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Joe’s Half Gallon Modern Globe Pico- End of Contest FTS


JoeR

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Wow, how the heck did I miss this one until the last day of the contest? I love having the whole world in a tiny jar. And the moon and the sun too! The turntable really completes the theme so the globe can rotate. 

 

I know how you feel about not having enough time for things to grow out. Personally I don't think how extensively things have grown is significant for the contest, because six months isn't really enough time to judge anyway. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all develops in the months to come. 

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Oh my gosh! I really messed up. I submitted the wrong FTS with the other two for the final three pics. It was the one from February!

 

THIS is the actual FTS, if it’s allowed...

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  • 2 months later...

Not much has changed with this pico lately. There are two Zoa frags that are being choked out  by hair algae though, and one of them is my favorite- my Rastas! How can I remove it?? Will  some sort of lugols solution kill it?

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Iodine won't kill algae.  I'd use a peroxide dip.  Zoanthids are pretty tolerant, and should be OK.  I'd also add a few more herbivorous snails (or possibly even a small scarlet reef hermit).

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1 hour ago, seabass said:

Iodine won't kill algae.  I'd use a peroxide dip.  Zoanthids are pretty tolerant, and should be OK.  I'd also add a few more herbivorous snails (or possibly even a small scarlet reef hermit).

How do I go about a peroxide dip?

 

what kind of snail would be best do you think? I thought hermit crabs eat hair algae but I haven’t added one as I figured they would step on the spas all the time.

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There are various methods.  Some people mix a 1:1 solution of 3% peroxide and saltwater, let it sit in the solution for a minute, leave it oxidize in the air for another minute, rinse in clean saltwater, then return to the tank.

 

I've made saltwater using peroxide (instead of RO/DI) and used that as a dip.  It's a little more concentrated, but it the salinity is closer to normal.  I reduce the time of each part (about 15 seconds for the dip, and 15 seconds to oxidize in the air).

 

Some people will go so far as to drop straight 3% peroxide on the algae (out of the water), leave it out of the water for several seconds, rinse in saltwater, then return to the tank.

 

You might have to repeat this process.  Note some livestock is more sensitive than zoanthids, so these methods might not be safe for all corals.

 

 

Good small herbivorous snails are Astraea and Nerite.  Either of these should be suitable for a pico (although some species of Nerite like to climb out of tanks).  A little larger are Trochus; and larger yet are the Turbos (although you'll sometimes see snails like Trochus labeled as Turbos).  It's true that hermits may be more disruptive.  I'm not opposed to using one, but many will steer you away.

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4 hours ago, seabass said:

There are various methods.  Some people mix a 1:1 solution of 3% peroxide and saltwater, let it sit in the solution for a minute, leave it oxidize in the air for another minute, rinse in clean saltwater, then return to the tank.

 

I've made saltwater using peroxide (instead of RO/DI) and used that as a dip.  It's a little more concentrated, but it the salinity is closer to normal.  I reduce the time of each part (about 15 seconds for the dip, and 15 seconds to oxidize in the air).

 

Some people will go so far as to drop straight 3% peroxide on the algae (out of the water), leave it out of the water for several seconds, rinse in saltwater, then return to the tank.

 

You might have to repeat this process.  Note some livestock is more sensitive than zoanthids, so these methods might not be safe for all corals.

 

 

Good small herbivorous snails are Astraea and Nerite.  Either of these should be suitable for a pico (although some species of Nerite like to climb out of tanks).  A little larger are Trochus; and larger yet are the Turbos (although you'll sometimes see snails like Trochus labeled as Turbos).  It's true that hermits may be more disruptive.  I'm not opposed to using one, but many will steer you away.

I actually went ahead and dropped pure 3% peroxide on the algae, which is now grey instead of green (aka dead), and the zoas are opening. So I think it was successful, I may have to give it another shot in a week or two if it comes back. Thanks for the help!

 

i have a small black mystery snail in here already, but it hides during the day and I’m not certain what it eats. I’ll have to find another real tiny one, something the size of a turbo is too big to squeeze between the glass and globe. I’ll have to get one of the ones you mentioned.

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11 hours ago, seabass said:

Reef Cleaners sell Dwarf Ceriths.  While not the greatest of algae eaters, they will eat some algae and are quite small.

Those will definitely work! 

 

I saw chitons on there too, I bet they would help my 8 gallon that can’t seem to get rid of GHA. I’m going to try the peroxide on it today though first.

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Rastas are already thanking me! They’re so nice. Wish I had a huge colony by now 😭 That’s what I get for not keeping up with this tank. I go a longgg time without doing a WC. I started with probably 5 Rasta polyps and now I’m down to two 😥 I keep hearing that zoas like “dirty water”, and this one has gone probably a full month without a WC and It seems to me they grow better with weekly WC. I thought they’d like the dirty water like everyone says, but I’m not sure if that’s true now, at least for a sub half gallon.

 

Im also thinking the light might be a little strong for them. 

 

And DAMMIT somehow aiptasia got in here!! I hate them with a passion. I can’t get rid of them to save my life in my 3 gallon and now they’re in this one bothering my utter chaos.

 

Lastly, some of the colony’s are being overtaken by— sponges? White sponge like things are growing between the paradox zoas and the cats eyes, and other too Im sure. Is this a problem?

 

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  • 5 months later...
23 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

Hey @JoeR, what ever became of the half gallon pico globe? 🙂 

Unfortunately it too was a victim of Florence, right now it sits empty and sad yet full of hair algae. Not sure what to do with it right now. The zoas  never thrived in the tank anyway, and definitely seem to have lost their vibrant color over time. Maybe it simply is too low of a water volume. Considering switching to something new, maybe a macro algae tank with shrimp?

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7 minutes ago, JoeR said:

Unfortunately it too was a victim of Florence, right now it sits empty and sad yet full of hair algae. Not sure what to do with it right now. The zoas  never thrived in the tank anyway, and definitely seem to have lost their vibrant color over time. Maybe it simply is too low of a water volume. Considering switching to something new, maybe a macro algae tank with shrimp?

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Consider the brackish water shrimp Opae ula, Hawaiian volcano shrimp. Mine are in a little half gallon or so bowl that gets topped off when the water gets lower, no feeding, no water movement, I don't even have a light over the tank. Just gets enough ambient light to grow a bit of algae (I believe they eat a biofilm off the algae if I remember right). Very low maintenance, not the most exciting things but fun to watch. They'd contrast nicely against the dark rock globe. 

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8 hours ago, Lula_Mae said:

Consider the brackish water shrimp Opae ula, Hawaiian volcano shrimp. Mine are in a little half gallon or so bowl that gets topped off when the water gets lower, no feeding, no water movement, I don't even have a light over the tank. Just gets enough ambient light to grow a bit of algae (I believe they eat a biofilm off the algae if I remember right). Very low maintenance, not the most exciting things but fun to watch. They'd contrast nicely against the dark rock globe. 

They’d be pretty entertaining scurrying around the globe wouldn’t they haha. What else could I keep with the shrimp to add some interest? I’m sure there’s brakish macro algae I could throw in there too? I feel like just the shrimp alone may be a tad bit boring

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 12/6/2018 at 8:42 AM, JoeR said:

They’d be pretty entertaining scurrying around the globe wouldn’t they haha. What else could I keep with the shrimp to add some interest? I’m sure there’s brakish macro algae I could throw in there too? I feel like just the shrimp alone may be a tad bit boring

The petshrimp.com website offers (or did) a sort of moss ball and a type of chaeto for brackish water. I have them on a shelf by my desk but my pico is in the way right now lol. They're cute to watch though. 

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2 hours ago, Lula_Mae said:

The petshrimp.com website offers (or did) a sort of moss ball and a type of chaeto for brackish water. I have them on a shelf by my desk but my pico is in the way right now lol. They're cute to watch though. 

Now THAT would be cool if I switched to a shrimp tank and could attach the moss to the globe somehow, make it grow over the rocks/continents 🤔

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8 hours ago, JoeR said:

Now THAT would be cool if I switched to a shrimp tank and could attach the moss to the globe somehow, make it grow over the rocks/continents 🤔

Haha I dunno, they look like teeny marimo balls!

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4 hours ago, Lula_Mae said:

Haha I dunno, they look like teeny marimo balls!

Their website says it’s an unidentified species that’s very useful in keeping water parameters in good shape. Sounds like a must have for brackish tanks, however they’ll set you back $20 for a 0.5”-1” ball! Probably wouldnt be able to make it grow “on” or around the globe. Still, would be a cool addition. Anything is better than as the tank sits now.

 

Shrimp are only $2.50 each... any idea how many should I start with? 

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17 hours ago, JoeR said:

Their website says it’s an unidentified species that’s very useful in keeping water parameters in good shape. Sounds like a must have for brackish tanks, however they’ll set you back $20 for a 0.5”-1” ball! Probably wouldnt be able to make it grow “on” or around the globe. Still, would be a cool addition. Anything is better than as the tank sits now.

 

Shrimp are only $2.50 each... any idea how many should I start with? 

The tank is under a gallon, right?  I'd suggest maybe 10-12 ish?  There might be a suggestion somewhere on the site or its forum to help, but I was gonna do about that many and lucked out finding a guy on ebay who had a pack available at the time.

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On 12/28/2018 at 3:59 AM, Lula_Mae said:

The tank is under a gallon, right?  I'd suggest maybe 10-12 ish?  There might be a suggestion somewhere on the site or its forum to help, but I was gonna do about that many and lucked out finding a guy on ebay who had a pack available at the time.

Yeah it’s about 0.3 gallons of water, or 6 cups maybe? Quite small. I think the websites minimum order is $25 so I’d need 10 to reach that or find another site

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On 12/29/2018 at 9:50 AM, JoeR said:

Yeah it’s about 0.3 gallons of water, or 6 cups maybe? Quite small. I think the websites minimum order is $25 so I’d need 10 to reach that or find another site

Sometimes you can find them on Ebay although they may not be tank raised/ captive bred. I've wanted to try the brackish macros but not had the opportunity yet... too many other places to spend my money lol. 

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