The Dr. Seuss Tank | Northwest's 29 Gallon NPS Aquarium

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Non-Photosynthetic (NPS) Corals have the some of the craziest colors and shapes you'll see naturally in corals. Our NPS Tank at the Seattle Aquarium we've dubbed as the "Dr. Seuss Tank" due to all the colors and shapes, also because that's what a lot of guests refer it to as. So I'm taking that name and dubbing it for this tank too haha
After a few setbacks such as equipment failure and the old tank leaking, I've finally got my own NPS Tank up and running! It's still in the beginning stages but here's a quick rundown:

Equipment:
-Aqueon 29 Gallon
-Aquaclear 70 HOB
-AI Nero 3
-Lighting | None, though I do have a Nicrew Freshwater Light I will turn on to view corals and to take pictures, though I have nothing running for long periods of time.
-Aquarium Co-op 100W Heater
-20 Pounds of Marcorock
-20 Pounds CaribSea Special Grade Sand

Still playing around with the scape sinde I'd love add another piece or 2 of rock.
Nero 3 schedule; Im still playing around with it since this is my first piece of equipment that's app controlled but the flow looks strong which is good. I'll adjust it based on how the corals react.

Stocking:
Nothing in the tank now as it's still in the early stages, and while I don't have a set list, some species I'm set on having include: Tubastrea (Sun Coral) (Pink, Orange, Black), Dendros, Menlla sp. Swiftia Exersta, and a few others.
Fish is something I'm still wondering about as well. I'd like to move over my Pink Streaked Wrasse for sure, though I'm looking at a bunch of Biota Gobies and I have someone who might be able to get in something special. We'll have to wait and see.

Feeding:
Currently I've got Live BBS, PE Mysis, Reef Nutrition PhytoFeast, OysterFeast, and ROE. I heard Rotifeast is also good so I think I'll try that as well. I'd like to try TDO Pellets since it'd be easy to crush up for someone and feed while I'm away since I'm still trying to design an autofeeder.


That's about it for now. Hopefully sometime this week I'll be moving over my Pink Streaked, and I'd love to pickup this beefy piece of Sun Coral I saw at my LFS as the first Coral. Hopefully everything goes well, it's going to be one heck of a ride.

 

[Slocke]

Exciting!
NPS corals scare me but you seem to have a good plan. After seeing this months Reef of the Month I'd love to see more and maybe try my own tank someday.

 

[Devaji]

nice! keep us posted I want to wach this come together

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Exciting!
NPS corals scare me but you seem to have a good plan. After seeing this months Reef of the Month I'd love to see more and maybe try my own tank someday.

Oh for sure. Unfortunately I don't think we can get a lot of species that are in Lee's tank (those bright blue ones are insane) in the US, though we still have a lot of species that are starting to appear in the hobby over here that are pretty nice as well.
It'll be my first Crack at a Full NPS system, so im taking it a step at a time lol

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Good news and Bad News; Bad news is unfortunately the Sun Coral at the LFS sold It was a beefy piece with like 15 polyps and it was going for only $60. Nice steal for whoever got it. And they were out of ROE unfortunately but should be coming back in stock soon.

The Good news is that I think I've figured out my ideal stocking for this tank. This includes:
3x (Trio of 1M / 2F) Randall's Anthias (Pseudanthias randalli)
1x Pink Streaked Wrasse (Moving over from my Macro Tank)
1x Basslet (Leaning towards a Liopropoma sp. Though a Biota Royal Gramma is nice, and the idea of a Biota Gramma Dejongi has been dancing around in my mind. Maybe if there's another big sale on those).

The Pink Streaked Wrasse will help with any potential pests that come in, mainly flatworms that escape the dips since those are pretty big problem on some gorgonians. The Basslet will be a nice addition, especially if it is a Liopropoma or Dejongi to fit in with the Deep-Water Theme.
The Randall's Anthias might sound like an interesting choice to a lot of people. But basically these are a smaller, deeper water species of Anthias (not as deep as something like Tosanoides, Odonanthias, etc) but still a bit of a dive down. They hang around the rocks much closer than other species so they're not that big of a midwater swimming species. This means that they can be kept in tanks that are on the smaller side and don't have to be fed as much as other species since they're not as active (2x - 3x a day).
I've been talking to Matt Wandell a lot and we've discussed this species since he has experience with them from his time at the Steinhart Aquarium and the Twighlight Zone exhibit, and he says that in his experience, they do a lot better in cooler water (75F) and lower lighting. He says a Trio will do well in this tank, and I actually did see some today at the LFS.
Most likely those will be the last addition but it depends on what comes up. Hoping to get this tank stocked soon!

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Last night I moved the Pink Streaked Wrasse over from the Macro Tank. Gave me a heart attack a few times since he was laying on his side in the bag and on the sand after introducing him whenever I saw him, but that was just due to stress + it was past his bedtime (They usually sleep in crevices so not having any cover must've stressed him).
He's doing much better today and exploring his new tank. Hoping to get Coral in here sometime soon, mainly some Tubastrea and Dendros since those will be the "tester" corals

 

[Slocke]

Good news and Bad News; Bad news is unfortunately the Sun Coral at the LFS sold It was a beefy piece with like 15 polyps and it was going for only $60. Nice steal for whoever got it. And they were out of ROE unfortunately but should be coming back in stock soon.

The Good news is that I think I've figured out my ideal stocking for this tank. This includes:
3x (Trio of 1M / 2F) Randall's Anthias (Pseudanthias randalli)
1x Pink Streaked Wrasse (Moving over from my Macro Tank)
1x Basslet (Leaning towards a Liopropoma sp. Though a Biota Royal Gramma is nice, and the idea of a Biota Gramma Dejongi has been dancing around in my mind. Maybe if there's another big sale on those).

The Pink Streaked Wrasse will help with any potential pests that come in, mainly flatworms that escape the dips since those are pretty big problem on some gorgonians. The Basslet will be a nice addition, especially if it is a Liopropoma or Dejongi to fit in with the Deep-Water Theme.
The Randall's Anthias might sound like an interesting choice to a lot of people. But basically these are a smaller, deeper water species of Anthias (not as deep as something like Tosanoides, Odonanthias, etc) but still a bit of a dive down. They hang around the rocks much closer than other species so they're not that big of a midwater swimming species. This means that they can be kept in tanks that are on the smaller side and don't have to be fed as much as other species since they're not as active (2x - 3x a day).
I've been talking to Matt Wandell a lot and we've discussed this species since he has experience with them from his time at the Steinhart Aquarium and the Twighlight Zone exhibit, and he says that in his experience, they do a lot better in cooler water (75F) and lower lighting. He says a Trio will do well in this tank, and I actually did see some today at the LFS.
Most likely those will be the last addition but it depends on what comes up. Hoping to get this tank stocked soon!

Glad to see another Pink Streaked fan. One of my favorites.


Never knew that about the anthias. Always enjoy learning something new about a fish.

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Glad to see another Pink Streaked fan. One of my favorites.


Never knew that about the anthias. Always enjoy learning something new about a fish.

Oh absolutely, I've been trying to get one for forever until a little while ago my LFS finally got one in, I snagged it right away and it's been living life in my Macro Tank. Though that tank needs a rescape so I decided to move him over here. I think he should do well in here.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Can't wait to see what the tank looks like once it is finished!!!

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Can't wait to see what the tank looks like once it is finished!!!

Thank you!

Officially have the first corals on the way. Should be here next week! We had a pretty bad winstorm here last night (actually knocked over a section of my fence because the poor gardening decision from my neighbor finally caught up and the wind was the final piece that knocked it over ) Anyways, I had to re-do my Nero since the power got knocked out and messed up the connection, everything should be good now.

I managed to secure a Pink Tubastrea (Sun Coral), a Dendro (not sure if it's a fathead or some other species yet), and a Swiftia exserta Gorgonian (One I've wanted for forever). Excited to get this tank going with some of the "easier" NPS

The new schedule leans more towards strong, randomized flow since hearing from speakers, the flow that a lot of gorgonians have been found at in the wild is strong and randomized. I'll have to see how the corals react of course but I thought I'd blast the flow during the day when I'm able to feed, and then lower it for the fish at night. I'm not sure if the corals close up at night since they're Non-Photosynthetic, though I've seen a lot of our NPS at the Aquarium start to open up in the morning so maybe there's something to that.

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

The First Corals | Today the first corals for the tank came! I'm very excited since one species I've always wanted to keep, though I've never found it for sale. Huge Thank you to Seahorse Savvy for these, Alyssa seems to be the new place for NPS (along with Corals.com, they've been getting in some nice stuff too). No pests came off the dip. Unfortunately I did end up killing the little micro brittle stars that came on the swiftia, there were about 6. Though they would've exploded in a setup like this so its a Win and a Loss.
Anyways, these are the first 3 corals I decided to start out with:
-Pink Tubastrea (Sun Coral)
-Dendrophyllia sp.
-Swiftia exserta

The Tubastrea and species of Dendro I got are both species I've kept before with success. It's just the Fathead Dendro I surprisingly haven't been able to find / keep yet, but it is one I'd love to add in this setup. The Swiftia is one crossed off the bucketlist now. I've been looking for one for forever but could never find them for sale depsite them being a Caribbean Species / found in Florida.
The Tubastrea and Swiftia opened up surprisingly fast in the tank. The Tubastrea showed extension within 10 minutes, and the Swiftia was fully open within half an hour. I've yet to see the Dendro really extend, though from my past experience, this species is a bit finicky so I'll give it a bit.
I'm currently feeding a mixture of Reef Nutrition Phyto and OysterFeast and Swiftia seems to like it, but I'm going to take the "Shotgun approach" and add ROE, PacPods, and RotiFeast to the mix as well to make a nice blend.

I've got a Sigma 24-70 f2.8 lens on the way since I've been missing a wide lens, so I'll soon be able to take a proper FTS. The Swiftia doesn't seem to mind the light, though the Sun and Dendro definitely aren't trained to come out whenever lighting is on. Though as I'm writing this with the tank lights off, I am seeing the Tubastrea and Dendro start to come out, so I'll try and feed them some PE Mysis.

I chose these 3 since they're relatively easy going in terms of NPS. I won't be getting any new corals till next month since I'd like to see how these do first, so far so good but it is only Day 1, and in a Week & Half I'll be going down to Monterey Bay Aquarium and San Francisco California Academy of Sciences. I'm actually meeting up with Matt Wandell at MBA which will be exciting to pick his brain about the Deep-Sea exhibit along with NPS corals. Should be fun!

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

The Sun Coral is eating! Woo! I tried to hit every polyp but some I couldn't get the Mysis to hit so I'll try and hit those polyps first tomorrow. But wow, you wouldn't think some of the smaller polyps could down PE Mysis but somehow nature finds a way. It's really incredible watching them eat, I think that's one of the things I've missed. The Dendro is slowly inching it's way out. I think chumming the water with some of the water the mysis defrosted in is helping it come out. If I can't hit it tonight, that sucks but it's not the end of the world since this group really only needs a few feedings per week as opposed to daily feedings, though if you want maximum growth and health potential, then daily feedings are the way to go

 

[Gumbies R Us]

The First Corals | Today the first corals for the tank came! I'm very excited since one species I've always wanted to keep, though I've never found it for sale. Huge Thank you to Seahorse Savvy for these, Alyssa seems to be the new place for NPS (along with Corals.com, they've been getting in some nice stuff too). No pests came off the dip. Unfortunately I did end up killing the little micro brittle stars that came on the swiftia, there were about 6. Though they would've exploded in a setup like this so its a Win and a Loss.
Anyways, these are the first 3 corals I decided to start out with:
-Pink Tubastrea (Sun Coral)
-Dendrophyllia sp.
-Swiftia exserta

The Tubastrea and species of Dendro I got are both species I've kept before with success. It's just the Fathead Dendro I surprisingly haven't been able to find / keep yet, but it is one I'd love to add in this setup. The Swiftia is one crossed off the bucketlist now. I've been looking for one for forever but could never find them for sale depsite them being a Caribbean Species / found in Florida.
The Tubastrea and Swiftia opened up surprisingly fast in the tank. The Tubastrea showed extension within 10 minutes, and the Swiftia was fully open within half an hour. I've yet to see the Dendro really extend, though from my past experience, this species is a bit finicky so I'll give it a bit.
I'm currently feeding a mixture of Reef Nutrition Phyto and OysterFeast and Swiftia seems to like it, but I'm going to take the "Shotgun approach" and add ROE, PacPods, and RotiFeast to the mix as well to make a nice blend.

I've got a Sigma 24-70 f2.8 lens on the way since I've been missing a wide lens, so I'll soon be able to take a proper FTS. The Swiftia doesn't seem to mind the light, though the Sun and Dendro definitely aren't trained to come out whenever lighting is on. Though as I'm writing this with the tank lights off, I am seeing the Tubastrea and Dendro start to come out, so I'll try and feed them some PE Mysis.

I chose these 3 since they're relatively easy going in terms of NPS. I won't be getting any new corals till next month since I'd like to see how these do first, so far so good but it is only Day 1, and in a Week & Half I'll be going down to Monterey Bay Aquarium and San Francisco California Academy of Sciences. I'm actually meeting up with Matt Wandell at MBA which will be exciting to pick his brain about the Deep-Sea exhibit along with NPS corals. Should be fun!

Oh nice the new corals look great!!!

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Updated shots from tonight. The Swiftia is open for most of the day which is awesome. I'm seeing a little more extension from the Dendro today which is also good. I need to get better at taking pics of the Swiftia, it's proving to be a bit more difficult than the Yellow Finger gorg I used to have.
My current feeding strategy right now for the Swiftia is to turn off the pumps and spot feed it to make sure it's getting something, and after a bit I turn on "Feed Mode" for the Nero, which I like that instead of shutting off, it just runs at a very low speed so the food can circulate. So whatever food that's in the column can travel around which is how these corals naturally feed and I noticed it seems to be catching a lot of stuff this way. Hopefully I can see some growth soon on this piece!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Curious to know what you use to take pictures with

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Curious to know what you use to take pictures with

Currently my camera is a Sony A6100 and I'm using the Sony 90mm Macro Lens which has been really awesome. I'm looking at upgrading to a Sony A7iv or A7rv in the near-ish future though

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Currently my camera is a Sony A6100 and I'm using the Sony 90mm Macro Lens which has been really awesome. I'm looking at upgrading to a Sony A7iv or A7rv in the near-ish future though

Oh, nice! I've heard great things about the Sony A7's. I remember looking at the Sony A6100 a few years back but settled with a Nikon instead. Great camera though!!

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Oh, nice! I've heard great things about the Sony A7's. I remember looking at the Sony A6100 a few years back but settled with a Nikon instead. Great camera though!!

For sure, it's been a really great beginner camera. I've had 0 experience with a camera of any kind before but I felt like I wanted to take that next step up from my phone and it's been a blast jumping into photography because of the hobby

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

I went to a new LFS today I've never been to before since I saw they recently got in a new order of Reef Nutrition (the store I went to yesterday I haven't gone to in a while since I've found better stores, they did have ROE but it's expiration date was July 7th 2022 ). Thankfully this store had a fresh stock for sale, and their selection of corals was actually really nice. Some chunky "colonies" (not as big as you'd think but much bigger than frags you often see) of Chalice, Favia, Goni, Micromussa, etc for like $20-$50. But the main reason I was there was for the food, and thankfully I found both ROE and PacPods there. I also picked up some small TDO since I think I'd like to add the Anthias after the next round of corals after I come back from my trip.

I gotta say, the Wrasse was going CRAZY for the ROE and Pods. It's good to see since currently I don't have any pods in this tank, though I do see some diatom spots starting to appear so I think I'll add some pods soon. The Swiftia was also enjoying the new foods it seemed like. A lot of the polyps toward the bottom area were out which is nice to see since that area took some stress due to gluing it down. I also saw the most extension out of the Dendro I've seen so far.
I moved the Nero more towards the back since it seemed like the back corner was a deadspot, and I think more flow was what the Dendro was needing. Now I have a pretty nice circular motion going around the tank and the Dendro seems to be getting more comfy. EDIT: I actually got to feed a few polyps of the dendro! Neither of the big polyps opened up all the way, though all the small ones did. The one in the photo had a few more tentacles come out. I was all able to give them some pieces of mysis, so hopefully this makes them come out more

Here's a Feeding Video of the Swiftia. Filming NPS corals eat is so cool to me.

 

[Slocke]

That is a very cool video. The black background makes the photos and videos so much better!