Snow's 2.6G Little Monsters Picoreef - Retired!

[Snow_Phoenix]

Zoa buddies (AOGs + Peacocks) :

 

 

Meteor shower (?) cyphastrea and Malayan rainbow acans:

 

 

Red pavona already encrusting to the LR: 😊

 

 

Jack-O-Lantern leptoseris:

 

 

I've removed the large acro frag and temporarily placed it in my 60G - I'm thinking of permanently moving it to my nano once I clean that tank up a bit. 

 

Removed the glue marks on the glass using the razored edge of my algae scraper. There's still a blemish of sorts left behind, but it isn't too bad. 

 

Currently keeping an eye out for a mini-gorg to be added in this pico. Might end up going with a photosynthetic one instead of a NPS - it depends on what is available (and reasonably priced) at the LFS. 👍

[debbeach13]

That little turbo is working hard.

[Snow_Phoenix]

6 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

That little turbo is working hard.

Oh yes, he is! Notice there is still algae left behind after he 'eats' though? 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Lights are off, and my little monsters are out! 

 

 

 

[Tired]

Are you sure those aren't collonista snails? Collonistas are common hitchhiker snails that stay under the size of a BB. Not the most useful, but cute and harmless.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Rainbow shield alert! 💥 

 

 

Facing down today:

 

 

White polyps on the montihat today:

 

 

Bullseye rhodactis: 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Zoas still opening up (just turned on the lights) :

 

 

 

 

Sleepy blastos: 😄

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Piccolo has officially moved over to the rainbow coral and is now hosting it: 😅

 

 

 

Filter feeding: 🤗

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

13 hours ago, Tired said:

Are you sure those aren't collonista snails? Collonistas are common hitchhiker snails that stay under the size of a BB. Not the most useful, but cute and harmless.

I just looked up collonistas and I think you might be right. Mine stay quite small and I have a lot of them crawling all over the place - they're particularly active at night. 🤔

[Tired]

I have some too, and I love 'em. They're really cute. I like seeing what the biggest one I can find is. And, hey, now you don't have to worry about rehoming them when they start getting too big. I think the biggest I've ever seen was one in a LFS display that might have been approaching half a centimeter across, and all my personal ones aren't even 3mm. 

 

That's really interesting, the porcelain on the brain coral. I guess it's fleshy enough to get his attention. Does the coral seem to mind at all? 

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 minute ago, Tired said:

I have some too, and I love 'em. They're really cute. I like seeing what the biggest one I can find is. And, hey, now you don't have to worry about rehoming them when they start getting too big. I think the biggest I've ever seen was one in a LFS display that might have been approaching half a centimeter across, and all my personal ones aren't even 3mm. 

 

That's really interesting, the porcelain on the brain coral. I guess it's fleshy enough to get his attention. Does the coral seem to mind at all? 

Yeah - I was thinking if they were 'turbos', I'd eventually have to rehome them through my LFS. But since collonistas stay small (and cute), I don't have to worry. 😄

 

So far the coral doesn't seem to mind. It doesn't even look pinched from where the crab is clinging on to it. The crab seems quite content though. I'm happy it picked a spot at the front of the tank - target-feeding it will now be easier. 😊👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

I actually managed to find the upgraded version of my current LED lights online:

 

https://shopee.com.my/Aqua-Zonic-Spectra-Reef-60cm-Marine-LED-Light-Aquarium-LED-Light-i.259495432.4040684326

 

It's nice, but this is a 60cm bar. Will do more digging to see if a shorter, 30cm version is available for this series. And if so, if that shorter light is available locally. 

 

The price though. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Harvey scavenging for pellets: 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Topview/nightview: 

 

 

😊

[Snow_Phoenix]

Piccolo is still with the brain coral today: 🤗

 

 

 

FTS on 8/8/20: 

 

Taken with & without focusing on the tank - my phone self-adjusts the brightness when you focus on the reef, but doesn't if you don't focus: 🤗

 

 

 

Light settings 75% + clip on yellow lens filter were used to take the pics. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

My parents came into my bedroom today evening and took some time watching the pico. I made them guess how many *types of corals were in it - they were both way off, lol. 

 

But it was nice to have someone else take notice of the pico. Usually, larger systems get a lot of attention (in general) from visitors that drop by my home. I'm quite private when it comes to my bedroom, so I allow very, very few people to actually go upstairs and have a look at the large reeftank and the pico. Most of the time, people will completely ignore the pico because it's too small, and beeline straight for the 60G. I don't blame them - that tank has a visible amount of fish and motion in it, but the pico is more sedate. 

 

But this tiny tank finally got some acknowledgment today, and I'm happy that it did. I think tiny reef systems can be just as good as the large ones we see online. My only regret with this pico is that its dimensions makes stocking corals and routine maintenance challenging. Otherwise, I actually love it. 

 

It's very easy to WC too, and the smaller volume of water allows me to WC it fully on a weekly basis. 

 

I think I'm pretty much stocked though. I'm still looking for a tiny gorg, and am considering adding either a second small shrimp (like a Candycane pistol) or a mini crab (like a Pom Pom crab), but I'm moving away from invert additions and will be focusing on growing out whatever I have. I *might add some pockets of macro here and there, just to give the tank a more splash of wildness (and green) to it. 

 

Whatever macro I choose to add needs to be a bit tough though - Harvey the Saron actually gets the munchies for soft, red macro like dragon's breath and RBA - he actually ate the whole thing. Dude has some serious appetite there. 

[Tired]

Candycane pistols are great, but lemme tell ya, they make a mess. With how much stuff you have on the sandbed, I'd expect a lot of those zoas to end up with sand piled on them, especially when he first started tunneling. 

 

Codium is a decently tough macro, and pretty hardy. It's also polite about not growing rampant. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

9 hours ago, Tired said:

Candycane pistols are great, but lemme tell ya, they make a mess. With how much stuff you have on the sandbed, I'd expect a lot of those zoas to end up with sand piled on them, especially when he first started tunneling. 

 

Codium is a decently tough macro, and pretty hardy. It's also polite about not growing rampant. 

I do agree that they make a mess - and also have a habit of *stealing frags from the sandbed. 

 

Perhaps a white spotted anemone shrimp would be a better choice. They tend to host coral too. 🤔

 

I'll try my best to get codium or some halimeda - but no guarantees. These two macros are usually not sold, per say, but arrive as hitchikers on rocks and the underside of coral pieces. Depending on the generosity of the LFS, I *might be able to get a bit of it if it ships in, but I know of one store whose manager shouted at me when I enquired if I could purchase a clump of halimeda that came in on a LR piece once, several years back. The guy practically hates me (and Indians, in general) so I only drop by the store when his brother is in charge for the day and not him (I peek from the entrance before entering). 😕

 

My other two stores, which are solely marine-based, treat me quite well/respectfully though. And they usually give me various types of caulerpa from their fuges to seed my own fuge of my 60G at home. I'll probably keep an eye out for hitchiker macros coming through those two stores. 👍

 

I've been waiting for years to get a nice clump of galaxaura though. They used to import a bunch and sell them very cheap. I haven't seen it on sale for 2 (?) years now. 😔

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just turned on the lights - the metallic GSP is definitely trying to slowly creep over the sandbed and other frags:

 

 

Piccolo is hosting one of my turban snails now: 😄

 

 

Discosoma looking bright when it's small and not too spread out: 🤔

 

 

The blue peacocks take time to open up - but I was wondering if I could frag off a few polyps at the edge (using a blade) and then sell them (?) : 🤔

 

 

One of my turban snails is acting weird - keeps flopping over on its side. I think there's not enough algae to sustain two turbans in this reef, so I *might move one out to my 60G (plenty of algae in there). 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

I noticed my zoas and palys were starting to stretch quite badly today. I checked my lights and noticed it was getting dim. 😔

 

I'm currently running at 75% capacity, but it honestly looks like it's only going at <50%. It is a very old light, so I think it's slowly fading out on me. 

 

I pulled out the Chihiros 301M (18W) which I wasn't too happy with, and decided I might as well put it over the tank to make sure the overall lighting is adequate. At full brightness, the Chihiros is *too bright for this pico, so I'm using a dimmer to reduce the brightness to ~75%. 

 

If both lights were in full use, the total output should be 35W, which is more than enough for the 4 SPS pieces I have in here. 

 

I'm not using them fully, but combined together, both lights seem bright enough, so hopefully the corals on the Zoa Tower and sandbed will stop stretching. 

 

 

Also, one side of the clip for the Chihiros is faulty, so it's slanting a little to the right. Can't do much because it is a cheap reef light, and you get what you pay for, I guess. 🤷‍♀️

 

I'm looking into a good proper reef light for long-term use for this tank. Something that can support various corals, especially my montis, pavona & tenuis. 

 

Options I was looking into was the Aqua Knight Nano & Hipargero (out of stock locally) - or even lumini Aqua ASTA 20 (seems underpowered, to me). Another one was the Aquazonic Spectra Reef (successor model of my current aquazonic bar), but it only comes in 60cm++ sizes, so *if I get it, I'll actually have to mount it on something. It's also 52W - which is a bit of an overkill and will probably fry everything in this tank. 😔

 

All 4 of these lights are quite expensive here (for me) and cost between RM 320 to RM 400 each. I'll probably do more research into each individual lighting system and make my decision later. I really don't want to rush because I feel I rushed with the Chihiros purchase. 😕

 

If any of you have any experience with one of the 4 lights I've listed, please do let me know. 👍

[Thefishgolfer]

Just wanted to say,  your tank is absolutely beautiful👍. Great job 

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 hour ago, Thefishgolfer said:

Just wanted to say,  your tank is absolutely beautiful👍. Great job 

Thank you. 😊

[Snow_Phoenix]

I took these pics with the new light on, so the coral colors look a bit wonky. Sorry about that: 😕

 

Piccolo enjoying the brain coral: 

 

 

 

Harvey on the move:

 

 

The Montihat is still growing: 😊

 

 

Zoas:

 

 

 

Cyphastrea & acans:

 

 

I think the yellow filter lens doused this pic in an anemic glow: 😕

 

 

The base color is still mild green, but I admit the polyps are a rusty brown and not bright red yet. This frag is still recovering, so it will take time before the original colors settle in. 

 

I think the new light adds too much of a reddish hue to the pics. Brown tones appear reddish, and overall, the blue/purple colors are muted too much. 

 

Not an ideal light for filming because the coral colors are not very accurate, but I'm interested to see if the Chihiros can sustain a mixed reef, and if my corals will continue to grow. 

 

If no growth is visible over the next 3 weeks, then I'll bite the bullet and order a new light. Will try my best to get a hipargero first, since the reviews are relatively good. Otherwise, will opt for the aqua knight nano or aquazonic spectra reef. 

 

If I'm going for the spectra - I need to figure a way to mount it high enough so that I won't accidently roast anything. There will also be spillover on the sides because the bar is 60cm, but there is nothing much I can do about it. 🤷‍♀️

 

The lumini is last on my list - it's cute and compact, but I don't think it's enough for this tank (unless I get two luminis, which will be quite expensive - in which case I might as well go with the spectra). 

 

There was another light I looked into called cetus, but it's actually quite costly, once you factor in the added cost of purchasing a mount for the light (mounts are sold separately). 

 

The other 'budget' options available here aren't very good. Talking about lights like Deebow, unbranded etc. They're dirt cheap, but they also can't support a mixed reeftank - maybe only low-light corals like shrooms and some softies. (But I personally think these lights are more suited to FOWLR - I've seen/tested them at my LFS last year - quality was quite...questionable). 

 

I'll definitely do more reading & researching on the lights bit - really don't want to blow off RM 400 on a product that I *might not be happy with. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Btw, guess who else peeked out from under Coralline Ledge for a bit? 🤗

 

 

 

I'm so glad he's still here. 😊

 

A little bit concerned as to whether he's been eating or not in this tank. I noticed I have less pods and flatworms on the glass, so I assume he's been snacking on those. 🤔

[Snow_Phoenix]

Add-On: the flipped over turban snail I posted about earlier in the morning turned out to be dead. It wasn't smelling yet, but I poked the fleshy part with the end of a chopstick several times and it didn't move/retract. Also caught an amphipod trying to munch on the flesh, so I was quite sure it was gone. 

 

I think the lack of algae did this one in. My other turban snail is still very active and eating the film algae on the glass and rocks - but it looks like this tank was too small to sustain two turbans long-term. 🤔

 

I still have plenty of collonista snails and two very active stomatellas on algae-patrol though! 👍