Denise's Skull Pico Creative Container Contest Entry

[dmw913]

On 11/10/2017 at 8:47 PM, JcSH2o said:

What the WHAT?! Everything about this is fantastic! Absolutely fan-freaking-tastic. Nice job, and I can't wait to watch this one grow in! 

I appreciate the support!  Pico skull is moving in the right direction, I hope!  

[vlangel]

21 hours ago, dmw913 said:

Saturday end of month update:  150% water change yesterday.  I was getting really frustrated at not being able to clean the nooks and crannies of the skull.  Additionally, I saw that one of my frag plugs has two decent sized aiptasia on it so I gingerly removed the rock work from the tank and performed a 100% WC.  Scrubbed the glass and popped off the zoa frag that had the aiptasia as well as another frag that you couldn't really see because it sat at the "neck" of the skull and the nepthea frag because it was just sitting so low.  

 

While I was doing all of this, I managed to snap the rock structure in two pieces.  Bummer at first but then I got thinking and decided to rearrange and make the best of it so that I could always remove the rock when I cleaned.  So, I have one large rock on the bottom to which I've now attached 4 types of macro algae that I bought as a nano pack on ebay which was quite cool.  $10.  Let me know if anyone wants the link.  It was packaged well and arrived quickly.  I then have the upper rock structure which is positioned to put the majority of the corals in the bowl (back of the skull head) which is the best viewing area.  I scrubbed the entire container, really stirred up the sand and did another 50% WC to make sure I was starting clean with this new 'scape.

 

The inverts continue to do well.  The blue hermit that I thought was dead must have just been hiding because he's been out/about regularly.  Mr. Pincers continues to do his job and the snail munches along.  Hair algae has been 90% eradicated.  Water is clear and I don't want to scream.  I am dosing .5 ml Continuum Bacter Clean M daily.  

 

11/25 FTS after all changes described above:

 

Looking fabulous!  I love this container.

[Lula_Mae]

On 11/25/2017 at 5:00 PM, dmw913 said:

Saturday end of month update:  150% water change yesterday.  I was getting really frustrated at not being able to clean the nooks and crannies of the skull.  Additionally, I saw that one of my frag plugs has two decent sized aiptasia on it so I gingerly removed the rock work from the tank and performed a 100% WC.  Scrubbed the glass and popped off the zoa frag that had the aiptasia as well as another frag that you couldn't really see because it sat at the "neck" of the skull and the nepthea frag because it was just sitting so low.  

 

While I was doing all of this, I managed to snap the rock structure in two pieces.  Bummer at first but then I got thinking and decided to rearrange and make the best of it so that I could always remove the rock when I cleaned.  So, I have one large rock on the bottom to which I've now attached 4 types of macro algae that I bought as a nano pack on ebay which was quite cool.  $10.  Let me know if anyone wants the link.  It was packaged well and arrived quickly.  I then have the upper rock structure which is positioned to put the majority of the corals in the bowl (back of the skull head) which is the best viewing area.  I scrubbed the entire container, really stirred up the sand and did another 50% WC to make sure I was starting clean with this new 'scape.

 

The inverts continue to do well.  The blue hermit that I thought was dead must have just been hiding because he's been out/about regularly.  Mr. Pincers continues to do his job and the snail munches along.  Hair algae has been 90% eradicated.  Water is clear and I don't want to scream.  I am dosing .5 ml Continuum Bacter Clean M daily.  

 

11/25 FTS after all changes described above:

 

Was the macro from seller saltwatertechnologies? I was very happy with the four pack I got from them a while back. They even threw in a freebie!

[dmw913]

16 hours ago, Lula_Mae said:

Was the macro from seller saltwatertechnologies? I was very happy with the four pack I got from them a while back. They even threw in a freebie!

It was from them.  It was absolutely well packaged and well priced.  No freebie for me but that's not a big deal.  I was somewhat disappointed that I sent a note to seller asking for shipping to be delayed until after the holiday and they not only shipped immediately (against my desire and note) but they never responded to my email questioning the decision.  I know it's weird to complain about fast shipping but it meant I had to go to the office on my holiday time off to get my package.  #iamawhiner....

[Lula_Mae]

6 hours ago, dmw913 said:

It was from them.  It was absolutely well packaged and well priced.  No freebie for me but that's not a big deal.  I was somewhat disappointed that I sent a note to seller asking for shipping to be delayed until after the holiday and they not only shipped immediately (against my desire and note) but they never responded to my email questioning the decision.  I know it's weird to complain about fast shipping but it meant I had to go to the office on my holiday time off to get my package.  #iamawhiner....

Well that's lame.  I'd contact them again and then if no response within a few days, consider leaving a less than 5 star review--that'll get some attention lol.

[dmw913]

On 11/28/2017 at 4:38 AM, Lula_Mae said:

Well that's lame.  I'd contact them again and then if no response within a few days, consider leaving a less than 5 star review--that'll get some attention lol.

They finally responded and said they never got an email from me.  I was very clear in first message that my request was in the shipping notes in the order.  I sent them a screenshot and never heard back...

[Lula_Mae]

3 minutes ago, dmw913 said:

They finally responded and said they never got an email from me.  I was very clear in first message that my request was in the shipping notes in the order.  I sent them a screenshot and never heard back...

Well that's aggravating... I'd give it a few days just in case but that's annoying.

[dmw913]

1 minute ago, Lula_Mae said:

Well that's aggravating... I'd give it a few days just in case but that's annoying.

Agreed.  In their defense, the plants were exceptionally well packaged, well priced and they did ship promptly.  

[dmw913]

Accidental frag of Forest Fire Digi made it into the pico.  Seems to be making itself right at home.

[Lula_Mae]

2 minutes ago, dmw913 said:

Agreed.  In their defense, the plants were exceptionally well packaged, well priced and they did ship promptly.  

Agreed, they did a great job with that. 

[MainelyReefer]

The color choices of coral in combination with spectrum bringing out their best colors is great!

[dmw913]

On 11/30/2017 at 2:40 AM, GraniteReefer said:

The color choices of coral in combination with spectrum bringing out their best colors is great!

Thanks!  I'm trying to keep the Halloween colors with a lot of green, orange, etc.  Please note the pic is an iPhone pic with a piece of gel filter over it to cut down on the blues but it's quite representative of what it looks like to the naked eye.  

 

I really want the jack-o-lantern to take off and take over!!!

[dmw913]

100% WC today.  Odd how it is so enjoyable to do the WCs on the pico but such a chore on the larger tank.  I enjoy taking out the top chunk of rock and spot treating algae, etc.  However, I do worry I'm going to squish Mr. Pincers when I put the rock back in.  The new macro algae is still alive but not thriving yet.  I also added a couple of bright zoas after fragging them out of my main tank.  I have ordered some Ocean Wonders magnetic frag plugs and am looking for some frags with more movement.  I'm thinking about rainbow cloves or something of that ilk.  I've also got a frag of dendro on the way.  That will be a new one for me.  I thought what better time to try than when I'm doing 2 x 100% WCs per week and won't have any livestock competing for food.  

 

 

[fishfreak0114]

I can't wait to see the dendro!  I love them, but I don't know if I could keep up with feeding.  Are you finding it hard to clean the algae off the glass with the shape of your container?

[dmw913]

On 12/3/2017 at 9:45 PM, fishfreak0114 said:

I can't wait to see the dendro!  I love them, but I don't know if I could keep up with feeding.  Are you finding it hard to clean the algae off the glass with the shape of your container?

My tank is in my bedroom on my nightstand so it's pretty easy to enjoy it and remember things like the feeding.  Additionally, I love the idea of feeding without my piggy fish fighting for the food like in my main tank!    

 

And yes, cleaning this little gem of a tank is a bit of a chore.  I remove the top major portion of rock with coral and place it in the bucket that the water change water is draining into and then I take a scrubber sponge I cut into a small piece and get at the nooks and crannies.  Because I drain from the water dispensing spout, I then turkey baste the sides of the tank so the gunk I just scrubbed runs to the bottom and then I flush with 1/2 a pitcher of fresh saltwater before I fill it back up.  The dispensing spout has been an unexpected bonus.  However, I always worry things like that will eventually break/leak one day.  I'm loving this pico but do not plan to continue it in the skull for the very reasons mentioned above so I've been researching other pico tank options that are a bit more manageable to clean.  Thoughts???  I found another neat cylinder beverage dispenser, but I've also been looking at the Ultum Nature Systems and the Aqua Design Amano tanks.  Beautiful, just beautiful.  

 

Here's what I came home to tonight - Mr. Pincers and all the coral as fat and happy as I've seen them to date:

[fishfreak0114]

Coffee pot?   Looking great, I love that you stuck with the Halloween theme!

[dmw913]

3 minutes ago, fishfreak0114 said:

Coffee pot?   Looking great, I love that you stuck with the Halloween theme!

Oh yes, I still have the snake curling up the gooseneck too.  My husband thinks I'm nuts.  And yes, coffee pot tanks rule!

[vlangel]

13 hours ago, dmw913 said:

My tank is in my bedroom on my nightstand so it's pretty easy to enjoy it and remember things like the feeding.  Additionally, I love the idea of feeding without my piggy fish fighting for the food like in my main tank!    

 

And yes, cleaning this little gem of a tank is a bit of a chore.  I remove the top major portion of rock with coral and place it in the bucket that the water change water is draining into and then I take a scrubber sponge I cut into a small piece and get at the nooks and crannies.  Because I drain from the water dispensing spout, I then turkey baste the sides of the tank so the gunk I just scrubbed runs to the bottom and then I flush with 1/2 a pitcher of fresh saltwater before I fill it back up.  The dispensing spout has been an unexpected bonus.  However, I always worry things like that will eventually break/leak one day.  I'm loving this pico but do not plan to continue it in the skull for the very reasons mentioned above so I've been researching other pico tank options that are a bit more manageable to clean.  Thoughts???  I found another neat cylinder beverage dispenser, but I've also been looking at the Ultum Nature Systems and the Aqua Design Amano tanks.  Beautiful, just beautiful.  

 

Here's what I came home to tonight - Mr. Pincers and all the coral as fat and happy as I've seen them to date:

O wow!  This pic is sensational and so beautiful.

[dmw913]

1 hour ago, vlangel said:

O wow!  This pic is sensational and so beautiful.

Thank you so much!!!  Things are coming along.  

[dmw913]

Was out of town for a couple of days and all went well with the tank.  Things were full and happy when I got home.  Sadly, snail died for some reason.  Mr. Pincers still going strong.  Going to watch algae growth to see if I need to add another snail.  100% WC this evening.  I only did 1 WC this week instead of 2.  We'll see if there are any appreciable problems with that approach.  Dragon's breath algae seems to be growing like a weed.  The other types are living but not thriving.  Anyone have any insight as to why that might be?  I'm also getting an Utter Chaos baby which is cool!  

 

I've been practicing some macro photography with my main tank but the skull glass just doesn't work with that camera.  Nothing stays in focus AT ALL.  I got the following pic with my iPhone which actually takes better pics of the skull but anything trying to get this close is going to be fuzzy through my glass.  Apologies.

 

[vlangel]

I am trying different macro algaes as well.  I hope my dragon's breath grows as good as yours.  I also have red grape, codium and halimeda in my jar.  I have already removed cheato and red titan. The cheato would let pieces break off and float everywhere.  The red titan acted like a filter pad and trapped a lot of detritus.  I could just remove it every week and shake it out in clean salt water and maybe I will still do that eventually.  It wasn't very pretty however with all that stuff in it.

[dmw913]

5 hours ago, vlangel said:

I am trying different macro algaes as well.  I hope my dragon's breath grows as good as yours.  I also have red grape, codium and halimeda in my jar.  I have already removed cheato and red titan. The cheato would let pieces break off and float everywhere.  The red titan acted like a filter pad and trapped a lot of detritus.  I could just remove it every week and shake it out in clean salt water and maybe I will still do that eventually.  It wasn't very pretty however with all that stuff in it.

Thanks!!!  I have never used macros in a display before so this is new to me.  So many fun things coming out of this contest!  I started with one chunk of dragon's breath from a LFS which grew well so I wanted to add something different for color contrast.  I got the nano 4 pack from Ebay and it came with another chunk of dragon's breath which has also done well.  The codium is alive but hasn't started growing significantly.  The red razor is perking up as is the full blade caulerpa but they all have a ways to go to compete with the dragon's breath.  

 

I looked up yours and am jealous!  I think that red grape is just lovely!  I also liked the red titan but could see how it would trap gunk.  Is your codium doing well?  I heard you can even eat that stuff.  Not sure that's my cup of tea though - lol.  I have chaeto in my main tank algae reactor.  It never occurred to me to put it in the display as I agree with you it's really messy.  It also seems to really take over things when it's growing strong.  When it's not, it gets slimy and sortof like a snot ball.  

 

I wish there was a saltwater version of a marimo moss ball.  I have a couple in my son's fresh tank and they are awesome!  

[jahnje]

On 12/11/2017 at 12:24 AM, dmw913 said:

I've been practicing some macro photography with my main tank but the skull glass just doesn't work with that camera.  Nothing stays in focus AT ALL.  I got the following pic with my iPhone which actually takes better pics of the skull but anything trying to get this close is going to be fuzzy through my glass.  Apologies.

So just too many curves in the glass?  

[Christopher Marks]

I love your zoanthid collection @dmw913, such great morphs with complimentary colors! This is going to grow out in such a cool way.

[vlangel]

15 hours ago, dmw913 said:

Thanks!!!  I have never used macros in a display before so this is new to me.  So many fun things coming out of this contest!  I started with one chunk of dragon's breath from a LFS which grew well so I wanted to add something different for color contrast.  I got the nano 4 pack from Ebay and it came with another chunk of dragon's breath which has also done well.  The codium is alive but hasn't started growing significantly.  The red razor is perking up as is the full blade caulerpa but they all have a ways to go to compete with the dragon's breath.  

 

I looked up yours and am jealous!  I think that red grape is just lovely!  I also liked the red titan but could see how it would trap gunk.  Is your codium doing well?  I heard you can even eat that stuff.  Not sure that's my cup of tea though - lol.  I have chaeto in my main tank algae reactor.  It never occurred to me to put it in the display as I agree with you it's really messy.  It also seems to really take over things when it's growing strong.  When it's not, it gets slimy and sortof like a snot ball.  

 

I wish there was a saltwater version of a marimo moss ball.  I have a couple in my son's fresh tank and they are awesome!  

Yes, I also heard that you can eat some of the macro algaes.  You first! ?

My codium has not been in the jar very long but it seems to be staying green.  Codium is odd as it grows.  The branches get all fuzzy like and that is how you know if its happy.

What I know of macro algae is the greens like a lot of light and the reds can live with less, except dragon's breath which will flourish in high light too.

All macro algaes like high magnesium, alkalinity and calcium so its best to use a reef salt, although doing weekly 100% water changes helps tremendously with that.

Anyway, whatever you are doing in your jar is working cause it looks great!