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Orangutran's 2g Cube - Non-contest pico. :(


Orangutran

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I like the general overall look of your jar.  A nice amount of rock, with some nice negative space.  I love the zoas and they look quite happy.  I know nothing about mangroves and they have alwayed intimidated me so although I wished I could offer advise, I got nothing.

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5 hours ago, Orangutran said:

So my mangrove isn't doing too well. Maybe I need to do my first water change (it's been over a week!). So much for good husbandry, but it's a bit of a hassle being at work. And speaking of which, I will need a small heater to heat up the new water. I don't normally heat up my new SW at home since it's only 10%, but this is going to be 100%! 

 

I forget how much hermits poop. Very noticeable on the new white sand! I might bring one of the hermits home, only wanted 2, but the girl at the LFS said there was a deal if I bought 3. lol

 

Here is the final scape of the jar... final for this week at least. ;)

 

37872393202_249b2e7f4e_z.jpg

Looks like a pile of rocks, but it's got tons of holes and crevices. I like it. Notice the sad mangrove...

 

And a better top down shot of the zoas! (good ol' eagle eyes!) Really liking this point of view, something new to me!

37183415803_a01bd63371_z.jpg

 

 

Looks awesome!!!!  The eagle eyes are an oldie but goodie :D.

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On 24/10/2017 at 1:15 PM, vlangel said:

I like the general overall look of your jar.  A nice amount of rock, with some nice negative space.  I love the zoas and they look quite happy.  I know nothing about mangroves and they have alwayed intimidated me so although I wished I could offer advise, I got nothing.

Thanks for pointing out the negative space! I didn't notice it at first but I like it! I still can't get over how much things are magnified. The mangrove is almost twice as thick under water if you look at the pic! 

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Did my first water change yesterday! Was really quick and easy! I can probably clean the glass, drain water, add water in 4 mins!

 

I don't have much to update in terms of livestock.

 

Always wanted my LR to break the surface, makes for a cool reflection:

37971225391_7d42ba1b40_z.jpg

 

 

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This is looking good. I am growing a Mangrove in freshwater so it grows faster. I actually considered moving it over, but like the lid on the tank more and it would block a ton of light now.

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19 hours ago, Boggers said:

This is looking good. I am growing a Mangrove in freshwater so it grows faster. I actually considered moving it over, but like the lid on the tank more and it would block a ton of light now.

Thanks! I thought you can't change salinity once they sprout roots and leaves? But yeah, I'm looking into planting mangroves in my sump now, to see if they do better than my jar. How big are your FW ones?

 

17 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

The beauty of a reef jar! Glad it went well for the first water change! 

Yeah, this contest has really opened my eyes to picos! It's easy to setup, yet at the same time you want it to be perfect because every detail is noticeable! As if reefing wasn't addictive enough already!

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On 10/16/2017 at 10:48 PM, gena said:

You'll have more control with a cup.  My siphon pulls water out SUPER fast.  Makes for a quick water change I suppose LOL.  It's a little difficult holding the tube while trying to mix up the water to get the detritus and not banging into corals :wacko:.

I've seen some people use standard air hose for their siphon.   Can still go pretty fast, but much more controllable in small spaces.  And great for just grabbing a small bit of debris here and there. 

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1 hour ago, jahnje said:

I've seen some people use standard air hose for their siphon.   Can still go pretty fast, but much more controllable in small spaces.  And great for just grabbing a small bit of debris here and there. 

I found a post recently where someone took a plastic bottle, airline tubing, and I think some kind of rigid tubing and made a neat pico cleaner. I'll see if I can find it later.

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1 hour ago, jahnje said:

I've seen some people use standard air hose for their siphon.   Can still go pretty fast, but much more controllable in small spaces.  And great for just grabbing a small bit of debris here and there. 

The sucking water part was pretty fun! haha

11 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

I found a post recently where someone took a plastic bottle, airline tubing, and I think some kind of rigid tubing and made a neat pico cleaner. I'll see if I can find it later.

Sounds like the mini python syphon tube I used. Worked out really well, the rigid vacuum part is only like 6" long. I had it from an old tank. :) 

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Who likes a bit of bristle worm action in a 1 gallon jar? I hope the glass is magnifying it, because damn it looks big! Bigger than anything in my 29gallon!

 

26289206349_5610242191_z.jpg

I'm pretty sure I can remove it next time I see it come out, but I'll leave it for now.

 

In other news, I don't think the mangrove is going to make it. I may bring it home today, and see if it does better in my sump. After seeing all the air plants others are doing, I may follow that route, to have the greenery I was looking for above water (purpose of the mangrove). I know nothing about air plants, so I'll have to do some research. And yes, I know it's not very original; this contest is more for inspiration to me, not to win. :) :flower: 

 

 

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4 minutes ago, Orangutran said:

Who likes a bit of bristle worm action in a 1 gallon jar? I hope the glass is magnifying it, because damn it looks big! Bigger than anything in my 29gallon!

 

26289206349_5610242191_z.jpg

I'm pretty sure I can remove it next time I see it come out, but I'll leave it for now.

 

In other news, I don't think the mangrove is going to make it. I may bring it home today, and see if it does better in my sump. After seeing all the air plants others are doing, I may follow that route, to have the greenery I was looking for above water (purpose of the mangrove). I know nothing about air plants, so I'll have to do some research. And yes, I know it's not very original; this contest is more for inspiration to me, not to win. :) :flower: 

 

 

OMG....I never thought about the scary critters looking bigger from the glass :scarry:.

 

I saw a worm yesterday in my tank.  Not sure what kind it is.  It did look big, now that I think about it :lol:.

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My mangrove is officially dead. The roots were rotting and the stem turned black, dry, and had holes develop. Growing mangroves in a pico is not easy. :(

 

A couple of coworkers came by to check out the hermits, and one of them noticed my zoas and she said I had "plants growing!" .... I just laughed it off, and didn't correct her. I didn't want to cause more shock if I said they were corals! :lol:

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5 minutes ago, Orangutran said:

My mangrove is officially dead. The roots were rotting and the stem turned black, dry, and had holes develop. Growing mangroves in a pico is not easy. :(

 

A couple of coworkers came by to check out the hermits, and one of them noticed my zoas and she said I had "plants growing!" .... I just laughed it off, and didn't correct her. I didn't want to cause more shock if I said they were corals! :lol:

Sorry to here about the mangrove, as I understand it, they can be difficult.

 

As for the air plants they are pretty simple to implement.

I just soak them in water for 15-20mins a week and so far they've been loving it!

Also it's a super easy way to add greenery to the tank. :P

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  • 2 weeks later...

I did a water change the other day, and right after the WC, I saw this on the glass...

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Poor guy! Don't know why he bailed! Hopefully he builds a new tube somewhere. :) Funny though, he was moving pointy end first. Does that mean the feather part is his butt? Or dude is walking backwards? Maybe I should google feather duster anatomy...

 

Also, I noticed these things zipping around in the rock work....

37595693234_333ddd8ce6_z.jpg

Looks like a mysis shrimp! And I thought they only live in freshwater because of PE mysis! Anyway, I want to keep all these critters alive in the pico, so I just put a pinch of reef roids in, and everyone went crazy! 

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What awesome hitchhikers!  Live mysis are fun to watch, but most things find them so delicious that few tanks sustain them for long. I've kept populations up in tanks that had no other mobile critters, but they seem to be the potato chips of the sea. 

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5 hours ago, Rene said:

What awesome hitchhikers!  Live mysis are fun to watch, but most things find them so delicious that few tanks sustain them for long. I've kept populations up in tanks that had no other mobile critters, but they seem to be the potato chips of the sea. 

I love potato chips, especially the ones with ripples.  Do mysis come with ripples?

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48 minutes ago, vlangel said:

I love potato chips, especially the ones with ripples.  Do mysis come with ripples?

 

6 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

And ranch dip? :lol:

No... just salt. 

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On 11/10/2017 at 3:24 PM, Rene said:

What awesome hitchhikers!  Live mysis are fun to watch, but most things find them so delicious that few tanks sustain them for long. I've kept populations up in tanks that had no other mobile critters, but they seem to be the potato chips of the sea. 

 

All the potato chips talk, :haha: might have scared them into hiding. Haven't seen them this morning. :( Hope they survived the weekend, surely they can outrun (or outswim) bristle worms and hermits! 

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If you ever wonder what mysis shrimps do when they are not frozen in your freezer, here's a video. They are actually swimming slowly here, they can go super fast!

 

 

Sorry I don't have much else to report with the pico. Just waiting for some rics at the LFS. 

 

Will a chalice be too aggressive in a pico, with the limited space?

 

Debating if I should add a porcelain crab? If I do add one, do I feed everyday since they are filter feeders? 

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No idea about the chalice. I have 2 in my three gallon but I have only had them for a month. They are placed so they have some room to grow and current in the tank would direct any sweepers away from other corals. I did the same with galaxea and that's working so far. 

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On 11/16/2017 at 3:13 PM, Orangutran said:

If you ever wonder what mysis shrimps do when they are not frozen in your freezer, here's a video. They are actually swimming slowly here, they can go super fast!

 

 

Sorry I don't have much else to report with the pico. Just waiting for some rics at the LFS. 

 

Will a chalice be too aggressive in a pico, with the limited space?

 

Debating if I should add a porcelain crab? If I do add one, do I feed everyday since they are filter feeders? 

When I kept the ghost shrimp I did not feed them every day except when I was feeding them off as food.  I think most scavenging crusteceans can go every other day.

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41 minutes ago, Rene said:

No idea about the chalice. I have 2 in my three gallon but I have only had them for a month. They are placed so they have some room to grow and current in the tank would direct any sweepers away from other corals. I did the same with galaxea and that's working so far. 

 That's a good point. Except I barely have any flow in my jar. :P Think I'll just stick to acans or blastos! I just hope I can remove them from the frag plugs for the jar! 

13 minutes ago, vlangel said:

When I kept the ghost shrimp I did not feed them every day except when I was feeding them off as food.  I think most scavenging crusteceans can go every other day.

I'm currently feeding my jar reef roids mon/wed/fri each week. No specific reason for reef roids except that I have some at home, and it's the least messy to feed at work. I'm leaning towards a pom pom for the jar now! Maybe I'll add the porcelain at home! ;) Thanks for the tip!

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