Billy's 18g Caribbean Biotope - Breakdown Complete!

[billygoat]

I've got the day off today, and that means I have plenty of photos to share! Today I took some close-up shots, including lots of photos of coralline algae, as promised. You know you're a reef nerd when you take 30 minutes of your weekend morning to take pictures of primitive plants... 😅

 

All of these photos were taken in the natural winter sunlight that strikes my aquarium in the morning. Here's a collection of mixed turf algae growing on a rock that is completely encrusted in various types of low-profile coralline algae.

 

 

Crustose coralline algae. This one forms brittle plates with upturned edges. Possibly Mesophyllum sp.

 

This scene is pretty typical of most of the rocks in my tank. Multiple species of coralline algae compete with each other for space in the shaded margins of the rocks, while turf algae, bubble algae, and Halimeda dominate in the more well-lit areas.

 

Branching coralline (Amphiroa sp.) with a dark maroon encrusting coralline species growing over it.

 

A close-up of Caribbean star coral, probably either Siderastrea or Stephanocoenia sp.

 

These tiny feather duster worms are almost completely invisible except when the sun strikes this rock at just the right angle. To give you an idea of their size, the out-of-focus white feather duster at bottom is about as big as a dime when fully expanded.

 

Corky fingers (Briareum asbestinum) blowing in the current.

 

Orange Ricordea florida. This one seems to have developed a double mouth. Perhaps it will split some day.

 

That's all for today! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy these cool sea creatures as much as I do. 😊

[Pjanssen]

It’s great that you don’t freak out over what most would consider to be pest algae! Like diving/snorkeling in the FL keys

[WV Reefer]

2 hours ago, billygoat said:

I've got the day off today, and that means I have plenty of photos to share! Today I took some close-up shots, including lots of photos of coralline algae, as promised. You know you're a reef nerd when you take 30 minutes of your weekend morning to take pictures of primitive plants... 😅

 

All of these photos were taken in the natural winter sunlight that strikes my aquarium in the morning. Here's a collection of mixed turf algae growing on a rock that is completely encrusted in various types of low-profile coralline algae.

 

 

Crustose coralline algae. This one forms brittle plates with upturned edges. Possibly Mesophyllum sp.

 

This scene is pretty typical of most of the rocks in my tank. Multiple species of coralline algae compete with each other for space in the shaded margins of the rocks, while turf algae, bubble algae, and Halimeda dominate in the more well-lit areas.

 

Branching coralline (Amphiroa sp.) with a dark maroon encrusting coralline species growing over it.

 

A close-up of Caribbean star coral, probably either Siderastrea or Stephanocoenia sp.

 

These tiny feather duster worms are almost completely invisible except when the sun strikes this rock at just the right angle. To give you an idea of their size, the out-of-focus white feather duster at bottom is about as big as a dime when fully expanded.

 

Corky fingers (Briareum asbestinum) blowing in the current.

 

Orange Ricordea florida. This one seems to have developed a double mouth. Perhaps it will split some day.

 

That's all for today! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy these cool sea creatures as much as I do. 😊

That first pic makes algae look good. 😊

 

and great close ups of the dusters!

[cosmicbread]

Incredibly beautiful photos of an incredible tank, as usual!

[Ratvan]

Gorgeous tank and photographs as usual. 

 

I like seeing the different algaes that you have growing in the tank, I know it sounds weird but I really like Bubble Algae

[billygoat]

Thanks everyone for your kind words! There definitely is a lot to see in the tank, and the little micro-bits of life that encrust the rocks are some of my favorite things to observe. 😊

 

20 hours ago, Pjanssen said:

It’s great that you don’t freak out over what most would consider to be pest algae! Like diving/snorkeling in the FL keys

Algae is a key component of every natural ocean ecosystem (or at least every one that's shallow enough to receive sunlight), so I figure that if I am trying to simulate such an environment I had better grow some too! And while many of these species are definitely what most aquarists would consider "pest" algae, none of them seem to grow to the point that they are causing a nuisance. I think that's probably because there are so many different kinds all competing with each other for space and nutrients in my tank.

 

19 hours ago, WV Reefer said:

That first pic makes algae look good. 😊

 

and great close ups of the dusters!

I agree, those are some handsome turf algae. 😎 Words you will probably not hear uttered in the average journal thread, but it's true! 

 

12 hours ago, cosmicbread said:

Incredibly beautiful photos of an incredible tank, as usual!

Thank you so much for the encouragement! I'm really glad you enjoy it. 😁

 

4 hours ago, Ratvan said:

Gorgeous tank and photographs as usual. 

 

I like seeing the different algaes that you have growing in the tank, I know it sounds weird but I really like Bubble Algae

I'm with you there - the bubble algae are super beautiful, like little gemstones on the rocks. I do pick them out manually if they start to grow too thick for my liking, but these days I don't have to do that very often. I kind of just let them grow and do their thing, and I haven't really had to worry about them getting out of hand. So far, at least. 😅

[billygoat]

Well, it's been more than three weeks since I corrected my lighting but my purple whip gorgonian continues to struggle. I attempted to frag it off its holdfast and reglue it to the rocks (a technique I have had some success with in the past), but this seemed to make little difference. To make matters worse, I accidentally knocked it out of place this morning and didn't have any more superglue to re-mount it. I wedged it into a gap in the rocks and it's holding for now, but the prognosis is pretty grim. I think that if it doesn't show polyps within the next week it is probably going to be a goner for sure. ☹️

 

All things considered though, I think losing a single gorg is not all that bad considering the gravity of my lighting mistake back in early December. It'll be great if the purple whip pulls through, but if not I will replace it with a more suitable specimen. You can see it all closed up at the top right of this picture:

 

 

Besides the purple whip, everything else in the tank looks great. Soft corals really are wonderfully easy to keep. It's amazing that all the other corals in the tank bounced back so well after my lighting debacle.

 

[billygoat]

Obligatory mid-water-change top-down shot:

 

 

I placed an order for some Brightwell PhytoGold-M and Selcon this morning. With only two fish in here now I feel a bit better about increasing my feeding, so I am going to try raising my feeding frequency to 4-5 times a week (up from twice a week) for the gorgonians and other particulate feeders. The large Eunicea at the back of the tank is particularly hungry - today it was eating whole frozen mysis shrimp, which seems pretty impressive for a gorgonian.

 

I also picked up some Red Sea blue bucket salt. I've been using Red Sea Coral Pro for the past year and have almost depleted my supply of it, so I am going to experiment with switching over to blue bucket instead. I originally opted for Coral Pro because I thought I wouldn't be dosing anything and figured the extra KH and Ca would help make up for that, but I've been dosing KH regularly for awhile now. Plain old blue bucket salt should help keep the system more stable since it mixes to a nice, solid 8 dKH.

 

[lizzyann]

I see the spinstream is still in use. What do you think about it after some time has passed? 

[mitten_reef]

Saw this just now and thought you would appreciate it 

 

 

[Chaozu]

On 1/7/2020 at 4:08 PM, billygoat said:

 

What are those black glass holder called? I’ve been trying to find something similar for my lid. 

[billygoat]

1 hour ago, mitten_reef said:

Saw this just now and thought you would appreciate it 

 

 

Thanks so much for sharing that awesome video @mitten_reef! It warms my heart to see those beautiful gorgonians swaying out there in their natural habitat. They look so healthy and happy! I especially like that big sea fan (Gorgonia flabellum, I believe) at the top of the shot. Reminds me of my childhood days. 🥰

 

If only I could re-create that back-and-forth wave motion in a captive setting... then we'd really be cooking! Sounds like a project for a bigger tank than mine, though. 🤔

 

7 hours ago, lizzyann said:

I see the spinstream is still in use. What do you think about it after some time has passed? 

The SpinStream nozzle is indeed still going strong, and it has quieted down considerably over the past 3 weeks! It's still clearly audible when I am standing right in front of the tank, but the noise is nothing compared to what it was when I first put it in. The sound of it turning does not seem to have adversely impacted my livestock in any way, and my soft corals are absolutely loving the flow patterns that it creates. All things considered I am pretty pleased with it so far. I think it is still gradually getting quieter too, so I'll try to keep you updated on it as the next few weeks go by. 👍 

 

1 hour ago, Chaozu said:

What are those black glass holder called? I’ve been trying to find something similar for my lid. 

The black plastic frame that holds my glass lid came as part of the Cobalt C-Vue Lid Set that was specifically made for my aquarium by the manufacturer. I'm not sure there is any similar product available for regular sale, though it seems like there should be!

[CD_Scapes]

18 hours ago, billygoat said:

Thanks so much for sharing that awesome video @mitten_reef! It warms my heart to see those beautiful gorgonians swaying out there in their natural habitat. They look so healthy and happy! I especially like that big sea fan (Gorgonia flabellum, I believe) at the top of the shot. Reminds me of my childhood days. 🥰

 

If only I could re-create that back-and-forth wave motion in a captive setting... then we'd really be cooking! Sounds like a project for a bigger tank than mine, though. 🤔

 

The SpinStream nozzle is indeed still going strong, and it has quieted down considerably over the past 3 weeks! It's still clearly audible when I am standing right in front of the tank, but the noise is nothing compared to what it was when I first put it in. The sound of it turning does not seem to have adversely impacted my livestock in any way, and my soft corals are absolutely loving the flow patterns that it creates. All things considered I am pretty pleased with it so far. I think it is still gradually getting quieter too, so I'll try to keep you updated on it as the next few weeks go by. 👍 

 

The black plastic frame that holds my glass lid came as part of the Cobalt C-Vue Lid Set that was specifically made for my aquarium by the manufacturer. I'm not sure there is any similar product available for regular sale, though it seems like there should be!

You could make the back and forth look, you would just need 2 wave makers on each end and then have one go for 5 seconds and then have the other do for 4-5 seconds after the first wave maker ended

[A.m.P]

19 minutes ago, Northwoodsreefer said:

You could make the back and forth look, you would just need 2 wave makers on each end and then have one go for 5 seconds and then have the other do for 4-5 seconds after the first wave maker ended

Aye, IIRC some folks used to do this by having two DC return pumps and spray-bars, I think it fell out of favor because it's easier to get better random flow with a couple powerheads and the waving just didn't keep funk suspended well, or something like that.

[CD_Scapes]

3 minutes ago, Amphrites said:

Aye, IIRC some folks used to do this by having two DC return pumps and spray-bars, I think it fell out of favor because it's easier to get better random flow with a couple powerheads and the waving just didn't keep funk suspended well, or something like that.

Ah, I was wanting to do something similar for my tank...I could still work. Just might have to unplug a wavemaker to get all the detritus and stuff pushes into the back chambers

[billygoat]

5 hours ago, Northwoodsreefer said:

You could make the back and forth look, you would just need 2 wave makers on each end and then have one go for 5 seconds and then have the other do for 4-5 seconds after the first wave maker ended

In theory yes, it should be possible to simulate waves using two powerheads on opposite ends of a long tank, but unfortunately there are several practical obstacles to this approach that make it quite difficult to reproduce the gentle, back-and-forth swaying of swells passing over a shallow ocean bottom. Waves in aquaria end up having to eventually encounter the aquarium glass, which produces a lot of turbulence that in turn interferes with the formation of the next set of waves. This often results in a choppy, randomized environment rather than a steady side-to-side flow. And even if you could produce the perfect pattern, waves themselves can be kind of problematic - especially in a small aquarium. True waves in your tank will cause a lot of splashing, leading to a whole bunch of salt creep or even water sloshing over the rim, and waves hitting the glass can place excessive stress on the silicone seals of your tank which may lead to premature structural failure. The swell that you see out in nature comes from waves moving over the bottom in water that is not yet shallow enough to cause them to break, but sadly our aquariums are usually not deep enough to imitate this effect accurately. 😔

 

Now if you had a tank that was very broad and very deep I think it would be possible to simulate the motion of natural ocean swells, but trying to do so in nano tanks like ours is difficult.

[CD_Scapes]

2 hours ago, billygoat said:

In theory yes, it should be possible to simulate waves using two powerheads on opposite ends of a long tank, but unfortunately there are several practical obstacles to this approach that make it quite difficult to reproduce the gentle, back-and-forth swaying of swells passing over a shallow ocean bottom. Waves in aquaria end up having to eventually encounter the aquarium glass, which produces a lot of turbulence that in turn interferes with the formation of the next set of waves. This often results in a choppy, randomized environment rather than a steady side-to-side flow. And even if you could produce the perfect pattern, waves themselves can be kind of problematic - especially in a small aquarium. True waves in your tank will cause a lot of splashing, leading to a whole bunch of salt creep or even water sloshing over the rim, and waves hitting the glass can place excessive stress on the silicone seals of your tank which may lead to premature structural failure. The swell that you see out in nature comes from waves moving over the bottom in water that is not yet shallow enough to cause them to break, but sadly our aquariums are usually not deep enough to imitate this effect accurately. 😔

 

Now if you had a tank that was very broad and very deep I think it would be possible to simulate the motion of natural ocean swells, but trying to do so in nano tanks like ours is difficult.

Well it’s time to make the big tank now I guess 🤪

[billygoat]

Haven't had much time to update this week as I've been busy with work, but rest assured that the tank is still trucking along. Nothing much to report, but in this hobby no news is good news most of the time, right? 😁 I have a nice leisurely day off ahead of me tomorrow, so I will try to get some more pictures of the tank. Can't wait!

 

[debbeach13]

Tank is looking very nice.

[billygoat]

5 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Tank is looking very nice.

Thanks! It definitely has come back into form after my mistake with the lights back in December.

 

More pictures today! I was experimenting with some different camera angles, but all of them seem to feature plenty of glare. If I had started this tank knowing what I know now, I'd probably have chosen to put it someplace easier to photograph! 😅 Maybe some day when I upgrade to an IM 40 with 5" of mud and seagrasses and mangroves I can correct the positioning... a guy's allowed to dream, right? 😁

 

 

 

 

I got a cool picture of these feather dusters too. They are very small and delicate.

[IceParrot]

An IM lagoon 50 would be nice too... just think of all the mangroves... 😛

[Ratvan]

16 hours ago, billygoat said:

Thanks! It definitely has come back into form after my mistake with the lights back in December.

 

More pictures today! I was experimenting with some different camera angles, but all of them seem to feature plenty of glare. If I had started this tank knowing what I know now, I'd probably have chosen to put it someplace easier to photograph! 😅 Maybe some day when I upgrade to an IM 40 with 5" of mud and seagrasses and mangroves I can correct the positioning... a guy's allowed to dream, right? 😁

 

 

 

 

I got a cool picture of these feather dusters too. They are very small and delicate.

The colour on those dusters is incredible 

[billygoat]

14 hours ago, IceParrot said:

An IM lagoon 50 would be nice too... just think of all the mangroves... 😛

I thought about it, I'm not gonna lie... I love the shape of IM's Lagoon tanks and I've seen such beautiful examples of shallow reefs here on N-R, so those were actually my first thought when I dreamed of upgrading the C-Vue. But after thinking about it for awhile I decided that a deeper tank would actually suit my interests better. I'd like one that is deep enough to fit a fairly thick sandbed while still leaving enough room for gorgonians to grow. The IM 40 is almost 19" deep, so I think that would be my go-to if I were to upgrade. 

 

That's all conjecture for the time being though! It's going to take me quite a while to save enough money to make that dream a reality, and I also have to make sure I won't be moving in the near future. Still though... all those practical obstacles haven't stopped me from thinking about it. 😅

 

4 hours ago, Ratvan said:

The colour on those dusters is incredible 

I agree, the white dusters are very beautiful. I also have a large collection of red and orange dusters, but most of these are very small (2 mm across or so) and seem to grow mostly in shaded areas, making them very difficult to photograph.

 

And speaking of photographs, I have been attempting to get a picture of my Terror Star for awhile now, as @cosmicbread was interested in seeing it. Turns out it's really hard to get it on camera! The thing hates light, and when it wants to it can move very fast. This awkward corner-shot with flash is the best I've been able to do so far:

 

 

This photo doesn't really give you a good idea of its size, but rest assured, it's quite big - about 10 inches from arm-tip to arm-tip when it's fully spread out, if not a bit larger. It has reached a size where detritus and waste alone are not enough to keep it going, so I've stopped treating it as a member of my clean-up crew (although it continues to be a very effective scavenger) and have started intentionally feeding it several times a week. This brittle star is probably too big for my tank and certainly limits my stocking options to some extent as it would consume some other invertebrates (and even fish, probably) that I might like to add, but I continue to be fascinated by its weird, mindless, alien ways, so I have decided to keep it.

 

 

[cosmicbread]

1 hour ago, billygoat said:

I thought about it, I'm not gonna lie... I love the shape of IM's Lagoon tanks and I've seen such beautiful examples of shallow reefs here on N-R, so those were actually my first thought when I dreamed of upgrading the C-Vue. But after thinking about it for awhile I decided that a deeper tank would actually suit my interests better. I'd like one that is deep enough to fit a fairly thick sandbed while still leaving enough room for gorgonians to grow. The IM 40 is almost 19" deep, so I think that would be my go-to if I were to upgrade. 

 

That's all conjecture for the time being though! It's going to take me quite a while to save enough money to make that dream a reality, and I also have to make sure I won't be moving in the near future. Still though... all those practical obstacles haven't stopped me from thinking about it. 😅

 

I agree, the white dusters are very beautiful. I also have a large collection of red and orange dusters, but most of these are very small (2 mm across or so) and seem to grow mostly in shaded areas, making them very difficult to photograph.

 

And speaking of photographs, I have been attempting to get a picture of my Terror Star for awhile now, as @cosmicbread was interested in seeing it. Turns out it's really hard to get it on camera! The thing hates light, and when it wants to it can move very fast. This awkward corner-shot with flash is the best I've been able to do so far:

 

 

This photo doesn't really give you a good idea of its size, but rest assured, it's quite big - about 10 inches from arm-tip to arm-tip when it's fully spread out, if not a bit larger. It has reached a size where detritus and waste alone are not enough to keep it going, so I've stopped treating it as a member of my clean-up crew (although it continues to be a very effective scavenger) and have started intentionally feeding it several times a week. This brittle star is probably too big for my tank and certainly limits my stocking options to some extent as it would consume some other invertebrates (and even fish, probably) that I might like to add, but I continue to be fascinated by its weird, mindless, alien ways, so I have decided to keep it.

 

 

So Lovecraftian in its bizarre magnificence. I wonder if you could DIY a bunch of red LEDS to bathe this tank in a sinister glow while simultaneously observing this guy prowling around.

[CD_Scapes]

26 minutes ago, cosmicbread said:

So Lovecraftian in its bizarre magnificence. I wonder if you could DIY a bunch of red LEDS to bathe this tank in a sinister glow while simultaneously observing this guy prowling around.

I like that idea.....alot