reneeL
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The ‘Most of you will completely disagree with everything I did’ 180g Mixed Reef
- Thread starter Gregg @ ADP
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Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Update: The Final Piece of the Puzzle
Today I’m beginning to add the final pieces to my simplified system, this time focusing on the sump. Here is my beloved sump as it currently exists:
I built this sump myself (with the help of a CNC) many years ago. My welds must have been decent, because this thing has stayed together for about 15 years despite being dropped a few times.
The left hand chamber is the drain chamber, designed to be able to stack egg crate shelves for media bags etc. The next chamber is designed to house skimmer, reactors, etc. Then, there is a 1.5” bulkhead connecting to the next box, which was designed to be a refugium (hence the slotted piece on the right hand side, meant to keep macroalgae from going into the pump intake.
As you can see, there is nothing going on in there other than detritus accumulation. So I decided to at least use the left hand side as a combo ‘cryptic’ zone plus an algae scrubber.
I noticed a long time ago that various pods and other micro-inverts loved the coarse media bags for carbon, GFO, etc. So I made what are essentially pod hotels out of egg crate and nylon screen:
The idea is that not only will pods utilize this structure, but sponges, worms, bacteria, etc will also colonize them. They are going to be set up parallel to each other in the direction the water is flowing:
Now, if I did my math correctly (I probably did not), I can place an algae scrubber over the top of this. That should really diminish the amount of light getting into the pod/invert hotel area, and give me some good turf algae cultures for nutrient uptake and as a food source. I will probably hook that up tomorrow, once I get the right material to cover the egg crate. I should be able to splice off the drain line and spread some of that flow out over the scrubber:
Today I’m beginning to add the final pieces to my simplified system, this time focusing on the sump. Here is my beloved sump as it currently exists:
I built this sump myself (with the help of a CNC) many years ago. My welds must have been decent, because this thing has stayed together for about 15 years despite being dropped a few times.
The left hand chamber is the drain chamber, designed to be able to stack egg crate shelves for media bags etc. The next chamber is designed to house skimmer, reactors, etc. Then, there is a 1.5” bulkhead connecting to the next box, which was designed to be a refugium (hence the slotted piece on the right hand side, meant to keep macroalgae from going into the pump intake.
As you can see, there is nothing going on in there other than detritus accumulation. So I decided to at least use the left hand side as a combo ‘cryptic’ zone plus an algae scrubber.
I noticed a long time ago that various pods and other micro-inverts loved the coarse media bags for carbon, GFO, etc. So I made what are essentially pod hotels out of egg crate and nylon screen:
The idea is that not only will pods utilize this structure, but sponges, worms, bacteria, etc will also colonize them. They are going to be set up parallel to each other in the direction the water is flowing:
Now, if I did my math correctly (I probably did not), I can place an algae scrubber over the top of this. That should really diminish the amount of light getting into the pod/invert hotel area, and give me some good turf algae cultures for nutrient uptake and as a food source. I will probably hook that up tomorrow, once I get the right material to cover the egg crate. I should be able to splice off the drain line and spread some of that flow out over the scrubber:
OP
OP
Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Update: The Wheels of Interspecific Competitive Exclusion Spin Slowly
I can say without being arrogant that I have countless tricks up my sleeve for dealing with pretty much any type of algae I encounter…including dinos.
But I also…as the kids say…understand the mission.
And I established what the mission was when I started this project, and I am committed to staying true to it. Using different mechanical and chemical elements, I could eradicate these dinos pretty quickly. But I am fully sunk on achieving as balanced an ecosystem as I can possibly attain by allowing populations to interact and influence each other more or less (probably less) as they do in nature.
I have found that this is a pretty slow process.
By ecological standards, as I’m observing it occurring in this system, it’s occurring fairly quickly. But by the standards of somebody who is ready to see the coral take off, it is kind of 2 steps forward, 1.75 steps back…particularly with the Ostreopsis. While the dinos don’t bother me, they definitely bother the corals and anemones (except for Aiptasia, naturally), and that does bother me.
What I have observed has been very interesting. Tomorrow if I have time, I will post some microscope shots. The short version is that I have achieved far more unicellular biodiversity and competition in the macro algae tank than in the display. I guess that is to be expected, it’s crazy to see in the algae scrape samples.
It would stand to reason that eventually…eventually…that diversity has got to find its way into the main tank. I’m seeing more Chlorophyte algae, and every day, more and more diatoms, in the display samples…but it is changing at a snail’s pace. I will admit to even adding some silicate to spur the diatom populations…a minor, but somewhat natural (and therefore allowable) intervention. But I generally appears that the primary issue in the display is that the real estate is not as suitable for algal diversity as the macro tank is.
Tomorrow I am hoping to add the panel and lights for the algae scrubber. I am curious if that could end up being the final nail in the coffin for the dinos.
Thoughts?
I can say without being arrogant that I have countless tricks up my sleeve for dealing with pretty much any type of algae I encounter…including dinos.
But I also…as the kids say…understand the mission.
And I established what the mission was when I started this project, and I am committed to staying true to it. Using different mechanical and chemical elements, I could eradicate these dinos pretty quickly. But I am fully sunk on achieving as balanced an ecosystem as I can possibly attain by allowing populations to interact and influence each other more or less (probably less) as they do in nature.
I have found that this is a pretty slow process.
By ecological standards, as I’m observing it occurring in this system, it’s occurring fairly quickly. But by the standards of somebody who is ready to see the coral take off, it is kind of 2 steps forward, 1.75 steps back…particularly with the Ostreopsis. While the dinos don’t bother me, they definitely bother the corals and anemones (except for Aiptasia, naturally), and that does bother me.
What I have observed has been very interesting. Tomorrow if I have time, I will post some microscope shots. The short version is that I have achieved far more unicellular biodiversity and competition in the macro algae tank than in the display. I guess that is to be expected, it’s crazy to see in the algae scrape samples.
It would stand to reason that eventually…eventually…that diversity has got to find its way into the main tank. I’m seeing more Chlorophyte algae, and every day, more and more diatoms, in the display samples…but it is changing at a snail’s pace. I will admit to even adding some silicate to spur the diatom populations…a minor, but somewhat natural (and therefore allowable) intervention. But I generally appears that the primary issue in the display is that the real estate is not as suitable for algal diversity as the macro tank is.
Tomorrow I am hoping to add the panel and lights for the algae scrubber. I am curious if that could end up being the final nail in the coffin for the dinos.
Thoughts?
OP
OP
Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Update: I’m Kinda Starting to Like This Tank
It’s taken a lot longer than I had hoped, and there have certainly been some unforeseen bumps in the road, but I really feel like this tank is hitting its stride.
And I believe that I have stayed true to the mission: natural system run without most of the typical filtration equipment, controllers, water changes, etc. Yes, I have the lighting and the wave gyre, but other than those two things, this system lacks modern comforts.
It’s at the point where if I add a coral or anemone, I expect it to survive and thrive, even acros. The growth isn’t there yet, but with the degree to which this system has stabilized, I fully expect them to start taking off.
Tomorrow I will update what is happening on the micro level with the algae wars. I’ve got some good pics, and I also finally installed my version of an algae scrubber. More pics etc then.
For right now, just a couple of quick pics:
Getting there!
It’s taken a lot longer than I had hoped, and there have certainly been some unforeseen bumps in the road, but I really feel like this tank is hitting its stride.
And I believe that I have stayed true to the mission: natural system run without most of the typical filtration equipment, controllers, water changes, etc. Yes, I have the lighting and the wave gyre, but other than those two things, this system lacks modern comforts.
It’s at the point where if I add a coral or anemone, I expect it to survive and thrive, even acros. The growth isn’t there yet, but with the degree to which this system has stabilized, I fully expect them to start taking off.
Tomorrow I will update what is happening on the micro level with the algae wars. I’ve got some good pics, and I also finally installed my version of an algae scrubber. More pics etc then.
For right now, just a couple of quick pics:
Getting there!
Osprey223
Community Member
Looking forward to another update! Absolutely loving this tank.Update: I’m Kinda Starting to Like This Tank
It’s taken a lot longer than I had hoped, and there have certainly been some unforeseen bumps in the road, but I really feel like this tank is hitting its stride.
And I believe that I have stayed true to the mission: natural system run without most of the typical filtration equipment, controllers, water changes, etc. Yes, I have the lighting and the wave gyre, but other than those two things, this system lacks modern comforts.
It’s at the point where if I add a coral or anemone, I expect it to survive and thrive, even acros. The growth isn’t there yet, but with the degree to which this system has stabilized, I fully expect them to start taking off.
Tomorrow I will update what is happening on the micro level with the algae wars. I’ve got some good pics, and I also finally installed my version of an algae scrubber. More pics etc then.
For right now, just a couple of quick pics:
Getting there!
OP
OP
Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Thanks! Posting again tomorrow!
OP
OP
Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Update: Almost There
Going to try to give categorical updates in the next few posts:
Water quality:
If you recall, my mission was to have a reef that used Chicago tap water and none of the typical reef aquarium filtration components. I did end up putting an RO/DI system in because I wanted to have bulk water on hand for other purposes. I don’t know what was in the tap water beyond a bunch of iron, probably bicarbonate, and who knows what else, and I have no idea what the RO/DI is taking out and what my TDS levels are. I would just say that I’ve set corals up in water from the tap of this school before, and have not observed a deleterious affect on them.
Standard parameters: I have tested pH with a Pasco probe a few times, and it was always 8.3-8.4. I feel like I tested NO3 once, and it was ~10-15? Tested PO4 with a Hannah a couple of times…can’t remember the results, but I feel like I was in the 0.2-0.4 range each time. Have not tested anything else.
Levels = no idea, but the corals/inverts/fish are healthy
Supplements: I am currently supplementing (without testing…
): NaHCO3, CaCl, Mg, Fe, SiO4. Now that things have settled in, and I’m wanting to see more coral growth, I might start testing Ca, all, etc.
Levels = no idea
Salinity: one thing I do test is salinity. I test it regularly with a couple different refractometers.
Level = 1.024
Temp: learned the hard way that the school drops the thermostat during winter break. Added heaters:
Level = 77-80
Result: largely stayed true to the mission, and the water quality at least doesn’t appear to be an issue. Coral growth not where I want it, but there could be other factors.
Going to try to give categorical updates in the next few posts:
Water quality:
If you recall, my mission was to have a reef that used Chicago tap water and none of the typical reef aquarium filtration components. I did end up putting an RO/DI system in because I wanted to have bulk water on hand for other purposes. I don’t know what was in the tap water beyond a bunch of iron, probably bicarbonate, and who knows what else, and I have no idea what the RO/DI is taking out and what my TDS levels are. I would just say that I’ve set corals up in water from the tap of this school before, and have not observed a deleterious affect on them.
Standard parameters: I have tested pH with a Pasco probe a few times, and it was always 8.3-8.4. I feel like I tested NO3 once, and it was ~10-15? Tested PO4 with a Hannah a couple of times…can’t remember the results, but I feel like I was in the 0.2-0.4 range each time. Have not tested anything else.
Levels = no idea, but the corals/inverts/fish are healthy
Supplements: I am currently supplementing (without testing…
): NaHCO3, CaCl, Mg, Fe, SiO4. Now that things have settled in, and I’m wanting to see more coral growth, I might start testing Ca, all, etc.Levels = no idea
Salinity: one thing I do test is salinity. I test it regularly with a couple different refractometers.
Level = 1.024
Temp: learned the hard way that the school drops the thermostat during winter break. Added heaters:
Level = 77-80
Result: largely stayed true to the mission, and the water quality at least doesn’t appear to be an issue. Coral growth not where I want it, but there could be other factors.
OP
OP
Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Health and Survivability:
One concern I had when starting this project was how the organisms would do health and survivability-wise. I wasn’t so concerned that the source water was going to be so bad that things wouldn’t do well, or that the plan for natural water management wouldn’t be sufficient.
My main concern was the amount of time I wouldn’t be able to access the tank and how it would hold up during those times (often weeks), and if something small would happen during those times that wouldn’t be caught in time and lead to loss.
Well…that ended up happening. A couple of times. Nothing catastrophic, but definitely events that set back the development of the tank.
1) Event 1: tank temp was always pretty steady in the upper-70s without using a heater. Did not consider that the building would lower the thermostat over winter break. On top of dropping the thermostat, there was a cold snap early on. Not sure what the temp got down to, but most of the corals bleached. Over the course of the next month or so, maybe 40% of the bleached corals died.
2) Event 2: I had new tables and chairs come in during the early part of summer break. When the old tables were being taken out of the room, it appears as if somebody bumped the macro-algae tank and cracked it. It was leaking water for about 24hrs by the time I got there. Because it’s set up with ATO, the salinity took a big drop.
While the salinity drop was definitely a problem, the reason it was a big issue was that I had to take the macro-algae tank offline for the rest of the summer, meaning there was little nutrient uptake happening in the system. You can see a few pages back what it looked like at the beginning of the school year. The salinity drop and then nutrient increase plus algae bloom took out about 20% of the coral, including a few of my favorites.
Overall results:
Fish: for the most part, the fish I’ve added are still alive and healthy. There have been a few smaller fish that I’ve added that I’ve put in and never seen again, but for the most part, the fish do really well. No quarantine, no meds…no problems. Pretty happy with the results.
Coral: kind of the same as the fish…outside of the two casualty events, coral mortality is really low. As I mentioned previously, growth is not where I want it, but the corals themselves are healthy and robust. I think even just getting rid of the dinos has had a tremendous positive effect on the corals. I’ve stated I won’t test water, but I might do one alk and calcium test just to see where it’s at.
Overall, somewhat satisfied with the results.
One concern I had when starting this project was how the organisms would do health and survivability-wise. I wasn’t so concerned that the source water was going to be so bad that things wouldn’t do well, or that the plan for natural water management wouldn’t be sufficient.
My main concern was the amount of time I wouldn’t be able to access the tank and how it would hold up during those times (often weeks), and if something small would happen during those times that wouldn’t be caught in time and lead to loss.
Well…that ended up happening. A couple of times. Nothing catastrophic, but definitely events that set back the development of the tank.
1) Event 1: tank temp was always pretty steady in the upper-70s without using a heater. Did not consider that the building would lower the thermostat over winter break. On top of dropping the thermostat, there was a cold snap early on. Not sure what the temp got down to, but most of the corals bleached. Over the course of the next month or so, maybe 40% of the bleached corals died.
2) Event 2: I had new tables and chairs come in during the early part of summer break. When the old tables were being taken out of the room, it appears as if somebody bumped the macro-algae tank and cracked it. It was leaking water for about 24hrs by the time I got there. Because it’s set up with ATO, the salinity took a big drop.
While the salinity drop was definitely a problem, the reason it was a big issue was that I had to take the macro-algae tank offline for the rest of the summer, meaning there was little nutrient uptake happening in the system. You can see a few pages back what it looked like at the beginning of the school year. The salinity drop and then nutrient increase plus algae bloom took out about 20% of the coral, including a few of my favorites.
Overall results:
Fish: for the most part, the fish I’ve added are still alive and healthy. There have been a few smaller fish that I’ve added that I’ve put in and never seen again, but for the most part, the fish do really well. No quarantine, no meds…no problems. Pretty happy with the results.
Coral: kind of the same as the fish…outside of the two casualty events, coral mortality is really low. As I mentioned previously, growth is not where I want it, but the corals themselves are healthy and robust. I think even just getting rid of the dinos has had a tremendous positive effect on the corals. I’ve stated I won’t test water, but I might do one alk and calcium test just to see where it’s at.
Overall, somewhat satisfied with the results.
OP
OP
Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Some pics:
One change I made was moving the return from the middle of the tank pushing water from left-to-right and going all the way to the left end of the tank, pushing water to the right. I have no idea why I did it that way, but having that big flare nozzle right where the corals were drove me crazy. I think it looks so much better now.
Other pics…
One change I made was moving the return from the middle of the tank pushing water from left-to-right and going all the way to the left end of the tank, pushing water to the right. I have no idea why I did it that way, but having that big flare nozzle right where the corals were drove me crazy. I think it looks so much better now.
Other pics…
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Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Algae:
OK, this one could go on for a while, so I will try to keep it concise. I’ll summarize by saying that pretty much every issue I’ve had could have been avoided by using some maricultured live rock from the jump. Why I did not do that, I have no idea.
I firmly believe that I would be several months ahead of where I am with coral if it weren’t for the initial lack of biodiversity and then the constant back and forth with dinos.
In retrospect, I should have added 30lbs of maricultured rock in both the display and macro tank the day I set it up, dump a bunch of food in every day, and then just let it go wild for a month or so before adding anything else.
First 16 months:
Things basically looked like this:
(terrible pic…but clearly all dinos)
In that 16 months, the tank had periods where the dinos got knocked back and the tank looked OK. But there was always a flare-up, and I often didn’t have the time to do anything about it.
Last 3 months since adding maricultured rock:
Microscopy sampling started to tell a very different story, and that story is changing by the day:
As you can see, there are still some dinos present. In a balanced ecosystem, they always will be. I never expected to eliminate dinos. Only to establish enough competitors and consumers to keep their numbers in check. But what used to be all dinos has become a handful of dinos, plus diatoms, plus unicellular Chlorophytes, plus stuff like different ciliates, pods, etc.
In addition, I set up the ‘algae scrubber’, and was able to get at least 3 different types of turf-type multi-cellular Chlorophytic algae that does well with just some water going over/through it that I super glued to the plate and is now starting to grow:
It’s interesting how the different alga are establishing. It’s almost like an algae gel electrophoresis. Chlorophytes, then dinos, then cyano.
Now the tank looks more like this:
There is a good population of unicellular Chlorophytes on the sand, etc…but I am more than happy with that. A lot of things eat green algae.
Results:
I am very happy with the direction the tank is moving from the perspective of algae management and biodiversity. However, I did not particularly enjoy the journey. I wanted to stay true to the mission, so I had to resist the temptation to not allow the ecosystem to come together and balance to be established and just fix things quickly. I also learned a lot about just how much attention needs to be paid to, and how much curation is required of, the micro-level of flora and fauna if one is going to cast aside the standard filtration and water quality management protocols.
I want to revisit this pic, because it makes me very happy:
From the macro tank…it’s a little grimy, but it is showing the progress toward a balanced ecosystem. Just look at the things growing on the clam shell. That clam came in on my maricultured rock. There are 4 others on one of the rock. All are healthy and thriving. It is not a pretty clam, but reef ecosystems are not all glitz and glam. In the trenches is where the action happens, and this pic, to me, represents that.
OK, this one could go on for a while, so I will try to keep it concise. I’ll summarize by saying that pretty much every issue I’ve had could have been avoided by using some maricultured live rock from the jump. Why I did not do that, I have no idea.
I firmly believe that I would be several months ahead of where I am with coral if it weren’t for the initial lack of biodiversity and then the constant back and forth with dinos.
In retrospect, I should have added 30lbs of maricultured rock in both the display and macro tank the day I set it up, dump a bunch of food in every day, and then just let it go wild for a month or so before adding anything else.
First 16 months:
Things basically looked like this:
(terrible pic…but clearly all dinos)
In that 16 months, the tank had periods where the dinos got knocked back and the tank looked OK. But there was always a flare-up, and I often didn’t have the time to do anything about it.
Last 3 months since adding maricultured rock:
Microscopy sampling started to tell a very different story, and that story is changing by the day:
As you can see, there are still some dinos present. In a balanced ecosystem, they always will be. I never expected to eliminate dinos. Only to establish enough competitors and consumers to keep their numbers in check. But what used to be all dinos has become a handful of dinos, plus diatoms, plus unicellular Chlorophytes, plus stuff like different ciliates, pods, etc.
In addition, I set up the ‘algae scrubber’, and was able to get at least 3 different types of turf-type multi-cellular Chlorophytic algae that does well with just some water going over/through it that I super glued to the plate and is now starting to grow:
It’s interesting how the different alga are establishing. It’s almost like an algae gel electrophoresis. Chlorophytes, then dinos, then cyano.
Now the tank looks more like this:
There is a good population of unicellular Chlorophytes on the sand, etc…but I am more than happy with that. A lot of things eat green algae.
Results:
I am very happy with the direction the tank is moving from the perspective of algae management and biodiversity. However, I did not particularly enjoy the journey. I wanted to stay true to the mission, so I had to resist the temptation to not allow the ecosystem to come together and balance to be established and just fix things quickly. I also learned a lot about just how much attention needs to be paid to, and how much curation is required of, the micro-level of flora and fauna if one is going to cast aside the standard filtration and water quality management protocols.
I want to revisit this pic, because it makes me very happy:
From the macro tank…it’s a little grimy, but it is showing the progress toward a balanced ecosystem. Just look at the things growing on the clam shell. That clam came in on my maricultured rock. There are 4 others on one of the rock. All are healthy and thriving. It is not a pretty clam, but reef ecosystems are not all glitz and glam. In the trenches is where the action happens, and this pic, to me, represents that.
OP
OP
Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Thanks!
Interesting that you mentioned the rock work. That was going to be my next segment…and I am not happy
This is really cool! The least offensive thing about this build is the Chicago tap water; it's some tasty stuff!
However, I will continue to use my RODI system.
Shaping along quite nice and looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Took a look at the ADP site as well; you guys do some interesting work! Let me know if you ever need help on the tech side
However, I will continue to use my RODI system.
Shaping along quite nice and looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Took a look at the ADP site as well; you guys do some interesting work! Let me know if you ever need help on the tech side
OP
OP
Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Thanks!This is really cool! The least offensive thing about this build is the Chicago tap water; it's some tasty stuff!
However, I will continue to use my RODI system.
Shaping along quite nice and looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Took a look at the ADP site as well; you guys do some interesting work! Let me know if you ever need help on the tech side
Yeah, the source water is the one deviation to the plan I’ve made, and I’m about to improve that. I was digging around in storage and came across this puppy:
I’m going to take it in tomorrow, clean it up, add new cartridges and membranes, and fire it up.
I personally don’t think using purified water vs our tap will make a huge difference. I can say that because even before I hooked up the current RO/DI, and in other tanks in the room I’ve set up using just tap, the corals and inverts always did well. Had another tank I set up a couple of years ago (20g) using our building tap, and the corals did fine.
But our science department has water needs, and people are constantly scrambling to get distilled made with the tiny distillation unit we have. They (particularly the chem team) will probably want me to buffer the pH to 7, but to always have 50+ gallons of very low (but probably not 0) TDS water on hand is a dream come true for our department
Thanks for checking out our site. I’m just about to tear it down for the 3rd time in as many years and get most of that verbiage out of there.
Last edited:
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Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Thanks.
They were cheap (well…free, since I found about 10 of them when I moved into this classroom), sturdy enough to support the lagoon, and most importantly, provided something that would allow water to flow through the lagoon bed and prevent dead spots and anoxic regions.
The fish also love having a cave-like structure to go into.
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Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
The mangroves:
To me, we can’t really talk about this tank without discussing the mangroves.
Where we started:
1/10/24
Where we are today:
3/17/25
The mangroves are one of my favorite parts of the system. In terms of nutrient uptake, they’re probably running behind the unicellular and macro algas, so they’re not a critical. That said, they do have some uptake capability, so they’re not nothing either.
But what I love is the dynamic effect they have on the shallow lagoon end.
First and foremost, they provide a lot of shade and breaking up of the overhead light. It creates a cool visual on that end of the tank. It also provides me with an excellent zone to allow new corals to acclimate, as I can start them in a mostly shaded area and then scoot them into the full light over the course of a couple of weeks.
But I also really love how the fish and some of the inverts (such as the pistol shrimp) use the structure of the mangroves. It’s interesting to see a fish the size of the orange-shoulder tang up shallow swimming around the mangroves.
Prop roots at base of trunk, and pneumatophores radiating outward and emerging from substrate.
What’s really amazing to me is that the time I had to pull the mangroves to rebuild that shelf essentially shut down their growth for about 3 months. Imagine where they would be if they had 3 months more growth.
To me, we can’t really talk about this tank without discussing the mangroves.
Where we started:
1/10/24
Where we are today:
3/17/25
The mangroves are one of my favorite parts of the system. In terms of nutrient uptake, they’re probably running behind the unicellular and macro algas, so they’re not a critical. That said, they do have some uptake capability, so they’re not nothing either.
But what I love is the dynamic effect they have on the shallow lagoon end.
First and foremost, they provide a lot of shade and breaking up of the overhead light. It creates a cool visual on that end of the tank. It also provides me with an excellent zone to allow new corals to acclimate, as I can start them in a mostly shaded area and then scoot them into the full light over the course of a couple of weeks.
But I also really love how the fish and some of the inverts (such as the pistol shrimp) use the structure of the mangroves. It’s interesting to see a fish the size of the orange-shoulder tang up shallow swimming around the mangroves.
Prop roots at base of trunk, and pneumatophores radiating outward and emerging from substrate.
What’s really amazing to me is that the time I had to pull the mangroves to rebuild that shelf essentially shut down their growth for about 3 months. Imagine where they would be if they had 3 months more growth.
OP
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Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Update: Finally Turned the Corner
I’ve been in this game too long to ever declare victory against dinos and cyano, but I believe the ecosystem has fully turned the corner. Samples from various zones on the display tank panels look pretty much like this:
Mostly unicellular Chlorophyta. Dino’s have been relegated to the back of the room, although they are still present. And they should still be present, in low numbers.
Given how the tank is doing on the eco side, and how well corals/inverts are doing, I decided to add to the tank.
Today’s haul:
- screaming tree seriotopora
- Fruity Pebbles montipora
- DCR Lighthouse Lokani
- golden eye Favia
- random Indo maricultured acro
- Martian Sunset acro
- Cloud Forest micro (can’t remember what this is…have to look it up)
- Gold maxima clam
All are currently acclimating on my ‘frag rack’:
General 0.5 mood of the tank:
Thoughts on any other corals or inverts I should add? Want to have as much coral diversity as possible. Thanks.
I’ve been in this game too long to ever declare victory against dinos and cyano, but I believe the ecosystem has fully turned the corner. Samples from various zones on the display tank panels look pretty much like this:
Mostly unicellular Chlorophyta. Dino’s have been relegated to the back of the room, although they are still present. And they should still be present, in low numbers.
Given how the tank is doing on the eco side, and how well corals/inverts are doing, I decided to add to the tank.
Today’s haul:
- screaming tree seriotopora
- Fruity Pebbles montipora
- DCR Lighthouse Lokani
- golden eye Favia
- random Indo maricultured acro
- Martian Sunset acro
- Cloud Forest micro (can’t remember what this is…have to look it up)
- Gold maxima clam
All are currently acclimating on my ‘frag rack’:
General 0.5 mood of the tank:
Thoughts on any other corals or inverts I should add? Want to have as much coral diversity as possible. Thanks.
Last edited:
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Gregg @ ADP
Valuable Member
Update on the Heteractis mag anemone…
It wandered around the rock structure for a couple of weeks. Then I came in one day and it was lying upside down on the sand. Thought it was cooked, but picked it up and put it in the special rock that has a hollowed-out center that I originally placed it in.
Since then, it has moved around a little bit in that space, but has by and large stayed put. It shrinks up when the lights are the brightest, but I believe it will fully acclimate soon. Can’t wait to see that thing blow up!
It wandered around the rock structure for a couple of weeks. Then I came in one day and it was lying upside down on the sand. Thought it was cooked, but picked it up and put it in the special rock that has a hollowed-out center that I originally placed it in.
Since then, it has moved around a little bit in that space, but has by and large stayed put. It shrinks up when the lights are the brightest, but I believe it will fully acclimate soon. Can’t wait to see that thing blow up!
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