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[Len]

davidmohr's official thread:
Use this thread to document updates to your Nano Reef Buildoff project.
Please note: this thread is reserved for the entitled registered member only. Open discussion about ideas or specific entries should be posted in the Nano Reefs forum or the General Reef Discussion forum.

[davidmohr]

Posting a couple of pictures to get in under the deadline.

I'm starting off with a 1gl Aqua Deco Tank with spraybar and 7w PC light. Purchased at a garage sale $10.
I'm seriously considering upgrading to MH lighting.
So far live sand has been added from my established tank with live rock soon to follow.





Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

Small pieces of live rock added from my established and tank is clear 2 hours later.



Here are a couple of pictures of critters that were either scooped up in the live sand or were on the rock (the first inhabitants)


Asterina sp.(Asterina stars)



Clibanarius sp.(Blue Leg Hermit Crab)


Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

Just an update so no one thinks I died.
All tank inhabitants doing fine:




There's a small amount of diatom growth on the glass, I've been running a 12 hour photoperiod, so I'm going to cut it down to 10 hours. Also added a yet unidentified small snail that was donated to deal with this growth. It's currently hanging out in the back of the tank so no picture yet.

Total cost so far $10.

Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

I added two small sickly looking frags that were donated:

Some unidentified Zoanthidae:



and a small frag of what appears to be Rhodactis sp.



I'll give them a few days to settle in so I can positively ID them.

Still total cost $10.

Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

Well triple darn.
I had some more frags donated, with a hitchhiker amongst the frags, a so far unidentifed baby nudibranch. Also a baby Mantis Shrimp was donated. At the moment I'm not sure what I'm gonna do, they're both in the nano.
I'll post some pictures when I get a chance.

Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

This is the best picture I could get of the nudibranch before it crawled into the rockwork. I'll wait till it acclimates and I should get some better pictures and be able to ID it. Hopefully it's a polyp feeder so feeding shouldn't be a problem.


A frag with 3 Ricordia sp. on it, these should spred fairly fast.


A small frag of a colony of Pachyclavularia sp.


The mantis was a little ticked off so no picture and no ID yet hopefully in the next couple of days.

Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

I suffered my first casualty though it was to be expected. The mantis shrimp had blue legged hermit crab for dinner. It did venture out a bit today when I came home from work, unfortunately the pics I took of it didn't come out very good, I'll try tomorrow.
The Zoanthidae polyps haven't opened at all yet, I believe they're getting to much current, so I'll try to readjust and see what happens.
The nudibranch is still nestled in between the Zoanthidae so I haven't been able to get any more pictures or make an ID yet though I tend to believe it feeds on Xenia. If I'm correct it should be easy to feed.
Everything else is going as expected.
btw total cost is still $10.

Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

Just a quick update. I've ID the nudibranch as Tritoniopsis elegans a beautiful
critter that tends to thrive in reef tanks as long as it has plenty of Cladiella spp. corals to munch on. Here are a couple of hopefully better pictures the last one is unusual as this critter loves to surf on the surface of the water.






Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

A short update. The mantis shrimp has decided to show itself and play out in the light. The blue legged hermit crab that I thought had been eaten by the mantis also is alive and well; how a hermit crab that size could hide in a 1 gal tank is a mystery to me.
Corals, critters and water parameters all doing fine.
Hopefully I can get someone to donate a Cladiella frag for the nudibranch to munch on.



Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

I was able to get someone to donate a Cladiella sp. frag so the nudibranch should be able to feed and hopefully the coral's growth can either keep up with or outgrow the nudibranch's appetite.
The polyps on the Zoanthidae frag are slowly starting to open; the mantis shrimp is spending more and more time out in the open; other frags and critters doing fine.
My only problems so far are somehow the tank has developed major scratches on the outside and the spraybar nozzles easily clog. I'll see if I can come up with a solution to that.
Here's a picture of the Cladiella sp. an hour after it was introduced to the tank:



Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

Well I solved the spraybar problem; I got rid of it.
This particular tank comes with no directions, but there is an attachment to run it without a spraybar. It just took me 2 weeks to figure it out. Now there is terrific surface aggitation, good flow throughout the whole tank, and no obstruction of the light. I'm curious to see how the corals react to this new development tomorrow.
I'll post some pictures of how the tank now looks and hopefully of fully opened polyps.

Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

A couple of update posts.
Here's a picture of the tank from a few days ago after the spraybar attachment was removed. There's great circulation throughout the tank, very good surface aggitation and no obstruction of the lighting.



Here's a picture showing that the Rhodactis sp. is doing very well in this tank:



Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

I added a couple of clumps of Bispira sp. , unfortunately there were a couple of Aiptasia sp. on this also. I'll get rid of those in the next couple of days. The tank is starting to resemble a reef tank, I'll work some more on the rockscaping, probably add a few more corals, upgrade the lighting and let it take off.





I'll see if I can get some full tank shots in the next couple of days.

Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

Well here's a full tank shot as it is at the moment. I'm going to have to rearrange rockscaping and corals as the Rhodactis sp. and Ricordea sp. are starting to take over the front of the tank. You can also see a little bit of diatoms on the glass, I forgot to clean it before hand. You can also see one of big Aiptasia sp. in the back right of the tank amongst the cluster of Bispira sp. I must be careful when rearranging things as one of my big hands quickly displaces enough water to easily overflow the sides of the tank.





Last night I fed the whole tank for the first time with a little bit of Cyclopeeze, the critters loved it. I must be careful as a 1 gal tank can be very easily overfed.
Topoffs consist of about 1/8th of a cup of DI water a day.
Water changes tend to be a snap as three 8oz cups of NSW takes only a couple of seconds.

Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

An update post that is mostly good.
Here's another whole tank shot and you can see that all the corals are now fully opened. You can fully see one of the Aiptasia sp. in the background, removal is going to be problematic as it is intertwined amongst the Bispira sp.



The Bispira sp. is also starting to reproduce, here is a picture of a worm starting to form another tube and colony.



The mantis shrimp was removed to another tank as it was irritating the corals by spredding sand all over. New juvenile critters are now emerging. Here are a so-so picture of a very tiny Stomatella sp. and a decent picture of a very small Astraea sp.





The Tritoniopsis elegans nudibranch will also have to be removed as it has a voracious appetite and is also reproducing rapidly.

Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

Tomorrow's the big day, I'll be upgrading the lighting. I'll be going from 7W over 1 gal to 18W over 1 gal. The corals should love it. I have the fixture, I just need to make supports and pick up a 3 prong extension cord and timer; for some odd reason I couldn't find any extras around the house.
I added another small frag this one Merulina sp.



Also I will try to tackle my small Aiptasia problem with kalk paste and make some more adjustments to rock and coral placements.
Here's a couple more pictures of some juvenile snails.





Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

I've now put on the new lights, rearrange the rocks and corals and took care of the small aiptasia problem. The corals are expanding like crazy under the new lighting.







The problem with the new lighting is that any scratches or flaws in the acrylic are very pronounced.
I'll let the corals and critters acclimate to the lighting a few days and see what adjustments have to be made.

Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

btw I'm upgrading to a new Domain, so those complaining about red x's or no pics hopefully in the next few days I'll starting switching things over. It may take me a couple of days to complete the switch but the results should be much, much better then they have been.

Regards,
David Mohr

[davidmohr]

Since you're now seeing all the pictures with no problems you probably know this.
All the pictures for this Buildoff have now been switched over to my own Domain, so there won't be any more red x's.

Here's are some pictures to show just how small this tank actually is. Sometimes you lose perspective when looking at closeups of critters.









Regards,
David Mohr