Courtney's Planted Shallow Reef 4.0

[courtneykeeps]

I've finally managed to setup another reef tank and the aim here is to build a long-term mixed (but mostly macroalgae dominant) tank and keep it going for as long as possible!

Let's start with the tank...

It's a second hand rimless aquarium from Aqua One. Shout-out to @paulAdonis for that! The dimensions are beautiful...60cm L x 40cm D x 30cm H. Shallow enough to give a slick low profile and make maintenance easier, a great amount of depth to play with and just enough length to give a nice wide canvas.

I took this opportunity to paint another stand and this time I was going for oceanic-earth vibes. I think it worked out! For me the stands are still very important and I like them to feel deliberate rather than just functional. One day I'll get my hands on one of those glass stands!
Filtration is an external canister (Oase Biomaster Thermo 350). This works great for my use case and this particular unit is whisper silent. I'm running it at 24 degrees as I usually do so there's a good bit of buffer in case of heatwaves! It was less of a problem when I was living in an air conditioned apartment in Canada, but now I'm back in the UK it's a real threat lol.

Lighting is the ONF Flat One +, held by a Liti Aquaria light stand. I had a real hard time getting this light, involving multiple 6 hour coach rides but IMO it was worth it as I've always wanted these lights and it was a solid bargain. Every time I look at them I can't help but admire the design. So far easy to control and everything inside is responding well to it.

I have a Chihiros doser that I need to setup so I can dose nitrates and phosphates. We'll see how soon I need to add alkalinity, calcium and magnesium. I'm trying out natural seawater and doing larger water changes than I would normally. I find mixing salt quite tedious and knowing that I need to use the water up before the next delivery is enough motivation to do regular water changes.

The hardscape is rockwork from iQuatics that was recommended. They had some really nice intricate pieces and they reckon this was bottom of the barrel stuff! The cream just be amazing. I wanted to create a open valley feeling with lots of layering to really enhance the depth and create interest.

I've already added macroalgae and coral; a lot of Halimeda, Caulerpa, Augophyllum, Codium and Gracilaria. There's also two species of Green Star Polyps (at first I thought it might just look different due to growing conditions but I think they're actually different - they look and behave very differently), a rainbow Fungia and a gold encrusting Fungia, a mix of zoas, a pink Stylophora, a pink furry mushroom which is incredibly aloof and finally some unidentified gorgonians.

So far so good. The tank is in the ugly stage and based on the way I set this one up, it's reinforced my suspicion that the more seed material you start with, the less of an ugly stage you'll end up with. So you can tell I didn't start with much on this one! My last tank had loads and pretty much skipped the ugly stage altogether.

For a cleanup crew I have a small army of Dove snails, a Nassarius snail and a Banded Trochus.

I'll update as things develop and I start adding livestock!

 

[PharmrJohn]

Well, let me the first to say it looks great. I've got to go back and read the second half!

 

[courtneykeeps]

Well, let me the first to say it looks great. I've got to go back and read the second half!

Thank you John!

 

[Tahoe61]

The initial scape dry is a work of art. Very geographical accurate. The opposing angles look natural.

Following

 

[courtneykeeps]

The initial scape dry is a work of art. Very geographical accurate. The opposing angles look natural.

Following

I appreciate you saying that! Thanks

 

[MushroomMan101]

Any tank updates? Your scape looks amazing

 

[courtneykeeps]

Any tank updates? Your scape looks amazing

Thank you!

There's been a few developments since the last post.

I acquired a pair of Blue Striped Pipefish, a Wetmorella Wrasse, Donald Duck Shrimp, a toadstool and a couple of frogspawns. The pipefish have only just started taking frozen mysis and a tiny bit of calanus after nearly 2 weeks of having them, which is a relief. They seem to be eating all day despite my feeding too. I'm guessing all the crevices in the rock and macroalgae are holding a lot of pods.

The wrasse on the other hand is not really going for any prepared foods which is in direct contrast to other people's experience I've talked to where they said the wrasse is a pig. So I'm not sure how long that will work out... we'll see!

I let my salinity creep up too high recently and lost most of my Caulerpa. But it's fixed now and everything is growing again. Corals and fish unscathed. This Gold Encrusting Fungia has become my favourite too. How often do people feed fungia typically?

I also seem to have every pest and nuisance algae under the sun which is annoying considering the lengths I went to, to avoid that!

 

[courtneykeeps]

Latest FTS and extra photos!

 

[courtneykeeps]

Got a shot with the stand in which I don't usually do because I have to go really far back to take it lol.

 

[Hot2na]

Is that the BLUE AND WHITE or YELLOW AND WHITE version of the light ?

 

[courtneykeeps]

Is that the BLUE AND WHITE or YELLOW AND WHITE version of the light ?

Blue and White

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Got a shot with the stand in which I don't usually do because I have to go really far back to take it lol.

That stand is absolutely gorgeous!

 

[courtneykeeps]

That stand is absolutely gorgeous!

Thank you!

 

[cacas]

Any updates

 

[BoxH]

I've finally managed to setup another reef tank and the aim here is to build a long-term mixed (but mostly macroalgae dominant) tank and keep it going for as long as possible!

Let's start with the tank...

It's a second hand rimless aquarium from Aqua One. Shout-out to @paulAdonis for that! The dimensions are beautiful...60cm L x 40cm D x 30cm H. Shallow enough to give a slick low profile and make maintenance easier, a great amount of depth to play with and just enough length to give a nice wide canvas.

I took this opportunity to paint another stand and this time I was going for oceanic-earth vibes. I think it worked out! For me the stands are still very important and I like them to feel deliberate rather than just functional. One day I'll get my hands on one of those glass stands!
Filtration is an external canister (Oase Biomaster Thermo 350). This works great for my use case and this particular unit is whisper silent. I'm running it at 24 degrees as I usually do so there's a good bit of buffer in case of heatwaves! It was less of a problem when I was living in an air conditioned apartment in Canada, but now I'm back in the UK it's a real threat lol.

Lighting is the ONF Flat One +, held by a Liti Aquaria light stand. I had a real hard time getting this light, involving multiple 6 hour coach rides but IMO it was worth it as I've always wanted these lights and it was a solid bargain. Every time I look at them I can't help but admire the design. So far easy to control and everything inside is responding well to it.

I have a Chihiros doser that I need to setup so I can dose nitrates and phosphates. We'll see how soon I need to add alkalinity, calcium and magnesium. I'm trying out natural seawater and doing larger water changes than I would normally. I find mixing salt quite tedious and knowing that I need to use the water up before the next delivery is enough motivation to do regular water changes.

The hardscape is rockwork from iQuatics that was recommended. They had some really nice intricate pieces and they reckon this was bottom of the barrel stuff! The cream just be amazing. I wanted to create a open valley feeling with lots of layering to really enhance the depth and create interest.

I've already added macroalgae and coral; a lot of Halimeda, Caulerpa, Augophyllum, Codium and Gracilaria. There's also two species of Green Star Polyps (at first I thought it might just look different due to growing conditions but I think they're actually different - they look and behave very differently), a rainbow Fungia and a gold encrusting Fungia, a mix of zoas, a pink Stylophora, a pink furry mushroom which is incredibly aloof and finally some unidentified gorgonians.

So far so good. The tank is in the ugly stage and based on the way I set this one up, it's reinforced my suspicion that the more seed material you start with, the less of an ugly stage you'll end up with. So you can tell I didn't start with much on this one! My last tank had loads and pretty much skipped the ugly stage altogether.

For a cleanup crew I have a small army of Dove snails, a Nassarius snail and a Banded Trochus.

I'll update as things develop and I start adding livestock!

Off to a great start

 

[PolypPocket]

This is so beautiful!

 

[courtneykeeps]

Since the last photo, everything has grown in quite a bit and I'm happy with the overall look! Macroalgae is doing the heavy lifting and truly has the power to make a tank look much more mature than it is. This tank is still only 5 months old...

The Pipefish and Wrasse are doing great, eating well and get a long very well. They pretty much ignore each other! But I have been longing for some more activity. Sometimes you look at the tank and don't realise there's even fish in there. I got an Algae Blenny recently but I suspected something was wrong with it from day 1. It subsequently wouldn't eat anything and is getting skinnier and skinnier. I'm not holding much hope but if you've any suggestions?? My friend's Algae Blenny eats everything!

We've had FOUR heatwaves since May which is insane. The excessive heat coupled with water chemistry changes (some my fault) meant that a lot of things were ticked off. Most things have rebounded but my Australian Rainbow Fungia is kicking the bucket. Most of the tissue has receded now but I'll leave the skeleton in hopes of a spawn or regeneration.

I'm also still battling with a lot of pests and have been trying to find solutions for all of them. You can't necessarily see from the photos but this is what I've got;
- Red flatworms. Tried 3 doses of Flatworm Exit and they don't die! Thought about trying a Springer's Damsel or a Blue Velvet Nudibranch.
- Hair algae and Bryopsis. I've been manually removing the big clumps but it keeps coming back. I'm not sure whether to let the tank mature some more and hope the hair algae goes away. But I've still got the Bryopsis issue. I wondered whether to use Flucanazole but I fear that won't go down well with the macroalgae.
- Bubble algae. I haven't tried anything to get rid of this but is there even a viable option? I hear Emerald Crabs aren't all they're made out to be.
- Vermetid Snails. They're popping up here and there and again thought about Bumblebee snails but I see mixed reviews.
- Aiptasia. There isn't much but there's a few heads I've been spot killing.

Otherwise I'm happy with the way it's looking and hope it continues to thrive!