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Wendy's Old School Pico Reef


Wendy

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This guy is extra salty

🤔

It is the off white like a sandy brown color.

I like that it’s different.

 

It’s nice to see how everyone’s setup is coming along. I think I’m totally sandbagging it behind the pack 😂 😭

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@This guy is extra salty

Gosh, I had to go investigate my sand... Yeah, it's not white & has darker pieces in it. Thanks, I'm glad it's appealing to someone besides me (;

 

OH NO! You have no sandbagging going on over there! You may not have your tank wet yet, but you're whole setup is custom & extra slick! 

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Current FTS 

20190422_205654.thumb.jpg.f7d88d707503ddfaa3ec4bb43f949617.jpgI really couldn't dial into the side of my brain that is creative & envision how to arrange corals to make the old scape look good.

I went back to the LFS & dug through lots of cured live rock from a HUGE tank they just broke down.

I even took a paper with my tanks dimensions (tucked inside a clear plastic bag to keep it dry) that I used as a template to make sure I walked out of there with a rock I'd be happy with.

 

I'm also playing with different  backgrounds... Really gotta use something since from this view you would see a chair & our entryway on the other side of the tank.

 

The water parameters have been looking good. I'm just waiting for a diatom bloom or some algae growth before I add a cleanup crew.

 

My husband suggested that I just plop a clam in & call it a day...20190422_210324.thumb.jpg.68a944508874a215a986bc6b3a0bcfe9.jpg

Just playin' around -(;

 

The lil tank seems boring, but I see lots of brittle starfish, some snails, bristle worms & I do have a little ball anemone on this rock as well! 

I'll be sure to get some pics posted once I've gotten some decent shots.

In a week or so I may pick up a few frags, I'm not in a big hurry.

 

The other news is that my husband & I are taking a road trip to Florida next month to see family. This trip has been in the works for a few months now, but I will definitely be coral shopping while there.

 

We went 10 years ago & I brought back lots of coral for very awesome prices, hopefully I can find some great pieces again!

 

 

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Looks like I'll be picking up a cleanup crew soon b/c of some algae blooms.

 

I have got to finish my improved diy surface skimmer, ac50 basket mod, dremel the lid to the ac50 to accommodate the heater cord & KILL the little bitty aptasia!

 

Here's a view of the tank & yes the clips for the lid are way too big (just blindly ordered them off of Amazon, sigh).

 

A side note: most photos will be taken with the lid & clips removed (;

 

20190424_213206-1.thumb.jpg.06657073c6e07ae0d4b6e0980ca53c34.jpg

  • Like 12
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6 hours ago, vlangel said:

It's looks very nice Wendy!

 

5 hours ago, William said:

Looking very nice 

Thanks ya'll! Not much happening right now, just a rock in a water box...

 

1 hour ago, MetaTank said:

I think I own that cutting board its sitting on top of. Bamboo?

 

😍😂

Yes bamboo.. It's pretty darn sturdy isn't it!?! I put it under incase I want to move it, maybe to the bedroom later...

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So I know it's still early but do you like that Fluval Nano light so far? Setting up an office pico for everyone and am trying to keep it as simple as possible. 

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10 minutes ago, Wendy said:

 

Thanks ya'll! Not much happening right now, just a rock in a water box...

 

Yes bamboo.. It's pretty darn sturdy isn't it!?! I put it under incase I want to move it, maybe to the bedroom later...

That’s a good idea, very sturdy! And I like the idea of a mobile pico...lol

  • Haha 1
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On 4/25/2019 at 2:04 PM, ksadam said:

So I know it's still early but do you like that Fluval Nano light so far? Setting up an office pico for everyone and am trying to keep it as simple as possible. 

I do like it! I however, do not like the mount, it's really small & will only fit on the rim. So, if that's where you plan to put it then you won't have to figure out another mount like I did.

 

The app & program are very easy to use. 

You can preset 4 different manual programs & then just the one auto. 

I like that the auto function allows for sunrise, day lights, sunset & night lights (I have blues of course). You also set what hours you want, so I do have sunrise starting at 9am & sunset starts ramping down at 8pm.

 

You can adjust any light color individually to any percentage. During the day I have all the colors going up to 40% for now. Once I add coral & see how they respond then I'll start ramping it up.

My last pic showing the whole tank setup was just at 40%.

 

Watch the price on this unit. I actually wasn't even looking at this light while at LFS with my husband, but a Fluval rep was there & "overheard" our conversation about lighting.

I was debating about getting an AI Prime, Kessil H80 or Asta20...

Yes, price was a factor since I'm just stepping back into getting my feet wet.

The Fluval rep said that the price on the light should be $82, so if a shop has it higher than that it's against Fluval's policy/agreement..  I don't know...

I went for this light basically b/c it was listed under a 20% off dry goods sale that was running, while the higher grade/priced lights were not being discounted. Plus it does have the programming that I wanted (;

 

I love that this unit is so cool to touch, really such a nice different from a current CFL fixture I used on a pico many years ago!

We'll see what kind of growth & colors this thing does for my future corals.

 

 

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27 minutes ago, MetaTank said:

That’s a good idea, very sturdy! And I like the idea of a mobile pico...lol

I should just take it on vacation with me next month -(; It'll get to see New Orleans, Amelia Island, Royal Palm Beach & some other places.

I could just take it into the fish stores & stock it right there, lol!!!

My husband would just LUUUVVV that 🙂

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  • Haha 4
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11 minutes ago, Wendy said:

 

I could just take it into the fish stores & stock it right there, lol!!!🙂

This would be such an epic move...lol

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This guy is extra salty
On 4/19/2019 at 4:06 PM, Wendy said:

@This guy is extra salty

Gosh, I had to go investigate my sand... Yeah, it's not white & has darker pieces in it. Thanks, I'm glad it's appealing to someone besides me (;

 

OH NO! You have no sandbagging going on over there! You may not have your tank wet yet, but you're whole setup is custom & extra slick! 

Thanks! I kind of want to redo it 🤣 

 

cause i can hardly see the background... but I guess I’ll have to be patient and let coralline algae cover it so I can see It.  

 

Wait til you see the update for this weekend 

🙃

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I was able to work on my list of "things to do", but the weekend sure does go by way too fast!

 

I was able to get my diy surface skimmer done & I do like it so far. I just used a soldering iron & scissors on a small juice bottle, put some magnets to hold it in place.

 

With my algae I added 4 little bitty snails to the tank,  3 ceriths & a nerite.

I also got some cheato & I thought it wasn't much until I put it in the tank \:

The ball of green will live in the HOB once I get my media basket all situated.

 

I had fun taking pics with a glofish background I got for kicks!

20190428_160554.thumb.jpg.f34fe3f67df3171bf3d4db72b411495a.jpg

 

Boy, this pico is way small & is taking some time for me to get used to it's little footprint!

I would like to get my corals stocked & let them just grow, but with us leaving for a long vacation in a couple weeks, I'm just not comfortable leaving it all for the pet sitter to take care of.

 

My goal is to get all my corals by the end of May & then let everything grow out.

Over the weekend I did pick up a frag with some bluhhh acans & palys to just see how they do for the time being.

Hopefully the acans will color up in the pico! 

 

20190428_203403.thumb.jpg.3da9098d375e89ad87619fac54d43b7a.jpg

My husband took this shot while playing with the blues. Lil pieces of cheato EVERYWHERE! Sigh...

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New additions today...

20190503_184001-1.thumb.jpg.7b27f51a0be9c15f5b1b5bd9ca6c3881.jpg

The porcelain crab is really tiny, but this picture sure makes it look huge.

 

Anyone know what kind of snail that is?

Is it a nerite? The LFS guy said margarita, but I think not...

 

20190503_184121-1.thumb.jpg.48878bdb70b4caac8166dd8bf331b70e.jpg

I picked up the little rock flower anemone for half off b/c it looks kinda sad. These guys are pricey around here!

 

The bluhhh acan I picked up last weekend looks to be coloring up just a little bit.

I hope it changes colors some more.

20190503_184121-2.thumb.jpg.3857d7ef9d8ee08343d80d39017b8f27.jpg

 

I'd love to just get this lil tank filled up with some more corals asap, but we will be heading out on vacation next weekend for almost 2 weeks.

Just gotta resist till I get back -\:

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Love the porcelain crab and the nem! Hope they find each other soon for you. My crab is never far from one of its RFAs. 

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Thanks @SeaFurn!

Do your RFAs really eat bristle worms that you feed to them?

Also, does your porcelain crab tend to rotate through the nems or hang out in a particular one?

Just curious, this RFA is my 1st one...

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Yes! They close up on them so fast! 

 

I have an equal opportunity porcelain crab - he rotates through them...but I know his/her favorites! 

 

Congrats! Let the addiction begin (too bad they are so pricey!)

Yours doesn’t look sad to me at all. Looks very pretty and healthy and well fed. You can tell because it’s tentacles are long and full. Under nourished ones will have very short tentacles.

 

You’ll have to let us know what it looks like under the blue lights. 

 

 

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16 minutes ago, Wendy said:

Here it is under the blues yesterday....

@SeaFurn

It wouldn't let go of that shell, I'll check it out later today & see if it will release it's grip.

20190503_183900-1.thumb.jpg.1cd88010afa767bf072c0401ad1d83f6.jpg

Oh that’s a nice one! 

I’d just let it be for now...let it settle in. It’s not likely to stay in that spot and will find it’s happy place. 

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Btw...Many of mine will grab snails that come near them and stick to their undersides - sort of a way to weight their outer edges to the sand and keep them from being buffeted around. They don’t let go of them and the snail usually perishes...

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YOoh those are some lovely additions! I always thought porcelain crabs were to elegant! I don’t know why!  Haha

 

looking really nice, and cool green on the RFA! When I was in the hobby a few years back, I almost never heard about them, now they seem to be all the rage! I’m sure it’s only a matter of time till I add one too!

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