CD_Scapes Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 I took a break from the Salty side, but working with SW at work as well as seeing all the other tanks from IG friends as well as all the stock I could get at work I want to come back to a SW tank. The only issue is I would only have a 2.6 gallons to work with, but I think I could make it work. I already have all the stuff I need for it as I have a light, ATO, Salt, 5lbs of sand, extra heater, RODI system, additives/supplements. I want to keep it simple too, my 2.6 FW is just a single plant clump, a piece of wood, some leaves and a trio of sparkling gourami. I was thinking for this tank to be a rock, some macroalgae and maybe a single coral and maybe a tiny goby. Any thoughts or recommendations? Here is my 2.6 FW as a reference, the new tank will sit to next to my FW one. 3 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 18 minutes ago, Frozen_Reef said: I took a break from the Salty side, but working with SW at work as well as seeing all the other tanks from IG friends as well as all the stock I could get at work I want to come back to a SW tank. The only issue is I would only have a 2.6 gallons to work with, but I think I could make it work. I already have all the stuff I need for it as I have a light, ATO, Salt, 5lbs of sand, extra heater, RODI system, additives/supplements. I want to keep it simple too, my 2.6 FW is just a single plant clump, a piece of wood, some leaves and a trio of sparkling gourami. I was thinking for this tank to be a rock, some macroalgae and maybe a single coral and maybe a tiny goby. Any thoughts or recommendations? Here is my 2.6 FW as a reference, the new tank will sit to next to my FW one. Sounds good to me. 😊 1 Quote Link to comment
CD_Scapes Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 Well, the salty game is moving forward. I decided on what tank I wanted to move my sparkling gourami trio to so the 2.6 will be free to use. Unsure if I want to use the bag of Caribsea I have or wait until Tannin Aquatics releases their new "mangal" substrate which would be perfect for a macro tank 1 Quote Link to comment
CD_Scapes Posted February 21, 2021 Author Share Posted February 21, 2021 Update again, hopefully new ‘mangal’ comes out this week and I will get the tank set up soon. I did get my rocks picked out today to it’s sooner rather then later Quote Link to comment
CD_Scapes Posted February 25, 2021 Author Share Posted February 25, 2021 I am going to be breaking all sorts of rules for the saltwater aquarium and I am excited to push the limits and boundaries of what can be done in a saltwater aquarium. Mangrove estuary is the way that I want to go, and I mean nearly full on estuary expect its fully marine and not brackish. Roots, bark, leaves, mud are all fair game and I want all of these to be incorporated. Interestingly the tannins released from mangrove leaves/bark can help buffer the pH as quoted from Scott Fellman's blog on Tannin Aquatics: "In this instance, tannins realized from the mangrove wood and leaves will react with calcium and other alkaline compounds to produce the insoluble salt, calcium tannate. The by-product of this reaction is the releasing of calcium and other ions into the water, which serve to buffer the pH in the aquarium." So the tannins act like a natural buffer, which is so cool to learn about. Tannins also do not have a major effect on pH alteration as opposed to popular belief. The other big part of an estuary is the substrate, it is a collection site for rich organic matter and mulm. This is the fun part for my project, is making the sedimented nutrient rich substrate for which the mangroves and macroalgae will grow in. There is a substrate know as "Varzea" which is more of a freshwater mix of aquarium safe dirts, clays, and sands that has a rich brown color as well as being a very nutrient rich sand option. I believe that this will be a key component of my little experiment. The biggest key to this project is a sedimented substrate known as "Mangal" which is suited for brackish/saltwater habitats and is almost like (as I've heard from Scott) a mix of refugium mud, sand and aragonite/crushed corals pieces. My idea is to have a couple pockets of pure Varzea capped with a mix of Carib sea ocean direct and Mangal. There will also be smaller surface patches of Varzea as well as Mangal. Besides just the substrate I am going to have wait for it...leaves and wood in the tank (the horror). There will be mangrove leaves and bark as accents and a root section from Pemphis acidula which is a costal shrub mangrove from the Indo-pacific. Aside from all the rule breaking botanicals and muddy substrates the "fun" stuff lets get into the living components of the experiment. I am still up in the air on what will be going into the tank macroalgae wise, but the short list is galaxaura, codium, and a caulpera species. Besides that possibly some matting Briareum asbestinum or Asterospicularia as well as a few zoas maybe. Motile inverts will be the stars of the tank, mainly Mime crabs and decorator crabs for "show inverts" maybe some smaller shrimp as well. Clean up crew wise I am thinking zig zag periwinkles, dwarf planaxis, dwarf cerith, virgin nerites, limpets, and nassarisus vibex/marginella snails. I honestly do not know if I will have a fish in this tank, but if I do it would have to be a small cryptic colored goby. I belive that is all for now, I am picking up the tank tomorrow and then waiting for the substrate to be released as well as maybe ordering macros to put in my holding tank. I will for sure update this project soon! Quote Link to comment
CD_Scapes Posted March 4, 2021 Author Share Posted March 4, 2021 I got my macro from gulf ecosystem, added in some old dry rock and some mangrove leaves for fun. Originally had a canister filter but it decides to leak non stop and then my duetto ATO breaks...so now it’s run my a little aquatopes filter and a fountain pump. Might go with the gravity fed bottle ATO idea in the future. For now I have an order from reef cleaners coming next week then in the next month or so I’ll add fish. I have to wait till the summer for mime crabs to become available again and then I think the tank will be stocked. Fish wise I have a tiger goby but was thinking of getting green banded gobies and maybe some neon gobies too. I feel there are enough places to hide/establish territories for the gobies. 3 Quote Link to comment
melson Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Keep documenting! It's always interesting to see what other sw hobbyists are doing differently every year! I'll be following along! Quote Link to comment
CD_Scapes Posted March 9, 2021 Author Share Posted March 9, 2021 Found a cool color variant in one of my green banded gobies or maybe it’s a male vs female color? One is more teal compared to all my other 4 gobies that are a lime green color 3 1 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 How has this tank progressed? any updates or more photos? Quote Link to comment
CD_Scapes Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 1 hour ago, Ratvan said: How has this tank progressed? any updates or more photos? Took it down before I moved to college 1 Quote Link to comment
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