WaterNotes

20: Tank Restart!

January 14, 2007 on 5:45 pm | In aquaria | Leave a Comment

And a week later we see some growth from the reds algae as well as dieback from the Ulva.  I also added in that Caulerpa prolifera. 

Yes.. I need to work on my photography skills. 

It has been far too long since my monthly updates were monthly, so here we go again with the project of blogging and keeping track of failures and sucesses. 

This new tank is the old twenty gallon reborn.  I’m aiming for something I’ve been trying to convince other people to do for the last six months - an aesthetically appealing marine planted tank.  Towards that end I’m planning for an artistic creation putting greens, reds, blues and browns against one another to create a really beautiful landscape for the tank.  

I still want to have some seagrass for a slight carpeted effect and I’m dabbling with the idea of adding in a few corals.  Not much mind you, but perhaps one species, maybe two. 

So, that’s the idea, the theme, for this incarnation of the twenty gallon.  [Note: Why am I obsessed with twenty gallon tanks?  Becuase its the largest volume of water I feel comfortable leaving behind for weeks unattended with my family. ]

Hardware and Inhabitants: 

In plan of aragonite there is silica based sand found at Lowes for $4 / bag.  Works great, not too bright, seagrasses seem to love it so far in the culture tanks that were running.  Other hardware includes two run of the mill powerheads, a little filter floss and carbon, and the 2×65w (6700K and 10,000K) PC lights. 

The lights are going to go through a change though!  I’m switching out to HO T5 flourescents.  I cant decide if I want / need 2×24 watt bulbs or 4.  Decisions, decisions.  If seagrass like Thalassia is going to have a shot in this tank, I think I need all four.  If its just going to be some Halodule and Halophila, I think two will be more than fine.  What to do?  Either way, it will be a retrofit, so you can look forward to my plans for a DIY hood. 

I know.. I’ll be handling a hammer and a saw.  Be afraid.  Be very very afraid.  (And thankful you are protected by the distance of your internet connection.)

You’ll also notice a big change for me - live rock!  I have found that buying up old live rock that is somewhat covered in so-called nuisance macroalgae by the reefers can be really interesting to work with.  For one, volunteers (macroalgae that basically hitch in on the rock, but arent visible when you buy it) pop up all over the place and the diversity of species can be really great. 

Two, its perhaps the only foolproof way I know of to get macroalgae to holdfast to a substrate - grow it on the substrate from the start!  Tying and gluing macroalgae in place is no picnic I’m sad to say.  I have had Halymenia take upwards of eight months before forming holdfasts since my last updates.  What a pain!

And three, you dont have to hunt down the macroalgae or pay for it.  Plus, some of the macroalgae that pops up doesnt ship well (like Halymenia) or it isnt really available for sale (like Padina or Lobophora). 

It probably seems like a lot more rock, but there is curently seven pounds of really porous Fiji LR in the tank.  It looks great, has good coralline coverage so far, and had lots of little tube worms on it that have been thriving in the tank so far.

For other life, at the moment, there are a few Palaemonetes vulgaris, those ubiquitous grass shrimp that I’m so in love with.  Plus, of course, a few Astrae snails.  I have transplanted a little stargrass as well, towards the right front. 

So far, there are volunteer starts of Sargassum hystrix and what I think is Agardhiella volunteered from a tiny scrap of lagoon rock.  It looks nice with the really fine branching structure so far. 

I also threw in some Gracilaria, which is to the right side and looks very much like the Agardhiella.  Ulva spiralis is also present at the back, I’m hoping it’ll grow tall and form a nice curtain.  The Ulva was easy to attach with superglue and has holdfasted all by itself to new spots of rubble.  Excellent!

For the future:

- Toss in some Caulerpa prolifera for that wavy motion appeal.  Also hoping for some Botryocladia, Chaetomorpha aerea, Ochtodes, Batophora or Neomeris. 

- Upgrade lights to T5s. 

- Decide if I want to keep it within the biotope and add another Centropyge argi (pygmy angel) or go with a pair of ocellaris clownfish.  I’m really leaning towards the clowns I must say.  I’ve never had a pair. 

- Hunt down a few biotope correct corals, perhaps zoanthids, for just a few spots in the tank.  I want to try my hand at coral again.  And I’m dying to see if it will flourish in a tank that is destined to be dirty, to have nutrient dosing, and perhaps to get CO2 dosing as well. 

I think that’s it for now.  Its not much to look at, so keep checking in for updates.  And Happy 2007 to you!