Shallow Caribbean Reef

[michael_cb_125]

Hello everyone, 

     I recently broke down my larger tank, I lost my fish after over a decade and have decided to go in another direction. So now it is time to start up a smaller tank focusing on Caribbean inverts, corals and macro algae. I have had systems like this in the past and they have been some of my favorites. The IM 25 lagoon is arriving today, and the removal of the large Elos will start this evening. I have quite a bit of very good old school indo rock that has been in my larger tank for over 13 years. It is amazing stuff and I cannot wait to cut it down for the new aquascape. This will be a very low tech system, in which very few water changes will be performed and there will be little in the way of equipment. 

 

Equipment list as follows:

 

IM Nuvo 25 Lagoon

Maxspect Ethereal LED

AI Nero 3

No heater, No skimmer

Chemical Media will be used, as well as biological additives (I am a huge fan of ProdiBio)

 

 

The plan is to have a very minimalistic aquascape. I have already sliced some rock and I think I can accomplish the low relief that I am looking for. The tank will be ran on a seasonal temperature schedule, which will change with my homes ambient temp. I have done this in several systems (Caribbean and Deepwater) and it has worked well for me. All of the livestock that I plan on adding can be found in a pretty broad range, and can tolerate seasonal changes in temps. The tank will never drop below 70 or rise above 80 (Average will be 75), obviously this swing will be over weeks and months each year. I am fortunate to dive off the coast of NC and FL. I have seen some pretty chilly water and some amazing corals, many of which can be purchased or collected. 

 

Planned list of Livestock:

 

Mix of Caribbean coralamorphs, Rock Flowers, Gorgs, Palys and Zoas, Macro Algae, shrimp, snails, crabs, stars. I plan to keep it pretty simple with no fish, but may add a G. dejongi.

 

Pictures and updates to come, thanks for reading. 

 

 

 

[M. Tournesol]

No heater 😦?

5 minutes ago, michael_cb_125 said:

can tolerate seasonal changes in temps. The tank will never drop below 70 or rise above 80 (Average will be 75), obviously this swing will be over weeks and months each year.

 

you must live in a pretty mild region.

Edited August 27, 2021 by M. Tournesol

[michael_cb_125]

Yes we live in a pretty mild area. Winter lows are typically mid 20s at worst, and summers hit 100, LOL. 

My house stays 68 in the winter and 73 during the summer. I have never had any issues with my Atlantic or Deepwater tanks, actually the seasonal temp. swing have triggered spawning in serval species of fish, inverts and corals for me. I am an old school and somewhat unorthodox reefer. 

After 16 years of constantly keeping reef tanks, I have learned that for me keeping it very simple and allowing nature to do its thing, works better for me and my way of reefing. 

I have had high tech advanced systems and they always seem to have more issues than my setups that are run in a more natural manner. 

 

I am a firm believer that most of todays tanks are far to clean/"sterile".  For instance my first SPS reef (15 years ago) was my most beautiful. I had faster growth and better color in that tank than any system following it. That tank had a canister filter and sump. The skimmer helped remove some organics, and the canister promised that I always had nitrates.  My sps were vibrantly colored and deeply colored. Fast forward to my more "advanced" setups, and I had slower growing more pastel colored sps. 

 

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. 

 

 

The tank just arrived, all in tact. I am impressed with the overall quality of the IM 25 lagoon. It is no Elos ( I have had 4), but for the price, it is a very nice aquarium. 

 

Photos and such to come. 

 

[M. Tournesol]

Pastel  colored sps is generally the sign of stressed corals.

Look at this picture of bleached acroporas.

 

I think the zeovit method seeks to achieve this pastel coloring.

 

[michael_cb_125]

I agree that the above corals are lacking nutrients, not necessarily bleached. 

I prefer the look of a deeply colored "healthy" acro myself.

 

Thant said, there will be no acros in this system, only softies, nems and gorgs...
 

[billygoat]

Sounds like my kind of tank! 😁 It's always great to see an experienced reefer joining the nano scene. I'll be following along with this one for sure!

[michael_cb_125]

I just got the tank home (had it delivered to my business).

I have some really neat ideas for the aquascape.

I have so much nice rock to choose from, and a wet saw to cut it with. I am super excited.

Working on a braised chicken for dinner, so this evening may not be very productive with regards to the tank.....

 

Still trying to get the wife to choose a piece of furniture to put it on. Five antique shops and nothing to show for it. Our home is a modern farmhouse style, so just any ol' stand will not cut it, lol. ( having an interior designer as a wife does not help, lol).

 

I plan on getting the rock cut and the aquascape planned out tomorrow.

 

Hopefully we can find a "stand" that will work in the next few days..

 

I have a fishing trip planned late next week, and I plan on collecting a few critters while we are there. (Don't worry I have a QT to house stuff while waiting to setup this tank).

 

I should have some updates and photos posted by tomorrow evening.

 

 

 

[michael_cb_125]

Not sure how that last posted just showed up, that was from yesterday evening.

 

So for today....

 

I rode two hours one way to pickup an accent cabinet for a stand. I am very pleased with how this looks. It is a taller (42") cabinet, which I really like with the shallow tank.

 

I am now really getting started on cleaning up the Elos, so I can move it from the living room.

 

After that, it is saw time. In my mind I have the idea of two taller "mountains" on one side and a flat cut (on the bottom) rock for the opposite side.

There will be more open sand bed than rockwork in this system.

 

I am also excited that my wife is getting pumped up about the new tank. I would not allow her to add anything to the Elos as I had my perfect Bandits in there. I spend over a year quarantining and treat those fish, so I was risking nothing.. it worked, and one made it to 12 the other 14.

 

Anyway, downside to this is she is spatting out the different fish she wants for this supposed to be fishless system..

 

Myself G. Dejongi is the only fish I really want, her list is different.

 

She wants another candy basslet, she had one in her elos mini for about 5 years and loved him.

She also likes the lipogramma species, but I would like fish that I have not kept before, of any fish at all..

 

Pictures to come after some hard work 

 

 

[michael_cb_125]

I have someone coming today to pickup the Elos.

The plan is to get the new tank in place and up and running by this evening.

 

Here is a shot of the tank and cabinet

 

[michael_cb_125]

In its place

 

[michael_cb_125]

Just finished getting the tank filled and sand and rocks in.

 

I am happy with the way it turned out.

I will post pictures once the water clears.

 

 

[michael_cb_125]

Water is pretty cloudy, but here is a quick photo.

 

 

[michael_cb_125]

Well the tank cleared nicely overnight. 

I just wiped the sand residue off the inside glass, so the water is a bit cloudy now.

 

I added a few of my snails and a hermit that I have had for over ten years. He was tiny when I collected him at the coast.

 

Once the snails get settled in and move around I will get the light on and try for some better pictures.

 

 

A shot of my hermit

 

[michael_cb_125]

Just a few photos with the lights on, and some decent shots of the rock. This stuff has been with me for a long time, and has tons of life. Bristle worms, limpets, mysids, sponge, etc. 

 

Just bummed out that I have three buckets left sitting in saltwater. I hate to kill it, but I don't want to get rid of it, and am not setting up a system to keep it alive.

 

 

[michael_cb_125]

I added a powerhead to the tank today. I guess this is going to be a higher turbulence reef, lol.

 

The nero5 blends in nicely with the black background.

 

On random 1 sec. pulse at 50 percent, it adds a nice rocking effect to the tank.

 

I almost bought a fish today as well. 

A nice juvenile lantern bass. Little dude was super alert and overall looked like a clean fish...

But I will wait for the Mrs. to buy a fish....she does allow my hobbies to infiltrate our home, lol.

Between fish tanks, fishing rods and reels, she gets her fill of saltwater related sh**. Haha

[michael_cb_125]

My tunze ATO will arrive Wed., and after that I will be set.

 

It is time to start looking at livestock. My astrea snails and whiteline hermit are doing well.

The limpets and worms from the live rock seem to be happy as well. I did not realize how many boring clams were in this rock. So far I have counted 20 in the eight pounds I have in the tank. These are original or offspring from the original rock I purchased over a decade ago. My higher nutrient system has paid off, lol.

 

[michael_cb_125]

So the little tank has been chugging along nicely.

The sponge growth on the rockwork is really starting to take off. I assume it is photosynthetic, as it grew slowly in the previous dimly lit tank.

 

I added two peppermint shrimp and one fish.

I am excited about this little dude, he has tons of personality and has settled in well. I will try to get some better pictures.

 

I have a shipment arriving tomorrow of the first corals. I will post photos and such tomorrow evening.

[michael_cb_125]

I should have my ricordea today, I ordered enough that the center rock in my aquascape should be fairly covered, but with room to grow.

I will post pictures as soon as I have everything 

[michael_cb_125]

So here is the start to the reef aspect of the tank.

I just finished acclimating the ricordea. These particular shrooms were collected in the florida keys. I am very happy with the shipping and quality of the corals. Each piece was packed in a large specimen cup, and all 20 were in a nice Styrofoam cooler. The water temp was 75, not too bad. Salinity was 1.025

 

Here is a picture of packaging and as soon as they were added to the tank. They should puff up and be very good sized ricordea.

 

Once they are settled in, I will remove them from the plugs and glue directly to the rock.

[michael_cb_125]

Next step is to get my hands on some ricordea collected from other areas of the Caribbean.

 

I love the look of the ricordea collected out of Haiti and Belize, they have a totally different look and color pallet to them.

 

Rock flower anemones will be after that..

I am more attracted to the "standard" green and red nems than I am the ultras. They have a different physiological structure to them (due to habitat in shallower water than ultras) and I find that more appealing.

 

The main downside to the red and green is they are typically between 2 and 4 times the size of ultras. I would like to stick with smaller nems so they don't look out of place in the smaller tank.

[M. Tournesol]

38 minutes ago, michael_cb_125 said:

So here is the start to the reef aspect of the tank.

I just finished acclimating the ricordea. These particular shrooms were collected in the florida keys. I am very happy with the shipping and quality of the corals. Each piece was packed in a large specimen cup, and all 20 were in a nice Styrofoam cooler. The water temp was 75, not too bad. Salinity was 1.025

 

Here is a picture of packaging and as soon as they were added to the tank. They should puff up and be very good sized ricordea.

 

Once they are settled in, I will remove them from the plugs and glue directly to the rock.

What was the cost of all those lovely ricordeas?

[michael_cb_125]

With freight and taxes they came in landed at $15USD each.

[M. Tournesol]

In France, ricordeas are 30~60€ each ($35~70 USD) with less color choice 😭

[michael_cb_125]

Dang, I guess I am blessed being so close to the collection sites.

I will never pay over $20 per ricordea. I remember when I used to buy them for $5-$8 each, lol.

When we spearfish in the Florida Keys we are always so tempted to collect some ourselves, but transporting them back home would be challenging. 

~Michael

[michael_cb_125]

The ricordea were nice a puffed up when I got home so I just really upset them, lol.

 

A razor blade, superglue and 30 minutes later we have this...

 

They look pretty mad in this photo, but they should perk back up shortly..