Tank upgrade- pico to (change of plans) JBJ 45gal

[Tired]

Thank you, Facebook Marketplace! Just got a really good deal on a used JBJ 45, and it comes with an AI Prime. I'm not sure if I'll keep the light or replace it, as I'm looking for a light with minimal shimmer. I see why people like it, but it makes me motion-sick to look at for long. I've paid the seller a bit extra to hold onto the tank until the 21st, as that's when I can go and pick it up. It's a bit of a drive. 

 

Exciting! Next up: wait for it to freakin' cool off so I can order some in-water live rock without everything involved getting cooked. Or possibly go ahead and get the Tampa Bay rock, since I'd be picking it up at the airport and it wouldn't be in any hot trucks. 

[Tired]

The patches on that coral skeleton continue to be suspiciously flesh-tinged, and more stuff has appeared. Last night, I spotted the feeding appendage of a spoonworm! It's not very large, reaching maybe 2" from the hole it lives in. That's pretty cool. Hopefully it doesn't get huge. I fed the tank some small pellets, and made sure to drop a couple in its house. 

 

I also have some baby mermaid's winecup algae sprouts starting up. I can't really photograph them yet, they're mostly transparent and don't show up well, but those are cool. I hope they do well, I like that stuff. 

And, we have a definite coral! 

See the little brownish circle below the (dirty) halimeda? It retracts slightly when touched, but not as much as anemones do. I think it's a zoanthid. Hopefully it lives and grows, and I can find out for sure! I'm also hoping it has nice colors once it's happy and in proper lighting, but I'll honestly be happy with pretty much anything, provided it's not both unattractive and wildly invasive. I do like colors, of course, but unusual wild corals are cool too. 

I'm not sure what that white circle on the halimeda is- it seems hard, and doesn't react to being poked with a pipette. I'm gonna keep an eye on it, see if it does anything. 

[Tired]

Small update: the winecaps are turning upward towards the light. They'd formerly been pointed outward and kinda down. Cool, I didn't know they could do that!

[Tired]

My first-ever pest crab! Came in on the Australian rock. Cute lil dude. I'm keeping him until he gets too big to live in a HOB 'fuge, then he'll go to my LFS to find a new home. They're happy to take crabs. 

 

The winecup macro might not be winecups. It's grown into sort of a cartoon flower shape instead of the discs, and has stayed tiny, maybe 1/8" per cap. A bunch more sprouts of different algaes are popping up, so I'm hopefully going to have some cool things growing on here sooner or later. The halimeda seems pretty happy. 

 

I may have spotted a concerning worm. Some sort of segmented-looking worm that seems to have centipede mandibles. I think I'm going to try to scare it out of its hole with fresh water, so I can catch it alive, because I do not want a centipede-mandible critter in here. Mandibles like that are for biting. 

[Tired]

10lbs of KP Aquatics rock! There's so much stuff on this; brittle stars, five million worms, at least one crab, and three pistol shrimp. Also a corkscrew anemone that I'm going to have to remove, so it doesn't eat my fish. Maybe I'll put it in the HOB 'fuge alongside the crabs. 

[Tired]

Check out all these creatures!

This is all the mobile stuff I caught while unpacking the rock. Brittle stars, a couple of eunicids of a non-concerning species, a small nudibranch, three pistol shrimp, several scale worms, and a tiny crab. The brittle stars and pistol shrimp went into my established tank, the crab into a small breeder box, the nudibranch back into the rock bin so it can eat sponges, and the misc worms went into a misc worm bin. I forgot to take up-close pics of the pistols to try and get species IDs. 

 

This shows the eunicids, and that nudibranch. The nudibranch is probably this genus, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadlina_rumia, and the eunicids should grow up to be macro-eaters and scavengers. I'm still trying to remove them, as I only need a couple to stay in the tank. This is the Suspicious Worm Bucket. 

I hope that nudibranch is actually an indiscriminate sponge eater. It might live awhile, if that's the case. 

 

Some sort of weird snail. Anyone know this species? The mantle kinda comes up the sides of its shell some. I'm guessing by the textures and colors that it's one of those little snails that lives on soft corals/gorgonians/etc and eats whatever it lives on. It has that vibe.

 

5" ragworm found in the first nighttime flashlight check. Some species of these will chew on sessile organisms, and a lot of them eat other worms, so this may go in the HOB 'fuge instead of in the main tank. I do like it. That's also where the crabs will be going, at least until they get too big and need to be rehomed. My LFS will take them at that point. 

 

I'm hoping this isn't a baby tridacna clam. Apparently the babies are really delicate and finicky. It's about 3/4" long, and so far doesn't seem to have the flashy, colorful mantle, but I don't know what they look like at this size. The shape looks like a tridacnid to me.

 

I've caught a few of these. I think they're megalopa-stage crab larvae? They crawl around on the rocks, and I'd swear they were insects if they weren't living happily in saltwater. 

 

Two brittle stars pulled off during another nighttime check. Decent-sized. That one on the right is missing a big chunk of its back- those are its organs, not markings. It seems to move fine, though, so maybe it'll live. 

 

Bearded fireworm, I think! I might keep this, actually- I have to decide if I want to put it, or a corkscrew nem, into the HOB 'fuge. It'll eat the nem if I put them together, and I see a corkscrew on one of the rocks that needs to come out. Those eat fish. 

 

I don't know what this is, but it wiggles really aggressively if you disturb it, it has those pincers, and I'm pretty sure I saw it attacking a small eunicid for a bit. 

 

Cute lil guy caught during a transfer into a clean bin. I'd say pistol shrimp, if not for the lack of snapping claw. Maybe it lost the claw. 

 

Decent-sized pistol, a little over an inch long. Might be too faded to ID, from being chased around the bucket with a ladle. I think all four (five?) of them were in the same rock, and so far, none of them seem to be burrowing in my reef. I was kinda hoping they would; burrowing pistols are fun to watch. 

 

Spaghetti worms! These were loose under a rock when I picked it up. I put them back in the bin after photographing; they're great scavengers. 

 

Another batch of critters to put into the established reef, these much smaller. Tiny chiton on the left, a few little brittle stars, an adorable dime-sized pencil urchin, and a very blurry crawling mussel of some sort. I'll have to give away that pencil urchin eventually, once it starts getting to the point of not being so reef-safe, but it's cute for now. 

 

I didn't plan to be keeping this stuff in a bucket; the KP Aquatics site said there's a 1-2 week handling time for live rock, but apparently that doesn't apply to the overnight-in-water packages, because I placed the order and mine shipped out later the same day. Hopefully I can get the tank actually set up soon. I don't regret buying this rock, it sold out immediately afterward, but this is a bit of a pain. Had to scramble to get anything at all set up for it.

 

I've been delayed in progress on this tank by a personal writing project taking up all my spare time. It's still in the works, though! Next step: actually get it out of the garage and set up, so I can put this rock, the Australian rock, and the Tampa Bay rock (not yet purchased) into it. I'm really curious how Tampa Bay compares to KP Aquatics, and I want some of that sand that Tampa Bay sells. 

 

This tank is gonna have SO MANY WORMS. I've seen probably half a dozen species on this rock so far. It's ridiculous how many worms there are, both in the world and in this particular bucket. 

[Tired]

I should be able to get water into this tank today! Our local odd-job people are coming over to haul it upstairs, as I would hurt myself trying. After that, I'll be getting a small order from Tampa Bay, and then I'm going to let all my live rock sit in the tank for a couple months. Both to let any pathogens die off (less from the rock and more from the snails I've gotten to clean it), and so I can hopefully bottle trap all the potential issues. 

 

I won't be doing any proper aquascaping until that period is done. I'm adding some dry rock to bulk the live out, and I don't want to add more rock while I'm still trying to trap any problem critters. Which means I get to be excited about my plans until then, and probably come up with more plans due to that excitement. I've already come up with a couple of ideas.

 

Like I've said, I want to try for a more natural look, with a few larger coral colonies scattered across the rocks. Trouble is, I also have a fondness for the slightly higher-end micro amakusensis, which don't really lend themselves to larger colonies and are a bit hard to enjoy from a distance.

I got my first-ever frag rack recently, to hold a few corals I don't quite have room for in the pico, and I actually like the look of it. It's not natural, but it makes a neat little display stand for these corals. So I'm going to try having a small section of the tank with a couple of frag racks, where the fancy amaks and maybe a few especially pretty zoas can live. Then I can look at them up close, maybe even be able to slide the racks right up to the top of the tank for up-close photos. 

(This idea might get scrapped if I can't get it to work with the aquascaping, but it's worth a shot! I currently only have three fancy amaks anyway; a Holy Grail, a Fruit Loops, and a UC Mothership.)

 

The second idea comes from me looking at my existing tank today, thinking about what I like about it. One big thing is, I like being able to look down into it and see these corals just a few inches away, like a particularly dense tidal pool. I'm going to try to emulate that in one spot, by bringing the rock structures up close to the surface (or, as close as is aesthetically pleasing), and stocking that section with a few corals that are nice to see top-down. Though I'll need a step stool to actually be able to look down at it. I'm not sure if I'll offset the light to avoid blasting those corals, or just pick corals that like to be blasted. 

It's too bad rock flower anemones probably wouldn't want to be up there, they're the ultimate in top-down reef enjoyment. I might see if I can find one of those 'floating' shelves that's of a shape that would contain some sand, to put a RFA on. 

[Tired]

(I swear that wall is a nice color in person. Apparently it, my overhead light, and my camera don't get along well.)

Some pics of the mandatory cat inspection. Plus another photo for anyone wondering what that orange thing to the right is, since "three-foot stuffed krill" isn't a very obvious answer. 

 

I am so excited to get water into this thing. Though I do need a step stool to reach the bottom of it; I'm slightly too short otherwise. 

[Tired]

 

10lbs KP Aquatics rock, 5lbs Australian rock that's been close under a planted tank light for awhile and therefore has a frankly entertaining amount of algae. I'll be getting about 25lbs of Tampa Bay rock on December 8th, and then I have a bit over 5 pounds of rock in the pico. I can add some dry rock to bulk things out as needed. As you might guess, I'm not going for one of those negative space aquascapes; I like hiding holes and coral-planting spaces. 

 

The breeder box there is temporary, to hold crabs and such that come in on the rock. I'm spending my budget on other things than the HOB 'fuge I'll eventually have to keep a couple of choice crabs in. I've deliberately kept the tank half-full so I can more easily get in there with tweezers and whatnot, for critter removal, which is also why the water movement is courtesy of some random pumps instead of the integrated stuff. 

 

Don't mind the blanket, that's a temporary solution to keep the light from getting in my eyes when I sit over there. I'm probably going to attach a mini curtain rod to the side of the tank. I just have to remember to show the cat how to duck under it; she's going to love this whole setup, particularly when I get the clownfish in. Wiggly little creatures.

[Tired]

Heard a bunch of snapping from the pistol shrimp still hiding in the rocks (I know it's a pistol, I found a molt), went to look, and saw this guy wriggling sadly on the bare tank floor. I think the pistol was fighting it- it moves like it's injured. Hopefully it lives, it's an easy 5" long even while scrunched up. Looks like the same species as the others. 

I've put it in a breeder box with the crab, a fireworm, and some other, unIDed largeish worm. Its mouthparts should be too big for it to fit out the tiny little holes, and I'm hoping to keep it as a cool 'fuge monster. If it lives, maybe I can fatten it up and find out just how big this species can get. 

[banasophia]

Wow, you are very open minded about all those worms. All of that would be a big no for me on the live ocean rock… very thankful dry rock exists. Glad it makes you happy though! 🙂

[Tired]

Most of 'em are harmless, or, like the scaleworms, looking to eat something I don't really have a supply of. So far the only worm I've found that would be a problem is this one bearded fireworm. Worms and things like them are the backbone (ironically) of every ecosystem in the world, so it's fascinating to me to see just how many of them there are in here. I'm curious to see how the Tampa Bay rock will compare, and how many of these species will last long-term. Though I get that they aren't everyone's cup of tea. Or cup of... worms. Ew. 

[ajmckay]

Congrats on the new tank!  Looks like it will be a very cool system.  Thanks for taking all the photos - those were fun to go through.  If you're a short drive from school then it's probably not a bad idea to keep the tank at home where at least people are.  Dorm tanks are certainly doable, but there's also a lot that can go wrong...  Anything from chemicals, roommates not liking it (or puking in it), a particularly stern RA, etc....).   Of course things can (and will) go wrong at home also.  You'll need to be prepared to come home for a day should something go wrong.  I've had it happen before where the outlet from an HOB filter got some crusty stuff on it and over time somehow wicked water down the back of the tank causing a puddle on the stand/floor.  Well at least that's what I think happened.  I scraped off the crud and it was fine after that. 

 

I personally like diverse live rock - of course you pay out the nose for it now due to restrictions on collection.  It used to be a lot more common - and then people would go and remove all the critters.  As you state they're part of the ecosystem.  Eventually due to competition some species will die off so it's not a bad idea to replenish every once in a while. 

 

Anyways good luck on it and I hope it's successful for you!  

[Tired]

Yeah, it's not a terrible drive, and I don't think I want anything in a dorm tank that I'd be heartbroken to lose. Not least because they have a policy that they're allowed to fumigate for pests with little to no warning, I suppose so they can tackle bedbugs and the like in a hurry. Reasonable enough. 

 

I hear ya on the wicking. Had a heater cable get grimy and somehow manage to do something similar. I'll have to remember to try and prevent that in this tank. 

 

I'm hoping that live rock will help things along, what with all the stability it provides, and I'm excited to see all the critters! Should be plenty more photos when the next rock arrives. I told them not to bother removing any large crabs they see on the rocks, I'm happy to take those. 

 

One of the Black Friday sales got me. Tidal Gardens had a Raja Rampage chalice at a good price as one of their doorbusters, which is a coral I've really wanted to try, now that I'm actually going to have the space for a chalice to not slaughter everything. Gotta love that radioactive leopard print. Also snagged myself a Bird of Paradise birdsnest coral- might end up having to rehome that one if it sucks up too much calcium, but it should be fun to have in the meantime.

Of course, the day after I placed the order (and before it shipped), they hosted a live sale on Reef2Reef. Had $5 and $10 frags listed, and I got snagged. Wound up with three small-polyped favias, an Avatar chalice, and a purple pavona, to go with the Raja Rampage and the birdsnest. They'll go in my pico until this tank is ready. Hopefully the chalices don't murder anything in there. 

 

Since I have space, I want to try and take advantage of this sort of sale (and the $5-and-$10 accidental frag tank at my LFS) to try out a variety of corals. If a $10 coral doesn't thrive, oh well; I can give it away, maybe for a little store credit. Same for if/when I hit a point where the corals are using up minerals too fast. 

[ajmckay]

Agree on the dorm.  You could do a Jar pico or something while you're there - something that's easy enough to carry back and forth.  I've seen some pretty kick ass ones!  I made one out of a food storage container at one point lol.  Didn't keep it but I've seen some that have lasted quite a while with pretty minimal maintenance.  Because you know you're going to want to mess around with an aquarium while you're at school - at least a little lol. 

 

One thing that could make it easier for your family to care for your tank while you're away is to have a water mixing station.   I use a 30 gallon trash tan with a pump in it to circulate mixed saltwater and a heater too.  It would be pretty easy then for someone to simply remove 5g of water, then add 5g of water and boom - waterchange done.  

 

My other thought has to do with lighting...  Speaking for myself I tend to set my light intensity and kind of forget about it.  I think the right way to do it is to actually start low and then work up from there.  It's not particularly easy to know just how much light a coral needs but one thing is for certain - without a careful attention to balance excess light can contribute to algae growth which then steals nutrients from the corals and the corals get unhappy and then the tank is unhappy.  I'm starting a new tank somewhat soon (Lagoon 25) and I'm not planning to keep SPS so I'm going to be very particular and watchful of my lighting intensity to try and find that super happy place where algae is kept at bay.

 

Finally congrats on all the new corals coming your way!  That's exciting for sure.  I like the idea of an LFS having an "Accidental frag tank".  I've often asked about buying random mushrooms and such that float around. 

[Tired]

Yeah, I'm sure I'll end up bringing something. I had a seaweed bowl running for a bit with nothing but sunlight, not even any aeration, and it had all sorts of fun critters. Maybe something like that. Or chop a few frags off things in the main tank and experiment. Could be fun to have little temporary setups, just a chunk of live rock and some bits of stuff out of the main tank, that stay up for a semester at a time. No need to wait for the tank to mature when you're transferring a chunk of mature rock into it. 

 

I'm actually going to try for no water changes needed while I'm away. I know I've seen some decently heavily stocked reefs that get 2-3 water changes a year, so having a couple four-month periods with no water changes seems doable for a lightly stocked tank. 

 

That's definitely good to remember, for the lights. I only have a couple of easy SPS, which I plan to put right at the top, so I shouldn't have to crank the lights much. 

 

My LFS has some tanks that have all sorts of nice corals, bigger colonies and higher-end pieces, and then they have three tanks that they put all their cool, delicate little inverts and things like seahorses in. One tank has $20 frags, one has $10, and one has $5. It's a combination of pieces that clearly got fragged accidentally, pieces that were shaded or stung or whatever and are decent-sized but incredibly stressed, and things like common zoas that just wouldn't be expensive in the first place. There's often some good deals in there. My other LFS doesn't have an accidental frag section, but they'll happily sell you little single zoa polyps for a couple bucks if you spot one loose in the tank. Great way to try stuff out, even if the small frags aren't exactly tolerant of nonsense. 

[Tired]

Small update: Tampa Bay rock is full of critters.

 

Check out all these crabs, whelks, and probably-a-fleshy-limpet. The whelks are going to stay in my HOB 'fuge, and the gorilla crabs will go to my LFS eventually. Originally I was going to keep one of the gorillas, but I found something I want in the 'fuge more. 

 

That very long brittle star is neat, but, more interesting: tiny decorator crab! It lost a lot of the orange after molting. I found two like this while inspecting the new rock. 

 

Caught this one after lights out. Not sure if it's the same species.

 

This is definitely not the same species. Its body shape is different, it's fuzzy, and it's been sticking sand to itself. It almost looks like the micro decorator crabs I've kept before, though I don't know that I'd feel confident saying it's definitely one of those. 

 

I love decorator crabs. I'm keeping these, unless they grow large enough to need more space. The gorillas would eat them, so the gorillas have to go. Plus, the gorillas get too large for this 'fuge anyway, it's a little thing. 

I'm also keeping the three hermit crabs. They'll go in the 'fuge until they grow to an identifiable size, then probably to the LFS, because I suspect at least two of them are thin-stripe hermits.

[ml86743]

Seeing all the life on these ocean rocks makes me want to try it out one time...

 

Can't wait for this build to progress!

[Tired]

Two new finds! Unfortunately a bit concealed by some film on the surface of the water. 

 

I spotted the decorator crab's antennae sticking up off a point of the rock, grabbed it, put it in this cup, and went to rinse my hand. When I came back, I spotted this other crab moving around. They're both tiny- that black crab is about a quarter-inch across, legs included. It's very stocky, solidly built, almost pitch-black with white tips to its claws and legs. I am absolutely keeping this crab, at least until it starts getting too large like I expect it will.

 

Anyone recognize it? I had a quick look at a partial list of crabs found in Florida, and none of them looked right, though I suppose this might look totally different as an adult. Going by the shape of its claws, I'm assuming it's not reef safe. Unless maybe it stays teeny-tiny.

[debbeach13]

So much fun seeing all the critters and how you are planning to keep so many of them. Live rock = life. Back in the days when almost every tank was started with live rock and all the life that comes with it was easier to wait months before introducing fish and corals just because there was so much going on already. Not like being stuck looking at bare white dead rock. 

[Tired]

Somewhere in this picture is a decorator crab. This one rock is covered in empty barnacle shells, dead oysters, and all sorts of other textures, and I keep finding critters on it! This is where I got that decorator crab and black crab last night, and a few day ago there was a decorator on that brown algae. I wouldn't be surprised if there are still more crabs, in addition to all the brittle stars. 

 

I have also learned that gorilla crabs will grab after pipettes. Didn't manage to catch that little one yet, but I'm still trying.

 

Anyone want some gorilla crabs? No, seriously, I've got loads and they'd be great 'fuge monsters. I just don't have a suitable 'fuge for them.

[Tired]

Check out this nudibranch! A quick look at a list of Florida native nudibranchs says this might be one of a genus that eats hydroids. As I have hydroids on this rock, that seems reasonable. Its little "here are the stinging cells I stole" back flaps (don't know the proper name) are hydroid-colored, too, so I've left it in. Hopefully it'll eat the hydroids for me. 

As far as I know, cnidarian-eating nudibranchs are usually fairly specific in what they want to eat, like caterpillars. In the same way that a caterpillar brought inside on a geranium is not likely to chew on your orchids, a hydroid-eating nudibranch is probably not likely to chew on acans. 

Cute little thing. It really is too bad nudibranchs generally don't work out in aquaria. Maybe there's a xenia-eating species somewhere that would be viable to raise food for.

[Tired]

Ordered 10 pounds of rock from gulfliverock.com to top off the rock in this tank. Beautiful stuff. Half a dozen species of macros including what I think is a non-floating sargassum I'm excited about, turkey wing clams, coraline, multiple corals, this honestly rather handsome aiptasia that's almost navy blue in the center in person, all sorts of things. 

This is an aiptasia, right? Does anyone know if this particular species will spore everywhere? I might put it in the HOB 'fuge if not, if I can extract it alive. 

 

Loads of brittle stars- this isn't even half of them. I'm hoping that red one lives, it's really cool-looking. Those largest ones are about six inches across. Looks like at least four species, maybe more, including a couple of really odd-looking ones with tiny bodies, wide legs, and blunt leg-tips. 

 

Polyclad, I think! I've kept this; it's in a breeder box it shouldn't be able to get out of. Hoping to be able to put this in the 'fuge and grow it into a monster. Technically a pest, but I'm happy with it; really cool little animal. 

 

These, I'm less happy about. I caught half a dozen cirolanids out of the bucket with the rock, and judging by their full digestive tracts, I'm thinking these are the scavengers rather than the obligate parasites that will starve if the tank is left fallow. 

I have not put the rock into my tank. I have it in a 10gal with a pump and planted tank light, so I can try to catch all the cirolanids out. I want to use this rock, but I want to not have cirolanids. I saw more in the bucket that I couldn't catch, darting between the rocks- fast little bloodsuckers. Trying to decide if I want to transplant the macros/corals/etc and abandon the rest of the rock, which would be a terrible shame, or wait awhile and see if I can catch the buggers. I'll try bugger-catching first. 

They're kinda cute. I'm almost tempted to set up a pico and see if I can train them to come out for food. Like a pillbug terrarium, but fast, wet, and evil. 

(Okay, they're not actually evil, any more than a seahorse is when it eats a bunch of baby brine shrimp. It's not their fault they're nasty little parasites.)

 

On the equipment front, the Viparspectra light I tried out isn't quite what I'm looking for. I'm sure it would work just fine for a lot of people, but I've been spoiled by how adjustable the color of the light over my pico tank is, and this only has white and blue as adjustable options. The end result is pretty corals, but a more purplish tone than I'm used to. In its favor, though, it's easy to set up, the fans are remarkably quiet, and it feels solid and well-built. 

I've ordered a ReefBreeders light instead. Quite the price increase (~$540 instead of ~$150), but I think it's the best way to get what I'm after, given that I really want something with adjustable colors and the rectangle-style fixture. I see why people like the shimmer that the puck lights produce, but it gives me a headache after a bit, so I want the rectangle to try and minimize it. Plus, the app to control everything is nice. 

[Tired]

I picked up a bristleworm trap that I intend to try and use for crabs. Dropped it in the tank accidentally, and haven't bothered to fish it out. Yesterday, I looked in there, and a gorilla crab was hiding in the post anchor point. Not how this trap is meant to be used, but that works! Pulled it out with him in it and put him in the jail.

 

I've also updated the first post to make it less of a mess, and to add a current (unflattering) full tank shot. I haven't arranged anything yet. Hoping to do that today.

[Tired]

Folks, I have made a purchase. 

Made the mistake of going to see if Petsmart had any horned nerites for my brackish water shrimp tank. They did not, but they did have a lot of guppies. I honestly like guppies quite a lot, and I thought these guys might be interesting under the lights, so... here they are. All definitely males. They'll go into a quarantine tank to be acclimated to saltwater, but I'm going to give them a couple days of rest before acclimating; one of em fell on the floor while being caught. 

I'm not entirely sure how I'll like the look of these guys compared to a normal reef fish, but it does entertain me for the most recognizable freshwater fish to be in a saltwater tank. Plus, they're cute little suckers, and they're small enough that I think this adds up to about one nano fish worth of mass. And they're fancy guppies bought at adult size- I'll be surprised if they live much more than a year from now. They aren't exactly known for their longevity.