Xj reefing Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 Welcome to my pico thread this idea of mine has been in the works for a little while now. let’s start with the theory behind this. So I wanted another tank so I could house mushrooms and other soft coral without my other lps corals getting in the way (which one big hammer has). I did not want to have to use a cooling fan on this tank nor did I have the budget for a chiller so I thought I could somehow link up the 2 tanks. U went through multiple stages of development of how to get water in or out but eventually decided to drill a hole in the base of the tank I bought and have a pipe leading water from the extension tank back to the sump where a pump would be getting it into the other tank. Over the last couple of days I have put this into action and started construction. inhabitants: coral: mushrooms gsp pulsing xenia zoas Leathers maybe a Duncan if I have room fish: if possible a green or yellow clown goby inverts: Peppermint shrimp turbo snail equipment: small pump maybe A small internal filter for water movement The stock light that comes with aqua ones mini reefs 1 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 Very nice, I have had a similar idea in the past for a tidal/surge tank so following along with keen interest on this one Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted April 10, 2021 Author Share Posted April 10, 2021 So today I finished the tank. It now has water in it and is running correctly. I have in my main tank a small blasto colony with 3 heads so I will be putting that in there as a test coral. Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted April 10, 2021 Author Share Posted April 10, 2021 So I just put in the first coral. Here it is Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted April 15, 2021 Author Share Posted April 15, 2021 Little update on the tank. The coral is doing good and I will be going to my lfs tomorrow to buy a mushroom Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted April 17, 2021 Author Share Posted April 17, 2021 Ok so today I bought a fluffy mushroom. It’s not very colourful but I like it. Any tips on how to make it look better? Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 You could adjust your lighting to look whiter. Some mushroom corals don't glow under blue lights, so look better with white to show off their colors. And if your lighting is anything close to how it looks in the photos, it's VERY blue right now. Beyond that, leave it alone. It might gain a bit of color if it was in bad conditions before and you've improved on them, but that's probably just how it looks. Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted April 17, 2021 Author Share Posted April 17, 2021 I am using a light that came with my aqua one mini reef so yeah it is very blue. That photo was taken with a filter as well. I will try using some white light 1 Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 i just moved my mushroom that was in my 20 gallon tank to this one and so far it seems to be ok. i had the chisel it of the rock so hopefully it does well. Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted April 22, 2021 Author Share Posted April 22, 2021 The tank is looking really good and I am currently trying to convince my parents to buy me a new light. I have decided that I want either another ai prime or a kessil a80. What light do u think would be better? the mushroom i removed from my 20 gallon has now been placed into a cup with various rocks and snail shells so it can attach to something without getting blown away. It is so far doing good in there and I think it has attached but it is still staying quite small. My fluffy mushroom is giant today Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 As much as I love my Kessil A80, it really isnt suitable for much more than illuminating a 12x12x12 area of tank. Or if you want to concentrate on something like NPS corals so I would go for the AI Prime that way if you do go larger in the future you have the option of adding that or potentially a second Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 Yesterday I got a peppermint shrimp for the tank. I had one in my 20 gallon until my wrasse ate it. I will be getting a ai prime late next week. Just though I would all so share a picture of my lovely purple fire fish on here🤫 2 Quote Link to comment
Daniel92481 Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 2 hours ago, Xj reefing said: Yesterday I got a peppermint shrimp for the tank. I had one in my 20 gallon until my wrasse ate it. I will be getting a ai prime late next week. Just though I would all so share a picture of my lovely purple fire fish on here🤫 Nice! I like it! 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted April 26, 2021 Author Share Posted April 26, 2021 I will no longer be getting the ai prime as the guy selling it sold it to someone else before I could get it. I will keep looking for one as they pop up all the time Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted April 27, 2021 Author Share Posted April 27, 2021 My new shrimp just molted today. Is this a sign that it is happy in the tank? 1 Quote Link to comment
Daniel92481 Posted April 27, 2021 Share Posted April 27, 2021 I believe so. It’s a normal process that they go through about once a month, or two. Lots of different info out there on triggers, such as iodine levels, stress, or even whether or not to leave the molt in the tank. I used to keep the molt in the tank because the shrimp will eventually eat it since it’s packed with nutrients. I recently started taking it out though because the red color of the shell was confusing me with cyano. 1 Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted April 28, 2021 Author Share Posted April 28, 2021 My other shrimp that got eaten by my wrasse molted every month and I just left the molt in there. I was doing a bit more reading on it and it seemed normal for new shrimp to molt when the just get in the tank 1 Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 It's not known exactly what factors trigger molting, but it's common for crustaceans to molt when newly introduced to a tank. A successful molt means the animal is reasonably healthy, and has enough iodine in the tank. When it's not in response to a stress, it's generally a good sign, yes. Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted May 1, 2021 Author Share Posted May 1, 2021 Today I went to a fish store 40 mins away for the first time ever. I don’t know why I haven’t been there in my 1 year reefing journey but I will definitely go again. I got 3 zoas, 1 5 dollar lps coral that I forgot the name of, 1 pocillopora and a ultra green star mat. I also picked up a small trochus snail for the tank. The pocillopora and the $5 one went in my 20 gallon (for lighting and flow reasons) and the Rest in the pico. On the snail there seems to be a small invert and I have no idea what it is. I will add more pictures tomorrow when everything is out. 2 Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted May 1, 2021 Author Share Posted May 1, 2021 Going to set up a ai prime HD today Quote Link to comment
Xj reefing Posted May 2, 2021 Author Share Posted May 2, 2021 Set it up after a while. The light is the HD version so it took me a long time to figure out how to work it with wifi because my other 1 is the 16hd which is Bluetooth. The tank looks really good and so do the corals 1 Quote Link to comment
Daniel92481 Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 Awesome! Pics or it didn’t happen. 😄 1 Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 The thing on the snail looks like probably a small bivalve of some sort, or maybe a slipper snail. Keep an eye on it, see if it moves. Quote Link to comment
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