Symbiosis - Red Sea 170 Build

[Greckel]

INTRODUCTION​

In 1989, Professor James Q. Wilson published his masterpiece, Bureaucracy. Bureaucracy explores the behavior of government agencies -- the agency's task, the culture it creates among its employees, conflicts among its subdivisions, and how it interacts with the broader ecosystem of government. Wilson is most well-known for his contributions to the study of bureaucracy. Yet he too was a reefer -- in his own way. Four years before Bureaucracy, Wilson and his wife, Roberta Wilson, published Watching Fishes: Life and Behavior on Coral Reefs. In Watching Fishes, the authors explore the culture and conflicts of the inhabitants of reefs.

Why am I talking about James Q. Wilson? I have been a fish-keeper longer than a scholar. And yet I continue to draw comparisons between our reef tanks and the government agencies I study. The reef is an agency brought to life by its inhabitants. Each new inhabitant plays a role and changes the culture of the reef. We watch the conflicts among our fish (e.g. the wrasse who harasses its neighbors). We watch the friendships that develop (e.g. the bond of the goby and pistol shrimp). Most of us are interested in reefs not for a single species but the culture of the reef as a whole. It is the study of internal interactions that unites my love of reefs and bureaucracy.

The concept of this build is to create the most (positive) interactions among the reef's inhabitants as possible -- to create a reef full of life and culture. As such, this reef will focus on introducing species that form a symbiotic relationship with one inhabitant or another.

EQUIPMENT​

I have selected a Red Sea Reefer 170 for this tank. I wanted something sleek and stable with a sump. I have a relatively small area in which to put the reef, so I was limited to the 170 (34g with a 9g sump). I acknowledge this will limit my stocking options. However, I believe it will be sufficient to create some interesting interactions. I order the tank two weeks ago and I am hoping it arrives sometime this week.

My plan is tear down my current 15 gallon tank and repurpose some of the equipment as appropriate. The 15g has been running for approximately 6 months. For equipment it currently has:
-Digital Aquatics Reefkeeper
-Reef Octopus BH1000 Skimmer
-2x Koralia Nano 240
-165W Dimmable Full Spectrum LED (27x Blue; 16x White; 4x Red; 2x Green)
-Heater

Future projects/equipment will include:
-Establishing a refugium
-Carbon reactor
-GFO reactor
-Either a two-part dosing system OR kalkwasser reactor

INHABITANTS​

Invertebrates
Currently the 15 gallon only contains hermits crabs and a mixture of snails. There are some small filter feeders who have found their way in on a lobo (fan worms and tunicates), but there is a very small population of these.

I used dry rock in building the reef. I did this to limit the introduction of hitchhikers. Yet I miss the life that live rock brings to a reef. There is something spectacular about seeing the small invertebrates scurry over the rock. To introduce more of the "good" invertebrates typically found as hitchhikers, I am ordering the following from Indo-Pacific Sea Farms:
6x Baby Bristle Worms;
1x Wondermud (containing amphipods, spaghetti worms, plankton, and baby inverts);
1x Live Sand Activator (6x hermits, 6x snails, and worms);
1x Amphipod Breeding Kit (for use in the refugium);
6x Mini Stars;
6x Spaghetti worms; and
6x Comet Stars (a reef-safe variety of Asterina according to IPSF).

In building my refugium, I intend purchase the following from Algae Barn:
1x Golf Ball-sized Chaeto algae;
1x 5,280 Pods (contains Tigriopus, Tisbe, and Apocyclops); and
1x Ocean Magik (contains Nannochloropsis, Teraselmis, Thalassiosira, and Isochrysis).

For display invertebrates, I am thinking:
1x Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp;
1x Randall's Pistol Shrimp (to pair with a Goby);
1-2x Trapezia Crabs (for their relationship to pocillopora coral)
1-2x Pom Pom Crabs (for their relationship with their anemones)
1x Bubble Tip Anemone (to (hopefully) host the Clownfish).

Coral
The 15g currently has the following colonies, all ordered from @AquaSD :
4x Hammers
4x Favias
1x Lobo
1x Trumpet
2x Zoas
3x Acans

I really like LPS corals, particularly Euphyllias. I will likely continue to focus on LPS corals, but do intend to add some SPS corals, particularly a Pocillopora or two (for the Trapezia crabs). I would also like to get a plating Montipora. I do not plan to add any more Zoas or soft corals.

Fish
The 15g currently has no fish. I am limiting myself to four fish, because 34g is relatively small and I intend to have a number of invertebrates. Right now the plan is:
2x Clownfish (avoiding the more aggressive species)
1x Randall's Shrimp Goby
1x ???? Open to Suggestions

I am open to suggestions that people may have about the fourth fish or other symbiotic relationships with invertebrates. I am looking forward to this build and learning more about the interactions that occur in our reef tanks!

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

How about some sort of barnacle dwelling blenny? Not a super good example of symbiosis (if at all since the barnacle would be dead) but I think it go along with your theme a little bit

 

[Greckel]

How about some sort of barnacle dwelling blenny? Not a super good example of symbiosis (if at all since the barnacle would be dead) but I think it go along with your theme a little bit

That is an interesting idea! I agree that it goes well with the general theme.

 

[Greckel]

The tank arrived on Thursday. Originally, I scheduled my father to help move it, but he cancelled in light of a meeting. Instead, I paid three friends (with lunch) to come help move the tank off the semitruck. Good thing. It weighed 273lbs, and the driver had to place it at the entrance to the parking lot because he could not maneuver the dolly through the 8in of snow we got earlier this week.

The transfer went... less than smoothly and I learned many things that I would do differently next time. First, I had to place the Reefer where my old 15g tank was located. To minimize the time of the corals and inverts being in buckets, I assembled the Reefer first and then tore down the 15. And here is where my series of interconnected mistakes begins to unfold.

Once I broke down the 15g and placed the Reefer where I wanted it, I began to mix new saltwater in the tank (Mistake #1). I had 8 gallons of water from the 15g, but I needed an additional 35 gallons. I did not have enough buckets to mix 35 gallons, so I decided to do it in the tank. The water was much colder than I expected when I put it in (60F), which caused a significant delay in getting it back up to temperature (Mistake #3). Meanwhile, once I got the display tank full, I discovered a leak in the return pipe. It turned out that I had not made sure the o-ring was properly placed on the return pipe (Mistake #4). Fixing the return pipe was exacerbated by the fact that I had just filled the tank with ~30g of water and therefore could not move the tank away from the wall (Mistake #5). All told, it took about 6 hours (4 longer than expected) to get the tank filled to the point where I could transfer the coral and inverts.

Meanwhile, the coral, inverts, and rock where in two separate buckets. I did not have heaters or circulating pumps on these tanks because I did not have enough equipment to devote to the buckets (Mistake #6). This would not have been a problem if I had (1) premixed my saltwater and (2) made sure the saltwater was a proper temperature before mixing. The livestock therefore spent a significant amount more time in the buckets than I anticipated and I am certain both oxygen and temperature were problems. Transferring the livestock was a pain because I added new sand and the water was incredibly cloudy (Mistake #7). I therefore could not see where I was placing the rocks.

I also noticed that the ATO was cracked, so I will need to contact Red Sea customer support to receive a replacement.

All told, the experience was incredibly stressful. The corals were all spilling their guts and looked like hell once the water finally cleared.

Good News: The corals and all of the inverts made it. Most of the corals have rebounded, with two exceptions.

First, while in the buckets, my lobo lost about 1/3 of its flesh. However, I think this might have been caused by it being next to my hammer coral in the bucket. The hammer and coral were situated next to each other in the tank, and I had some prior evidence that the hammer had been attacking the lobo. The two are now separated in the tank and therefore I expect the lobo to make a recovery.

Second, a Christmas Tree Favia got knocked off a rock while I was placing the rocks in the murky water. It somehow ended up getting buried in the sand. Because I could not see in the tank until the morning, I did not notice that the coral was missing for several hours. It doesn't look great and lost a few polyps, but I am waiting to see how it recovers.

The rest of the coral is alive, although it will take some tinkering with tank placement to get them all situated. The trumpet coral in particular looks like it will need to be moved around a bit (this coral was performing the best in my 15g).

All parameters have remained stable and perfect. (Temp: 78, PH: 8.2, Ammonia: 0, Nitrites: 0, Nitrates: 5, Salinity: 1.024.)

Equipment:

-Light: I rigged up a hanger for the light using 3/4in conduit. It turned out pretty well, although the top portion is a bit longer than I expected because I miscalculated. It would be an easy fix, but one I am not interested in toying with right now. I also need to find a way to raise the light a bit. I will probably buy new suspension wiring at some point in the near future.

-Return Pump: I am using the Jebao DCT 4000. I struggled a bit to get the flex tubing on the output, but was able to do so once I lubed up the fitting and heated the tube.

-Protein Skimmer: I bought some flex tubing from Menards with the intention of extending the input pipe of the BH1000 by ~3inches. The pump is struggling to pull water from the sump. I have seen others extend the intake of the BH1000, so I believe the pump is capable of handling the additional length. However, the BH1000 has metric pipes, and I "cheated" by using flex tubing. I ordered a metric to imperial adapter from @Bulk Reef Supply and that should arrive today. (Side Note: As a Minneapolis resident, I love ordering from BRS because everything arrives next day).

-Carbon and Phosban Reactor: I ordered the @Bulk Reef Supply Dual Carbon and Phosban Reactor (thank you for the 10% discount). It was super easy to setup and is running perfectly.

-Refugium: I am using the main skimmer area of the Reefer as a Refugium (hence the BH1000 skimmer). I installed an LED light about the skimmer and I am running the light cycle counter to that of the DT. I ordered a golf-ball sized of Clean Chaeto, 5280 Pods, 16oz of Phyto, and Nano Brine Shrimp (was free for new members) from @AlgaeBarn. I was hoping to get it today, but they are not shipping until Tuesday, which is perfectly fine.

- Controller: The Reefer came with all of this spare wood used as bracing. I did not want to attach electronics directly to the outside of the stand (despite the cleaner look) because I tend to dump water everywhere. I rigged up this little stand for the controllers and outlets using the spare wood.

I am planning to head to my LFS today to look around. I have a bunch of coupons and giftcards for their that need to be used....

 

[Greckel]

I added my first inverts (beyond snails and hermits) and fish today. I went to the LFS cruising for gobies and a pistol shrimp, as well as a few other inverts that might be appropriate. My LFS sells paired gobies and pistol shrimp.

I love my LFS, but it is always packed on Saturdays. It is shoulder-to-shoulder filled with people, which can make it difficult to see the fish and to get assitance. When I choose to buy fish, I set aside the majority of the day knowing that it will take a while to get my wares and just as long to drip acclimate. Temptation sets in:

But, I was on a mission. Neither a clown nor angel fell within the scope of said mission. (Also, I think -- but do not know enough -- that LTA is bleached?)

It can be somewhat hard to read the offerings in each tank. Scrawled in erasable marker on the face of the tank is a list of all the fish and inverts in the tank with their corresponding prices. I found two goby + pistol shrimp pairs. The first was a Randall's Goby with a Randall's Pistol. The second was a Yellow Watchman Goby with a Tiger Pistol. I opted for the Randall's Goby and Randall's Pistol.

The fisherman caught the Randall's Goby easily. It was beautiful. But the fisherman could not find the corresponding pistol shrimp. He remembered he had seen another Randall's Shrimp (which he said was very entertaining to watch) in a different tank a few days ago. He overturned the rock in search of this shrimp in nearly 10 tanks, spending about 25 minutes on the hunt for this one shrimp. During this hunt, he caught a Green-Banded Pistol just in case he could not locate the Randall's. He never found it. Instead, he offered the Green-Banded Pistol, somewhat apologetically. I asked whether it would bond with the Randall's Goby and he assured me that it would. I was satisfied. I had him bag a cleaner shrimp too, and we headed to fill the bags with air.

Along the way to checkout, he mentioned that the Green-Banded Pistol was bonded with a pair of Wheeler's Gobies. In the hour that I waited to be helped, I had watched these Wheeler's Gobies. They were incredibly entertaining. They poked their heads in and out of the rocks and generally appeared happy to be together. I had not seen the Green-Banded Pistol with them; it must have been tucked behind them in the rock. And then, being the sentimental sap that I am, I was overcome with a feeling of sadness that I was about to take their protector from them. I asked how much it would cost to take the Wheeler's instead of the Randall's Goby. The fisherman thought for a moment and said that since it was bonded with the Green-Banded Pistol that he would be willing to let me have the two bonded Wheeler's for the same price as the one Randall's Goby. I was ecstatic. I actually prefer Wheeler's Gobies to Randall's Gobies, and so I readily made the switch.

I am incredibly happy with my decision. The fish and shrimp all acclimated very well and have been incredibly active in the tank. When I introduced the gobies and pistol shrimp into the tank, the gobies fled together to a back corner, where they were soon joined by the pistol shrimp. The pistol shrimp began digging out a burrow beneath the rock. I grabbed a beer and watched as the shrimp shoveled sand out of his hovel. As soon as there was space, the gobies flew into the den.

Their burrow was (note: was) a tunnel beneath the rock. As demonstrated (somewhat) by the first picture, the two gobies liked to each take a separate end of the burrow. The pistol shrimp continued his excavation. It was a wonderful burrow for observing the gobies and pistol shrimp, mainly because it was directly next to the tank's glass.

The cleaner shrimp also acclimated well.

I went out to dinner with mother. When I came back, the gobies and the pistol shrimp had abandoned their original burrow for something more spacious in the back of the tank. Unfortunately, their new home requires me to crane my neck a bit to get a good view of them. ;Bored

Oh well! I am incredibly happy with the additions to the tank regardless of how elusive they may be.

 

[Cameron Wise]

Cool

 

[Greckel]

Early this week, a friend and I split the shipping costs for LiveAquaria to benefit from the 25% discount. I ordered a Red Tuxedo Urchin, 2 Ocellaris Clowns, and a Rose Bubble Tip Anemone. Everything arrived yesterday alive and healthy.

The Rose Bubble Tip Anemone proved to be somewhat obnoxious. After reading a fair amount about RBTA placement (and knowing that they tend to wander), I constructed it a nice home with multiple crevices in hopes that it would attach to the rock. Of course, nothing in this hobby is that simple. I placed the rock in with the anemone while it acclimated in hopes that it would attach. By the end of acclimation, it seemed to have a loose grip on the rock and I was hopeful that it would remain once I put it in the tank. Not so. I placed the rock and anemone 1/2 way up the tank. Sure enough, it inflated and floated down to the sand. I decided to move the rock to the sand and gently scooped the anemone back into the rock. It stayed for about an hour before -- once again -- inflating and floating away. This time it floated to a different rock on the sand, where it firmly attached. The anemone has been somewhat shy the past day, but is poking its tentacles out.

The clowns are a joy to watch, but the putative male is cowering in the back of the tank. The larger of the two has been dominating him since arrival. When I turn the pumps off for feeding, the smaller clown ate very little but did take the opportunity to swim more freely around the tank.

I love the urchin, but it is taking the opportunity to test how well I glued each of the frags to my live rock.

Overall, the tank is doing very well. The gobies are great fun to watch. The pistol shrimp has dug a very intricate tunnel system under all of the rocks, and the gobies are now able to appear anywhere within the tank. I am worried about one of my hammer corals that is closest to the light. It appears to be bleaching, and I think I am going to have to find a different spot for it.

I have a shipment from ReefCleaners arriving on Monday to add some more snails to the tank. My order from @AlgaeBarn got delayed, but they have been incredibly communicative about the situation, and I am very impressed with their customer service. Otherwise, for the most part, I am done adding livestock for a little while (Ha!).

My next planned investment is a better ATO. The little ATO tank provided by Red Sea simply does not hold enough water to be worth much. Besides, I have filled the walls in the sump with various equipment and can no longer fit the ATO tank in the sump.

 

[HolisticBear]

Tank moves are incredibly stressful, congratulations on getting that done.

Tank looks good. Love the urchin & gobies. I put my ATO container where you put your skimmer, but I should have gone larger. It's hard to fit everything in these 170s, a little Ikea cabinet on the side if often required.

 

[Pbh-reef]

Following along for inspiration.Your set up seems potentially realistic to me. I love the gobies and all of the amazing relationships in a reef. (Even though sometimes those relationships are aggressive - hope your smaller clown is getting some food!)

How often are you planning on/ already doing water changes? Has the fuge taken care

 

[Greckel]

Following along for inspiration.Your set up seems potentially realistic to me. I love the gobies and all of the amazing relationships in a reef. (Even though sometimes those relationships are aggressive - hope your smaller clown is getting some food!)

How often are you planning on/ already doing water changes? Has the fuge taken care

The clowns are playing relatively nicely. The larger (and putative female) is a bit of a bully but does not impede the smaller's (and putative male) ability to get food.

I do a small water change about once every two weeks. I test like a lab, and my parameters stay incredibly stable. I have noticed the corals respond better if I do fewer water changes.

The fuge is set up, but I am struggling to get a stable pod population. I need to buy some more pods from @AlgaeBarn.

I should have a more substantial update later this week. I have added quite a bit to the tank in the past few weeks.