10 Gallon Softie Tank - "Honey I Shrunk the Reef" - RETIRED 2-16-18

[Dos Ocho]

Good evening all. Had a few posts and have been lurking for a while absorbing as much info as i can from everyone here. I'm starting a new tank and thought i'd make a journal of it. 

 

I have only been in the hobby since January 1st. Before that, i did not even want an aquarium, let alone a reef tank. I had this thought that saltwater aquariums were for mad scientists and eccentric millionaires with a small lab of equipment running them. No interest at all. But....my girlfriend really wanted one and made me watch youtube videos with her about how to set up a tank. She knows that once i get into something, i tend to get borderline obsessed! Our Biocube 29 got wet right after New Years and has been going ever since. BTW, it's MY tank now! I do all the work and she sits back and enjoys the view, and i am A-OK with that! We've been fairly successful and although there has been some death and small disasters, I'd say its going quite well for a first time tank. 

 

So, I really wanted to set up another tank. I don't feel i am ready to make a financial commitment to a large tank, so i decided to get our 10 gallon fish QT tank dusted off and turn it into a reef. I have no plans on adding more fish to the Biocube and if a disaster strikes, i have plenty of clean buckets and Petco is right down the street if i need a temporary tank. 

 

I want this tank to be a mushroom-heavy softie tank. My inspiration is an old TOTM by naturalwonders from 2011. I am also wanting to put in the dreaded but beautiful pulsing Xenia. I am well aware of its reputation but am still drawn to its beauty and figure if it ends up taking over, oh well.....its just a 10 gallon tank. The other reason for starting this tank is to pull my 6 Hermit Crabs from my Biocube. They are interesting creatures for sure, but bumbling idiots for the most part that stumble around and annoy everything in the tank. Plus they murdered my poor, innocent Nassarius snail a while back. I plan on replacing them with a couple more Nassarius and Cerith snails in my Biocube. 

 

The specs for this little adventure are as follows:

 

Tank: Standard Aqueon 10 gallon (20 1/4" x 10 1/2" x 12 9/16") with folding glass lid. Back of the tank painted black.

Lighting: Nanobox Duo on a goose-neck mount

Heater: Aqueon 50W heater (Came with the Aquarum Kit)

Mechanical Filtration: Aqueon QuietFlow 10. Plan on a bag of Purigen in the main chamber, maybe some rubble rock, and a strip of PolyFilter on the output

Biological Filtration: Approximately 5lbs Dry Rock ; 10 lbs Caribsea Flamingo Reef Dry Sand

Circulation: Hydor Koralia Nano using a Hydor Smart Wave

 

I bought some Rubble Rock from BRS to do the aquascape. I had a particular design in mind and with the small dimensions of the tank, i thought the rubble would be better than trying to find solid chunks of rock to achieve my design. I glued it all together with super glue before adding it to the tank. I love the 2-island setups i have sen in many larger tanks and hope it works out in my small 10 gallon. I know 5 lbs is not a lot, but i don't plan on a large bioload so I hope it will be sufficient for me. One thing i have been very good at is doing religious water changes on my Biocube and plan on doing a 2 - 2.5 gallon weekly change on this tank once it gets going. 

 

The larger structure to the right is going to be mushroom island. I am beginning to love all different types of shrooms, but i am most attracted toward the relatively smooth Discasomas. I'd like a nice color mix of blue, red, and purple with maybe a lumpy shroom or two thrown in for variety. I'd like some kind of different coral at the top of the rock as a crown but not quite sure what to get. I have time to decide i suppose.

 

The smaller island to the left is where i plan to let the Xenia live. I figure start a frag at the bottom and let it cover the island in time. I wanted room on the sand bed for some corals / creatures on the floor. My ideas are perhaps a Favia, Plate Coral, or even a few Rock Flower Anemones. We shall see....

 

So, there you have it. I am excited about Reef Tank part two and hope it will distract me from obsessing over our Biocube. I added a chunk of shrimp to start the cycle and randomly dropped in some small rubble rock that has been sitting in our Biocube sump for about 4 weeks. I realize it will still probably be a slow cycle, which is fine. Gives me more time to finalize my plans. Hope you enjoy seeing the progress and i welcome any suggestions you may have for me. Thanks! 

 

 

[Dos Ocho]

A couple shots of the tank after adding water. I plan on rearranging the seed rubble rock instead of leaving it scattered randomly on the sand bed. 

[Dos Ocho]

Been about a week and nothing too exciting going on. The cycle is in full swing though. Around .50 ppm Ammonia and 5+ ppm Nitrites. The Aqueon heater's suction cup kept losing suction so i replaced it with a 25W Hydor heater i use to heat up water for water changes. 25W may be a bit under powered for a 10 gallon, but i'll keep an eye on it.

In the meantime, here is a pic of my Biocube. Keeping that tank in a holding pattern for now. I think i made too many changes to it in a short period of time and had a couple corals die on me, including my beloved Birdsnest. But, gotta focus on the things going right. I have a Blasto that's put on about 8 heads over the last month, a pipe organ coral that has 60+ polyps now (10 when i got it back in April), and a pink nepthea that keeps shooting for the sky. I'm thinking of a Crocea clam when i start adding some more livestock, but that will be down the road. Anywho, enjoy!

[Weetabix7]

4 minutes ago, Dos Ocho said:

Been about a week and nothing too exciting going on. The cycle is in full swing though. Around .50 ppm Ammonia and 5+ ppm Nitrites. The Aqueon heater's suction cup kept losing suction so i replaced it with a 25W Hydor heater i use to heat up water for water changes. 25W may be a bit under powered for a 10 gallon, but i'll keep an eye on it.

In the meantime, here is a pic of my Biocube. Keeping that tank in a holding pattern for now. I think i made too many changes to it in a short period of time and had a couple corals die on me, including my beloved Birdsnest. But, gotta focus on the things going right. I have a Blasto that's put on about 8 heads over the last month, a pipe organ coral that has 60+ polyps now (10 when i got it back in April), and a pink nepthea that keeps shooting for the sky. I'm thinking of a Crocea clam when i start adding some more livestock, but that will be down the road. Anywho, enjoy!

 

I like your Biocube. 

A growing Pipe Organ is a good sign, they tend to be a little tricky even though they're a soft coral. 

[Dos Ocho]

Thanks Weetabix7! I think its going very well for a first tank. I did what i'm sure many newbies do and made it a "coral salad" and put in a bunch of stuff i thought looked good at the time. Fortunately most of the corals are doing well.

I see now why SPS corals are tricky. I had a monti that fell prey to Nudibranch and i lost him early on. The birdsnest was doing great then got hit with tissue necrosis and went downhill very fast. I still have a pocillopora, stylocoeniella, and pavona that are thriving and those will be the only SPS corals in the tank. I am gravitating towards LPS and softies for their relative ease of care and their movement in the current. 

 

Must have gotten lucky with the pipe organ. He started turning and burning right when he arrived. I'm excited to see how big he gets. I leaned him up against a rock and he has started to attach his skeleton to the rock as more polyps appear. 

[Weetabix7]

17 minutes ago, Dos Ocho said:

Thanks Weetabix7! I think its going very well for a first tank. I did what i'm sure many newbies do and made it a "coral salad" and put in a bunch of stuff i thought looked good at the time. Fortunately most of the corals are doing well.

I see now why SPS corals are tricky. I had a monti that fell prey to Nudibranch and i lost him early on. The birdsnest was doing great then got hit with tissue necrosis and went downhill very fast. I still have a pocillopora, stylocoeniella, and pavona that are thriving and those will be the only SPS corals in the tank. I am gravitating towards LPS and softies for their relative ease of care and their movement in the current. 

 

Must have gotten lucky with the pipe organ. He started turning and burning right when he arrived. I'm excited to see how big he gets. I leaned him up against a rock and he has started to attach his skeleton to the rock as more polyps appear. 

Wow, very impressed to hear that about the Pipe Organ. 

Maybe one day down the road I can get a frag of it from you, it's a coral I've always liked. 

 

Yeah, I've done the "coral salad" and learning about SPS the hard way thing too. 

I think most people who stick with this hobby do that at some point. 

However, you are obviously learning and advancing, which is great, keep it up!!

[Dos Ocho]

I moved a small rock from my Biocube during Thursday water change to the 10 gallon that had been sitting in there for 5 weeks or so to help the cycle. Must have done the trick because the cycle is just about complete. Ammonia is at 0, Nitrites between 0 - .25, and Nitrates are around 30 - 40. PH is 8, salinity is steady at 1.025 - 1.026. Been topping off every 3 days or so. 

 

The 25W Hydor heater was not getting the job done. Was running almost constantly and the temps were all over the place. Bought a 50W Neotherm and the temp has stayed within .1 degrees of my target. I turned on the Koralia and have the smart wave set to 1 min on, 1 min off for now. 

 

I decided to fire up the lights and get the party started! Ready to start growing diatoms and get my tank ugly. I set the light cycle almost identical to my Biocube and am mimicking the light cycle of a resort my girlfriend and i stayed at in Belize, so about a 12 hour cycle. I have the Bluefish set to a natural sun ramp up / down, and have the Blues set to 45% and the Whites set to 25%. Looks fairly low light in the tank which should be perfect for my shrooms. 

 

Going to do my first water change tomorrow and see what the week brings. Still not running any filtration media yet. Figure I'll wait for the algae blooms then get the Purigen and Polyfilter going. 

[Dos Ocho]

Not much happening in the 10 gallon. Cycle is 100% complete and Nitrates steady at 10 - 20 ppm. No diatoms or algae yet. Waiting on the bloom to start transferring hermits over. Still debating on a fish. Originally i was just going to put my hermits in here and nothing else. I am considering a small goby perhaps. Hmm.......

 

I did go to a LFS and picked up some corals for my biocube yesterday. I want to go heavy on soft corals, but there were a couple LPS corals that just called to me when i was looking around. Ended up getting a green flower pot coral. This thing is bright!!! Put him close to my other flower pot. I know these corals can be difficult, but i do feed fairly heavy and there should be plenty of food in the water column for them to eat. 

 

Got a large polyp Blasto to go with my small polyp one. He's beautiful and already eating all the shrimp that lands on him! I picked up two cool paly's as well. One is dark green with orange centers. The other is a blueish gray paly. The frag had a lot of polyps and i was able to cut it into 3 small frags and place them around the tank. All the polyps opened up this morning and they are all doing well. The frag did have a couple Aiptasias on it, but my 2 peppermint shrimp should make them into dinner soon (They've already ate 4 other aiptasias in my tank, one was gone 40 minutes after i first put them in!)

 

I need to make a LiveAquaria order soon to pick up some snails i can't find locally. I'm wanting another pipe organ coral and either a green nepthea or they have a Neon Pineapple tree coral that looks amazing. Probably make that order closer to the end of the month. 

 

After that, i'm wanting a couple more palys for sure. I put a long rock island in the front of my tank that i pieced together with rubble rock i have laying around. The plan for that is neon clove polyps. I may get an acan or favia for the sand and then i think I'm.......................done with the biocube??????

 

Anywho, enjoy the pics. Thought I'd throw in a pic of some of my non-reef pets. Meet Clarice (left) and Stormy (right). 2 old meatheads that i adore! Hopefully next week i have an ugly 10 gallon to show. 

[Dos Ocho]

Quick update. Just about 1 month in on this tank. The diatom bloom hit this week and it's starting to look ugly! I started my Purigen bag in my filter. I put polyfilter on the outtake holster on the filter but i think it restricts the flow too much. Pondering other options but for now, Purigen is all i am using. I can always use the polyfilter in my Biocube media basket. 

 

Transferred 2 hermits and one of my veteran Astrea snails into the tank yesterday. They seem to be settling in nicely to their new home. Plan is to transfer 2 crabs every week until all 6 are in there. In a couple weeks i'm going to place a liveaquaria order and diversify my snail lineup for both tanks. Looking at more Ceriths for sure, then possibly Trochus, Margarita, and Bumblebee snails. 

 

That's about it for now. Moving forward. I'm seeing faint green tints on the sand so i'm sure the Algae is coming next. Skipped last week's water change but will keep a steady wekly change of 2 gallons here on out. I cycled the tank with some Petco salt given to us by a friend. Every water change i am using Red Sea Coral Pro and will here on out. Did the same thing in my Biocube. 

 

We will see what the week brings! 

[Lula_Mae]

Nice tank! I like 10 gallons, it's one of the sizes I'm contemplating for my bigger tank when I get around to building it.

[Dos Ocho]

Thanks Lula! 

 

Week 6 is beginning and everything is still alive! Around Tuesday i had a pod explosion in the tank. Looked like it was snowing there were so many of them. That has calmed down a bit by today, however there is still a healthy number in the water column, on the glass and on the rocks and sand. 

 

The crabs and snail are getting used to their new home. The crabs are not as active as they were in the cube and there is not much for them to eat in here yet. I've been dropping in small chunks of algae wafers every couple days and they are eating it up. I do see them scraping diatoms off the rocks, so they are not starving as far as i can tell. The snail is cruising around and cleaning up the diatoms too. Saw him crawl into the HOB filter and he cleaned the outflow down to the plastic. 

 

The diatoms are on the decline. The few green tints of algae are declining too. So the tank still is looking very clean right now. 2 more hermits are going in today. I placed my LiveAquaria order and got some new snails for the cube. 4 ceriths and 4 nerites (supposed to be 3 but they threw in an extra). Once the 10 gal gets some algae, my plan is to transfer in 2, maybe 3 more snails. Right now there is just not enough for them to eat. 

 

Next weekend i will transfer the final 2 hermits into the tank, and a snail or 2 if necessary. Looking to get some corals in there in 3 - 4 weeks if all goes right. Gonna start with a few shrooms for mushroom island and get them going. Still debating weather to put Xenia in there or not. Got time though. 

 

Thanks for checking out my journal and i'll post an update next week! 

[Weetabix7]

14 minutes ago, Dos Ocho said:

Thanks Lula! 

 

Week 6 is beginning and everything is still alive! Around Tuesday i had a pod explosion in the tank. Looked like it was snowing there were so many of them. That has calmed down a bit by today, however there is still a healthy number in the water column, on the glass and on the rocks and sand. 

 

The crabs and snail are getting used to their new home. The crabs are not as active as they were in the cube and there is not much for them to eat in here yet. I've been dropping in small chunks of algae wafers every couple days and they are eating it up. I do see them scraping diatoms off the rocks, so they are not starving as far as i can tell. The snail is cruising around and cleaning up the diatoms too. Saw him crawl into the HOB filter and he cleaned the outflow down to the plastic. 

 

The diatoms are on the decline. The few green tints of algae are declining too. So the tank still is looking very clean right now. 2 more hermits are going in today. I placed my LiveAquaria order and got some new snails for the cube. 4 ceriths and 4 nerites (supposed to be 3 but they threw in an extra). Once the 10 gal gets some algae, my plan is to transfer in 2, maybe 3 more snails. Right now there is just not enough for them to eat. 

 

Next weekend i will transfer the final 2 hermits into the tank, and a snail or 2 if necessary. Looking to get some corals in there in 3 - 4 weeks if all goes right. Gonna start with a few shrooms for mushroom island and get them going. Still debating weather to put Xenia in there or not. Got time though. 

 

Thanks for checking out my journal and i'll post an update next week! 

 

Sounds like good progress!!

I know a lot of people see Xenia as a pest, but I like it. 

[Dos Ocho]

Thanks! I'll probably end up getting it, but there is a lot of back and forth in my head. Happens a lot. This tank was my 17th or maybe 18th tank idea i had planned!  

 

[Dos Ocho]

Week 7 begins! All the crabs are still alive, snail is moving around all over the place. The last 2 crabs were put in the tank yesterday during the water change. All the crabs seem much more active now. I did have to help a couple that i thought were stuck in the rockwork. Some of the pieces of rubble rock were Pukani chunks and there are some deep valleys in the rock. I pulled the crabs out with tongs, but maybe i was overreacting. I'll monitor them over the week and try to let them get themselves un-stuck if it happens again. 

 

I also may have jumped the gun, but i noticed a small frag of my blue-gray Palys got knocked off a rock in my cube. So, i decided to try and test the waters in the 10 gallon and put them on a small rock island on the sandbed to see how they do. So far they are still closed up. They start to open, then retract again. I'll keep an eye on them for a couple days and if they don't improve i'll move them back in the cube. Trying not to be impulsive with this tank but sometimes fail! 

 

Diatoms are almost gone. No major hair algae yet, just a green tint starting to appear on the rocks and some of the sand. I also have a few Pineapple sponges popping up on pieces of seed rock from the cube. So, all seems to be well. 

 

Depending on how the palys do, i was going to grab a shroom or two from a LFS in a couple weeks. I'm taking several days off in September, so i figure that's a good time to do it. Anywho, have a great week everyone and i hope i do too! 

[Weetabix7]

34 minutes ago, Dos Ocho said:

Week 7 begins! All the crabs are still alive, snail is moving around all over the place. The last 2 crabs were put in the tank yesterday during the water change. All the crabs seem much more active now. I did have to help a couple that i thought were stuck in the rockwork. Some of the pieces of rubble rock were Pukani chunks and there are some deep valleys in the rock. I pulled the crabs out with tongs, but maybe i was overreacting. I'll monitor them over the week and try to let them get themselves un-stuck if it happens again. 

 

I also may have jumped the gun, but i noticed a small frag of my blue-gray Palys got knocked off a rock in my cube. So, i decided to try and test the waters in the 10 gallon and put them on a small rock island on the sandbed to see how they do. So far they are still closed up. They start to open, then retract again. I'll keep an eye on them for a couple days and if they don't improve i'll move them back in the cube. Trying not to be impulsive with this tank but sometimes fail! 

 

Diatoms are almost gone. No major hair algae yet, just a green tint starting to appear on the rocks and some of the sand. I also have a few Pineapple sponges popping up on pieces of seed rock from the cube. So, all seems to be well. 

 

Depending on how the palys do, i was going to grab a shroom or two from a LFS in a couple weeks. I'm taking several days off in September, so i figure that's a good time to do it. Anywho, have a great week everyone and i hope i do too! 

 

That's a great sign that you've got Pineapple Sponges popping up, and I actually think it's a great idea to use those Palys as an "indicator coral". 

That's what I call it when I have a coral in the system that I use to monitor tank health. 

I usually have one coral in each tank that I know is the first to react if things are a little "off" and I keep an eye on that coral. 

I've used it the way you are too, though. 

When I first got back into Reefing after a long hiatus, I actually used blueleg Hermits as the first livestock in my tank as well, although I took them back to the LFS before I got corals cause I don't like how "disruptive" they can be sometimes. 

[Dos Ocho]

I was very surprised to see the sponges already. Don't want to jinks it, but it seems like the good things that happened in my cube are happening faster in this tank, and so far none of the bad. I remember a forest of green hair algae in my cube in the beginning. VERY ugly!

 

And yes, these crabs are ridiculous and I'm glad to have them out of my cube. They were some of the first critters in my cube so i couldn't part with them. I figure they can tear this 10 gallon up all they want and that is exactly what they are doing.

 

This is a pic of this handstand thing they are doing in here. A couple will walk along the front glass like this back and forth all damn day! Shell sticking right up! My snail was on the glass last night close to the bottom, and two crabs were all over him. Don't think they were trying to kill him, just pick all the goodies off his shell. The snail thrashed around a bit and finally shook the crabs off and headed for higher ground!  

 

They are eating pieces of algae pellets and i wait until every bit of the pellet is gone before they get another. I may give them a chunk of shrimp this week but i like how the pellets sink and stay put. They are doing well in their new home, one has even molted already. I think i'm just going to keep this tank a hermit prison colony. They are entertaining to watch though...

[Dos Ocho]

Good morning! Not too much to report after Week 7. Paly's are doing OK, but not fully extending the polyps. They are stretching towards the light (I have them on a rock at the bottom of the tank) and are partially expanding. But there was a polyp that was pinned underneath the frag initially that has stretched around and is facing the light, and they are throwing off a new polyp too since being in the tank. So they are slowly adjusting to their new digs IMO. Picture attached.  

The crabs are doing well. They are starting to eat more and more. I'm adding a half slice of algae about every day now and they are eating every last bit of it before the next one. Another molt by one of them and they are switching shells regularly so the annoying guys seem to be doing well. Pineapple sponges are growing and multiplying. No big algae blooms yet, just a green tint on the rocks. Getting more film algae on the glass. The snail eats it and i am starting to clean the glass every 3 days or so. I'm also still having pod blooms. Had one earlier in the week and noticed a big one this morning (2nd pic). All good things though. 

Still looking at adding shrooms in 2 weeks. I have a nice one in my biocube i am considering transferring into this tank. He's doing so well in the cube though and he is one of the original corals i added to the cube so there is sentimental value there too! (I know mushrooms are not technically corals, but you know...). One of my LFS's are having an anniversary party next weekend so I may pick a couple frags up then. We shall see. 

 

Thanks for looking and have a great Labor Day weekend! 

 

 

[debbeach13]

Sounds and looks like things are moving right along. Have you decided on any fish for this tank?

[Dos Ocho]

Not sure about fish. The primary purpose of this tank was to get the hermits out of my biocube. I'm almost sure this tank will eventually be transferred into a bigger one in a year or so. If i did get fish, i'd probably just get a small goby. Right now the crabs are providing entertaining movement! 

[Dos Ocho]

Late on this update, very busy couple weeks, but progress in the 10 gallon. 

 

Last week, i bought 2 shrooms for the tank. A spotted teal shroom and a tiny striped shroom. Both are adjusting and doing well. The palys are also opening up more. I made some adjustments to the light and increased intensity and all the critters seem to be happy with the new settings. I was actually going to move the palys back into my biocube, but they have been doing really well the last couple days, so they are going to stay. I transferred a "lumpy" shroom from my cube into the 10 gallon. He's the one to the right of the teal shroom. Just put him in this morning and he's already expanding so i think he'll like it in there. I had to move a paly frag away from a giant shroom in the cube and the best spot was next to Mr. Lumpy. The palys are already expanding and sending out new heads so i thought it would be best for Lumpy to move out. I definitely have blues and greens covered, so now i'm hunting for some red and purple shrooms. They don't seem to be too popular with my 2 LFS's so i may order out next time. Still debating what to do with the left island. Xenia or no xenia? Hmmmm........... Perhaps a Ricordea island???

 

Seeing some flatworms along with the various pods. They are not bothering the corals so far so no plans to deal with them. Had a burst of them in the cube a while ago and they all vanished on their own. Still having random copepod blooms every 4 or 5 days. Added a tiny astrea snail for a total of two. They both are cruising the glass and i am not getting much algae build up on the glass thanks to those guys. All the crabs are alive and happy as well! I gave them a chunk of shrimp this week. First meaty treat they've had since their arrival. They disposed of it very quickly and are back to their algae tabs and whatever else they can get their grubby claws on. 

 

Having some problems in my cube with algae. Made a couple rookie mistakes; overfeeding for too long and allowing detritus build-up in my 1st chamber. Trying to correct that with reduced feeding, regularly emptying the ceramic media in chamber 1 and cleaning it (every 2 weeks), and i expanded my refugium in chamber 2 and added more macro algae. Picked up some Dragon's Breath at the LFS last week. It is very pretty and i added some to the fuge, cube display, and a little piece in the 10 gallon. I put a piece in the front of my cube which i initially didn't like, but my little Neon Goby is in love. The algae is "hosting" the goby, for lack of a better term. He lays on the algae and rides it as the wavemaker hits it. Swims away very fast and comes back to do it again. He's certainly the most entertaining fish i have! The other piece in the cube display is toward the back left. Only been a week, but all the pieces still show good color and definitely add curb appeal to the tanks. Hoping to get the algae situation under control in the cube, just going to take time. 

 

I had a brittle star in the cube that must have split off a leg because now i have 2. I spotted a really small white brittle star moving across the sand one night. I have a mystery snail that came from somewhere. Spotted, cone-like brown shell (similar to a cerith snail shell), and a mottled dark grey body with an antenna like a nassarius. Not sure what he is. I don't see any coral damage so he stays for now. The nerite snails are doing a fantastic job of eating algae.......when they stay in the display! The little buggers keep getting into the back chambers. I toss them back in to the display and they sneak back out again! Funny little fellas....

 

Really thinking of a bigger tank setup down the road and possibly moving the 10 gallon inhabitants to a larger tank. Anenome's have been consuming my thoughts but i know they can be a handful, so just a thought at this time. Tank idea #37 I believe. For now i am focused on growing out my 10 gallon and stabilizing the biocube. Hope you enjoy the pics and happy reefing! 

 

 

[Lula_Mae]

16 hours ago, Dos Ocho said:

Late on this update, very busy couple weeks, but progress in the 10 gallon. 

 

Last week, i bought 2 shrooms for the tank. A spotted teal shroom and a tiny striped shroom. Both are adjusting and doing well. The palys are also opening up more. I made some adjustments to the light and increased intensity and all the critters seem to be happy with the new settings. I was actually going to move the palys back into my biocube, but they have been doing really well the last couple days, so they are going to stay. I transferred a "lumpy" shroom from my cube into the 10 gallon. He's the one to the right of the teal shroom. Just put him in this morning and he's already expanding so i think he'll like it in there. I had to move a paly frag away from a giant shroom in the cube and the best spot was next to Mr. Lumpy. The palys are already expanding and sending out new heads so i thought it would be best for Lumpy to move out. I definitely have blues and greens covered, so now i'm hunting for some red and purple shrooms. They don't seem to be too popular with my 2 LFS's so i may order out next time. Still debating what to do with the left island. Xenia or no xenia? Hmmmm........... Perhaps a Ricordea island???

 

Seeing some flatworms along with the various pods. They are not bothering the corals so far so no plans to deal with them. Had a burst of them in the cube a while ago and they all vanished on their own. Still having random copepod blooms every 4 or 5 days. Added a tiny astrea snail for a total of two. They both are cruising the glass and i am not getting much algae build up on the glass thanks to those guys. All the crabs are alive and happy as well! I gave them a chunk of shrimp this week. First meaty treat they've had since their arrival. They disposed of it very quickly and are back to their algae tabs and whatever else they can get their grubby claws on. 

 

Having some problems in my cube with algae. Made a couple rookie mistakes; overfeeding for too long and allowing detritus build-up in my 1st chamber. Trying to correct that with reduced feeding, regularly emptying the ceramic media in chamber 1 and cleaning it (every 2 weeks), and i expanded my refugium in chamber 2 and added more macro algae. Picked up some Dragon's Breath at the LFS last week. It is very pretty and i added some to the fuge, cube display, and a little piece in the 10 gallon. I put a piece in the front of my cube which i initially didn't like, but my little Neon Goby is in love. The algae is "hosting" the goby, for lack of a better term. He lays on the algae and rides it as the wavemaker hits it. Swims away very fast and comes back to do it again. He's certainly the most entertaining fish i have! The other piece in the cube display is toward the back left. Only been a week, but all the pieces still show good color and definitely add curb appeal to the tanks. Hoping to get the algae situation under control in the cube, just going to take time. 

 

I had a brittle star in the cube that must have split off a leg because now i have 2. I spotted a really small white brittle star moving across the sand one night. I have a mystery snail that came from somewhere. Spotted, cone-like brown shell (similar to a cerith snail shell), and a mottled dark grey body with an antenna like a nassarius. Not sure what he is. I don't see any coral damage so he stays for now. The nerite snails are doing a fantastic job of eating algae.......when they stay in the display! The little buggers keep getting into the back chambers. I toss them back in to the display and they sneak back out again! Funny little fellas....

 

Really thinking of a bigger tank setup down the road and possibly moving the 10 gallon inhabitants to a larger tank. Anenome's have been consuming my thoughts but i know they can be a handful, so just a thought at this time. Tank idea #37 I believe. For now i am focused on growing out my 10 gallon and stabilizing the biocube. Hope you enjoy the pics and happy reefing! 

 

 

I tried to buy one of those striped mushrooms from ebay and it went AWOL on the seller lol.  He did send me the other little mushroom that was hitchhiking on the rubble the stripey had been attached too, and hopefully he'll have more stripeys for sale soon and I can try again.  He does offer red and blue mushrooms too.

[Dos Ocho]

I see a lot of stuff on eBay, but never think about getting anything off the site. Maybe need to do more research and find reputable folks on there. Had some shady eBay experience way back when so I haven't bought anything in a long time. 

 

Might be be looking for another stripy myself. About an hour after my post my little fella somehow got detached from his frag. Of course I blame the crabs. Got him in a pill bottle full of rubble with a mesh top in hopes of having him reattach. Seems like a lot of this hobby is one step forward, two steps back. Still fun though. 

[Lula_Mae]

12 minutes ago, Dos Ocho said:

I see a lot of stuff on eBay, but never think about getting anything off the site. Maybe need to do more research and find reputable folks on there. Had some shady eBay experience way back when so I haven't bought anything in a long time. 

 

Might be be looking for another stripy myself. About an hour after my post my little fella somehow got detached from his frag. Of course I blame the crabs. Got him in a pill bottle full of rubble with a mesh top in hopes of having him reattach. Seems like a lot of this hobby is one step forward, two steps back. Still fun though. 

Yeah I got a superman mushroom once and my pom pom snipped it for a substitute pom...then dropped it a couple days later and it died, of course.

[Dos Ocho]

Gotta love crabs! I had an emerald in my cube in the beginning. Cool little fellow and very fun to watch. Then zoanthid polyps started disappearing. Caught him in the act one morning and back to the fish store he went. 

[vlangel]

Nice tank Dos Ocho!  You are doing wonderful for a reefer newbie.  You definitely have an eye for aquascapes.  Good job.