SaltwaterNoob17
Reefing newb
Looks good! :)
Team Seahorse Contest Deco
- Thread starter Picasso
- Start date
tankedchemist
Reef enthusiast
what kind of snails did you get? Looks fantastic!
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
Thanks Amanda! I got the mixed snail package from Reefcleaners.org. I got a 70 gallon pack and split it between my 55, my bow and my Deco. LOVE these tiny snails!
Today, I moved my HOB filter to a HOS filter. It's really moving the water around now! Woot!
C
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
Well, it's been a while since I've added pics. Just got some new macro so now is a good time to update:
a FTS. You can see my gorg frags on the left, floating sargassum and the green codium on the right.
In this one you can see the red bush on the right and a bit of gracilyria and halymenia peeking in the background.
This one is fun because you can see the purple mushroom hitchhiker on the rock. It's a neat mushroom, it has two mouths.
Close-up of the shroom:
I really love this one because you can see the sargassum reflected in the water:
Finally, I modded my light a couple weeks ago, I'm officially out. This shot was taken last week and I've since hidden my electrical wire. I'm using the big light to grow my basil:
Biff, if you could move my thread to the Tank Showcase this weekend, I would appreciate it!
C
a FTS. You can see my gorg frags on the left, floating sargassum and the green codium on the right.
In this one you can see the red bush on the right and a bit of gracilyria and halymenia peeking in the background.
This one is fun because you can see the purple mushroom hitchhiker on the rock. It's a neat mushroom, it has two mouths.
Close-up of the shroom:
I really love this one because you can see the sargassum reflected in the water:
Finally, I modded my light a couple weeks ago, I'm officially out. This shot was taken last week and I've since hidden my electrical wire. I'm using the big light to grow my basil:
Biff, if you could move my thread to the Tank Showcase this weekend, I would appreciate it!
C
dcantucson
Reef pro
It looks good Catherine. No horses yet right? :question:
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
motorcyclereefer
I am Graffiti Petey
Cool looking tank.
ErinCahir
Sausage Wrangler
Looks great Catherine!
Do I see mangroves in there? They made it?
Do I see mangroves in there? They made it?
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
thanx erin!
The short answer to the mangroves question is, yes, some of them appear to have made it.
Here's the long answer. I don't think I needed to mod my lights to keep all that macro in there. The sargassum, red bush, and codium really need a ton of light but I think I could have managed that with good tank placement. The main reason I modded was to keep all the other plants around the tank happy and to be able to grow kitchen herbs during the winter months. The mangroves also needed a bunch of light but it needed to be higher up so the top leaves would get hit and I couldn't figure out how to get the deco's light to manage that. The secondary reason I modded the lights was that I know I've got a ton of sargassum floating on the top and the light needs to penetrate through that for my other stuff in there. When I do get the dwarfs in there, you'll have to work to see them, I know, and I'm ok with that. I'm trying to get a planted tank that looks awesome and will be able to support itself with minimal maintenance.
There has been root growth on the mangroves but the tops still look pretty awful. They are slow growers so I'm in this for the long haul. I'm working on a system to put a sponge in there for them to grow their roots on and to give them some height but so far I haven't been able to get my sponges to work without trapping crud and raising nitrates. I think the solution to that will be more pods and probably some micro hermits.
I really like reefcleaners.org's mangroves the best and I've tried them from 4 different places.
C
The short answer to the mangroves question is, yes, some of them appear to have made it.
Here's the long answer. I don't think I needed to mod my lights to keep all that macro in there. The sargassum, red bush, and codium really need a ton of light but I think I could have managed that with good tank placement. The main reason I modded was to keep all the other plants around the tank happy and to be able to grow kitchen herbs during the winter months. The mangroves also needed a bunch of light but it needed to be higher up so the top leaves would get hit and I couldn't figure out how to get the deco's light to manage that. The secondary reason I modded the lights was that I know I've got a ton of sargassum floating on the top and the light needs to penetrate through that for my other stuff in there. When I do get the dwarfs in there, you'll have to work to see them, I know, and I'm ok with that. I'm trying to get a planted tank that looks awesome and will be able to support itself with minimal maintenance.
There has been root growth on the mangroves but the tops still look pretty awful. They are slow growers so I'm in this for the long haul. I'm working on a system to put a sponge in there for them to grow their roots on and to give them some height but so far I haven't been able to get my sponges to work without trapping crud and raising nitrates. I think the solution to that will be more pods and probably some micro hermits.
I really like reefcleaners.org's mangroves the best and I've tried them from 4 different places.
C
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
Oh, I totally forgot to mention: My dad gave me the Pico tank we almost used for the contest for Christmas and I really like its shape much better than the Deco so I swapped out the tank. I'm going to put the deco inside the stand and make it a refugium for the pico so I'll have a total of 6 gallons of water mass.
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little_fish
Moderator
Looks awesome! Im glad i dont have to compete against you!
d2mini
Reef enthusiast
Looking awesome!
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
So, I UN modded my lights. I decided to move my basil garden and the light went with it. The brown sargassum pretty much lost all of it's leaves in the first few days. Did some aquascaping, that's why the water is cloudy.
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tankedchemist
Reef enthusiast
so many neat macros! I might start a little macro garden in my sump-- you've inspired me!
dcantucson
Reef pro
So, I UN modded my lights. I decided to move my basil garden and the light went with it. The brown sargassum pretty much lost all of it's leaves in the first few days. Did some aquascaping, that's why the water is cloudy.
C
:question:So does that mean you're back in the contest?:question:
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
No, David, I swapped out my tank. This tank is the Pico, glass version of the Deco. I'm also getting ready to add my sump in the next couple weeks.
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Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
This morning, I was cleaning my tank and found a couple hydroids. I have been so careful about inspecting and QTing everything I can't believe some of them snuck past me. Hydroids will kill a dwarf horse. I'm starting to come to the conclusion that these will need to be in a completely artificial environment which is upsetting because I've spent a long time building up a pod/ shrimp population in this tank. Uggs.
Catherine
Catherine
