Tiny funny reef on budget

[BMMMW]

Awesome. Send me the link on your vase tank when started as well as this bowl reef. Thanks!

 

[Dtackett]

Awesome. Send me the link on your vase tank when started as well as this bowl reef. Thanks!

I pmed you.

 

[BMMMW]

Thanks!!

 

[sikorskys]

The next step is curing.

I don't think there is much to cure in my case. Still, it would be a good idea anyway, so I let my rock to soak for a while.



First, I soaked it in tap water for a month or so (weekly water changes). Then, I put it in salt water for one more month with a pump for flow. The reason for it was to see how my freshwater pump would cope with salt.

When I checked impeller shaft after that, it was quite dirty and (as I thought) rusted. Though this brownish film looked like rust, it was really easy to clean:



I mean, here is what I'd call rust:



And there is no way to remove it just with cotton swab That's enough for me to believe my pump is suitable for saltwater tank.

So... It means there is only a month of cycling between me and ENDLESS issues with water params, temperature swings, mass die-offs, bleaching and other cool stuff... WOW, it sounds so exiting I can't wait!

 

[sikorskys]

Finally, the tank is cycling since 10/28/2015:



100% "live" water from my 8g reef, so no bacteria additives required. Also, I've put in one palemon shrimp from the Black Sea as ammonia source to kickstart cycling. I believe it's Palaemon elegans, but don't know for sure. It's hiding behind the rock all the time, so no photo, sorry. Let's just call it a glass shrimp

The Black Sea has salinity of 17 psu, so introducing shrimps from the wild requires proper acclimatization. After that, they seem to be doing well for years.



Skimmer is on since the day one. Lighting is turned off for now.

My saltmix of choice is Tropic Marin BIO-ACTIF. Just because it quite popular in my city, so it's readily available.



In order to be sure how much I add something to such a small tank, I've made some measurements while filling the tank with water. Units on the photo above are liters and centimeters.

It turned out, that my "3 gallon" tank holds just 1.85 gallons of water Well, I've been ready for that anyway

 

[shane91]

I can't wait for this thing to be blooming

 

[xmas_one]

Very cool DIY, I really like the light!

 

[revhtree]

Sweet!

 

[retiredsailor]

I find this very inspirational. It's enough to make me consider a nano/pico of my own, which means I should never look at this thread again! I'll continue to watch, though, for the simple reason of seeing another amazing and beautiful slice of the ocean and its magnificent creatures. Please keep doing what you're doing and good luck.

Also, thanks for educating us, or me at least.

Ian

 

[sikorskys]

I find this very inspirational. It's enough to make me consider a nano/pico of my own, which means I should never look at this thread again! I'll continue to watch, though, for the simple reason of seeing another amazing and beautiful slice of the ocean and its magnificent creatures. Please keep doing what you're doing and good luck.

Also, thanks for educating us, or me at least.

Ian

Thank you very much, Ian.

 

[Eckolancer]

So no zoas added yet?

 

[sikorskys]

So no zoas added yet?

No zoas yet I'll post my thoughts about coral composition soon

 

[ZoaCollector]

Maybe you could drill small holes in the rock for plugs to fit that is if you want to go that route

 

[sikorskys]

Maybe you could drill small holes in the rock for plugs to fit that is if you want to go that route

I might do that later, when I'll be ready to put SPS sticks in this tank. Meanwhile, no plugs here I don't like how they look, so each piece of coral will be glued stright to the rock.

 

[sikorskys]

Now lets talk about coral composition

Here are some restrictions I decided to follow:

• Cheapest frags only. Well, this is a reef on budget, you know
• Small corals. Those I can prune with no fatal damage to the overall image
• No aggressive nor moving corals. Ricordeas never play fair, today you add just one and tomorrow you have to go ricordea-dominated Too risky for 2 gallons
  
• Softies only (for now). They're easy to maintain, but hard to aquascape with. So, if it will be a fail, it's just because of me, not water quality Like such kind of endeavor

And here's the plan (click it for bigger image):



A belt of discosomas makes up the basis of the composition. There will be many pieces, each of which is big, round and flat. So, I have to balance them out with something really different.

Like Xenia, for example It's not the most colorful coral, but it has big hairy MOVING heads, so I hope it will act as a focal point. Because of size, xenia will also cast a shadow on lower corals, so it will create some visual depth (quite important for such a small scape).

Then, I'd like to have something bowl-shaped in front of the rock (like a smaaaall goniopora ). It has to complement xenia and to form foreground of my composition. Not sure what it should be, hairy mushroom (I'm thinking of lavender rhodactis), palys colony or anything else (any ideas please?). I hope it will make other corals (between a "bowl" and xenia) to look deeper, a bit more far from the observer (again, more visual depth).

GPS and zoas - just to fill the spaces.

To add even more depth, I'll place some delicate polyps in the background, behind the rock. I'd like it to look like a mountain above the woods My corals of choice here are Parazoas and Clavularia Papaya.

So, what do you think of all of that? Will it work? I will appreciate any feedback.

 

[retiredsailor]

Sounds like it will look amazing and I can't wait to see the finished product.

The only thing that I would do different would be the GSP at the top. But that's only because of personal preference. You are way beyond my capabilities so aside from simply wanting to see how your finished product looks, I'm tagging along to learn as much as I can from your journey.

Ian

 

[sikorskys]

Thanks Ian.

The only thing that I would do different would be the GSP at the top.

What would you use instead of GSP? It shouldn't be tall, because there is not much room left

 

[Khh27]

And maybe the xenia. They are very hard to keep trimmed and maintained well

 

[sikorskys]

And maybe the xenia. They are very hard to keep trimmed and maintained well

Sure, but what would you change it for?

 

[Khh27]

Probably a goni