Pumpkin’s 30g Conversion Tank

[farkwar]

Are you sure that's coralline?

 

It looks like something else from that pic

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

15 hours ago, farkwar said:

Are you sure that's coralline?

 

It looks like something else from that pic

I mean I’m not a marine biologist but I’m not a professional photographer either, it’s like 20x zoom on an iPhone. It’s touching the live rock from my other tank and that’s what people always called that when I asked. Either way, when it appeared in my 20g, it helped outcompete the green algae so I’m just happy it’s spreading. I can always rename it “helpful purple stuff” if it’s not coralline, I’m not fussy about names, just what it does 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

Helpful purple stuff is spreading!

 

Three days until pay day, not that I’m counting. Plan is to buy some CUC, as the hair algae is starting to grow, and a fish. I’m hoping for a royal gramma or a banggai cardinal. It’ll be difficult to resist a Valentini puffer if that’s all they have (I’ve resisted twice already). That will most likely be on Saturday. 
 

I’ve got a local reefer who is going to frag me some basic green mushrooms to try out in the little cave section on the blenny’s rock though I am leaning closer and closer to getting an anemone so I don’t want to go too overboard with coral yet just in case. 
 

attaching the photo would be a great start;

 

 

[farkwar]

That is cyano

 

Red purple snot

 

Suck it up with your baster, toss.  Then baste the rest into your mechanical filter

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

47 minutes ago, farkwar said:

That is cyano

 

Red purple snot

 

Suck it up with your baster, toss.  Then baste the rest into your mechanical filter

Not sure I want to swap it back for one of the ones it killed off, but I’ll bear it in mind if I decide otherwise.

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

Big day today, got the next fish and a good chunk of CUC. I also put the first corals in. Moved the Xenia over from the 20g and bought a cheap shroom to test out. It looks so insane colourful under the blue so I really hope it stays put and grows. I might try to get another one for my 20g.

 

So new additions are:

1 Banggai Cardinal

1 Halloween Hermit

1 Emerald Crab

3 Nassarius Snails

5 Cerith Snails (2 will go into my 20g once the algae is under control) 

Pulsing Xenia Rock

Blue Mushroom

 

 

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

The mushroom is doing great in the cave, but I screwed up the placement of the Xenia. It was right under the hob and had water cascading down on it so it’s looking bedraggled. I’ve moved it to the other side last night but it’s still unhappy this morning. I’ll give it a few days then move it back to the 20g if it doesn’t settle.

 

 

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

Bit the bullet and bought a viparspectra 165w for this tank. I made the mistake of googling the light it has currently so that I could get some advice on how to best add a lighting upgrade down the line and jeez, I think a wind up torch has more wattage. (It’s 14w...) 

 

I’m still trying to work out how best to hang it but at least I can play with it and hopefully get some easy coral going or maybe a BTA.
 

On that line of thought, I’ve put the Xenia back in the 20g and moved my iron man and red mushrooms over. I’m considering getting a shelf rock to go between the two high bits to make a ledge. I’m feeling the desire for more height.
 

Cycle is holding strong at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 10 nitrate. I did the first water change on it today as I’ve upped the bio load quite a bit this week. Not testing the rest for the moment. 

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

Pleased to report 2 successful molts this weekend. The Halloween hermit yesterday and the emerald crab today. The emerald had been looking like he was going to shed since I got him but glad he managed it. The hermit was a surprise. 
 

Cardinal settled in nicely and is eating like a trooper. He’s got the appetite of a clownfish I swear.

 

Viparspectra arrived yesterday morning and boy is it bigger than I thought it would be. I’m going to put two brackets on the wall and treat it like a shelf. Hanging it would give me far too much anxiety. It’s also plenty bright. I’m going to start it on 1% white and 5% blue and slowly raise from there so I don’t scare off mushrooms.

 

On the bad news front, the Xenia isn’t recovering so I think I’ll hold off on coral until the viparspectra is up to a decent intensity.

[debbeach13]

except for the xenia every thing sounds good. Looking forward to checking out the new light.

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

The Viparspectra is up. I went with a “shelving bracket but the light is the shelf” idea due to the fact it’s much bigger than I thought it would be and therefor heavier and I’m not sure how much I trust my walls. Maybe some day in the future I’ll make it prettier but for now, it’ll give me a fighting chance at making this a reef tank. 
 

Given how I have mushrooms in there, I’m starting it off at 1% whites, 5% blues and will raise it a percent every 48hrs until I’ve got it up to 5%w/10%b and see how it goes.

 

The ultimate aim I’ve decided is a BTA. My cycle is holding strong with my carried over live rock and biomax, I don’t see me adding any more livestock other than hermits as needed until Royal Gramma prices come down and I don’t really want to add coral until after a BTA for the obvious reasons. 
 

So I may put this journal to bed for a few months unless anything changes. If any of my Kenya trees drop branches/that gsp that was under the Xenia lives/I get more Xenia then I might move them over but it’ll be more likely I’ll do a big update in 3-6 months time x

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

Not an overly thrilling update but viparspectra is now up to 5% white, 20% blue. Mushrooms are happy, the colouring on the red mushroom is going a much deeper red. I’m looking to double it over January to 10% white, 40% blue and look into a few soft coral.

 

Hermit crab changed shells twice this week so I think he’s planning a big growth spurt. He went from the original shell he came in, changed to the shell in the foreground early in the week then last night changed to the big shell climbing the rock. Also featured is my emerald crab mowing the lawn and my Cardinal asking “where the food at?”.

 

 

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

Good shopping day today - went looking for an office tank, picked up a cabinet (£30) for nano (not sure what’s going on that yet oops), a fuzzy mushroom rock (3-4 heads for £22), a royal gramma (£28) and a Yellow Watchman Goby (£18). The fish especially were a bargain, as grammas have been pushing £50 lately and watchman goby are usually £30 minimum. 
 

Both fish instantly dived under the rocks but if I can get photos I will. I’ll do a photo of the shrooms when they open up.

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

Not sure they’re all going to stay in this tank, we’ll see how they go but today I picked up a few frags;

 

pink toadstool

pulsing xenia

GSP

some type of zoa with a gold flecked centre, maybe fairy dust
 

I’ll do photos tomorrow after work!

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

Sorry, haven’t updated for a while as UK is in another big lockdown. A little while back, I managed to get a RBTA but boy is it a big one. I’m feeding it 2-3x a week in the hopes that it splits into a more manageable size. If not then, well, it’ll be an anemone showcase tank. 
 

I’ve also moved some coral about. The GSP struggled so I moved it to the 20g. In exchange, I’ve moved ALL my Zoas onto that 5 hole garden rock and into this tank and they are loving life, the fairy duster is out of control (thinking of giving that its own rock), plus I have 2 new polyps on my vampire slayer, 1 each new on the unknown freebie, the punk rocker and the fake lime chilli. 
 

Other than that, it’s ticking over. Considering fragging the toadstool to practice fragging as I’m hoping to frag some Zoas later down the line (especially the fairy dusters), need to trim back the GHA where the lights are on higher, and we’ve had a couple of molts from the crabs.

 

Here’s a photo of the ‘nem. He’s not very bubbly, but the reefer I got it from said it wasn’t in his tank either and it’s been eating and “sun-bathing” fine. Guess it’s just one that likes to hang loose 🤷🏻‍♀️