Journal Salty Fingers

[shangman]

Thanks Nathan!

They are Doryrhamphus excisus. Would 100% keep again. So chill, hardy and beautiful!

Gotta get a pair of those... ADC never seems have to more than one though even when requested!

The mandarin is doing well... one day I will manage a photo, but he is very illusive and only appears for a few seconds every few days. Thinking of trying to get a female mandarin to keep him company, sods law they'll both live at the back still!

 

[Courtneybst]

Gotta get a pair of those... ADC never seems have to more than one though even when requested!

The mandarin is doing well... one day I will manage a photo, but he is very illusive and only appears for a few seconds every few days. Thinking of trying to get a female mandarin to keep him company, sods law they'll both live at the back still!

That's strange, I wonder why that is!

Good to hear 🙂 I was most worried about the mandarin of all the creatures. He was quite bold and open when I first got him but I noticed once the macroalgae got denser he became recluse.

 

[Courtneybst]

Mini Peninsula​

Fast forward to January and I decided to end the Shizuku experiment early. Not that it wasn't working, but the desire to have more substantial marine creatures is just far too great. The experiment wasn't a failure though. I discovered that the Shizuku can in fact hold water without exploding and can support a tiny marine ecosystem. You should also always cross check your refractometer with another hobbyist or an aquarium shop. Turns out the one I bought was buggered and gave me very inaccurate readings, even after calibration. My salinity was sitting at 1.040!



As for the new tank, my rules were that it had to be big enough to allow me to keep some more interesting creatures but not so big that it became a burden. I wasn't interested in buying a new stand, light or filter so whatever option I went with had to work with the equipment I already had.

I didn't intend for this tank to be a peninsula but after seeing it and asking a few people the decision was unanimous.



Once again I intend for this tank to be macroalgae dominated, with a few easy corals. I'm hoping the last two years of reefing will help me swerve some of the beginner mistakes and make for a smoother ride this time. Some of the mitigation I took;

• Used cultured rock and live sand instead of dry rock and dry sand. I think this is crucial to having an easier start. You can obviously still have problems but they may not be as severe.
• I started the 'festering' period in October and without any lighting. This was to allow bacterial populations to grow and the cycle to get going without nuisance algae.
• I seeded it with additional rock from well-established and healthy existing tanks.
• I added live Tigger pods to the system and will let them fester some more before adding fish.

There is still going to be an adjustment period whilst I figure out how much light I need and how to balance it with the natural light coming from the window. That's all part of the ride!

 

[superpuma]

Nice….. Where did you get the macro algae? I’m planning something similar.

 

[Courtneybst]

Nice….. Where did you get the macro algae? I’m planning something similar.

Macroalgae Massive!

I got most of the clippings from @shangman and some from the local fish shops in Toronto. Previously I used to get all my macroalgae from eBay, Planted Reef and randomly in LFS tanks.

 

[superpuma]

Macroalgae Massive!

I got most of the clippings from @shangman and some from the local fish shops in Toronto. Previously I used to get all my macroalgae from eBay, Planted Reef and randomly in LFS tanks.

Oh blahblahblahblah, didn’t see your location😂, l’ll keep it in mind, though it’s quite a hike from Ripponden, West Yorkshire, England😂.

 

[Courtneybst]

Oh blahblahblahblah, didn’t see your location😂, l’ll keep it in mind, though it’s quite a hike from Ripponden, West Yorkshire, England😂.

I only moved there recently! I'm originally from South London and that's where I had my first macroalgae tank.

 

[superpuma]

I only moved there recently! I'm originally from South London and that's where I had my first macroalgae tank.

Ok. Any shops you can recommend in that area that sell the stuff?

 

[Courtneybst]

Ok. Any shops you can recommend in that area that sell the stuff?

In that area there's not much but...

Aquatic Design Center in Balham
Maidenhead Aquatics Morden (occasionally has some)

There's also a little saltwater ship opposite Maidenhead Aquatics Enfield. Not sure what it's called but I've found macroalgae there before too.

eBay and Planted Reef are good for getting exactly what you want.

 

[superpuma]

In that area there's not much but...

Aquatic Design Center in Balham
Maidenhead Aquatics Morden (occasionally has some)

There's also a little saltwater ship opposite Maidenhead Aquatics Enfield. Not sure what it's called but I've found macroalgae there before too.

eBay and Planted Reef are good for getting exactly what you want.

👍Discovered Planted Reef a little earlier, think l’ll get in touch with them.

I shall use a Twinstar EA version 4 for the Macro Algae, don’t suppose you know if soft corals will get on with that fixture? If not l’ll get an AI Prime 16 HD.

Many Thanks for your input and Good Luck.

 

[Courtneybst]

👍Discovered Planted Reef a little earlier, think l’ll get in touch with them.

I shall use a Twinstar EA version 4 for the Macro Algae, don’t suppose you know if soft corals will get on with that fixture? If not l’ll get an AI Prime 16 HD.

Many Thanks for your input and Good Luck.

Soft corals will grow under freshwater lights! In fact I just bought some today. Even got some LPS corals too.

They may grow a little slower but I personally saw that as a benefit.

 

[mrhoyo]

Oh blahblahblahblah, didn’t see your location😂, l’ll keep it in mind, though it’s quite a hike from Ripponden, West Yorkshire, England😂.

Never used them but I remember this is Leeds Livealgae UK - Aquamarine Macroalgae Farming

 

[superpuma]

Never used them but I remember this is Leeds Livealgae UK - Aquamarine Macroalgae Farming

Thanks. I’ll contact them, but a regular contributor on Ultimate Reef reckons they may not be in business anymore.

 

[Ratvan]

Thanks. I’ll contact them, but a regular contributor on Ultimate Reef reckons they may not be in business anymore.

I'm fairly sure that they are no longer in business, I check their website periodically and nothing ever seems to be in stock.

I vaguely remember that the owner had a serious health scare a few years ago, a real shame I managed to talk my way into getting a visit of the facility and it was fascinating to see all the Macro Algae vats. This was pre covid

I know that JBS Marines has some Macro Algae, they also sell some really cool Critters for tanks as well

 

[superpuma]

The guys with macro algae… Do you use a skimmer?

 

[Courtneybst]

Never used them but I remember this is Leeds Livealgae UK - Aquamarine Macroalgae Farming

Thanks. I’ll contact them, but a regular contributor on Ultimate Reef reckons they may not be in business anymore.

I'm fairly sure that they are no longer in business, I check their website periodically and nothing ever seems to be in stock.

I vaguely remember that the owner had a serious health scare a few years ago, a real shame I managed to talk my way into getting a visit of the facility and it was fascinating to see all the Macro Algae vats. This was pre covid

I know that JBS Marines has some Macro Algae, they also sell some really cool Critters for tanks as well

Yeah they are definitely not in business right now. I've been watching their site for over 3 years and have been in contact. It's a shame because they seemed to have a really wide selection of macroalgae. Hopefully they're ok.

The guys with macro algae… Do you use a skimmer?

I've never used a skimmer for macroalgae. A tank with well established macroalgae simply won't need it. They aggressively pull nutrients from the water column, you're more likely going to have to worry about not having enough!

One of my favourite parts about macroalgae setups is how simple they can be. A freshwater light, a filter (not really necessary but I like to have mechanical filtration), and a heater (mostly for consistency).

 

[Courtneybst]

New Neighbours!​

Just a little update to say I added some new inhabitants to the aquarium. Mostly coral, but also a Blue Banded Coral Shrimp. The blue (purple) ones are actually a different species to the more commonly seen yellow ones and stay much smaller and are more peaceful.



(Two side profiles of the aquarium)


(Blue Banded Coral Shrimp)

(Long tentacle toadstool - not fully open yet but getting there!)

(Leptastrea - can't remember which type but glad that it still looks yellow under full spectrum lighting).

(King Midas Zoanthid - one of several heads dotted around).

I'm hoping the Zoas and Leptastrea colonise sections of the rock and create a little garden. I'll be looking out for other Zoas to dot around the rock.

I've noticed really good recovery and growth on the Caulerpa racemosa and some of the red species seem to be attaching to the rock. The Palm Caulerpa is looking worse for ware and I'm worried it might just melt away...

 

[Courtneybst]

Uggos
​

Diatoms are having a party in my tank, courtesy of moi.

Let the uglies commence, enormous luck!

 

[Courtneybst]

I recently posted about how this aquarium was going through the usual 'ugly stage' (it still is!). I was close to going the chemical route and nuking the algae but my gut just kept telling me to go natural and be patient.

After the first 'fix it' water change, the problem actually got worse! I persisted with a couple more larger water changes, clean-up crew and elbow grease, and things seem to be stabilising. Even the Rock Flower Anemone doesn't look pissed off anymore, amongst other signs of stability.

I also had a go at putting a blue light over the tank and... I didn't hate it. It's not the stark, obnoxious blue that normally makes me nauseous but more of a subtle indigo. If the ONF light had a blue light option, I would definitely run it for a few hours a day. Maybe I can jerry-rig something.

The next update will likely be adding fish, to bring this little reef to life.

In the meantime, here's a photo dump...