10' Pond Build

Apologies for the lack of updates recently, but it's been a hectic summer (in a good way).

Had a few people over for a 4th of July bbq, and the fish that got the most attention from our guests had to be the niger trigger. Not hard to see why... It's tough to beat a big, healthy O. niger!
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I've also been playing around with adding a few corals to the pool. Mostly species that people usually regret adding to their reefs because they take over everything. I figured that between the Kessil lighting and the natural sunlight, they should do pretty well. Here's another pic of the niger with some polyps.
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Will try to post some more updates within the next few weeks, time permitting.
 
unfeazi said:
We need to see more pics of that new wrasse! Good to see this thread again.
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Really wishing I had taken some pics in QT. She's only been in the pool for a few weeks, and is still really shy. Will bolt out of her hiding places to grab chunks of food, but the best pictures I can get just look like a blur. She is out quite a bit, but quickly finds her hiding spots whenever I get close to the pool. She was okay with me getting close to the QT tank, so I think I just need to give her some time to feel more secure.
 
Got a little break in my work schedule, so I decided to re-do my 'scaping. I promised myself that I wouldn't consider keeping elasmobranchs until the pool was up and running for at least a year. It's now nearing the one year mark, so I'm slowly taking steps to make my pool elasmobranch-friendly.

My first step was to relocate several potentially incompatible fish (figured that it was a good time with most of the rock out of the pool) to some of my other systems. I turned the atoll into a large central coral head/island by attaching rock to 8 plastic milk crates. I used a drill and some zip ties on any rock that wasn't touching the bottom, which was a bit messy but keeps the rock secure. Once that was done (took a while), I used a 5'X5' pond liner and a frame that I built from PVC (sandy area is dry) added a good amount of sand, about 1/3 of which is above water, and the rest I let spill over to fill in some of the gaps in the rock. I eventually plan to add a few mangroves (currently growing in my refugium) as well. I put the little palm plant (wasn't doing so well since we moved it outside, so rather than pitching it...) in there because I thought my wife would think it was cute. She did.

The addition of all of the the new sand really clouded things up, but here's a picture anyway. I had to do a double take when I first saw this one because it looks like there is a lionfish front and center in the pic. It's just a conch shell and some shadows/reflections! Will post more when it clears up.

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I also made/plumbed in a 4 drawer "filter" a few months ago. As of right now, I just have poly filters in each compartment, but plan to either add more bio balls or some type of mechanical filtration.

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Again, please excuse the cloudiness of the water, and general disarray in the basement. It's far from finished.
 
I love the island. Very cool. Perhaps some fiddler crabs to have some activity above water. A small coconut shell seems like it would fit well on the island too. Nice work.
 
CuzzA said:
I love the island. Very cool. Perhaps some fiddler crabs to have some activity above water. A small coconut shell seems like it would fit well on the island too. Nice work.
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Thanks! Have a little work to do yet on the island, and in addition to the mangroves, was thinking of adding a few salt-tolerant plants. Bougainvillea maybe? Would have to figure out a way to prevent the crabs from digging into the pots if I do go that route.
 
Thank you guys for the compliments!

Pool still isn't 100% clear yet, but it's getting there. Fish are still a little uneasy, and most will dash into the rocks when I get close enough for a picture.


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You still need to finish the outside of it with some kind of stone facade to make it look pretty on the outside too. :artist:
 
Definitely needs something on the outside! Will have to look into the stone facade idea. It's in the works, just need a good couple days to put it together.

As of now, the sand is wet. I'm not sure if it's because the sand is wicking water, or if it's just because there was a good amount of water in the top before I piled on the sand. If it stays wet, I will go that route with mangroves for sure.
 
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