My (maybe going to be a Komodo biotope) 4.1g Lifegard Aquatics AIO

[SeaFurn]

Looking great!  Glad you got a light!  I have an A80 on my 45 that I use for moonlighting.  Love that shimmer.
Yes, I agree with you - not a fan of the semi clear back panel. Why not just make it opaque?

With the return nozzle, I point mine at a 45 degree angle toward the front glass and downward just a little.  I also pull it slightly out of the rubber piece to help with the angle.

Not ideal but I've found it gets the most overall water movement.

 

 

[NoOneLikesADryTang]

Your tank is looking great!! 

[billygoat]

I love the look of this tank so far. Really beautiful dive photos as well. GoPro or not, I think they look very nice. 👍

 

Can't wait to see how everything shapes up once your corals start to grow in.

[mollylope]

Got a Getaround rental car and went to Aquatic Collective in Hayward which was AWESOME. Recommend to those in The Bay.

 

I did end up getting a tailspot blenny (Rasputin, named after the record store) & I'm glad I did cuz he seems to dig his new apartment. Doesn't seem too small for him yet at least. Also got a pavona, branching montipora, and "screaming green" birdsnest. For CUC 2 trochas snails, and it turned out a brittle sea star and stomatella snail hitchhiked. Even though I don't think those snails are in Indonesia, I've allowed him to take residence here. 

 

Looking more like the Indonesian reefs (Komodo, Raja Ampat) to me, albeit like a hella lot smaller & more rainbowy. 

 

 

 

[debbeach13]

Congrats on getting the fish. I think it soon will be harder and harder to find live stock until this lock down is over. Tank looks great.

[mollylope]

Thanks everyone for the responses!! 

 

Tank is looking good this AM, Rasputin is bee boppin around and seems pretty happy eating hair algae. One thing is I am seeing some bleaching on the branching montipora this AM. Gonna do a water change today to see if that helps. Nitrite, nitrate and ammonia are all 0 but I don't have an alk test kit so I just ordered one. Does anyone think the placement may be too high for this guy? Wondering if the light is too direct. 

 

 

Also ended up buying a Kessil controller cuz my husband turned the light on super bright first thing in the AM while I was snoozing, so I want to take the guess work out of ramping on/off the light. Also bought a AutoAqua Smart ATO to take the guess work out of topping off. 

[NoOneLikesADryTang]

I doubt it’s the placement... Any other pictures of it? How long has it been in the tank for?

 

[mollylope]

Actually just got it yesterday. Acclimated properly but didn’t do any dips before adding. 

here is yesterday 

 

and today

[NoOneLikesADryTang]

I’d keep a close eye on it. Especially looking for little white critters on it/eating it. Montipora eating nudibranches can be a pain to eradicate. I doubt that’s the case, especially since you just got it, but you should be aware of it. With that being said, you still have polyp extension, which is a good sign. 

[mollylope]

Has anyone ever had this happen? I was trying to take this montipora off it’s base and it snapped down horizontally. The inside looks rotten or something ? Maybe the inside of the coral?  Not sure if it should go back in the tank. I did put the top of it in the tank. 
 

[NoOneLikesADryTang]

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but it’s  probably just a rock, or whatever the Monti encrusted on. 

[mollylope]

Not sure if this is any better. Looks odd to me though. 

 

 

[Rehype]

54 minutes ago, NoOneLikesADryTang said:

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but it’s  probably just a rock, or whatever the Monti encrusted on. 

 

I agree...wouldnt worry about it.  I've had that happen to me in the past. 

 

Tank looks great BTW

[DISQUALIFIED-QQ]

Yay more biotopes. one of us one of us. no way in no way out.

 

Have you tried using the interactive map on Corals of the World? It won't be specific down to Komodo Island, but it can scale down to the Lesser Sunda Islands ecoregion. Once you're on the interactive map, click on the finger tool at the  bottom right corner of the map and click on the Lesser Sunda region (ER033). It'll select it in purple. Click on apply on the left side. It'll generate 2 red boxes giving you links to coral data. Taxon Results will tell you what species have been documented and found specific to the region.

 

Based on your photos, it appears you have a lot Acroporids and Alycionids. However I wouldn't be fooled so easily as Pocillopora (a cousin of Seriatopora) and Porites genuses are good candidates of "who built up this reef?"

 

Also something a little more tangible (page 12): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278038699_Reef-_and_Seascapes_of_the_Lesser_Sunda_Ecoregion

Pages 31-34 and onwards are annexes that have an actual list of things the authors reported from their Lesser Sunda study.

 

There's a field guide from 90s written by Allen and Steene titled Indo-Pacific coral reef field guide. I think you can get a copy through Amazon for under $20.

 

I know it's pretty late, but perhaps this opens up some ideas to get what into your pico. ✌️

[mollylope]

17 hours ago, Diamonds x Pearls said:

Yay more biotopes. one of us one of us. no way in no way out.

 

Have you tried using the interactive map on Corals of the World? It won't be specific down to Komodo Island, but it can scale down to the Lesser Sunda Islands ecoregion. Once you're on the interactive map, click on the finger tool at the  bottom right corner of the map and click on the Lesser Sunda region (ER033). It'll select it in purple. Click on apply on the left side. It'll generate 2 red boxes giving you links to coral data. Taxon Results will tell you what species have been documented and found specific to the region.

 

Based on your photos, it appears you have a lot Acroporids and Alycionids. However I wouldn't be fooled so easily as Pocillopora (a cousin of Seriatopora) and Porites genuses are good candidates of "who built up this reef?"

 

Also something a little more tangible (page 12): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278038699_Reef-_and_Seascapes_of_the_Lesser_Sunda_Ecoregion

Pages 31-34 and onwards are annexes that have an actual list of things the authors reported from their Lesser Sunda study.

 

There's a field guide from 90s written by Allen and Steene titled Indo-Pacific coral reef field guide. I think you can get a copy through Amazon for under $20.

 

I know it's pretty late, but perhaps this opens up some ideas to get what into your pico. ✌️

 

Thank so much!! I have looked at Corals of the World, but I've never seen this book- that is awesome!! 

 

I really need to change the title to "inspired", because I'm sure not all my corals are from Indonesia, let alone Komodo. Especially since I have 1 free coral (war coral) and 1 hitchhiker (acan).

 

Here are some links I've used: 

https://www.fishbase.se/Country/CountryChecklist.php?resultPage=3&c_code=360&vhabitat=saltwater&cpresence=present

https://www.istockphoto.com/my/photo/tree-leather-coral-in-current-komodo-national-park-indonesia-gm471281379-14703993 (Istock has an amazing amount of diving photos) 

 

[DISQUALIFIED-QQ]

No problem!

 

My biotope cheated some too since good luck exporting corals from Okinawa. However species are wide spread enough that anything sourced even remotely close to the west Pacific will work. I have a smattering of maricultured stuff. I cheated even more getting a couple of soft corals from Africa.

 

Above anything else, any biotope aquaria is an interpretive understanding.

[raul lopez]

that’s funny!😂 I also got the lifegard 4.1 . It’s cycled Im just waiting for the corona virus situation to improve so i can buy live stock but what I found funny is that we have a very similar aquascape. I thought I would go on google to see other peoples experiences with the tank.

[raul lopez]

What are you doing for the flow in the aquarium since you have sps? How is the sps doing ?

[mollylope]

On 4/29/2020 at 2:01 PM, raul lopez said:

What are you doing for the flow in the aquarium since you have sps? How is the sps doing ?

Sorry I've been having an annoying time at work and neglected posting ! So all the corals are happy EXCEPT the green birdsnest. It's odd, I feel like when the light is off I see more polyp extension. I did upgrade the MaxiJet pump per @TatorTaco's reco. I think I will need to add extra flow soon... but still not sure. My kenya tree detached and found a lower flow zone, so the MaxiJet is likely more than enough for most coral. 

I've been battling some major hair algae which sometimes looks like troll doll hair. Unfortunately one of my snails fliped over and I didnt notice before it was too late. I need to get more CUC. Typically I have employed hermits, but I'm afraid to have hermits with SPS. 

 

Will post a FTS soon!

[mollylope]

Also I do want to say- I love Rasputin, my tail spot blenny but just like all blennies he is a PIG. More of a pig than my fat cat Winnie, and that is really saying something. All he wants to do all day long is eat eat eat. While he will eat hair algae, he much prefers frozen brine. 

 

I do not recommend putting these guys in anything less than 8 gallons display (alone, no other fish), unless you plan on cleaning a lot. 

 

I have had lots of fish, and never have seen a fish poop as much as this dude. I use a turkey baster every so often to pick it up like a dog you take for a walk 🤪

 

Depending on how big he gets I may have to rehome, but for now I think he digs his apartment. 

[mollylope]

I'm so so so sad. Even cried a little. 

 

Yesterday Rasputin was being a bit odd. He was swimming by the glass which he never does. I checked all water parameters and everything was fine. 

 

When I woke up today he was dead. 

 

So sad. Not sure if I did anything wrong, or what happened. Sad sad day. 

[debbeach13]

That to bad. You had him like 5 weeks now. Well don’t beat your self up. All the live stock we get goes through hell before getting to our tanks and some times they just don’t last. 

[DISQUALIFIED-QQ]

Yeah, it happened to a longnose hawkfish I had in my store. I had it do fine for months then all of a sudden he didn't eat up the mysis shrimp I normally give it. It died a couple days later.

[NoOneLikesADryTang]

That’s awful Molly. It sucks so much when we lose a fishy friend. 
 

RIP Rasputin 😥

[devaji108]

bummer, but hang in there.