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 Posted 4/8/2006 9:50:07 AM |
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Here's the old tank:
Most of the corals and extra rock are sold, and it's looking a little sad in there:
The biggest frogspawn is sold (about 12" diameter when fully open) , but the buyer won't get it until the clowns move. The frogspawn on the right doesn't have a buyer yet -- it's got 6 large heads. I also need to sell off the pink briarium on the left, which has left bits of itself across several rocks, and there are a few mushrooms on the back wall I can't manage to remove. The yellow leather and green lobophylia are staying.
One more pic, of the plumbed-in goby tank. It's a breeder, so it isn't very pretty, but I would like to spruce it up some, too. The Ammo Alert badge is in there when I needed to keep an eye on the biofiltration. It turns out I have plenty of filtration and despite removing 75 pounds of LR and many corals, I've seen no ammonia.
Here's a conceptual drawing of the new tank:
My boyfriend kept saying things like, "you are going to put the clown fish over there?" He didn't really understand why I found that hysterically funny.
I purchased about 50 pounds of new Tonga rock for the project. I may need one more piece of branch, but I am going to see if the remaining large piece of branch (in the center of he old tank) will work. I spent too much on the rock, but not as much as I could have. I was surprised what I picked out was only 50 pounds. The rock is gorgeous. I usually get fresh box-lot rock and have had goot experience with that. This time, I got rock that had been drop-shipped to the store 2 or 3 days before, and had gone straight in their big rock tank. This store runs heavy ozone and vigorously skims their rock tank, so I knew the rock would be in good shape, at least once it arrived to the store.
Mmmmmm.... love the smell of low tide! I am curing with 100% water changes daily and Clor-Am-X to keep the ammonia in check. I do not have skimmers I can put on the tubs, unfortunately.
These rocks have some gorgeous pink, orange and green coralline, which seems to be holding color so far. I know these colors don't usually survive, but I can hope.
That's only two pieces of rock in the picture above. The one on the right is an amazing shape with a base and a top portion joined together and two natural caves. I would have bought that rock if it was totally dead, which turns out to be a good way of looking at it.
Two days ago, the dead fish smell started to smell like burnt fish. I hadn't quite experienced that lovely aroma before while curing. I checked everything and it looked fine, no hot equipment or cracks. Strange. Last night I came home and the smell was more intense. On a whim, I pulled the Ebo Jager heater and replaced it with a titanium heater. This morning, no burnt smell. Argh! Okay, I think I killed one tub full of rock. Last time I had a heater crack in a rotifer culture, the smell was different. I'm still not sure it was the heater, but better safe than sorry and this (fairly new) EJ went in the trash.
Don't count your gobies before they've metamorphosized.
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| Posted 4/8/2006 10:01:09 AM |
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I am going out of town for a few days in a couple of weeks. By then the rock should be cured, and my baby clowns will be big enough to go to new homes. Once I have the babies' 15g freed up, I will use that as QT for the assessors and place the clowns and scooter in the 12g nanocube.
Here's the master plan. The QT periods are only a prophylactic measure, but it seems a shame not to take advange of the opportunity.
Week 1 -
Disconnect goby tank from main system.
Capture fish in main tank and move to QT. Begin deworming to be followed by hypo (6 weeks).
Remove frogspawns to their new homes.
Carefully examine each rock for signs up nuisance creatures, and treat as needed.
Add new rock and aquascape.
Continue running goby tank separately, so the main tank runs fishless.
Add sand to increase bed depth for the seagrass.
Week ? -
Decide on seagrass or algae to use for green portion of the tank and get that planted.
Week 7 -
Return fish to main tank. The assessors may not be returning to the main tank, but may be going to new homes.
Remove gobies from goby tank and move into QT. Begin deworming to be followed by hypo (6 weeks).
Continue running goby tank separately, so the tank runs fishless.
Aquascape goby tank.
If not keeping assessors, acquire new small gobies for the biotope and move into QT. Begin deworming to be followed by hypo (6 weeks).
Week 14 -
Return gobies to goby tank.
Acclimate goby tank to main tank water and reconnect tanks.
Week ? -
If Lad the goby is grown up by now, he can go into the main tank, too!
Don't count your gobies before they've metamorphosized.
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| Posted 4/9/2006 8:06:08 PM |
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| it is a wonderful thing you do here (so often) in sharing your endeavors with fellow hobbyists. Thank you Nicole! I look forward to seeing this tank evolve. In seeing the new pics and envisioning potential as things mature/grow... I had the notion of suggesting Halophila (AKA "paddleweed") to you. Paddle weed is a fabulous 'lil sea grass that can root in very shallow sands, does not grow very tall (mere inches) and occurs from shallows to suprising depths (40'-ish). Its a great genus to culture for refugiums and display use! See page 108 of my Reef Inverts book for a quick pic. I recall Mary Middlebrook importing it last year to Cali. And I recall that wonderful chap Bill C of billsreef.com also being aware of this plant
. Anthony Calfo
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| Posted 4/9/2006 10:58:06 PM |
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I'm tentatively leaning toward both Halophila and Hadodule. I'm not sure if the lights will be enough for the Hadodule. The Halophila is quite attractive, although a bit shorter than I wanted.
When you say shallow sand... how shallow? 1"... 2"... 3"... 4"...?
Don't count your gobies before they've metamorphosized.
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| Posted 4/10/2006 1:05:53 PM |
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The Halophila IMO can take much lower light and much less sand at depth to bed. Really shallow. Less than 2" indeed. Less than one inch perhaps! Your nicely mature (albeit) shallow former sand would likely be/have been fine. Its a great plant for marine aquarium use.
.Anthony Calfo
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| Posted 4/10/2006 1:32:42 PM |
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Nice! I need to add a bit anyway... it's funny how sand vanishes...
Sadly, I am seeing a lot less life in the bed already without all the rock and corals. Feeding phyto and rotifers and oyster eggs doesn't seem to be nourishing them. Hopefully a good starter population will hang on.
Don't count your gobies before they've metamorphosized.
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| Posted 4/10/2006 1:58:59 PM |
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| Very nice Nicole, I am also looking forward to the tank as it progresses. I have also thought about the seagrass in the main tank, but did not want to use the deep sand bed for them. Now that Anthony and you are talking about a grass that can live in 1-2" of sand, I may have to rethink my set up as it progresses, I am sick of looking at an empty 220 . BTW, how are you going to get the clownfish to stay there? Keith
________________________________________________ Keith "Simply put, you believe that things or people make you unhappy, but this is not accurate. You make yourself unhappy." Wayne Dyer
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| Posted 4/10/2006 3:07:29 PM |
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DIY project. I made them little electronic collars and during the upgrade I am installing an invisible fence. 
Don't count your gobies before they've metamorphosized.
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| Posted 4/10/2006 4:25:09 PM |
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| Nicole, Really like your idea of the lagoon - it gives me ideas of how I want my next system to look. Thanks for sharing. I definitely look forward to updates. Thanks again.
Kelly
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| Posted 4/10/2006 11:10:43 PM |
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Anthony I had zero idea H. decipiens had made it into the hobby before via import. How exciting! Did it get into aquaculture and into the trade out in Cali?? Nicole it will definitely grow in 2" of sand, I've got it in 1" right now under very little light (90umoles.. about 3wpg if you by the old rules) and its sprouting up all over the place. H. engelmanni did the same. They are such gems to work with. I was hoping to find H. ovalis eventually.. I wonder if thats what was imported or not to CA. H. decipiens is cosmopolitan.. H. ovalis is nearly so, but has presence in several of the Pacific areas. I cant tell them apart myself, not from just pics at least. Sheesh we need to get some of the import guys to start asking for plants.. I'm starved for species here. I've heard of Cymodocea getting into the US via a wayward imported bunch, but no others before this.  (Oh yes, my offer still stands on the grasses when you get going, I'm practically throwing Halodule away over here its growing that fast.)Edit: I should note that, like engelmanni, decipiens grows roots from 2-3" in length though it does fine in shallow substrate. The roots will crowd at the bottom. Doesnt seem detrimental so far. >Sarah
"Seaweed is cool, seaweed is fun, it makes its food from the rays of the sun!"
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