Denise's Skull Pico Creative Container Contest Entry

[dmw913]

9 hours ago, jahnje said:

So just too many curves in the glass?  

Too many curves and the thickness varies to a certain degree.  The DSLR just hates it.  It's got odd magnifications everywhere and places you would never think would bend the light.  However, I just got an Aquariclip so the pics from the iPhone should be improved.  

[dmw913]

8 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

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

Thank you so much!  I just found another Utter Chaos baby today so I'm pretty pumped.  I wish the Bam Bams were doing better.  I tried to keep everything in greens, purples, and oranges for Halloween theme.

[dmw913]

6 hours ago, vlangel said:

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!

You're very kind!  Thank you!  I have done at least 1 x 100% WC per week since I put water in the tank.  I prefer to do 2 but sometimes that mid-week one slides.   The shape of the skull dictated that the algae is on the bottom of the container where even more bends in the class make enjoying coral difficult.  I hope to get a nice blend of green and red down there with the coral up on top and Mr. Pincers keeping things tidy.   

[dmw913]

Hey all!

 

It's been a few days since I posted on the pico.  Busy with the holidays and spending time on my ultimate pico thread here planning the transfer of the skull at the end of the contest.

 

Update 1:  Got a NPS for the pico.  FAIL!  I got a very nice dendro frag for the pico in an effort to get some more movement in the tank.  Also thought it would be easy to feed in such a small water volume.  Left it in my main tank overnight to chill out.  It was extended and happy.  Put it in the pico and it closed up tighter than a drum never to open in that tank again!!!  Don't know what was going on with it.  I was worried about it not eating so I put it back in the main tank and it slowly started to come around.  It is fluffy again and eating well.  Just more difficult for me due to depth of tank.  I'm profoundly glad it didn't die though!

 

Update 2:  Added some rainbow/Christmas cloves to the pico on a magnet frag plug, again, to get some more movement in the tank.  It wasn't a great frag to start with but it's hanging in there.  I'm hoping to see it perk up soon.

 

Update 3:  Removed setosa frag for the time being.  When I broke the rock structure and did not reglue because I liked taking the rock out of the tank to clean, the change in angle when the rock was replaced really shaded the setosa and I couldn't see it from my viewing area.  Rather than let it degrade or me fail to enjoy it, I transferred it to my main tank.  I will see if there is a better piece of real estate in the pico and consider returning it.  

 

Maintenance:  100% wc today.  HW Marinemix salt.  No algae to speak of other than a little red turf near the snake polyps that was there when I got them.  I scrape a little of it off & add peroxide during each wc.  It will eventually go away.  Mr. Pincers continues to rule the roost and keep things tidy.  

 

Here are pics post-water change.  Things are a little closed up but you can see the magnetic frag and the general idea.  I'll post better pics when things aren't annoyed.  Pic taken with iPhone X with Aquariclip

[vlangel]

Beautiful!

[Weetabix7]

16 hours ago, dmw913 said:

Hey all!

 

It's been a few days since I posted on the pico.  Busy with the holidays and spending time on my ultimate pico thread here planning the transfer of the skull at the end of the contest.

 

Update 1:  Got a NPS for the pico.  FAIL!  I got a very nice dendro frag for the pico in an effort to get some more movement in the tank.  Also thought it would be easy to feed in such a small water volume.  Left it in my main tank overnight to chill out.  It was extended and happy.  Put it in the pico and it closed up tighter than a drum never to open in that tank again!!!  Don't know what was going on with it.  I was worried about it not eating so I put it back in the main tank and it slowly started to come around.  It is fluffy again and eating well.  Just more difficult for me due to depth of tank.  I'm profoundly glad it didn't die though!

 

Update 2:  Added some rainbow/Christmas cloves to the pico on a magnet frag plug, again, to get some more movement in the tank.  It wasn't a great frag to start with but it's hanging in there.  I'm hoping to see it perk up soon.

 

Update 3:  Removed setosa frag for the time being.  When I broke the rock structure and did not reglue because I liked taking the rock out of the tank to clean, the change in angle when the rock was replaced really shaded the setosa and I couldn't see it from my viewing area.  Rather than let it degrade or me fail to enjoy it, I transferred it to my main tank.  I will see if there is a better piece of real estate in the pico and consider returning it.  

 

Maintenance:  100% wc today.  HW Marinemix salt.  No algae to speak of other than a little red turf near the snake polyps that was there when I got them.  I scrape a little of it off & add peroxide during each wc.  It will eventually go away.  Mr. Pincers continues to rule the roost and keep things tidy.  

 

Here are pics post-water change.  Things are a little closed up but you can see the magnetic frag and the general idea.  I'll post better pics when things aren't annoyed.  Pic taken with iPhone X with Aquariclip

 

I like this!!

[dmw913]

 

Fluffier pic, as promised.  I need to check in the morning, but I think the anemone split!!!

[cfaye@Delaware]

Outstanding !!!!

 

[dmw913]

Looks like I was right!  RFA is splitting.  Doesn't seem to be quite finished yet.  Top down photo where you can clearly see the second mouth.  iPhone pic w/Aquariclip.

[fishfreak0114]

RFA's split?!  I never knew that!

[dmw913]

21 minutes ago, fishfreak0114 said:

RFA's split?!  I never knew that!

That’s what I’m assuming.  I know I only had one!  Lol!  Happy to be educated if I’m misunderstanding.  

[Clown79]

Skull looks great

[Neopixal]

Nice theme you’re going with this pico!

[vlangel]

That is so cool that the nem split!  Such a bright neon green among all the orange coral.

[dmw913]

On 12/25/2017 at 11:29 PM, Neopixal said:

Nice theme you’re going with this pico!

Thanks very much!  I'm a Halloween nut!

[dmw913]

On 12/26/2017 at 6:04 AM, vlangel said:

That is so cool that the nem split!  Such a bright neon green among all the orange coral.

Thanks, Dawn!  The Halloween colors are still going strong!

[dmw913]

Ok, so I just have to say a big thanks to @brandon429 and all of the other pico experts and contest participants here.  Brandon makes the point on this site and other places regularly that taking care of a pico is fundamentally different than taking care of larger tanks given some of the unique challenges and advantages of picos.  @Droy008 also made some compelling points about the beauty in the simplicity of picos in my ultimate pico thread.  I've been giving a lot of thought to all of these ideas and one, among many, that really struck a chord is where Brandon said that there is great utility in translating pico caretaking skills/techniques to larger reefs where possible.  Over the last month, I have found myself being much more aggressive with algae in my  main tank as soon as it's spotted and treating at the source - scraping, peroxide, etc.  I purchased scalpels, for hells sake!  I am consciously thinking before I do anything to the entire water volume as well as removing rocks/frags for treatment/algae eradication where I can.  What I am seeing is a much cleaner reef with no more effort, just effort redirected in a more concentrated/thoughtful manner.  

 

Thank you all for educating me, giving me new perspectives and improving my husbandry across all of my tanks.

 

Best,

Denise

[teenyreef]

That's great insight! We are all learning so much from this contest 

[brandon429]

Denise thank you so much for that!

 

I truly wish there was a collective better way than brutish hacking at algae but I don’t know of one yet as universal. I’m done scraping as soon as they find a better way. The luckiest tuners get an animal to do it for them, and even that didn’t work given the snails and crabs tried so in end refusal of growth is my last ace card. I have a dremel handy should anything try and get all resistant, but no big guns needed yet knock on wood 

 

one day we w all look back, invader free, and laugh on the days  and post Friday the 13th memes at the old school way of being algae free by sheer force and requirement. How uncouth 

 

 

your bowl is packed with life, health and ideal color you’ve pretty much planted corals in most places algae wants, a little dental scraping of the edges from time to time is nbd to me still 

 

those pics are sharp and I’m searching reading now to see what that red plant item on the lower portions looks to be I wish I had that color diversity 

 

 

[Minmay]

On 12/24/2017 at 10:09 PM, fishfreak0114 said:

RFA's split?!  I never knew that!

Me either! We learn something new everyday dont we. 

[OPtasia]

Pretty bad assed little pico.

[dmw913]

6 hours ago, brandon429 said:

Denise thank you so much for that!

 

I truly wish there was a collective better way than brutish hacking at algae but I don’t know of one yet as universal. I’m done scraping as soon as they find a better way. The luckiest tuners get an animal to do it for them, and even that didn’t work given the snails and crabs tried so in end refusal of growth is my last ace card. I have a dremel handy should anything try and get all resistant, but no big guns needed yet knock on wood 

 

one day we w all look back, invader free, and laugh on the days  and post Friday the 13th memes at the old school way of being algae free by sheer force and requirement. How uncouth 

 

 

your bowl is packed with life, health and ideal color you’ve pretty much planted corals in most places algae wants, a little dental scraping of the edges from time to time is nbd to me still 

 

those pics are sharp and I’m searching reading now to see what that red plant item on the lower portions looks to be I wish I had that color diversity 

 

 

Just some old school dragon's breath!  You're far too kind!  Thank you!  As you can tell, I'm having a blast with the whole cosmos - picos to display to teaching my son to be an aquarist!

[dmw913]

End of December update:

 

1.  Frag of rainbow/christmas clove polyps are starting to point upward toward the light (from their sideways magnetic frag position) and appear to be adjusting well to the pico.  

2.  I'm getting rid of the pink & gold zoas because they enjoy the pico a little too much.  The polyps are getting really big and they are pretty bland.  Quite frankly, not worth the prime real estate in 2.1 gallons.  They are headed to a friend's tank as a "happy new tank" present.  

3.  Digi is showing signs of growth so that's awesome!

4.  Ricordea on the bottom of the tank is huge (+3").  Seems to really enjoy the lower light of the bottom tucked in by the macro algae.

5.  100% water changes are done weekly now instead of 2x per week.  No algae to speak of other than one patch of red turf near the snake polyps which gets reduced, scraped and peroxided each water change.  It's almost gone.  I got a scalpel this week so I can really get after it.  

6.  Fathead dendros HATED the pico and almost died.  They are now thriving in the main display and eating like little piggies.  Phew!

7.  Mr. Pincers continues to rule the roost and keep things tidy.  

8.  I have reduced the photoperiod again and offset the light slightly to try to get the jack-o-lantern to brighten back up after I bleached it with too much light.  Tank is lit 7.5 hours per day.  I hate that part on the weekends when I'm home.  Can't wait to swap out for the Prime so I can up photoperiod and lower intensity.  

9.  I have also picked up a 2 gallon Aquatop cube for my son's room for when the contest is all over.  He reminded me I promised him the skull and there's just no way I'm cleaning this thing long term.  So, he's looking forward to his first coral tank!  Darn it, I'll just have to stock the 4 gallon from scratch...lol

 

Here's my FTS for this month:

[vlangel]

Magnificent and not creepy at all even though its a skull!

[Lula_Mae]

Beautiful!