Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 1 hour ago, SaltyGallon said: Lights off now in a very cloudy pico! Here's all you'll get, for today... 😎 Nice! 3 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted April 29, 2021 Author Share Posted April 29, 2021 A great day out on the coast yesterday... Sadly no shrimp or hermits to be found (we didn't look for these guys too hard) but plenty of topshell snails, periwinkles, different beadlet anemones (in red, green, blue, purple and brown), gem anemones, and of course the much coveted green snakelocks anemones. No macro for now, but perhaps a prospect to collect in the summer when stuff will be suited to warmer room temps. Lots of little critters added including a couple of big amphipods, brittle stars, and plenty of coraline trimmings in purple/red. It's going to be really interesting to watch this tank develop in time. I've got a bunch of fine slate/gravel too that I'm toying with the idea of adding - it will really fit with the "biotope" - but not sure if it will look janky mixed with the white sand! Everything settling in nicely and feeding... I'm just about to head out and buy some frozen prawns to feed the anemones. They're really voracious, and quick moving too! 😊 10 Quote Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 Looks like a successful collection trip to me. Go for a little walk, check out the tide pool, come home with some critters and anemones. So jealous. 3 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted April 29, 2021 Author Share Posted April 29, 2021 57 minutes ago, debbeach13 said: Looks like a successful collection trip to me. Go for a little walk, check out the tide pool, come home with some critters and anemones. So jealous. We were out mooching around for 5 hours, so I'm not sure if a "little walk" haha 🙂 I've put some netting round the wavemaker for now too... I expected the anemones to go big time walkies last night but as it happens the majority have stayed largely in the same spot where they were placed. They aren't fussy really but I think they like their food (a bit like their keeper I suppose lol) 2 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted May 4, 2021 Author Share Posted May 4, 2021 ... All well in the rockpool tank, for now 🙂 The topshell snails are a slight pain as they go walkabout most nights... Every morning I have to pick at least 3 or 4 of them up off the floor! They seem to have no issue with being out of the water for hours on end, which I suppose isn't surprising. I don't really want to "lid them" but if they carry this on I might have to, otherwise I'm going to run out of CUC pretty quick! I dropped one back in the tank during the night last night and I think it might have ended up in the snakelocks anemone, as the snakelocks has a very suspect bulge this morning 😂 Likewise I left the fan on for a few hours yesterday and managed to get the tank down to 16.3°C / 61.3°F - which was nice, and colder than I was expecting. Mist on the glass kind of realms! I think the fan will loose it's effectiveness a little come the warmer weather but I'm confident it should be able to knock a good few degrees off of ambient room temperature, and keep everything just cool enough. For now, nitrates sat at a very amicable 5ppm and the tank's got a light dusting of diatoms. Watching intently for the first few flecks of coralline - as loads of it went in (blitzed up) from rock scrapings... 🤞 All in all happy days, and pics to follow later. 3 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted May 4, 2021 Author Share Posted May 4, 2021 An FTS (I did add some black rock to the sandbed after all!) and a snakelocks close up 😊 Here's an interesting comparison too, the snakelocks now vs. the snakelocks when collected. It looks like the purple is extending up the arms, rather than just the tips. This is a trait I've noticed in other captive ones - not sure if a response to high or low light. I'd guess high, but who knows? 4 Quote Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 Wow looks like two different animals. 2 Quote Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 I might have already asked, how are you maintaining temperature? What temp does this run ? I have experienced that internal pumps do emit heat, how long before you see the increase in temps? The light looks great to keep this photosynthetic anemone doing well. 2 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted May 4, 2021 Author Share Posted May 4, 2021 4 hours ago, debbeach13 said: Wow looks like two different animals. Yeah Deb. I think part of the difference is the cool blue LED light vs the warm natural sunlight, but it will be interesting to see how the colour changes over time. 3 hours ago, Micro-Reefs Aquariums said: I might have already asked, how are you maintaining temperature? What temp does this run ? I have experienced that internal pumps do emit heat, how long before you see the increase in temps? The light looks great to keep this photosynthetic anemone doing well. You have, but that was before it was up and running! I have a fan which in current temperatures can drop the temperature by just under 4°C - without the fan it sits around 19°C. I haven't noticed any additional heat from the light or wavemaker in this tank, though the return in my 1G does kick out noticeable heat. Everything in the tank is intertidal and tolerates a natural temperature range of approx 8-28°C, so my plan for the summer is to run the fan via a wifi socket on hot days to ideally keep things sweet at no higher than 25°. We rarely get temps over 29-30°C here in the UK and when we do it's for a couple days at most, so it should be manageable with cooling water changes if needed 👍🏼 Yeah the A80 should be more than sufficient for the snakelocks. I'm in the process of working out how high I can crank the intensity without annoying the other beadlet nems, or causing excess heat over the tank. ... Sadly I never heard back from that chap re the IceProbe! 2 Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 You could always have a lid that you put on the tank in the evening, so the snails stay in, then remove it during the day. 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted May 5, 2021 Author Share Posted May 5, 2021 6 hours ago, Tired said: You could always have a lid that you put on the tank in the evening, so the snails stay in, then remove it during the day. That is what I did last night. No escapees! 😊 4 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted May 11, 2021 Author Share Posted May 11, 2021 A friend was down on the South West Coast last week and he turned up at our place on Thursday night with a small bucket full of goodies. No hardback crabs, just hermits/shrimp/starfish I told him... So you can guess what he brought back lol. So the tank is now also home to a juvenile green shore crab with cool mottling, a limpet, two small clams, and a bunch of cool algae. Still no hermits, or shrimp! As it happens the green shore crab is extremely well suited to pico life (super tolerant of brackish/saline water and high temperatures). He's eating well and I've seen Mr Limpet moving around on his rock too. In terms of macro algae there's some bladder wrack, sea lettuce, some sargassum, and two reddish guys I've yet to ID. I've got high hopes for the wrack and sea lettuce but sadly I think the nice reds will fade away in time, being more seasonally cold water. The anemones are all doing well, bar a pretty little green beadlet who definitely has the weakest sting in the tank and spends his time picking/losing fights with the other beadlets lol. The bigger gem anemone has spat out three babies already! The snakelocks is a voracious feeder and caught and digested a snail last week, and spat its shell out this morning. It's taking on a really cool rockpool feel now, which is nice 🙂 9 3 Quote Link to comment
Nathans_Reef Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 Looks really good! 2 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted May 14, 2021 Author Share Posted May 14, 2021 Thanks guys. In other news.... Here's the green shore crab causing trouble And the limpet taking a sh*t! 3 2 Quote Link to comment
Nathans_Reef Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Would that wave maker provide a good amount of flow in my Nano tank? its a 30cm cube. Anything new going on with this tank? Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 2 hours ago, Nathans_Reef said: Would that wave maker provide a good amount of flow in my Nano tank? its a 30cm cube. Anything new going on with this tank? Yes definitely! I run it on the lowest setting. All good, I just can't be bothered to take photos haha! It's nicely in the 'ugly stage' now and has got plenty of brown algae, despite nutrients being in check! It will be okay, am sticking to 100% water changes religiously and running the fan on a timer. Haven't yet gone above 21°C even in the current heatwave! Storing top off RODI in the fridge, too 🙂 Proper update to come soon! 2 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 On 6/14/2021 at 8:38 PM, SaltyGallon said: Proper update to come soon! well... Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted July 20, 2021 Author Share Posted July 20, 2021 On 6/30/2021 at 10:26 AM, Ratvan said: well... Nothing exciting to share for now mate! The tank's still in a mega ugly phase - green hair algae covered with diatoms. I'm at a slight loss as to what could be causing it as nutrients are in in check in the tank... I've changed my RO membranes etc and it's still persisting. One of these weekends I'm planning on pulling the rockwork and sandbed and giving it all a good clean out. I've got a suspicion it's the spikey rockwork as a mate said he'd heard bad things about this specific rockwork leaching nasties before I set the tank up. Bollocks I thought... But maybe he was right! If it doesn't sort itself out in the next month or so I think I'll replace it, with either something from the sea or a nice piece of dry rock - the diatoms are really smothering everything which I just wouldn't expect being a good few months into the tank now. Livestock is doing okay though - bar the snails, which are slowly dwindling - I need a top up lol. The snakelocks continues to do well as do the gem anemones - the beadlets are a bit so so and I think I'll return them on my next trip to the seaside. Surviving but not thriving...! 3 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted July 21, 2021 Author Share Posted July 21, 2021 Just chugging along... A big clean out for the tank this week including two full water changes, a sand bed rinse and rock scrub. The shallow sand bed was bloody horrible even though I regularly turn it over, but then I guess thats one of the joys of no mechanical filtration lol. 30°C outside, 25°C+ in our flat, and 23.7°C in the tank! We've a heatwave in the UK right now (it doesn't get much hotter here lol) and the tank is holding up admirably... A few changes in the tank - you'll notice the white wavemaker cover is gone and the lack of macro algae. The macros all slowly dwindled (as expected) but they did look good for a time. I switched the white wavemaker cover out for the black one as I was wondering if the paint was causing my funky diatom issue - but it doesn't appear it was! The frosted backing is also currently off as one morning I found Mr Limpet on the back/dry side of the glass - I got him off unharmed but made a mess of the frosting in the process lol... Some new stuff is on order. I reckon I'll get down the warm rockpools soon and source a few more snails, starfish, shrimp, and some hardy macro which likes it warm. 8 Quote Link to comment
Nathans_Reef Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 Looks Great, That snakelock looks like its loving life! also looks very nice next to the other tank. 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 On 7/23/2021 at 5:23 PM, Nathans_Reef said: Looks Great, That snakelock looks like its loving life! also looks very nice next to the other tank. Yes it is! I only feed it a chunk of prawn once a week but I think it would happily have more haha... If the snakelocks went nuts and took over the tank I'd be chuffed, its a lovely thing to watch 😊 2 Quote Link to comment
Murphs_Reef Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 What beaches do you use? 2 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 A couple of nice spots on the South West coast. I won't go into specifics because the beaches are busy enough lol 👍🏼 2 1 Quote Link to comment
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