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

Northwest_Scapes_ · Apr 18, 2023

Not many updates so far, I'm really just waiting for Seahorse Savvy to restock on a few certain things and then I'll be able to place an order. The Sun Coral has started coming out a lot more during the day and showing more extension.

I do have a change in my plans though. After talking to a few different people about the growth rate, I think I'm going to growout a Bali Aquarich Venustus Angel (Paracentropyge venusta) in here. They come in small, and their growth rate is super slow. Slower than most angels from what I've heard. My plans are when it does outgrow this tank, either I'll have an upgrade by then or hopefully I can take it with me to the Seattle Aquarium since hopefully our NPS Tank is getting moved over to the new building, and a Captive Bred Venustus would fit perfectly in there. Perhaps after this next round of corals, I'll see what happens. But I'm very excited

Northwest_Scapes_ · Apr 20, 2023

Some shots from tonight! I must be doing something right since the Sun Coral and (surprisingly) the Dendro are coming out a lot more in the day.
Unfortunately it looks like the last Anthias is also a goner. It seems like being solo caused a lot of stress on it and I don't expect it to last much longer sadly. Next time I'll definitely wait a bit after they come in + QT.
The good news is the Pink Streaked is still doing good. Along with the corals. I'm looking at 3-4 new corals in my next order so whenever they restock on those species, I'll be ready! Very excited to see how the tank will look soon.

Northwest_Scapes_ · Apr 21, 2023

Northwest_Scapes_ said:
Some shots from tonight! I must be doing something right since the Sun Coral and (surprisingly) the Dendro are coming out a lot more in the day.
Unfortunately it looks like the last Anthias is also a goner. It seems like being solo caused a lot of stress on it and I don't expect it to last much longer sadly. Next time I'll definitely wait a bit after they come in + QT.
The good news is the Pink Streaked is still doing good. Along with the corals. I'm looking at 3-4 new corals in my next order so whenever they restock on those species, I'll be ready! Very excited to see how the tank will look soon.

Right before going to bed, I looked at the tank one last time and saw, for the first time since having it, the Dendro had polyp extension!

You can see this species isn't as flowy or red as a Fathead Dendro, but its still really neat. Hopefully it'll be coming out more now so I can feed it and have it heal and grow.

Northwest_Scapes_ · May 2, 2023

Not much has been going on as of recent (mostly a good thing). I've noticed a ton of new baby Sun Coral Polyps grows on the underside which is really neat, maybe it'll get big enough soon to where it'll spawn. And I also noticed another head pop up from the Dendro which is good!
I was waiting till Seahorse Savvy restocked their "Purple Anthogorgia" which from the video of them showing off their NPS, I believe it's actually Purple Menella, but either way u wanted it. Unfortunately a few weeks have gone by and it didn't happen this update and sounds like they'll be out of it for a while, so I went ahead and got some other stuff I was planning on getting anyways instead should be an exciting week! Super happy to get more coral for the tank!

Northwest_Scapes_ · May 6, 2023

Today the new corals from Seahorse Savvy came! I'm really excited about these new ones. They're still adjusting but I'm seeing good signs so far. The 3 species I grabbed this time were;
Red & Gold Menella (Menella sp.)
Red Sea Whip (Ellisella schmitti)
Chili Coral (Alcyonium palmatus)

The Menella has adjusted really well so far, already showing good polyp extension. I was actually looking at the base after dipping and noticed that it was actually 2 colonies on there. A larger one and a smaller one. So I cut the smaller one off the base and glued it on the opposite side so I actually got 2 colonies of Menella now, 2 for 1!
The Sea Whip came in so much bigger than I thought, I had trouble figuring out where to put it. I glued it to the top of the right structure since it's shape adds a lot of nice height and I hope it likes that spot since it looks really sick up there. The Chili Coral is still on the sand bed, as it opens up and I get a sense of it's shape, I'll find a permanent spot for it.

I'm seeing a few polyps start to peek out of the Sea Whip and Chili Coral, but the Menella has been doing well. This one specifically I've wanted for a super long time but could never find it for sale. I'm super happy to have 2 pieces of it now.

Night 1 Photos (First two are from the bigger colony, the third is the smaller colony)

Northwest_Scapes_ · May 9, 2023

Really excited to update that the other two corals are starting to open up! The Sea Whip is actually shedding which explains why it was closed up, and now that some of the branches have shedded the slime, some of the polyps are showing and it looks super cool!
The Chili Coral also has some polyps starting to poke out. At first it was really deflated and flat. Now it's puffy, the "fingers" have taken shape, and the polyps are starting to come out. I'm very excited to see what these two look like in the coming days. Glad it's not taking a month like the Dendro did lol
(You can also see the fiberglass like texture of the Chili Coral)

Sun Coral, Swiftia, and Dendro (from Tonight)

The New Guys (Gold & Red Menella, Red Sea Whip, Chili Coral)

Slocke · May 9, 2023

Your pictures are incredible! I really need to get myself a macro lens.

Northwest_Scapes_ · May 9, 2023

Slocke said:
Your pictures are incredible! I really need to get myself a macro lens.

Thank you! I think Macro lenses might be the best for Aquariums. Maybe not for FTS, but for Fish, Inverts, and Corals they really make the tiniest of details stand out. I love mine a lot, definitely the most used out of the 3 in my kit for Aquariums

Northwest_Scapes_ · May 12, 2023

This afternoon I noticed something pretty awesome; the Chili Coral is starting to get some actual polyp extension! Along with more polyp extension on the Red Sea Whip, hopefully in another week or so, both will be opened up completely.

Northwest_Scapes_ · May 19, 2023

I did a water change and took advantage to do a little rescaping and moving things around. I glued the Chili and big colony of Menella to their permanent spots, both look like they're happy with where I put them. Honestly, there's not a ton to update about which is good. Everything seems happy, especially the first 3 corals I had which are all growing new polyps at a pretty fast rate.
I'm really just waiting for 1 particular fish to come in stock at Biota for this tank, I think it'll be a show-fish and add a ton of color and personality. I'm also very set on mixing up the colors within this tank, all the species I have currently are mostly Red and Yellow lol. But I'd like to see if for some of the next corals, If I'm able to get my hands on a Black Sun Coral, Purple Menella, maybe a Blueberry Gorgonian, and I think acanthogorgia isoxya (The branches are a mix of 75% pink, 25% bright yellow at the ends) is the "Holy Grail" Seafan I want for this tank. I've seen some people in the US get it through special wholesalers like ACI so I'll have to see what my local stores can do.

That's it for now, photo dump! I think with everything being super happy recently, it's made for some great photos. These were taken yesterday night and last night.

Baby Sun

Gumbies R Us · May 19, 2023

Always enjoy seeing your updates!!!

Slocke · May 27, 2023

Hows the tank going?

I just got my first anthias, P flavioguttatus, and I thought of this build due to your deepwater anthias but also he looks like a Dr. Seuss right?
Anyway any tips? It hasn't shown any interest in food yet though its only been a few hours.

Northwest_Scapes_ · May 28, 2023

Slocke said:
Hows the tank going?

I just got my first anthias, P flavioguttatus, and I thought of this build due to your deepwater anthias but also he looks like a Dr. Seuss right?
Anyway any tips? It hasn't shown any interest in food yet though its only been a few hours.

Tank is going good! Nothing that significant going on right now. I think I'm just waiting till a specific fish from Biota comes back in stock or when I can find more Corals that I don't have yet since stock is pretty sparse.

Also what a beautiful Anthias! I found mine took to PacPods / Copepods really fast. They ignored everything else but they seemed to be going after the pods and super tiny plankton stuff. I didn't try Live Baby Brine though. Hopefully this helps, I'd imagine that species would be the same

Slocke · May 28, 2023

Northwest_Scapes_ said:
Tank is going good! Nothing that significant going on right now. I think I'm just waiting till a specific fish from Biota comes back in stock or when I can find more Corals that I don't have yet since stock is pretty sparse.

Also what a beautiful Anthias! I found mine took to PacPods / Copepods really fast. They ignored everything else but they seemed to be going after the pods and super tiny plankton stuff. I didn't try Live Baby Brine though. Hopefully this helps, I'd imagine that species would be the same

I do like biota. Expensive but everything has arrived healthy and done really well for me. Their customer support is very helpful too.

Thanks I'll try pacpods. I think it might have gone after PE calanus I added but hard to tell as so far its hiding in the caves. I know it has to acclimate to my lights so it might not emerge for a while.

Northwest_Scapes_ · Jun 19, 2023

The tank is still alive! Haha. Not much has been going on, everything has been surprisingly smooth. Just not much diversity in terms of species coming. Corals.com did just have an amazing Black / Green Branching Sun I was going to grab but someone was faster. I've seen some of the orange and yellow leptogorgia pop up recently so maybe just some of the common species of NPS will be finding their way into here soon.

Northwest_Scapes_ · Jun 24, 2023

Welcome, Liopropoma swalesi
The other day I went into my LFS looking for a Yellow Banded Possum Wrasse they got in a while ago, but unfortunately that system had caught some sort of disease and was under QT.
As I was looking around, I found this hidden gem; Liopropoma swalesi, the Swalesi Basslet. Supposedly one of the more common Liopropoma, this is the first time I've seen one in person even though I've seen many of the much rarer species.
As I was watching it, Jake's article popped in my head and after a few minutes, I decided to grab it. And Jake was right!
These pictures were right out of the bag, this fish is insanely bright. The Orange Stripes, Light Grey Body, and even light purple fins which I didn't know this species had.
As it comes out more, I'll be sure to have some updated pics as the color continues to set in. I've always wanted a Liopropoma so this is very exciting!

Northwest_Scapes_ · Jun 25, 2023

Another one of the new species to enter the tank this week; a Fathead Dendro! This is a Coral I've had on my list for a long time, and for how common it is as a beginner NPS, I wasn't able to find a good one until Austin Aqua Farms had one up and snagged it.
Despite a day delay due to the severe weather in Texas, it came in healthy and opened up in a few hours. This isn't the best angle for a picture but it's super happy and eating.
Definitely on the hunt for more Seafans and a Black Sun Coral now!

Northwest_Scapes_ · Jun 27, 2023

Almost 5 months in and I finally got an updated FTS! I wanted to get one where all the corals were open. Things are looking amazing. If I'm being 100% honest, I did get lazy when I was studying for Finals and didn't feed this tank for a few days. While nothing died, there is some noticeable tissue loss on the big Menella and the Swiftia is a bit skinny. I started feeding really heavy a week ago to get things back on track and im already noticing some recovery.

I'm on the hunt for a Pink Seafan with Yellow Tips. There are 2 species I've seen come in with that color combo, Acanthogorgia isoxya & Paramurciea clavata. I've seen the A. Isoxya come in through ACI before so I'll have to reach out to my LFS' and see if they can request one.
There's not much variety coming in lately but hopefully I'll be adding more Gorgs and Seafans soon