WheatToast's Anti-Reef (Aqueon 40-gallon Breeder)

[WheatToast]

Mini update 6: The Anti-Reef today

I have not posted a FTS in 166 days ... enjoy!

Evening lighting with the Finnex Planted+ 24/7

Waking everyone up

Cerith snail (Cerithiidae sp.) hitchhiker from Gulf Live Sand, all grown up

Dove snail (Columbellidae sp.)

Caulerpa brachypus, Chaetomorpha spiralis, and Gracilaria hayi

Wall of Caulerpa prolifera and Caulerpa paspaloides

Nassarius snails and Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Pellets

Manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme), Cryptonemia crenulata from @reddevilant, and Mermaid's fan algae (Udotea sp.)

Nero 5 and Coralline algae (Corallinales sp.)

Caulerpa brachypus lawn that I am trying to grow. At night, the algae's chloroplasts are drawn deeper into the algae, causing it to look pale

“Joey Logano” (Lysmata amboinensis) and Lifereef Standard Prefilter Box

Top Down Friday

 

[WheatToast]

Mini update 7: The Final Mini Update

Here are some photographs of the Anti-Reef…

“Sam” (Ophioderma sp.)

“Patrick” (Ophiocoma sp.)

Pineapple sponge (Sycon sp.) and "Squishy" (Clathrina sp.)

The old hitchhiker bivalve (Bivalvia sp.) is still alive

Hey! Stop sticking your tongue out at me!

What a jerk!

A new hitchhiker bivalve (Bivalvia sp.) appeared

“The Magic Conch Shell” (Strombus sp.)

“Little Timmy” (Lysmata debelius)

"Sussy Amogus Imposter” (Lysmata boggessi)

Full sump shot with refugium

Trochus snail (Trochus sp.) with iDesign Plastic Shower Caddy Basket

Chaetomorpha spiralis takeover with Manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme) shoots on the right side of the image

I’ll try to keep this thread updated regularly for the foreseeable future.

 

[WheatToast]

Cerith snail laying eggs behind the overflow:

 

[officialreefbros]

This is so awesome and inspiring! What has the maintenance been like on it?

 

[WheatToast]

This is so awesome and inspiring! What has the maintenance been like on it?

Thanks you so much!
For the past few months, the tank has been rather neglected, but I have been keeping up with maintenance recently.

Maintenance Schedule:
Daily:
- Zacro Automatic Fish Feeder distributes a small amount of flake food 4 times a day
- Dose two drops of Sponge Power Concentrate
- Dose 4.5 mL of ChaetoGRO
- Dose capful of phytoplankton
- Manually top-off tank with RODI water from a bucket
- Sprinkle in sinking foods (also into the refugium)

Weekly:
- 10% water change with Red Sea Blue Bucket Salt and mostly RODI water (I am guilty of adding a small amount of tap water with API Stress Coat without ill effect)

Sporadically:
- Clean glass with an AquaBlade scraper
- I should probably replace the root tablets for the seagrass
- Clean equipment with BRS Citric Acid and, of course, an Oral-B® Toothbrush

Prepared Foods used:
- Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef Flakes
- Omega One Garlic Marine Flakes
- PE Mysis Flakes
- Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Pellets
- Hikari Algae Wafers
- Brightwell Aquatics PhytoGreen S
- Brightwell Aquatics Phytogreen M
- Kent Marine ChromaPlex

Unfortunately, Kent Marine PhytoPlex mostly seems to have disappeared

 

[WheatToast]

“Gary” (Strombus sp.) made a rare appearance at the front of the tank. He usually stays hidden in the Caulerpa forest:

I call this the “Hydroid Stick” (Hydrozoa sp.). It came in with the Cymopolia barbata and grew for a while though it is currently coated in film algae :

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

“Gary” (Strombus sp.) made a rare appearance at the front of the tank. He usually stays hidden in the Caulerpa forest:

"Are you eyeballing me boy.... don't you eyeball me... I'm eyeballing you...!

 

[WheatToast]

@TangerineSpeedo

Quick Equipment Updates:

I built this BRS DIY Screen Top (4 Foot Rimmed) for the upcoming fish additions. Spaces were left for the overflow and return jet, though this required modification of the connector pieces since they cannot be inserted upside down:

Here is the Zacro Automatic Fish Feeder which I alluded to earlier:

I added this high intensity grow light for greater success with any brown macroalgae I plan on adding in the future. The last brown macroalgae in the tank (Sargassum muticum) died when I wasn’t paying much attention to the tank but I think lighting has been a major problem for the other species:

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

@TangerineSpeedo

Quick Equipment Updates:

I built this BRS DIY Screen Top (4 Foot Rimmed) for the upcoming fish additions. Spaces were left for the overflow and return jet, though this required modification of the connector pieces since they cannot be inserted upside down:

Here is the Zacro Automatic Fish Feeder which I alluded to earlier:

I added this high intensity grow light for greater success with any brown macroalgae I plan on adding in the future. The last brown macroalgae in the tank (Sargassum muticum) died when I wasn’t paying much attention to the tank but I think lighting has been a major problem for the other species:

Nice! I do have some Black mesh if you want me to send that to you.
But how could you kill an invasive (sp. Sargassum muticum)? Let me know if you need more weeds. There is plenty here.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Pretty!

 

[WheatToast]

Watching the fish play soccer with a pellet is the cutest thing ever:

 

[WheatToast]

7/28: Order from Blue Zoo Aquatics
- Super Tongan Nassarius snails (Nassarius sp.) x10 to add to the existing population
- Hawaiian feather duster (Sabellastarte sp.)
- Dwarf feather duster (Bispira sp.)
- Long ogo (Gracilaria parvispora)

Unanticipated extras:
- Super Tongan Nassarius snails (Nassarius sp.) x1
- Cortez Cerith (Cerithium sp.) x1

Hopefully, the ogo will do better under the full-spectrum lights. It has already begun to grow.

Looks like a mix of different Nassarius species, at least three of them. A single Nassarius margaritifer is on the left.

How did you get in here?

Not much to say; it's just a cool feather duster.

This feather duster burrowed backwards, down its original tube, towards a lower flow region of the tank, so it is not very visible anymore.

FTS, no grow light

Grow light

8/2: Fish introduction
All three fish from the quarantine tank were added to the main display and, after a few days of adjusting to the higher flow, are eating like pigs.

Image from 8/3/2022

Finally, a fish to clean instead of my hand ... but why would an Atlantic fish (and not the two Pacific fish) seek the attention of a Pacific shrimp first?

 

[Slocke]

This tank is great!! Love seeing a unique tank every once in a while and I guess I know why you follow everyday aquarist now. Makes me kinda regret getting a foxface for my new tank...

 

[Eric R.]

Love the tank! Updates?

 

[dstockwell]

Beautiful tank

 

[AydenLincoln]

Wow amazing tank! I just read the entire thread. I want to do something similar to my lobster tank.

 

[WheatToast]

Sneaky peaky…

 

[Sean Clark]

Looks sticky...

 

[Eric R.]

Oooo what is it, what is it? Tell me....!

 

[rhizotron]

I was just wondering about this tank.