4.1g Zoanthid Garden: November Update - New Coral

[Break]

I think I'm going to get rid of the mushroom rocks (free pick-up in SF if you want to grab them before I take them to a local LFS!) and replace them with some of the rocks in the back chamber. They've starting to grow invasively into the zoanthids and the aquarium director is having none of it. I'll then probably banish the new sun palys to the edge of the shady corner that the mushrooms are currently in. Will have to come up with something creative to put in the rest of the heavy shadow cast by the VorTech.

 

Anyhow, here's a quick and dirty picture update:

 

The tank's new home in the office. The blue outline is where the liquor cabinet will be going - perfectly located for coping with reefing stress 😅

 

New cabinet for the tank. Much better than being on the sketchy bowing desk over/near my electronics. I guess it's technically no longer a desktop tank, though!? 🤔

 

Cabinet organization. Will eventually find a way to organize the cords a bit more.

 

Had to mount the VorTech controller on the side because the cord that connects the controller unit and pump does not allow for disconnecting, unlike the power cord. Strange design choice. The other unit hanging there is the cooling fan.

 

Top view of the new setup. The ATO reservoir and mason jar of handy tools now sit behind the tank. Still want to make the cords/tubes here look a bit cleaner.

 

The new set-up allows for better top-down views which is great as those are my favorite when it comes to reef tanks. Still itching to see if I can get away with a tiny florida ricordea tidepool project somewhere in the apartment. Will have to petition the director for approval.

 

 

Branching cyphastrea is doing great and has recovered all lost tissue, though the bottom side is usually a bit bleached out due to lack of light.

 

Not impressed with these new sun palys. Will probably banish them to a shady corner of the tank and give this primo spot to something else.

 

The TCK Rainbow Flame Goniopora is much happier in its new spot with better flow.

 

The LC Blizzard Bizzaro has made a total comeback, recovering its lost tissue and displaying better polyp extension than ever before.

 

 

Best shot of the mushroom garden I was able to get. The colors are a bit off, but the two varieties are blue spotted and orange/red with green spots. It seems they've either started to hybridize with each other or are just creating interesting morphs independently. 

 

More accurate color on the mushrooms in this frontal shot.

 

Dirty FTS.

[cheesesteak]

Looks like you managed the move quite well. Congrats! 😄

[Break]

On 10/18/2020 at 4:39 PM, cheesesteak said:

Looks like you managed the move quite well. Congrats! 😄

One nice thing about having such a small tank is that they're less of a nightmare to move! I just emptied out 75% of the water, placed the entire tank in a rubbermaid, carried it over to the new place, and filled it back up. The fact that we only moved half a block away made things easier as well 😉

[Break]

November update!

 

Overall the tank is doing great.

• The corals are all displaying good growth and polpy extension; cannot say enough good things about Aquavitro Fuel. 
• Some of the zoas are a tad stretchy and I think I can get better color out of a few of them. To that end, I've been slowly turning the intensity of the light up each week and it seems to be working (except for the Bimini Pinks, who insist on stretching).
• The fish both have better color and fatter bellies now that they're consistently getting fed a good mixture of frozen foods twice per day. No signs of the lympho resurfacing so far.
• The bits of cyano have disappeared, though a bit of bubble algae remains.
• Considering adding Kalkwasser to the ATO water now that things have stabilized.

@Legendary Corals was having another great sale and the aquarium director demanded more cute zoas, so I traded in the discoma mushrooms and sun palys to a local LFS to make some room. Now we just wait for things to grow out a bit. Not much space left to add anything, though I am considering cramming another gorgonian in there at some point or putting a ricordea in one of the shadier spots unfit for fancy zoanthids.

 

The tank's spot in the office.

 

Stocked liquor cabinet for enhanced tank viewing experience.

 

Close-up.

 

FTS.

 

Some top-down shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JPS Latin Lovers.

 

LC Rainbow Pixies.

 

JF Insane Rainbows.

 

Additional WWC Sweet Tooths.

 

RC Antivenoms and Gonzo's Citrus Coolers.

 

Closer shot of RC Antivenoms and Gonzo's Citrus Coolers.

 

Additional JPS Mystiques and ASD Atmospheres.

 

LC Blizzard Bizzaro has great polpy extension and is growing. The TCK Rainbow Flame (my favorite piece in the tank) is fluffy and happy.

 

Sharknose Goby.

 

Yellow Clown Goby.

[farkwar]

I might be reaching

 

But those are the tallest zoas

 

I have seen in a very long time

[The Rainy Day Aquarium]

"Stocked liquor cabinet for enhanced tank viewing experience."

 

The more you drink the more colorful your tank looks! 🤭🧐

[Break]

19 hours ago, farkwar said:

I might be reaching

 

But those are the tallest zoas

 

I have seen in a very long time

Hehe, yeah, I'm not sure why the Bimini Pinks are stretching so much more than in the past, especially considering I've turned the lighting up significantly since then.

[debbeach13]

I really can not tell where you removed coral and made some space. Still looks packed to me.

[Break]

On 11/1/2020 at 5:01 PM, debbeach13 said:

I really can not tell where you removed coral and made some space. Still looks packed to me.

I like to tell myself having a smaller tank will limit my coral purchases, but clearly, that isn't the case 😅

[CD_Scapes]

2 hours ago, Break said:

I like to tell myself having a smaller tank will limit my coral purchases, but clearly, that isn't the case 😅

Duuuude this tank is lit! Just read the whole thread and love how much you fit in such a small volume. Makes me feel a bit better about how I can stock my 10 gallon UNS in the future (although mines more biotope and not a reef)

[Chaozu]

Can you show the modifications you made for those waterbox media baskets? 

[dwdenny]

Did you every have an issue with your Yellow Clown Goby picking at your corals? I have one being shipped soon. No SPS as that is what I read they tend to pick at.