[STOCK] tinyreef

[Tony]

looks awsome.

[Gilman]

OFFICIAL PICO CONTEST NEWS

 

New Task... Read about it here...

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75620

 

YOU MUST COMPLETE THE TASK!

[tinyreef]

thanks for the comments, tony!

 

 

 

Pico Inhabitants

 

Sessile

 

Chaetomorpha

Unknown red macroalgae

Sarcophyton elegans

Discosoma-Blue

Discosoma-Brown/Green

Palythoa-Green

Palythoa-Cream

Tubipora

Capnella

Clavularia #1

Clavularia #2

Clavularia viridis

Gorgonian

Stoloniferan #1-Pink

Stoloniferan #2

Caulastrea-Blue

Parazoanthus

Zoanthid-Blue

Zoanthid-Orange

Zoanthid-Red

Zoanthid-Pink/Violet

Zoanthid-Yellow

Zoanthid-Yellow/Orange

Zoanthid-Green/Yellow

Zoanthid-Green/Brown

Zoanthid-Green/Orange

Blue Xenia

 

Motile

 

Astrae Snails

Cerith Snail

Brittle Star

Phyllochaetopterus Worms

 

oops, almost forgot the Equipment list:

 

2.5g AGA (of course)

25W Hagen heater

Whisper 40 air pump

UGF (i don't know what brand, dug it out of the closet)

Coralife Digital Thermometer

Tinyreef Snoopy Lid/Canopy (patent pending...ok, not really)

Lee's UGF carbon cartridge (wedged in there)

Poly-Filter (cut to fit)

[jmorris]

I think you need to post the pic in the thread gil started.

 

looks great Tiny!

[tinyreef]

not really an update, just wanted to let people know there's an article/Delbeek's column in this month's Aquarium Fish Magazine (AFM) discussing sunlit nano-reefs.

 

not really an endorsement, i'm sad to say but definitely not a typical/traditional bashing either.

 

at least he's now willing to discuss both nanos and sunlight in the same sentence for the masses. i think they previously only reserved such discussions in "private".

 

one small detail update though, i'm just starting to fight valonia/bubble algae issues. it's long been a bane of every system i've ever had. i hate it.

 

the trouble with this system in combating bubble algae is that some of the bubbles are in very difficult to reach spots and some are crowding corals/zoos. one even pushed a zoo off a rock already. popped right off! @##$%!

 

btw, thanks j (for the comment and the heads up).

[Ann]

Rest assured, you are not the only one to have bubble algae troubles. I have some in mine, in fact have it in all my tanks. Just yesterday I pulled out some of the larger ones, well they weren't exactly large as compared to some that I've seen in my other tanks. Still, at least I can reach most of these without getting my arm wet to the shoulder.

 

It's funny though I can't see any of these bubbles in your latest FTS.

 

Best regards

 

Ann

[tinyreef]

It's funny though I can't see any of these bubbles in your latest FTS.

oh, they're there. i'd have to take a closer shot because they're smaller and show up kinda dark in the pics.

 

but i think i mooshed a bubble last week and now they're sprouting like crazy. one's threatening to push my sarco off and i've got a couple annoying some loose frags. pulling them will upset the "bridging" i'm trying to get the coral to do. gorramit!

 

thanks for the solidarity in the battle of valonia.

[tinyreef]

now for your weekly update (typewriter-click-clacking):

 

below, this zoo frag was caught relieving itself in public. blech! smeared it all against the front glass. nice. (and here you thought this thread was about pico-reefing only)

 

below, a shot of the top of the reef, from the rear view. i cleaned up some coral skeletons. it looks like my eagle-eyes are fighting with the tubipora (just a little pushing and shoving right now though). i also had rearranged a couple of frags (tall one in the middle). itty-bitty gorgonian frag is settling into the rock and the stolons are beginning to grow onto the LR (both towards the right).

 

below, the daughter shroom has been coloring up nicely since splitting off from its mother. i was a little worried how it'd color up with the sunlight, especially since it was a little brownish babe (just like my 2nd daughter, honey? ). it's actually quite blue or green depending on the angle/side you view it from (see prior posts on coloration differences based upon viewing angles).

 

below, an orange zoo frag i scraped off yet another mini clay pot. i'd been cleaning up the display tank and as a result rogue frags keep turning up. it's actually more orangey than the red this pic shows (too red in this pic) but that's how it turned out in the ps/digital software.

i stuffed it under the LR, which is ok in this instance since the light comes in at a 110~150 degree angle.

[froggiebunbun]

Noice Tinyreef, doode I admire your dedication to this "experimental" tank. I think you're doing a good job man. Keep us posted .

[tinyreef]

thanks for the words of encouragement, froggie. or is it bunbun?

[jss8422]

that has got to be some of the cleanest water i have ever seen...keep the bar set high for the rest of these entries!!! great job

[tinyreef]

thanks, jss!

 

i was expecting greenwater issues but i think the aggressive filtering i'm employing (carbon, Poly-Filters, waterchanges, and good LR) really helped.

 

the ugf bubbler also acts like a protein skimmer (sorta, maybe).

 

i also feed very sparingly. i've only fed the tank 3~4 times since the start. so energy input is really limited. the cleaner crews (snails, worms, and microcrustaceans) have been doing a great job imo.

 

i was lucky enough to able to seed the tank from a couple of tiny choice LR frags from my LFS's display tank. they were basically throwaway rock fragments (for them) that i got for free. woo hoo!

 

but the water does still discolor slightly (nothing like i would've feared, of course). i can see the slight difference when i do a waterchange. but as the tank ages, this difference has become less and less.

 

thanks for the comments!

[Ann]

Nope still can't see the Valonia plague, no wait! There are a few in the zoa pooping shot.

 

I wish my red dot mushroom would grow as well as your blue ones, they are doing great! I have a feeling that my lil baby is still going to be a dot in another 3 months time, sigh.

 

Best regards

 

Ann

[Tony]

Tanks looking great. and Really cleen

[Casabubu]

lol, the water is very clean. You used so many tiny frags! When this tank matures and grows, it will look awesome! What might be interesting would be to throw a clam in there and see how it holds up with all natural light.

[tinyreef]

thanks for the comments, everyone!

 

i had thought about the clam actually. but i was concerned about the drain on ca/alk and making more work for myself (tinyreef = lazy). my avoidance of work has also precluded me from having a fish.

 

also, the light angle (45-degree or so) might not be too conducive to the clam. but i've been working on the nextgen setup for sunlight that may resolve that.

[Zaraxus]

thanks for the comments, everyone!

 

i had thought about the clam actually. but i was concerned about the drain on ca/alk and making more work for myself (tinyreef = lazy). my avoidance of work has also precluded me from having a fish.

 

also, the light angle (45-degree or so) might not be too conducive to the clam. but i've been working on the nextgen setup for sunlight that may resolve that.

Okay my curiosity has been aroused. Whats the next gen better angle using mirrors? Pond in a sun room?

[tinyreef]

Okay my curiosity has been aroused. Whats the next gen better angle using mirrors? Pond in a sun room?

ok, i'll give. hey, nobody asked so i didn't offer.

 

i've been trying to figure a way to use sky/sun tubes (various brands and nomenclatures).

 

for example:

sun tunnel

sunpipe

solatube

 

this one looks very promising in intensity but it's $$$ (and not out yet)

concentrated fiber optic

 

it'll likely be this one though for affordability sake.

Home Depot Sun Tunnel

 

there are a couple of others too. i'm trying to get it to be less obtrusive. or i can try and find out how much my wife really loves me.

 

finding the right spot in my house will be just as difficult. i'm currently negotiating with my daughters for an easement to their southern-facing bay window. it's like dealing with the israelis and palestinians. sheesh!

[Casabubu]

(tinyreef = lazy)

 

You know thats nothing to be ashamed of!! My favorite saying: Laziness inspires invention. I just have trouble explaining that to my water polo coach....

[Zaraxus]

I like your train of thought from your results so far that should do great combined with a good window.

[tinyreef]

thanks for the words of support, casa & zara!

 

weekly update-nothing really new, couple of new frags and growth shots (not really happy with this week's pics' quality but that's the lighting i gotta work with <sigh> )

 

below: updated FTS, couple of new zoo/gsp frags. moved a couple of frags around.

 

below: top view of the tank thru the canopy. kinda of a growth pic for the green zoos/xenia (center) and pipe organ (top right).

 

really thinking of a much taller tank the next time around. i like the reef wall biotopes that's becoming popular recently. then there's the reef bommie look too though. i need a cube tank. a biiiiig cube.

 

i've got a couple of canopy shots i'll probably post later. more hardware-ish stuff though.

[tinyreef]

just some closeups of the canopy (aka "the technical post").

 

below: closeup of the canopy and top frame of the tank. ignore the salt creep. the constant bubbling on the far side of the canopy keeps that piece relatively clear (as the splash continually washing over underneath). whereas the left side collects and drips condensate throughout the day (as seen below).

 

below: the small cutaway on the canopy matched up with the factory cutaway on the frame of the 2.5g AGA allows the air hose, heater cord, and thermometer to be threaded through. while only about 0.5" sq. area is left, quite a bit of evaporation or atomized splash still escapes. i wish i had left it even smaller. you can see the turbulence of the bubbling on the left (elimnates surface scum).

[Ann]

Still looking good.

 

How often do you perform water changes, if at all?

 

Best regards

 

Ann

[tinyreef]

Still looking good.

 

How often do you perform water changes, if at all?

thanks, ann!

 

yes, i do perform regular waterchanges. i change about 16 oz.-plastic party cup size (probably around 10% actual volume) each week. i'm currently using distilled water and bio-sea salt. i'm hoping to install the ro/di i bought last fall in the near future though and switch to that. any day now. any day. yup. real soon. zzZZzzz...

 

regular waterchanges was one of the concessions i made to myself when i started planning for this tank though. i almost always run with a protein skimmer (and usually avoid waterchanges too) but this setup really precluded those concepts so i fight the nutrient buildup via chaeto, filter media and waterchanges.

 

but recently i've finally gone back to regular (semi)waterchanges with all my tanks anyways. this was after going years without on my display tank and months without (in-between) on others. but they were really looking ragged. but now with the regimen of this tank, i'm more regular with the others and everything's looking better.

[Ann]

Yep, I find regular water changes just spritz everything right up again. Are you finding that you can keep the alkalinity/calcium levels up with just the changes alone? I was surprised to find that my levels had dropped quite significantly, I had expected (well, more like hoped ) that I wouldn't have to dose for those in a mainly softie tank. I guess that's not to be, I blame it on the worms.

 

Best regards

 

Ann