Mr. Microscope
Member
Thanks Jay! 
They're growing like weeds! 
They're growing like weeds! 
Mr. Microscope's 25 Gallon Cube
- Thread starter Mr. Microscope
- Start date
Mr. Microscope
Member
Update 2012.12.21
I decided to try a three day black out to help combat my GHA and a small breakout of cyano. I thought I had the cyano licked, but it showed its dirty face again after a day or so. So, I'll be treating that with some Chemi Clean as soon as I can get my hands on it.
A couple notes about the black out:
I wrapped the tank with aluminum foil. Being completely covered resulted in very little evaporation, but it also made the tank heat up. It went from it's normal 73 to 80 over the course of a day and a half. I unplugged the heaters and it went down to 79, and returned to normal after I removed the foil. I think the heat change caused a tiny bit of bleaching in my SPS because they turned just a little whiter than they were before the blackout. I don't think this was a result of lack of light. The colors, however are almost back to normal already. All other corals seemed unaffected.
On the good side though, I actually did make a considerable dent in the GHA and have the least amount of I've seen in a long time. So, I'll continue to do the following:
WAY lighter feedings; pellets first to the clowns and tailspot, and then a limited amount of frozen for the spoiled bangaii cardinal who won't take anything but.
Target-feed LPS only once/week
Change out filter floss every two or three days
Frequent small water changes
Treatment with H2O2 with the rocks that aren't attached to the main pillar
Manual removal of patches with tweezers and toothbrush
The snooty, only-frozen-food-fish:
I'm also planning to stop using Chemi-Pure Elite, switch to Purigen, and maybe DIY a little reactor to use Phosban.
The black out wasn't without it's hijinks however. My tailspot blenny somehow managed to jump into my overflow within the centimeter of space between the mesh cover and the overflow teeth. After unwrapping the foil from around the tank for the mid black out feeding, I didn't see him anywhere. Finally, I thought to check in the overflow and sure enough. He was in there picking at the sides of the glass. I tried to get him out, but unfortunately it's too tight to reach my hand all the way in and there's no way I was going to net him in there. After the black out was over I didn't see him in there anymore and assumed the worst. He was no where to be found in the overflow or in the display. I checked the sump wondering if he somehow made it down there, but no luck. On the plus side, I didn't smell anything dead and I figured not finding him at all is better than finding him dead.
A week later, I was doing some maintenance in the sump and saw something moving in the reflection of the glass. To my amazement, my tailspot was swimming around in one of the baffles of my sump! He somehow made it though the overflow pipe, past the gate valve, around the filterfloss that was completely covering the output of the overflow pipe, and into the sump. I was so excited! I took some pictures and told him that I was going to share them with the community as punishment for being such a trouble maker. Here he is looking a bit sheepish and embarrassed next to the skimmer:
I cleared everything out of sump and carefully captured him in a cup before putting him back into the display.
I'd heard tailspots have a lot of character, but I had no idea what I was in for with this curious little guy. I love this fish. I think his colors are awesome too.
In other news, I took got an even better pic of my cryptic sea urchin. He was hanging out one morning under my monti cap that is very close to the glass. I was able to get very close with the camera. Here you can even see the podia (tube feet) quite well.
As a part of combating GHA, I placed an order with reefcleaners for some hermit crabs.
I got a variety and they seem to be helping. I also got a few chitons, but after a few days they all died. Not sure why, but oh well.
I've also discovered a new hitchhiker in my tank which is odd since I haven't added any coral. It's a ball anemone and I've since discovered one more on the opposite side of the tank.
After doing some research I believe it is a Caribbean variety (open at night, closed during the day). I think my hermits probably came from the Caribbean as well. So, they must have come in on one of them. LOL! They are very tiny right now. Some people say they are good citizens, others say that they are a threat to fish and inverts when they get larger. Also, they supposedly split quite fast. I don't care either way. I actually fed this guy a pellet the other day. I think they're really cool. If they get out of hand I can always wipe them out. Though, I'd love to set up a pest-nem biotope pico for in the future.
Okay, enough text. Here's some more fun pics I took of my acans yesterday. They're popping out babies like crazy. So, I thought I'd focus in on them (taken with blue LED's):
I recently got some BBEB's. These guys really need lower light. So, they're not doing very well yet, but are showing signs of improvement:
Finally, here's a Satosa pic for ####s&giggles:
That's it for now. New FTS later.
Mr. M out!
I decided to try a three day black out to help combat my GHA and a small breakout of cyano. I thought I had the cyano licked, but it showed its dirty face again after a day or so. So, I'll be treating that with some Chemi Clean as soon as I can get my hands on it.
A couple notes about the black out:
I wrapped the tank with aluminum foil. Being completely covered resulted in very little evaporation, but it also made the tank heat up. It went from it's normal 73 to 80 over the course of a day and a half. I unplugged the heaters and it went down to 79, and returned to normal after I removed the foil. I think the heat change caused a tiny bit of bleaching in my SPS because they turned just a little whiter than they were before the blackout. I don't think this was a result of lack of light. The colors, however are almost back to normal already. All other corals seemed unaffected.
On the good side though, I actually did make a considerable dent in the GHA and have the least amount of I've seen in a long time. So, I'll continue to do the following:
WAY lighter feedings; pellets first to the clowns and tailspot, and then a limited amount of frozen for the spoiled bangaii cardinal who won't take anything but.
Target-feed LPS only once/week
Change out filter floss every two or three days
Frequent small water changes
Treatment with H2O2 with the rocks that aren't attached to the main pillar
Manual removal of patches with tweezers and toothbrush
The snooty, only-frozen-food-fish:
I'm also planning to stop using Chemi-Pure Elite, switch to Purigen, and maybe DIY a little reactor to use Phosban.
The black out wasn't without it's hijinks however. My tailspot blenny somehow managed to jump into my overflow within the centimeter of space between the mesh cover and the overflow teeth. After unwrapping the foil from around the tank for the mid black out feeding, I didn't see him anywhere. Finally, I thought to check in the overflow and sure enough. He was in there picking at the sides of the glass. I tried to get him out, but unfortunately it's too tight to reach my hand all the way in and there's no way I was going to net him in there. After the black out was over I didn't see him in there anymore and assumed the worst. He was no where to be found in the overflow or in the display. I checked the sump wondering if he somehow made it down there, but no luck. On the plus side, I didn't smell anything dead and I figured not finding him at all is better than finding him dead.
A week later, I was doing some maintenance in the sump and saw something moving in the reflection of the glass. To my amazement, my tailspot was swimming around in one of the baffles of my sump! He somehow made it though the overflow pipe, past the gate valve, around the filterfloss that was completely covering the output of the overflow pipe, and into the sump. I was so excited! I took some pictures and told him that I was going to share them with the community as punishment for being such a trouble maker. Here he is looking a bit sheepish and embarrassed next to the skimmer:
I'd heard tailspots have a lot of character, but I had no idea what I was in for with this curious little guy. I love this fish. I think his colors are awesome too.
In other news, I took got an even better pic of my cryptic sea urchin. He was hanging out one morning under my monti cap that is very close to the glass. I was able to get very close with the camera. Here you can even see the podia (tube feet) quite well.
As a part of combating GHA, I placed an order with reefcleaners for some hermit crabs.
I got a variety and they seem to be helping. I also got a few chitons, but after a few days they all died. Not sure why, but oh well.
I've also discovered a new hitchhiker in my tank which is odd since I haven't added any coral. It's a ball anemone and I've since discovered one more on the opposite side of the tank.
Okay, enough text. Here's some more fun pics I took of my acans yesterday. They're popping out babies like crazy. So, I thought I'd focus in on them (taken with blue LED's):
I recently got some BBEB's. These guys really need lower light. So, they're not doing very well yet, but are showing signs of improvement:
Finally, here's a Satosa pic for ####s&giggles:
That's it for now. New FTS later.
Mr. M out!
Mr. Microscope
Member
Check out my first movie of my reef!
http://youtu.be/uIywryMjGmY
http://youtu.be/uIywryMjGmY
frostyjay1
Active member
That is one great looking nano. Holy Moly
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
Mr. Microscope
Member
Thanks Rob!
Thanks Jason!
Thanks Jason!
Mr. Microscope
Member
Hey all! I just finished making my second movie of my reef. This one is focused on the things that come out at night and clean up dead stuff and waste. I went for a general creepy vibe on this one. Enjoy!
http://youtu.be/ufS_fDURSr4
http://youtu.be/ufS_fDURSr4
Mr. Microscope
Member
Thanks Marius! Did you see the second video?
Yes, I like the peninsula aspect of the cube. It's fun to view from three angles.
Yes, I like the peninsula aspect of the cube. It's fun to view from three angles.
Mr. Microscope
Member
I have the clips timed with the music. I think it adds to the eerieness a bit.
Mr. Microscope
Member
It's been a while since I posted any update. I'm too lazy to write about everything that's happened lately, but in short I'm continuing to fight algae (almost gone), got rid of my beloved Derasa Clam that outgrew the tank. I haven't added any livestock, but have been getting good growth. I'll let my new movie do the rest of the talking:
http://youtu.be/LX-otJ9X89Y
http://youtu.be/LX-otJ9X89Y
Mr. Microscope
Member
Thanks Herbie!
Mr. Microscope
Member
Here's an updated FTS:
Mr. Microscope
Member
and a bunch more pics:
Mr. Microscope
Member
Mr. Microscope
Member
Well, it's been a while since I've updated. Here's the news.
I've move around a few corals lately due to them growing out their previous spots. So, the cube has taken on a slightly fuller look lately. To start out, here is the obligatory FTS:
For comparison, here's a FTS from last month:
Since, my Palmer's Blue Milli was growing over my Rose Milli, I decided to move the Rose. However, in order to do that I needed to make room. I moved the Satosa that I had on the left side of the tank and joined it with the Satosa I had on the right side of the tank. It'll be quite a large colony once it's all healed together. In the place were the left Satosa was, I put the Rose Milli. It has plenty of room to spread out there and is already showing signs of improvement.
Since I added my CO2 Scrubber last month, the pH in my tank has risen substantialy and seems to now be pretty stable around 8.3. As I anticipated, the growth of my SPS has increased. As a result, my Alkalinity has stated dropping a little. Until now, I had been able to keep up my stats by simple water changes. As of yesterday, I'm dosing for Alk.
Speaking of dosing, check out what I just ordered off Amazon!
That's right. 3 pounds!
I can't wait to start dosing Vitamin C again. I feel I had really good results from the last time and I figure this stuff should last forever.
Another recent Amazon order: shhhhh....
What's Mr. Microscope up to?
My Palmer's Blue has started doing something a little odd. In the middle where all the branches start, the color has lightened and polyps seem retracted. I'm not sure what would cause this. I'll be doing a little research on this one. Please chime in if you have any idea what's going on. I'm pretty sure it's not RTS/STN. There's still tissue there.
Here's a few more nice shots of how my SPS are doing these days:
That's it for now. Reef-on!
I've move around a few corals lately due to them growing out their previous spots. So, the cube has taken on a slightly fuller look lately. To start out, here is the obligatory FTS:
For comparison, here's a FTS from last month:
Since, my Palmer's Blue Milli was growing over my Rose Milli, I decided to move the Rose. However, in order to do that I needed to make room. I moved the Satosa that I had on the left side of the tank and joined it with the Satosa I had on the right side of the tank. It'll be quite a large colony once it's all healed together. In the place were the left Satosa was, I put the Rose Milli. It has plenty of room to spread out there and is already showing signs of improvement.
Since I added my CO2 Scrubber last month, the pH in my tank has risen substantialy and seems to now be pretty stable around 8.3. As I anticipated, the growth of my SPS has increased. As a result, my Alkalinity has stated dropping a little. Until now, I had been able to keep up my stats by simple water changes. As of yesterday, I'm dosing for Alk.
Speaking of dosing, check out what I just ordered off Amazon!
That's right. 3 pounds!
I can't wait to start dosing Vitamin C again. I feel I had really good results from the last time and I figure this stuff should last forever.
Another recent Amazon order: shhhhh....
What's Mr. Microscope up to?
My Palmer's Blue has started doing something a little odd. In the middle where all the branches start, the color has lightened and polyps seem retracted. I'm not sure what would cause this. I'll be doing a little research on this one. Please chime in if you have any idea what's going on. I'm pretty sure it's not RTS/STN. There's still tissue there.
Here's a few more nice shots of how my SPS are doing these days:
That's it for now. Reef-on!
