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My (non-nano) Macro Lagoon


phobos2deimos

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phobos2deimos
This is my third macro-heavy tank. I upgraded to this from my old 60 in February 2015.
(I'll start off with a backlog of info/pics, then keep updates!)
48" x 24" x 14"
70 gallons
1.5" drain
Didn't want to drill another hole, so I used the single 1.5" drain (still need to add a durso or something similar. I love herbie setups, but am going the lazy route this time!)
And how's this for cheap... ordered a couple of these $9 powerheads for circulation.
I have three of these in the 70, in addition to the Eheim1000 return. *Just* enough flow, but it works well.
Only complaint is that they don't always start up in the right direction, but good flow (~500gph is about right), easy to position, quiet, moderately-wide flow (between an MJ and a K2).
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My RBTA that moves every day seems to have finally found the perfect solution to his wanderlust... attached to a piece of macro that was floating around the tank!
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Cleaner in his new home:
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The RBTA looked kinda cool since I half-pissed it off.
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Added a tiny little Diamond Goby too. This guy is cool and keeps the sand *super* clean, but because of that I always have a thin layer of silt on everything in the tank. :/
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We're looking good!
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Scinaia sp.:
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G. Hayi:
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Bryothamnion sp.:
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Galaxaura Sp.:
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Mangroves doing well. Hoping for branches soon!
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New green lettuce sea slug! Cool little bugger.
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I made 250 DIY root fertilizer tabs yesterday and buried them in under the mangroves, Brachypus, Serrulata, and Prolifera. Hoping to see good results with that. (well, then I learned that macros don't obtain nutrients through their 'roots' at all, so most of it was wasted effort!)
Porcelain Crab!
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Scinaia Forcellata (or Tsinglanensis?) Seems to be doing well in medium light and medium-low flow.
I need to learn my camera better so I can get a proper depth of field on some shots.
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I think I lost one of my three green bubble tips, dropped a rock on it and then had a temp spike. Here's one that's happy at least.
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Nitrate today is 50ppm, phosphate was .25. Dosed 1ppm of phosphate.
Starting to consider maybe keeping my phosphate levels around 1ppm regularly, sort of like EI dosing for freshwater planted. Idea being that you never short your plants of fertilizer, and they will (in theory) almost always outcompete undesirable algaes. It's when things get out of balance and the plants become nutrient-limited that microalgae takes over.
I'm wondering if the same would work for macroalgaes, but I don't know what their uptake and dependence is compared to freshwater plants. Plants want a balance of NPK (can't remember the ratios though), but do macroalgaes expect the same? Or would they thrive even if one of the nutrients was close to 0?

 

Sweet pic of my Blue Scroll rock that has finally grown in and colored up! This macro is especially perfect in a shallow tank since the color comes out when you look topdown at it. From an angle it's still mostly brown.
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Target Mandarin came out to play, needed a tripod but this one came out okay without.
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Had a few minutes for some quick shots!
Added Nemastoma last night:
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Unidentified (gracilaria?) and Rose Petal (Halymenia porphyraeformis or dilitata?)
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Red Fern - Haliptilon sp. or Gelidium serrulatum, Mermaid's Wine Glass/Tea Cup (Acetabularia sp. - DOA from reef2go but may be recovering), Red Branch - Scinaia huismanii or Ahnfeltiopsis?
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(probably) Gracilaria Parvispora that grew out from a tiny year-old nub, and the Dragon's Breath that Dieu split with me. The DB has grown much faster under moderate-high white light (compared to intense full spectrum)
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Mermaid's Wine Glass! After $80 blown at reefs2go, I finally got some. Cooler in person than I thought it would be.
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Mammillaris and Clado have really grown in well. Replanted the Serrulata in less intense light off to the left. C. Paspaloides by the Clado, waiting to see where to place it.
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The Hayi has really taken off, does great under intense lighting where most other stuff dies/bleaches.
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phobos2deimos
VW_TDI_02

Those powerheads really aren't that bad once you get them started. I have one in my sump and one in my 40 gallon freshwater tank. The only bad part is starting them. Pretty much every time they start up they make a bit of a racket but they quickly quiet down. Originally had it in my 20 long but then switched to a Jebao RW-4. At the very least, they are good for mixing salt!

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phobos2deimos

Wow! This tank is awesome!

Thanks! I'm new to nanoreef, needed another outlet for my macro addiction!

 

Those powerheads really aren't that bad once you get them started. I have one in my sump and one in my 40 gallon freshwater tank. The only bad part is starting them. Pretty much every time they start up they make a bit of a racket but they quickly quiet down. Originally had it in my 20 long but then switched to a Jebao RW-4. At the very least, they are good for mixing salt!

I haven't had them noisy on startup (yet), but they've been solid to me. I had a couple of WP10s, but one of them died within six months and I decided that if I was gonna go cheap chinese and die every six months, then it better be *CHEAP*. I did try an RW4 for a week and I really liked it, very nicely made although the controller lacked some options. (Also, dig the username. Love my MKIVs!)
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That is awesome! I have some Mermaid's Wine Glass growing on the shells of 2 of my astrea snails and nowhere else. I've been trying to ID it for a while now!!

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Hi phobos2deimos, your tank is spectacular. I love all the variety of macros that you have. I have some macros in my seahorse display fuge. Where did you buy most of yours?

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phobos2deimos

That is awesome! I have some Mermaid's Wine Glass growing on the shells of 2 of my astrea snails and nowhere else. I've been trying to ID it for a while now!!

I saw your post, super cool! Mine just get cladophora, which doesn't look nearly as cool on a snail.

 

Hi phobos2deimos, your tank is spectacular. I love all the variety of macros that you have. I have some macros in my seahorse display fuge. Where did you buy most of yours?

Thanks! I've bought (too MUCH!) all over the place, trolling LFS, eBay, reefs2go (NEVER AGAIN), live-plants, and occasionally other members of our awesome local board.

This tank is awesome! Also the nem attaching to the macro algae is the coolest thing ever.

Seriously, that stupid nem takes a trip around my tank every three weeks. I feel bad for the clowns, they host in it the entire time it's moving and their territory gets all screwed up.
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VW_TDI_02

Thanks! I'm new to nanoreef, needed another outlet for my macro addiction!

 

I haven't had them noisy on startup (yet), but they've been solid to me. I had a couple of WP10s, but one of them died within six months and I decided that if I was gonna go cheap chinese and die every six months, then it better be *CHEAP*. I did try an RW4 for a week and I really liked it, very nicely made although the controller lacked some options. (Also, dig the username. Love my MKIVs!)

It's only for a few seconds that I get a weird sound but then they're good. I have the 800 GPH version as well but I use that exclusively for mixing salt. It's too powerful for any of my tanks right now.

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phobos2deimos

Shaving Brush (Pencillus sp.)

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New Melanarus Wrasse. Very nice orange under the LEDs and great personality.

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Clowns always up in yo face!

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  • 3 weeks later...
phobos2deimos
Got a new lens (Tamron 18-200) today, hoping this can be my 'one and only' for travel and general use. I really hate switching lenses.


All taken with the new lens, some from the comfort of my couch! :D

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We added the perfect leopard wrasse last week. I know it's a major gamble, but she surprisingly didn't hide the first day, and has been active and social nonstop since then. Hunting regularly and eats mysis/minimysis/cyclops so far. I've been feeding about three cubes of cyclops a week to try to keep her and my mandarin happy together, especially with my recent podpocalypse. Gonna add a new culture of pods this weekend.

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This guy never comes out!

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The Portieria has gotten a lot redder since it arrived, loving it. The gorg, on the other hand...

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The Palm Caulerpa (C. Paspaloides) has acclimated and taken off nicely. I thought it was gonna be a goner for a while.

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And the world's stupidest RBTA continues to hold the title.

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phobos2deimos

Thanks everyone! I really need to start letting stuff grow in closer together for a more natural look, but my obsessive and controlling tendencies won't let me do it!

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phobos2deimos

Oh found a few more pics:

 

Portieria sp. (looks like a cool gorg):
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Some sort of Gracilaria, halfway between G. Hayi and Fauchea sp.:
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Golden Plume Gorg (my first gorg... we'll see!);
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Nice bright red ricordia:
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Solar Fairy Wrasse my wife picked out a few weeks agoweekend, currently in QT:
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And did some much needed pruning!
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phobos2deimos

Your cat is confused. "Smells like fish... Looks like tree."

"All right, I'm gonna eat it just in case"

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phobos2deimos

BTW: Digging the old Jeep in your wallpaper. :)

Awesome! Not just a wallpaper - she's my current project! About a month away from being done after two long years!

 

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