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Loungeview Pico – An Old School Cheerleader


Tempestas

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Hi everyone

 

 

I’ve been lurking on this forum for more than a decade, and now that I finally have a job on land, I’ve decided that the time has come to finally start building my first SW reef.

 

1390346385_IMG_7019copy.thumb.jpg.2886b54505e3626a66e3b7b874a225a5.jpg

 

 

 

1721889997_IMG_5989copy.thumb.jpg.3f56b305700f3587f4a850d73a91a99e.jpg

 

 

So as you can see, I’m going with a fishbowl instead of the traditional rectangular aquarium that was called for in the contest. It does however, meet two of the dimensional criteria, (2.5g and 12 inch diameter) which is why I’m joining in.

 

 

The main reason I’m going with this shape is that I had been looking for a decent quality fishbowl for months and finally purchased it about a week before the contest was announced, so I’m sticking with it. The other reason is that none of the LFS in this city have a tank of the correct dimensions, which doesn’t help much.

 

 

On to the build…

 

IMG_6378 copy.jpg

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Current Equipment

 

Tank: 12 Litre Fishbowl (2,5Gal)

Lid:  Shallow glass bowl

Heater: 25W Aquael Easytherm

Lights: 12W ABI Tuna Blue

Circulation: Tetra APS 15 airpump with airstone

Backup Circulation: Sebo AP900 DC airpump

Rock: 2.3 kg Live rock

Sand: Barebottom

Food: Reef Roids, Coral frenzy and Coralific Delight

Skimmer: None

HOB Filter: None

ATO: None

Dosing: None

 

26 April 2019

 

1699283106_IMG_6137copy.thumb.jpg.2de8166164ca05ffb0b018686eedf726.jpg

 

 

11 April 2019

 

2069816819_IMG_5991copy.thumb.jpg.bb20e5a8e36567522be54d0f9bdd976b.jpg

 

 

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Detailed starting equipment, costs and sources:

 

(All prices listed are ZAR. For US conversion divide by 14,5)

 

Container:

  • Round fishbowl - R216 - JA Floral Distributors
  • Glass lid - R120 - Florist shop in Sunridge Park
  • Tubing seal - R20 - Coastal Aquariums

 

Lighting:

  • Lighting stand - Eurolux study lamp with clamp - R300 - Makro
  • Lightbulb.- ABI Tuna Blue 12W - R500 - Amazon
  • Lighting timer - Majortech digital program timer - R300 - Makro

 

Heating:

  • 25W Aquael Easytherm - R645 - Pet Habitat
  • Temperature probe x 2 - R100 each - Amazon

 

Circulation:

  • Tetra AP150 airpump - R295 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Backup - Sebo AP900 DC airpump - R165 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Airline tubing - R8 - Ultimate Aquatics
  • Airstone - R7.50 - Coastal Aquariums
  • One way valve x 2 - R40 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Y-connector - R7.50 - Coastal Aquariums

 

 

Livestock:

  • Neon green mushroom R50 Ultimate Aquatics - now dead
  • Purple Milka Stylo - R200 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Green Slimer Acro - R220 - Coastal Aquariums - RIP
  • Mystery LPS - R30 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Red montipora - Free - Coastal Aquariums - RIP
  • Mint green Stylo - R250 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Green monti digi - R250 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Pink rimmed ricordea mushroom - R50 - Supreme Marine Supplies
  • Red Trachy - R425 - Supreme Marine Supplies
  • Purple tipped Hammer - R475 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Orange Zoa - R300 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Green Zoa - R300 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Green and red Zoa - R300 - Coastal Aquariums
  • "Blue" Zoa - R300 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Acan Lord x 3 - R750 each - Premium Aquatics
  • Croc Island Scoly - R2000 - Premium Aquatics
  • JF Jack 'o Lantern Lepto - R1000 - Premium Aquatics
  • Chilli pepper monti - Free - Premium Aquatics
  • Green RFA - R80 - Premium Aquatics

 

Live rock:

  • 2.3 kg live rock - R318 - Coastal Aqauriums

 

Food:

  • ·      Reef Roids – R280 - Amazon
  • ·      Coral Frenzy – R280 - Amazon
  • ·      Coralific delight- R125 - Coastal Aquariums
  • AF LPS food - R420 - Coastal Aquariums

 

Miscellaneous

  • ·      Extension cord with surge protection – R240 – Builders Warehouse
  • ·      Coral dip – Polyplabs Reef Primer – R300 – Marine Aquatics
  • ·      Bacteria – Seachem Stability – R165 – Ultimate Aquatics
  • ·      20 Litre buckets x 2 – R112 – Mambo’s
  • ·      Siphon tubing – R20 – Coastal Aquariums
  • ·      Spare Heater – Lazenfish 100W – R150 – Coastal Aquariums
  • Spare thermometer - R25 - Coastal Aquariums
  • ·      Powerhead for mixing SW – R150 – Supreme Marine Supplies
  • ·      Turkey Baster – R120 – Seasons Home Goods
  • ·      Forceps – R115 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Media bag - R40 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Activated carbon - R40 - Supreme Marine Supplies
  • Filter floss - R12.50 - Coastal Aquariums
  • Superglue x 3 - R99 - Builders Warehouse
  • Pratley putty - R160 - Builders Warehouse

 

 

Fudge money:

  • Drowned extension cord - R240
  • Spare tubing that was never used - R35
  • Thermometer - R25

 

Grand total so far:

R4390, which is approx. USD 302

 

 

On to the contest…

 

939606475_IMG_7836copy.thumb.jpg.ca7ea0c6409b283d70f31c4fb49aebbe.jpg

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So I managed to hit my first snag this evening, before I could even take my first set of pictures (which I’m hoping to be able to upload shortly).

 

As I was busy setting up to test all my equipment, I went ahead and dropped the brand new extension cord into a bucketful of water. Sigh.

 

Going to have to hit the shops tomorrow to get a new one.

 

I’m also waiting for the LFS owner to get back to me as to when I can go look at some live rock – usually they don’t stock any but he’s willing to sell me some from the sump of his display tank.

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On 4/1/2019 at 6:25 PM, Tempestas said:

Detailed starting equipment, costs and sources:

 

(All prices listed are ZAR. For US conversion divide by 14,5)

 

Container:

  • ·      Round fishbowl – R216 – JA Floral Distributors
  • ·      Glass lid – R120 – Florist shop in Sunridge Park
  • ·      Tubing seal – R20 – Coastal Aquariums

 

Lighting

  • ·      Lighting stand – Eurolux study lamp with clamp – R300 – Makro
  • ·      Lightbulb – ABI Tuna Blue 12W – R500 – Amazon
  • ·      Lighting timer – Majortech didgital program timer – R300 – Makro

 

Heating:

  • ·      25W Aquael Easytherm – R645 – Pet Habitat
  • ·      Temperature probe – R100 – Amazon      

 

Circulation:

  • ·      Tetra AP150 airpump – R295 – Coastal Aquariums
  • ·      Backup – Sebo AP900 DC airpump –R165 – Coastal Aquariums
  • ·      Airline tubing – R8 – Ultimate aquatics
  • ·      Airstone – R7.50 – Coastal Aquariums
  • ·      One way valve x 2  - R40 – Coastal Aquariums
  • ·      Y- Connector – R7.50 – Coastal Aquariums

 

Livestock:

 

Live rock:

 

Food:

  • ·      Reef Roids – R280 - Amazon
  • ·      Coral Frenzy – R280 - Amazon
  • ·      Coralific delight

Miscellanous

  • ·      Extension cord with surge protection – R240 – Builders Warehouse
  • ·      Coral dip – Polyplabs Reef Primer – R300 – Marine Aquatics
  • ·      Bacteria – Seachem Stability – R165 – Ultimate Aquatics
  • ·      20 Litre buckets x 2 – R112 – Mambo’s
  • ·      Siphon tubing – R20 – Coastal Aquariums
  • ·      Spare Heater – Lazenfish 100W – R150 – Coastal Aquariums
  • ·      Powerhead for mixing SW – R150 – Supreme Marine Supplies
  • ·      Turkey Baster – R120 – Seasons Home Goods
  • ·      Forceps –

 

 

Grand total so far:

R4390, which is approx. USD 302

 

 

On to the contest…

 

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😍Rusks😍

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12 hours ago, yoshii said:

Interesting start, do you have an idea of what you want to stock it with?

Mostly thinking of LPS and zoas, but it all depends on what the LFS are going to have in stock. One of them is expecting a shipment tomorrow, so going to head out to all of them on Wed and see what I can find.

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So, after what seemed like a never-ending weekend, I went down to the beach to go clear my head and breath.

 

And, as luck would have it, it was really low tide, so I spent some time wandering around the rock pools and landed up coming home with these:

 

431789912_IMG_6358copy.thumb.jpg.57f4e3233ae4554b48600d480f7faeb7.jpg1506147591_IMG_8181copy.thumb.jpg.de59b10c33344d25fdd9e6a16a392828.jpg1749361156_IMG_1734copy.thumb.jpg.93f82b6f50ce6e7eac75ea26b46fe38d.jpg750392700_IMG_6365copy.thumb.jpg.3f222f0f4c3fcf45a16247c2286aca73.jpg1217896386_IMG_0864copy.thumb.jpg.289b4ccb32c839a43230f055c8d378ce.jpg877294611_IMG_6946copy.thumb.jpg.7cbacf961c05e0a6d33c1e9713bebb00.jpg1933610955_IMG_4734copy.thumb.jpg.d700dd0c3976e0c24e597168eb189024.jpg1296898281_IMG_3463copy.thumb.jpg.85fa822166eb5a115b51ed5716b80573.jpg1734314839_IMG_2686copy.thumb.jpg.e986adde0dd915b7fcc3b83929e346a8.jpg

 

And all of them together:

1324278573_IMG_7424copy.thumb.jpg.d25d1d4ba1d89877c1c4b62b272e7c92.jpg

 

 

Currently they are all sitting in vase full of seawater on my kitchen windowsill, and I'm worried how long they will last over there like that.

 

I also have zero idea of the species name of them. I'm going to leave it up to all you macro lovers to help me with their ID's

 

Unfortunately, due to unforseen circumstances, I'm working this entire week and weekend except for Thursday, so any work has to be done after 10PM or wait until then. On the plus side, the rock is nearly ready to get into the tank, but that's the subject of a completely different post.

 

Also, I found shells of these weird bugs. I wonder what the living specimens look like...

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Welcome to N-R and glad that you have moved from long time lurker to a fully fledged participant.  I am jealous of the macro algaes that you were able to collect.  Very cool.  I hope you can keep them til you get everything you need.

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Nice macros! Is the 7th picture macro (light tan colored fluffy one) feel "crunchy"? It might be a bryozoan colony

 

Can't wait to see them in the tank!

If you're worried about them sitting in the jar, you can add an airstone for circulation

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Christopher Marks

Whoa those macro algae are so cool, what a myriad of colors from just one visit! How are they holding up in the jar? You might add an air line bubbler for some circulation while you work on the main tank 🙂 

 

So glad you joined in @Tempestas, welcome!

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Gosh, that's so awesome that you can find all those macros on your "walk"!

 

Yeah, I've put macros in a bucket to take to LFS & they ended up sitting in there with a small pump for almost a week.

They did fine & I got a good amount of store credit for them (;

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Thanks everyone for the wonderful comments!

 

On 4/8/2019 at 10:10 PM, Tigahboy said:

Sweet Christmas.  You picked up some beautiful macro!

It did feel like Christmas came early.

 

 

On 4/9/2019 at 5:22 AM, 748S911 said:

Nice, very cool. 

Thanks!


 

On 4/9/2019 at 12:44 PM, vlangel said:

Welcome to N-R and glad that you have moved from long time lurker to a fully fledged participant.  I am jealous of the macro algaes that you were able to collect.  Very cool.  I hope you can keep them til you get everything you need.

 

Thank you. I hope so too

 

 

On 4/9/2019 at 1:31 PM, Ratvan said:

I wish I could pull that sort of macro from near me, cant wait to see this come together. You going to add livestock the same way?

 

I don't think so. I'm basically looking at only adding a small clean up crew if that. Whilst looking in the rock pools, I did find some hermits and snails, but I have no idea what they are and if any of them are reef safe.

 

 

On 4/9/2019 at 6:22 PM, yoshii said:

Nice macros! Is the 7th picture macro (light tan colored fluffy one) feel "crunchy"? It might be a bryozoan colony

 

Can't wait to see them in the tank!

If you're worried about them sitting in the jar, you can add an airstone for circulation


Thanks Yoshii. It actually feels quite soft. The centre portion feels crunchy, but I think that is because of the sand that's entrapped there.

 

 

22 hours ago, Lingwendil said:

Those shells look like chitons.

 

Nice macros! I love the red 🙂

 

Thanks. That red one's my favourite.

 

 

15 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

Whoa those macro algae are so cool, what a myriad of colors from just one visit! How are they holding up in the jar? You might add an air line bubbler for some circulation while you work on the main tank 🙂 

 

So glad you joined in @Tempestas, welcome!

 

Glad to be here Chris. I was really surprised by the depth of colour as well.

 

 

11 hours ago, Wendy said:

Gosh, that's so awesome that you can find all those macros on your "walk"!

 

Yeah, I've put macros in a bucket to take to LFS & they ended up sitting in there with a small pump for almost a week.

They did fine & I got a good amount of store credit for them (;

 

It really is great. When I get a chance next week I fully intend on going on another walk and seeing what more I can find.

 

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Live rock time!

 

So last week Thursday, I managed to get my hands on some live rock, and brought it home in a bucket of seawater. Sadly it needed some gluing so I set about that night working with epoxy putty to get that done.

 

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And so I discovered what a pain in the royal butt it can be working with putty and wet objects. Eventually I gave up and went to bed.

 

The next morning, the joints had not set one bit. Eventually I twigged that zipties might provide a half decent solution to holding the pieces together, so I set off and bought some. Later that evening, I eventually managed to finally glue everything together. For added measure, I smoothed over all protuberances that would be touching the glass, and added some feet of putty for some added stability.

 

 

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All the rock was left in the bucket with the heater and airstone for the putty to cure, which takes at least 24 hours.

 

Come Monday after my walk, I sanded the rounded edges even further with some sandpaper, and chucked the rock back in the bucket.

 

Bonus pic of the sunrise on Sunday during the Ironman Triatholon:

 

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And now for today's update. I finally got a day off, so set about finally setting up the tank.

 

I had noticed on Monday evening that the water had started fouling up really badly in the macro vase, so I performed a 100% water change on that, and then decided to move it to the live rock bucket and popped the airstone in it instead.

 

This morning, everything got shut down, and I began the setup, starting with cleaning the fishbowl and moving the rocks from the bucket into it. Next followed the rim seal, the heater, airline tubing, and the temperature probe.

 

471791447_IMG_5855copy.thumb.jpg.7697ad68fa5897ba84940b920f80dde9.jpg

451319821_IMG_5972copy.thumb.jpg.f433c6401bec999710e4362934218af2.jpg553715897_IMG_5975copy.thumb.jpg.a48c2dadd2f52a81c2e488eb0f2c4645.jpg

 

 

And then it was time to get it all wet!

 

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After all of that was done, I set about organizing all the cabling. Basically I used that same tubing as the seal, and cut it in a spiral, and it worked out surprisingly well.

 

1323800874_IMG_3705copy.thumb.jpg.55f1be86eb60187cbf0e244a87c8266f.jpg

 

And here's a pic of the life support centre. Unfortunately here in South Africa, we have a wonderful thing called Load Shedding, which is basically a fancy term for scheduled power outages, mainly because of the main electrical producer not being able to provide adequate generating capacity. Because of this, I've had to connect two pumps to the airline, one of which switches on when the mains power fails. I really did not want to run two airlines into the pico. Additionally, I also purchased the most expensive plug in timer, which has an inbuilt battery to prevent it from losing its program when the power fails.

 

1165403605_IMG_5988copy.thumb.jpg.82d78ed6dfe56a438d03b60069a90362.jpg

 

After all of that, I added 2ml of Seachem Stability, and then went about "planting" my macro algae. Sadly the bright red fan shaped one, my favourite of the lot, didn't survive. When I tried moving it in into the tank, it started disintegrating. I'm just hoping I manage to find another specimen in the future and manage to keep it alive. The other larger red sponge also didn't make it, but I'm not too bummed about that, and the green macro doesn't look in all that good shape spacer.pngeither.

 

This is also when I discovered that gluing algae in place is also a major pain in the bum. Especially with tweezers. Somehow my superglue gel skinned over on contact with the water and just did not want to stick. I eventually had to use my hand to half succeed with some of the larger pieces. There's still some pieces that are not actually attached down.

 

1160935282_IMG_5991copy.thumb.jpg.e702552fc5312cbe2b332a3045248829.jpg

 

I went to visit all the LFS's in the city, and none of them had any reef rubble for sale, so I'm going to have to scavenge some on the beach next week. Until then, we'll see what floats where, and enjoy the sunrises.

 

 

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