wasp Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 The goby was from Jansens, but I've seen them at Hollywood also. If you ever get one of these or similar, including the one on that web page you posted, they can be difficult to get eating. The way to do it is to feed live just hatched brine shrimp, which they will take. Then slowly wean them over to normal food, mixed with the brine, and eventually discontinue the brine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Gunner Posted February 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 The tank is slowly filling up, and everything is doing pretty well. The most recent noticeable addition is the SPS frags I have in the centre of the tank. It's going to be a little bit of an experiment to see how well these guys do. Over the past few months I've been keeping close tabs on how stable I can keep the tank in the temperature, salinity, and nutrient content of the tank, and so far it's been quite steady. I hope with the close proximity to the lights and increased flow from the HOB filter I can at least keep the monti's happy. I'm now adding Kalk and starting to measure the CA and Alkalinity levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 WOW! That is awesome, those corals are doing great. Might have to hit you up for some frags! Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 Yes very nice. I like the zoos with the red centres. Where did you get those? If the hairy mushroom front bottom gets too big & starts stinging things, he can simply be cut in half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Gunner Posted February 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 Pies - cheers mate, you're first on the list for the mass harvest of frags. Wasp - I've been keeping an eye on this guy for signs of stinging, as he's getting big. I've found that the yellow polyps and the torch keep him in line rather than the other way around. One thing I've found with the mushrooms is a slight bleaching of colour. I've done some reading on this and I'm guessing that I have either too much light on them, or the iodine levels are a little low. I'm tempted to add Iodine, but fear an overdose with the small water column I'm dealing with. Has anybody else had this problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 If removing iodine kills mushrooms anyone know how to remove iodine from the tank No idea. I have some Salifet iodine I don't use, your wecome to take some and try it but I would have though a water change is just as good an idea. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazymranch Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 Hey dude, your tank is looking phenomenal and very natural and balanced. The variety of zoanthids is also very cool to see. I ave also started adding Kalkwasser to my top-off water and I go through about 2L/day of 2.5g/L solution. I noticed that my pH dropped steadily. Do you add baking soda to your Kalk solution? I have Reef Success Ca and I am debating whether I should alternate Kalk with the Ca + baking soda. I am also debating dropping the concentration of the Kalk in my solution to 1.25g/L. What conc. do you use? By the way, the leather frag you sent me has been split already and each of those is almost ready to be split again. Thanks a million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 You talking about those red/blue mushrooms upper left? Looks like they have too much light. They will do OK, but would expand more & show better colours in less light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 Real Impressive. How much maintenance is there for a wee tank like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Gunner Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Pies - cheer mate, I'll give that a go. hazymranch - I dose Kalk my mixing 5ml of 5% Acetic Acid (ordinary Distilled White Vinegar) into a 1 liter water with 1/2 teaspoon of Kalk. This is supposed to allow more calcium to enter the water due to making more Co2 avalible. Layton would be able to clear this one up - as I'm well out of my depth on the chemistry side of things. I've not added baking soda yet, as I'm not readily testing my alkalinity yet (I need a new testkit), but my ph has stayed at a rock steady 8.2. The other this I do is dose at night with the lights off, due to the naturally occuring ph drop. Feelers - maintenance is very minimal - take out 2 litres and replace with NSW once a week - 10min. I'm dosing Kalk and adding Salifert soft trace. I do manage to faff with it every other day though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Holiday Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Looking impressive Tom Gunner, keep an eye on that torch coral though it will grow very rapidly and kill just about anything it touches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 take out 2 litres and replace with NSW once a week now wouldnt that be nice easy maintenance and a stunning looking pico tank. well done, awesome work! can you summarise the "spec's" of the whole tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Gunner Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 chimera - thanks man, although the tank size is more out of neccessity than choice. I do like the challange the size restraint presents. The specs are very simple: 9 litre Tank 2 X 9watt PC bulbs - 10000k and Actinic - in a homemade hood & stand. 1 computer fan at the back for cooling. Aquaclear 50 HOB filter with LR rubble and a small bag of carbon. Small 50w heater in the corner. I should have added a small Powerhead right at the back to circulate the bottom of the tank, but it's too much hassle to add now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 i want to do a small tank like this later too, quite interested in the design aspecs more than anything else. the ability to squeeze everything into such a compact space yet have it functioning as well as a large tank is interesting nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazymranch Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Cool. I will look into the acetic acid, thanks for the info. I run my sump lights at night to counteract or at least buffer the photoreactive drop in pH, but it still drops a little and so I top off at night too. Where did you get your PC bulbs and what kind of pin configuration do they have? I'm planning my mini reef (10G) hood and I would like to use PC but thought I was limited by bulb color/temperature availability. I can get the ballasts easily enough for less than $20 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Gunner Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 I wouldn't bother with PC's. They're tricky to get over here in smaller sizes. Personally I would go for T5's - that's what I'm going for in my next setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazymranch Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 I have been getting my lighting from Dr. Evil but the freight from Singapore and the hassle of having to go to the bank and do an international funds transfer, aside from the additional cost of the transfer itself, has made me a bit hesitant to go that route again. Do you know of any NZ sources of good T5 kits (waterproof endcaps, decent bulbs and selection, etc.)? Where are you thinking of getting yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Gunner Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Dr. Evil - he's the cheapest I've found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeBlog Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 I have been getting my lighting from Dr. Evil but the freight from Singapore and the hassle of having to go to the bank and do an international funds transfer, aside from the additional cost of the transfer itself, has made me a bit hesitant to go that route again. Do you know of any NZ sources of good T5 kits (waterproof endcaps, decent bulbs and selection, etc.)? Where are you thinking of getting yours? What exactly are you looking for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 try me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Gunner Posted March 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 A quick snap of the newest addition to the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 hes nice hmm do they get on with cleaner shimps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeBlog Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Nice picture. Typically, you buy one and never see it again until you tear your tank down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 How's those sps going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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