning, and have been able to get to places in the 5.5 that the turbo couldn't get to. Amazing little cleaners, although I wish I would've tried to get some micro ceriths for the 2.8, as they're kinda big and clumsy in this tank. Not nearly as bad as the turbo was though. I've double glued all of my macros, because I've seen the ceriths accidentally detach them from the rocks as they're cleaning the algae off the leaves.

 

They've done an amazing job clearing the little hair algae I have left in the 5.5, and they've made a big dent in what I have in the 2.8. Haven't seen them nip at any macros yet either, so I'm feeling good about ceriths.

 

My biggest role in the destruction today was fragging my zoas. I decided to frag the green zoas I have in the my 5.5, and in the process tore apart my 5.5 and had to tear apart a large portion of the 2.8. But, I got two polyps fragged off of the main colony, and in the process, I found 3-4 tiny little polyps that had been in the shade of the two I fragged. Hopefully they'll grow out a bit!

[Lorekeeper]

Here's a couple of pics from today after everyone's settled:

 

 

FTS:

 

 

Red Branching Macro: 

 

 

Fragged Zoas in the 2.8: 

 

Not a ton has changed in here. The caulerpa seems to be settling in, and I haven't woken up to a cloudy tank yet. I finally got around to gluing the macro's down, and you can see my handiwork in the closeup of the branching macro. Yeah... will the excess glue kill it? Should I frag it from that point up and try again?

 

Got some good growth from the GSP (considering the lighting that they're under). The macro that's attached to them is thriving as well.  Hoping to see the same thing out of the red macros!

 

The last pic is of the zoas in the 2.8. They've opened up pretty well and seem to be doing alright. They're much more green under the bluer light, which is a plus. I've thought about possibly fragging the orange zoas next week to add to this tank, although I'm not sure I want to just yet. Might have a line for a xenia frag, so that'll be a nice addition to this little tank. Always looking for something else to add livestock-wise as well. Thought about a couple more grass shrimp, although the emerald crabs are still awful tempting...

 

[Lorekeeper]

Alright guys, this tank has changed quite a bit over the last little while. The 2.8 gallon jar and this tank got merged, due to a desk failure (grrrr...), so the scape is just kinda puttied and piled up to the water line. But, everyone's happy, so whatever works!

 

Water Parameters have been stable, and I haven't had any losses other than the two ghost shrimp in the jar. All macros have taken hold pretty well, and I have two or three new zoa polyps coming in as well. Just ordered some new stock as well, including 2 peppermints (it was buy-one-get-one... two will be fine in the 5.5 right? If not, a lucky LFS near me is getting a shrimp), an australian war coral frag and a green candy cane frag. 

 

Pics!

 

Orange Zoas:

 

Green Star Polyps:

 

Dragon's Breath:

 

Green Zoas:

 

Red Branching Macro:

 

FTS:

 

Just thought I'd update!

[vlangel]

Well I always hate to hear of a failure but I am glad that you could consolidate and save everything except the ghosties.

[Lorekeeper]

Thanks!

 

I'm just glad I was home when it happened. It happened around 4 AM, so waking up to saltwater and coral in the floor wasn't so fun.

[Lorekeeper]

One of my dragon's breath frags is turning white at the tips after the tank move. Any tips on how to reverse, or at least stop the issue?

[Lorekeeper]

So, my order came in yesterday! Sadly, the box stunk before I even opened it. Neither peppermint made it, sadly.

 

The two frags seemed alright out of the bag, but I'm not sure exactly how well they're doing. The candy cane had an easy time getting into the tank (I dabbed it with glue, popped it in, and left it alone), but it doesn't seem "inflated" yet, like I've seen in pictures. The mouth does seem to be less retracted though.

 

The war coral has been manhandled multiple times. I had a hard time getting it off the plug, and its fallen from it's spot in the tank 2-3 times now. I've resorted to using some water weld sandwich'd between some superglue, and it's held the best so far. It's been sliming a bit, and is definitely a bit retracted. 

 

Can anyone give me some pointers on what to look at when addressing the health of these guys? 

 

The frags as of last night:

 

 

Should I be manually removing the slime from the corals?

 

Any tips would be appreciated!

 

[vlangel]

I would not worry about the coral sliming.  They do that when stressed but if you instead change the water in the tank when it needs it you should be ok.

[Lorekeeper]

Thanks Dawn!

 

I ended up leaving the slime alone, and it's colored up a lot over the past few days. Had feeder tentacles out last night! Looking great, so far! Candy Cane is still pretty upset, but we're getting there.

 

Took some quick pics to see some progression, although I'm not sure that color will be much different on camera with the LPS. The difference in person is insane, as the pinks have turned to red and the very light purple has intensified into a more intense lavender. We're getting there!

 

Australian War Coral:

 

Candy Cane (now more inflated!):

 

The GSP mat, almost to the edge of the tank floor:

 

The two larger zoa colonies, looking better after being manhandled over the weekend: