9 to 5 - Reef in a Bottle 🏴‍☠ Caribbean Carboy

[seabass]

 

 

This Caribbean reef is my take on the classic ship in a bottle, with a Pirates of the Caribbean motif (featuring rock flower anemones, a Pederson anemone shrimp, gorgonian, and zoanthids).

 

 

Current Full Tank Shot: 📷

 

 

Contest Entry Pic: ☕

 

Just in case:

 

 

Equipment: 💡

• 5 Gallon PET Carboy  ($32)
• PAR38 KINGBO 18W LED bulb ($30)
• Deep Blue Heat Stik Mini 15W heater ($12 eBay)

 

Livestock: 🦐

• Caribbean Rock Flower Anemones
• Corky Finger Gorgonian
• Macroalgae
• Scarlet Reef Hermit  ($4)
• Caribbean snails
• Pederson Anemone Shrimp  ($20)

 

Aquascaping & Themed Decor: ⛵

• Spanish Doubloon Pirate Replica Coins ($14)

• 3lbs Tropic Eden Supreme Tonga Branch Rock  ($48)

• Live Sand From the Gulf of Mexico

      

 

 

Key Posts: 🗝️

• Tropic Eden Supreme Tonga Branch Rock
• Live Sand From the Gulf of Mexico
• Two Gallon Food Container Sump
• Caribbean Decor

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Did you spot the hidden Squidwards in the two Office Space pics?

 

 

Reefin' 9 to 5 is brought to you by:

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[kimdawg]

Oh no!  RFA competition.  That is what I am planning to put on the bottom of the tank if I can find some.

[seabass]

Aquascaping is going to be the most challenging thing.  I have a plan, but I might need a little practice.

 

9 hours ago, kimdawg said:

Oh no!  RFA competition.  That is what I am planning to put on the bottom of the tank if I can find some.

RFAs rule.  Game on.

 

I figure I'll just plop them down and let them go wherever they want.  Not sure how many yet, maybe a dozen.

[M. Tournesol]

Do you plan one a DBS or a Jaubert sand bed? 

(If the carboy is destined to be positioned vertically, this could be a good filtration idea)

[seabass]

2 hours ago, M. Tournesol said:

Do you plan on a DBS or a Jaubert sand bed?  (If the carboy is destined to be positioned vertically, this could be a good filtration idea)

Thanks; I hadn't really considered the use of a plenum; but that's a definite possibility if I go with a deep substrate.  And I'm not really sure about the orientation (upright, inverted, or on its side).  Although laying it on its side isn't very likely (but also, not completely off the table).

 

I have plenty of dry sand that I can use for this, and the height of the carboy would permit a deep bed.  I might also order sand collected from the ocean (my other tanks would benefit from some too).  I still might go shallow, or I might go with a DSB.  But I highly doubt that there will be anything but natural biological filtration.

 

The "rock" is another issue.  Obviously if I cut the top or the bottom off of the carboy, I could aquascape it like a normal tank (which is appealing).  However, the challenge of leaving it intact might be even more intriguing.  I can see it going either way at this point, but I might default to cutting the bottle if my other plans fall through.

 

If I leave it intact, I can see using pond foam to create a fake rockscape (which was my original plan).  But now I'm kind of leaning towards using a bunch of rubble and piping mortar over it to secure it.  I also have a plan where there is no live rock at all.  So you can see that I'm still very much in the planning stage with this.

 

However I'm much more sure about how I plan to stock it.  But besides disclosing the Caribbean theme and the rock flower anemones, I'm not ready to disclose the full details just yet.  Aeration and flow will likely involve a small 50gph fountain pump, and possibly an air line.  And lighting is almost sure to be a PAR38 LED bulb.

[M. Tournesol]

1 hour ago, seabass said:

The "rock" is another issue.  Obviously if I cut the top or the bottom off of the carboy, I could aquascape it like a normal tank (which is appealing).  However, the challenge of leaving it intact might be even more intriguing.  I can see it going either way at this point, but I might default to cutting the bottle if my other plans fall through.

For rocks, you could use/make long cylindrical rocks.

 

This would make your reef look like a pack of mikado 😆

 

 

[seabass]

6 hours ago, M. Tournesol said:

For rocks, you could use/make long cylindrical rocks.

🤔 Actually not that bad of an idea.  Maybe some Tonga Branch Rock broken up and put back together within the carboy, with some E-Marco 400.  Which is what I was thinking doing with rubble; however, Tonga would likely look better.

[banasophia]

So glad you are giving this a go, and excited to see what you come up with!

[M. Tournesol]

3 hours ago, seabass said:

🤔 Actually not that bad of an idea.  Maybe some Tonga Branch Rock broken up and put back together within the carboy, with some E-Marco 400.  Which is what I was thinking doing with rubble; however, Tonga would likely look better.

This would be truly impressive. A real reef in a bottle.

Edited October 2, 2021 by M. Tournesol

[M. Tournesol]

In the case where you decide to not cute the top or pierce a hole in the carboy to have an easy access, what is your plan to clean its walls?

[seabass]

1 hour ago, M. Tournesol said:

In the case where you decide to not cute the top or pierce a hole in the carboy to have an easy access, what is your plan to clean its walls?

I have one of these:

I might put a pad between the magnet and the tank to help prevent obvious scratches.  I keep wondering if I should have gotten a glass carboy.

[seabass]

It looks like a couple of different 50gph pumps will fit through the opening.  I'm thinking that I might get two.  I'm pretty sure that you'd be limited to an airline for flow in a glass carboy (which has a smaller mouth).

[Snow_Phoenix]

The carboy idea is pretty unique. Can't wait to see it all filled in the future. 

[growsomething]

Nothing but rfa is an awsome idea.  Im a big fan of them.

[filefishfinatic]

find dock pilings and use a ripsaw and sander then make them into 1 mini dock piling then let it get encrusted in fouling organisims

 

[debbeach13]

This entry really is going to be a challenge! Good luck in the contest.

[seabass]

In addition to Rock Flower Anemones (RFAs), I plan on keeping some Caulerpa macroalgae, and a Corky Finger Gorgonian.  It will also be home to a Scarlet Reef Hermit and various Caribbean snails.  And while I'm normally not a huge fan of shrimp, I'm considering a Pederson Cleaner Shrimp as the feature invert.

[seabass]

I found and ordered a Pederson Cleaner Shrimp at KP Aquatics.  It will have to go in my 40 gallon tank until I get the carboy ready.

[LazyFish]

I have one in my peninsula it hosts my 2 face rfa. It's super active and friendly I love them.

[seabass]

I just ordered 15lbs of live sand from GulfLiveRock.com.  It's more than I need for this carboy, but I'll also spread it around to my other tanks.

Quote

Real live sand from the Gulf of Mexico. Our Sand is taken in close proximity to reefs to ensure that our sand is actually "Live". Collected in 30- 50 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico. Live sand helps provide a food source for certain species, and help clarify your water.

 

[RG Rude]

On 10/8/2021 at 10:53 AM, seabass said:

I just ordered 15lbs of live sand from GulfLiveRock.com.  It's more than I need for this carboy, but I'll also spread it around to my other tanks.

 

I wonder if they have in person pick up if you live in Greater Tampa? I'll have to give them a call. Can't wait for your report.

[seabass]

 Tropic Eden Supreme Tonga Branch Rock:

 

I received my 3lbs of Tropic Eden Supreme Tonga Branch Rock.  The box was totally banged up (more like destroyed), but the rock was fine.  I got two branch rocks with my three pound order.

I'm pretty happy with what I received.

 

So the problem will be getting them in my carboy, through the neck of the bottle.

 

Of course, I'd needed to break them up.

 

To my surprise, I found this tag inside one of the rocks:

I found similar tag inside of the other rock.

 

Since I don't plan on having just a pile of rubble, I'll have to reassemble them somehow inside the carboy (ship in a bottle fashion).  But I'm still not sure exactly how I'm going to do that.  I purchased some super glue with extension tips; but the tips don't go much beyond the mouth of the bottle.  I also got some pink E-Marco 400 mortar and some pastry piping bags, which might work to get the mortar inside.  In addition, I picked up some foot long ¼" dowel rods that might also be handy. 🤔

 

 

[M. Tournesol]

Can you put two tongs into the neck of the bottle ?

If not, maybe filling the carboy with sand could help ?

 

[M. Tournesol]

I didn't think about it but now it seem evident. Will you put a little boat in your carboy?

Edited October 11, 2021 by M. Tournesol

[seabass]

1 hour ago, M. Tournesol said:

maybe filling the carboy with sand could help

Definitely, I currently have it about half full of sand.  I have a pair of 10" feeding tongs and a 24" pair on the way.

 

My tests with thin super glue were a complete failure.  I'll definitely need to use super glue gel (as you indicated) if I'm going the CA glue route.

 

I'm thinking about trying the mortar; but mortar can't stick unsupported structures.  I feel like my hopes of this ending up looking very good are pretty slim.

 

My current plan consists of making a base with the mortar and with some of the less attractive pieces (and non-end pieces).  Then maybe try to create some branches with thick super glue and the end pieces.  Finally filling in the obvious gaps with more mortar.

 

1 hour ago, M. Tournesol said:

Will you put a little boat in your carboy?

That would be fitting.  But I don't think the ships in those ship in a bottle kits would either hold up, or be reef safe.  Even a nice aquatic treasure chest would probably be too small to look very good.