24 Gallon Bio-Cube, 5 Months

TheCheeseWizz · Aug 21, 2015

Hey All,
Thought I would finally share my nano and see what you all think.

Current Inhabitants-
Coral: Goniopora, Xenia pulsata, Coco Worm (Protula), Hammerhead (Euphyllia), 3 unknown palys/zoas, Hairy Mushrooms (Rhodactis).
Fish: Lawnmower Blenny, Purple Pseudochromi.

RareEarthCorals · Aug 21, 2015

Very nice and thats a fat goni. Do you have the same lighting system or have you changed up?

TheCheeseWizz · Aug 21, 2015

RareEarthCorals said:
Very nice and thats a fat goni. Do you have the same lighting system or have you changed up?

Everything is stock and it's working out very nicely. I would definitely like to upgrade to LEDs though. The Goniopora gets even larger when fully extended. I waited until it was slightly condensed so it didn't take up so much of the tank for the picture.

RareEarthCorals · Aug 21, 2015

Well it looks great, like the clams too they look like they were part of the live rock? If your interested here is mine. Im at four months.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/rare-earth-corals-biocube-29-tank-build.208154/

TheCheeseWizz · Aug 21, 2015

RareEarthCorals said:
Well it looks great, like the clams too they look like they were part of the live rock? If your interested here is mine. Im at four months.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/rare-earth-corals-biocube-29-tank-build.208154/

Very cool tank RareEarthCorals. You are right, the clams came in on a small frag (about 2 inches long). I bought the frag for the zoanthids, got it home and realized there were 7 baby clams on it! Most of them seem to be doing fine but they don't look as pretty anymore. Not really sure what to do about it...

RareEarthCorals · Aug 21, 2015

Thank you The wiz, Clams are filter feeders and require more light than what the Biocube can supply. I would try, if you havent already, to up your full lighting schedule to at least 7-8 hours and see if it helps. In other words your whites and actinics should run simultaneously. Also spot feeding phytoplankton. You need to turn off your filters and pumps off and invert a small plastic cup over the clams so nothing else eats it or it gets sweep away by currents. Open a small hole on top of the cup and use a syringe to slowly squeeze the food into the cup. Never squeeze it directly into the clams.
It needs to be .25 ml or less as they require and can process very little, plus they are small.

TheCheeseWizz · Aug 22, 2015

RareEarthCorals said:
Thank you The wiz, Clams are filter feeders and require more light than what the Biocube can supply. I would try, if you havent already, to up your full lighting schedule to at least 7-8 hours and see if it helps. In other words your whites and actinics should run simultaneously. Also spot feeding phytoplankton. You need to turn off your filters and pumps off and invert a small plastic cup over the clams so nothing else eats it or it gets sweep away by currents. Open a small hole on top of the cup and use a syringe to slowly squeeze the food into the cup. Never squeeze it directly into the clams.
It needs to be .25 ml or less as they require and can process very little, plus they are small.

Thanks for the advice Rare. I actually run my light for 10-11 hours a day. Seems like a lot but it works the best for me. I've never spot fed them but I do feed coral food which should work. They've survived long enough now that I think it is working for them but I will try spot feeding to see if they get better.

RareEarthCorals · Aug 22, 2015

Well sounds like your doing all the right things. 7 Hours is all I run and have since the first corals were introduced. It just maybe that the lights dont give off enough PAR to be effective for clams to exist and then again it may just be a short term thing and will snap back.

Couple of other things on spot feeding these guys. Dont feed anything other than phytoplankton, it could be too large a food and could clog up the gills, and if you see the clam regurgitate the food back then stop feeding altogether. Sometimes they reject food. Best of luck and looking to see how you progress overtime.