Low-Tech High-Tech 40 Breeder (no filtration)

[ReeferHD]

look what arrived today :star-struck:
Goniaster Tessellatus. been looking for one of these for a very long time!

He lost a few spines during shipment by the looks of it but I was somewhat expecting that.
he’s very active and currently cruising around in the breeder box!

 

[thatindonesianreefer]

T

look what arrived today :star-struck:
Goniaster Tessellatus. been looking for one of these for a very long time!

He lost a few spines during shipment by the looks of it but I was somewhat expecting that.
he’s very active and currently cruising around in the breeder box!

That has got to be one of the most beautiful starfish I’ve ever seen! It sure would be the star of that tank!

 

[welshd24]

look what arrived today :star-struck:
Goniaster Tessellatus. been looking for one of these for a very long time!

He lost a few spines during shipment by the looks of it but I was somewhat expecting that.
he’s very active and currently cruising around in the breeder box!

Probably gonna borrow that design for a simple fish acclimation box tank looks awsome so far as well

 

[ReeferHD]

Probably gonna borrow that design for a simple fish acclimation box tank looks awsome so far as well

thanks! it's definitely a more budget friendly option.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

look what arrived today :star-struck:
Goniaster Tessellatus. been looking for one of these for a very long time!

He lost a few spines during shipment by the looks of it but I was somewhat expecting that.
he’s very active and currently cruising around in the breeder box!

Some amazing pictures of your starfish!

 

[ReeferHD]

Look at these little fellas I found at my LFS!
for years I’ve been looking for a pair of spotted coral crouchers, and here they are! Now I am on the hunt for a birdsnest colony for them to live in.

 

[fishface NJ]

Is that a plastic shoebox with holes drilled on to the sides? What magnet are you using?

 

[ReeferHD]

Is that a plastic shoebox with holes drilled on to the sides? What magnet are you using?

that is essentially what it is. I'm using a Tunze care magnet with the blades taken off, it's just what I have on hand at the moment, it works pretty well as a temporary acclimation box.

 

[ReeferHD]

Small update on the tank: everything looks great! I added a naoko wrasse but it died for an unknown reason, aside from that everything is looking really good. I will post more in depth updates soon.

 

[thatindonesianreefer]

That tank looks beautiful!

 

[ReeferHD]

Update:
Corals are doing really well and the trident has done a great job keeping parameters stable, I’ve also gotten a couple new corals! though I’ve run into a cyano bloom which I think is caused by my thorough sand vacuuming method, since my nitrate is sitting stable around 1.5 I think my sand is TOO clean and too sterile so I’m switching to biweekly water changes to see if it fixes my problem. I used to have this issue in my 6 gallon until I stopped cleaning the sand completely.

 

[ReeferHD]

Update: been super busy so I haven’t updated the thread at all, but everyone is doing well! I’ve switched out some of the fish selection and added a bunch of new corals, I also eradicated the cyano I previously mentioned, I added a powdered bacteria product called Remedi8 by Captiv8 aquaculture, I actually sold my Magnifica anemones to them a while back which was pretty cool. to my surprise it wiped out the cyano in just 3 days, I highly recommend it if you’re having cyano issues and I bet it would help with dinos too. My new problem is bubble algae, I’m going to try extensive manual removal but if that doesn’t keep it at bay I might try a small rabbit fish.

Anyways here are some pictures of the tank now, lots of growth since the last post, though the fimbriaphyllia seem to be taking their time and haven’t grown much.

 

[thatindonesianreefer]

Update: been super busy so I haven’t updated the thread at all, but everyone is doing well! I’ve switched out some of the fish selection and added a bunch of new corals, I also eradicated the cyano I previously mentioned, I added a powdered bacteria product called Remedi8 by Captiv8 aquaculture, I actually sold my Magnifica anemones to them a while back which was pretty cool. to my surprise it wiped out the cyano in just 3 days, I highly recommend it if you’re having cyano issues and I bet it would help with dinos too. My new problem is bubble algae, I’m going to try extensive manual removal but if that doesn’t keep it at bay I might try a small rabbit fish.

Anyways here are some pictures of the tank now, lots of growth since the last post, though the fimbriaphyllia seem to be taking their time and haven’t grown much.

Nice tank!

 

[strich]

haven’t done much with the tank this past week, I added a frogspawn as a tester LPS and it looks happy so far, just been waiting for parameters to level out before getting anything else!

What is this cool little guy? And I demand an update on him :D

 

[ReeferHD]

What is this cool little guy? And I demand an update on him :D

He’s a red squat lobster, one of my favorite inverts but he kept attacking my circus gobies, he was fine with with rest of the fish though. I ended up giving him to a friend.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Update: been super busy so I haven’t updated the thread at all, but everyone is doing well! I’ve switched out some of the fish selection and added a bunch of new corals, I also eradicated the cyano I previously mentioned, I added a powdered bacteria product called Remedi8 by Captiv8 aquaculture, I actually sold my Magnifica anemones to them a while back which was pretty cool. to my surprise it wiped out the cyano in just 3 days, I highly recommend it if you’re having cyano issues and I bet it would help with dinos too. My new problem is bubble algae, I’m going to try extensive manual removal but if that doesn’t keep it at bay I might try a small rabbit fish.

Anyways here are some pictures of the tank now, lots of growth since the last post, though the fimbriaphyllia seem to be taking their time and haven’t grown much.

Glad to see your tank is still going strong!

 

[ReeferHD]

Stopped by my LFS yesterday and they had an ultra rare fish that I’ve been wanting for a while!

a white cap goby! The LFS paired it with a randall's pistol which I didn’t know they were compatible with. maybe in the future I’ll find a true red spotted pistol for this fella to pair with, but for now it seems they’re getting along well, they are currently together under the right side of the rock work. I haven’t seen them since introducing them but I can hear the little shrimp snapping away so I know they’re doing good, they should start being more friendly within the next couple weeks.

 

[ReeferHD]

Well here’s my *small* list of the uncommon things I’ve kept, (this is just from my current tank, ive had a lot of rare stuff in past tanks too)

Current tank:

Walking dendro (I have 3 now)

Balanophyllia sp. (also have 3 now)

Black cap lotilia goby (the only picture I’ve been able to get of the little fella)

Shingle urchin (probably the rarest thing I’ve ever kept) &
West African Biscuit Star

Tridacna Gigas, the worlds largest species of clam

Yellow branching porites

Sponge crab (unknown species)

Tanaka’s possum wrasse ft. Yellowband possum wrasse

Xmas worm & paguritta crab rock

I’ve kept a lot of rare stuff in the past that I’ve given to other hobbyists (some things I wasn’t able to keep alive, though I was much less experienced back then) but the list is too long for me to post at once but if you’re curious I might post them later!

also here is my walking dendro trio + balanophyllia trio I just took a picture of

 

[joe_franco]

What an unique reef tank. Love the variety. How is your boxfish doing? I was considering getting one for the 125, but am very reluctant to pull the trigger. Not sure which species, what do you say from your own experience? thx!!

 

[ReeferHD]

What an unique reef tank. Love the variety. How is your boxfish doing? I was considering getting one for the 125, but am very reluctant to pull the trigger. Not sure which species, what do you say from your own experience? thx!!

hello! I've been super busy lately and haven't been updating this thread, but the tank is still going! will update soon.

Are you referring to the tiny Scrawled Cowfish? He did well for a while but he unfortunately didn't survive an ich outbreak (the same outbreak that killed my frogfish) he was quite the character though and if he was a little larger at the time I'm sure he would still be around.
I've owned a number of boxfish and IME the hardiest one to get is a longhorn cow (Lactoria Cornuta) in the
3"- 4" range.
2nd to that is the Helmet cowfish (Tetrosomus Gibbosus) they might pick at star polyps but apart from that they're great reef fish. just don't get one too small (under 1.5"- 2") cause they are very susceptible to disease and can be blown around by the current if you have big powerheads.
last thing is you need a lid!! if something startles them (flashing lights, shaking the tank etc.) they can and will jump. I lost one that way because I didn't have a lid.

I haven't had any luck with the yellow boxfish, they usually do well for a couple months and then suddenly stop eating and pass. I don't recommend keeping them.

@reeflife3 who kept a scrawled cowfish (Acanthostracion quadricornis) for 2 years:

I had a scrawled cowfish for the past 2 years (up until last week when i woke up and found him on the floor) when i purchased him he was the size a nickel and grew to about 3 inches. Never seen him touch any corals and i have zoas, acans, forgswan, hammer, and plenty of sps's. The only issue i had was him bullying my yellow tang but it wasn't that bad. I'm currently waiting for my LFS to get another in.

let me know if you have more questions.