My Mojano Jar

Gopi

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This was inspired by someone who always asked for aptasia to be sent to him on the #askbrs page and a university project about keeping aptasia in jars. And, after receiving the slightest amount of encouragement...

I bring you: William the Mojano.
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I first spotted William on August 14, stretching out on a new frag disk after adding a recently acquired coral (7/27) to my 90g. I had dipped and inspected, removed as much as the original plug as possible and reglued. Yet, here was my very first mojano. (6yrs of reefing, not shabby.)

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The new disk was concrete so I had to chisel off a piece before unceremoniously dumping it into the cleanest container I didn't really care about: a plastic cup from a local restaurant. (Washed with biodegradable soap first.)

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And there he sat for... quite a few days. I noticed he was frequently on the move. He would be in a different location every time I checked- even just minutes apart. Mojanos are surprisingly fast. (Next 2 photos were 10 min apart.)

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Was he upset? Searching for more light? Trying to escape the cup to seek revenge?

On August 22, I decided (after almost picking up the cup to drink it) to move William off my counter/kitchen island and onto the window sill behind my kitchen sink where I would see him frequently and not accidentally drink nasty tank water. I also took this opportunity to top off...straight from the tap. No temp adjustment, no Prime...didn't even check salinity.

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And there he seemed satisfied. Last night (8/28), I noticed the beginnings of diatoms on the rock and bottom of the cup. I very briefly considered a water change. Meh.(William is getting ready to sleep as this was taken after dark.)
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Instead, I decided to "upgrade" to a clear glass jar. Surely, no one will accidentally drink from the jar. I used 100% of the original water...i.e. I poured the cup into the jar.

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William is quite happy in his jar. Will there be more mojanos? Will I spot feed him? Will I add rubble or sand, perhaps a tiny pirate ship? Will I test the water (prob not.) What will my husband say when he finally notices? (On a 3 wk business trip, he doesn't know yet. )

I've been asked for daily updates but...I don't think I'll remember that frequently.
 
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Gopi

Gopi

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9/5 update:

William recieved a 100% w/c over the weekend. A moth landed and died in the water. Apparently, anemones don't eat moths.:(

We are currently waiting for Dorian to arrive. We typically don't lose power (longest was just a few hours with Matthew.) I have back ups for my other tanks but William will have to fare the storm on his own. I might move him away from the window later.
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sfin52

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thanks for the chuckle this morning
 

Passedyouby

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Wait, this is it?!?! I was prepared for a 17page marathon of updates and comments!!

What happened with william?? Did his restless leg syndrome finally settle down when he found the right spot?? Did he ever move to that new condo (pickle jar) across the room?? Were there any more crazy moth parties?? Did your husband ever drink the jar of tank water??

These are answers we need to hear!!!!
 
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Gopi

Gopi

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Wait, this is it?!?! I was prepared for a 17page marathon of updates and comments!!

What happened with william?? Did his restless leg syndrome finally settle down when he found the right spot?? Did he ever move to that new condo (pickle jar) across the room?? Were there any more crazy moth parties?? Did your husband ever drink the jar of tank water??

These are answers we need to hear!!!!

Life has been crazy and I thought William had perished but I found him again last week after several weeks of not seeing him. I will have to give a much more lengthy update but for now...here he is in his upgraded half gallon unheated plastic tank in my classroom.

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Gopi

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So life got crazy in early Oct as I returned to work from maternity leave. William (and a few other critters) came to join my biology classroom in a plastic tank that is maybe a half gallon with an undergravel filter.

I made the water using dechlorinated tap and a guessitmate at the salt. (How badly can I do this?!) I've topped off with tap water, have yet to do a water change and certainly haven't tested any parameters.
The light is just a power compact and also serves as the heater. Additionally, it attracts all the gnats from our roly poly terrarium.

I added some live rock with algae on it from home, a couple dward ceriths, some photosynthetic sponges and a mushroom as roommates for William...and also to introduce these organisms to my HS students.

The ceriths survived. The sponge is...making it. Not sure where the shroom got to. Plenth of algae and diatoms and now copepods. Plenty of dead bugs at the water line that I sometimes wipe out. Spotted a nice colonial hydroid by William as well.

I didn't see William for MONTHS but last week, I finally spotted him. He has moved slightly higher. I leave the light on 24/7 now rather than having it on a timer so the temp is a bit more stable.

Next questions: will he reproduce? Where is the mushroom? Should I kill that hydroid while it's still manageable?

Any chance of a reef type light that takes up the space of a normal light bulb? I'm not dropping more than $20 on this set up.

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El_Guapo13

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Mushroom could have moved somewhere, or could have died due to parameters not being correct for its survival. Most of us would never use tap water, even with dechlorinator as there can be (and usually are) other impurities in the tap water that are hazardous to marine life, especially more sensitive ones like corals.

Petco sells some heaters meant for super small tanks like under 5 gallons. And the heaters are super small, so it could probably fit in the tank if you want to use a heater to maintain heat better than just the ambient heat of the light.



I know everyone would say to use RO/DI water for topping off, but you could also use distilled if you want instead if you can't get RO/DI water.
Likewise, if you are okay with spending like 12 to 13 dollars every now and then, you could buy the salt water that Petco sells. Its 5 gallons, so it should last a while if you are mostly using it when doing water changes.

 

Malifry97

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for light id get par 38 tuna blue bulb and a mini heater for under 5 gallons. Also I would at least use distilled water.

But overall, Great little thread, cant wait for more updates
 

Passedyouby

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Mushroom could have moved somewhere, or could have died due to parameters not being correct for its survival. Most of us would never use tap water, even with dechlorinator as there can be (and usually are) other impurities in the tap water that are hazardous to marine life, especially more sensitive ones like corals.

Petco sells some heaters meant for super small tanks like under 5 gallons. And the heaters are super small, so it could probably fit in the tank if you want to use a heater to maintain heat better than just the ambient heat of the light.



I know everyone would say to use RO/DI water for topping off, but you could also use distilled if you want instead if you can't get RO/DI water.
Likewise, if you are okay with spending like 12 to 13 dollars every now and then, you could buy the salt water that Petco sells. Its 5 gallons, so it should last a while if you are mostly using it when doing water changes.


Im pretty sure she knows how this SHOULD be done, and is instead humoring the mojano to see how resilient this thing is! have you ever heard of the onion news network? Hah
 
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