Planning to. Shoal and manatee in the back upper (7" sand bed) then a rock wall drop off with a 3" sand bed in front. Shaving brush, halimeda etc
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125g 2 in 1 Seagrass Reef
- Thread starter ThePurple12
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Planning to. Shoal and manatee in the back upper (7" sand bed) then a rock wall drop off with a 3" sand bed in front. Shaving brush, halimeda etc
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ThePurple12
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Hey, the rock wall sounds like a great idea! When are you starting?
2 months ago, then homeschooling started,
Lol.
I have the eggcrate frame for the wall done, 30lbs of rock broken into small chunks, bags of sand, plumbing plan etc. just need time to get it going again.
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ThePurple12
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I was in Florida for a week--got home yesterday--and brought home some fish/plants (and probably some COVID...just kidding!). I got a pipefish (for the seahorse tank), 6 dwarf seahorses (for a newly-setup 2 gallon dwarf tank), a bunch of ghost shrimp, turtle grass, Codium, 2 unidentified gorgonians (I think they're legal to collect), and a bag of mud/sand straight from a seagrass bed. The fish and shrimp were caught using a seine net.
I'm hoping the mud will help the seagrass and, more importantly, help to STOP THE DINOS. I think the dinos are receding anyway, probably due to the algae scrubber, which already has some of the "good" algae growing on it.
The Johnson's grass is spreading quickly, but still no improvement on the shoal grass. I'll be interested to see how the turtle grass does, but I've heard it's a slow grower.
While I was gone, the dinos overtook my biggest acropora colony and killed half of it because I wasn't there to blow them off. Not sure why they chose that single coral over all the other acros in my tank, which were unharmed for the most part....
The 20g long mysid tank is now completely devoid of mysids. There are tons of copepods in there, but not a single mysid to be found. No idea what happened, but I guess it's a sign to start up that seagrass/pocilloporid tank! Maybe I'll put some dwarf seahorses in there and try for a self-sustaining dwarf seahorse tank like someone from Reef 2 Reef has.
I'm hoping the mud will help the seagrass and, more importantly, help to STOP THE DINOS. I think the dinos are receding anyway, probably due to the algae scrubber, which already has some of the "good" algae growing on it.
The Johnson's grass is spreading quickly, but still no improvement on the shoal grass. I'll be interested to see how the turtle grass does, but I've heard it's a slow grower.
While I was gone, the dinos overtook my biggest acropora colony and killed half of it because I wasn't there to blow them off. Not sure why they chose that single coral over all the other acros in my tank, which were unharmed for the most part....
The 20g long mysid tank is now completely devoid of mysids. There are tons of copepods in there, but not a single mysid to be found. No idea what happened, but I guess it's a sign to start up that seagrass/pocilloporid tank! Maybe I'll put some dwarf seahorses in there and try for a self-sustaining dwarf seahorse tank like someone from Reef 2 Reef has.
Nice drawing.
I did a similar rock wall/DSB planter in my previous tank. I made it out of old coral skeletons. It worked well at providing the needed sand depth for Turtle and Manatee grass, without the need for a Deep Sand Bed throughout the whole tank.
I think yours will work well too. To keep it natural looking, I'd recommend it have no straight lines. Make it curvy and organic looking, otherwise you end up with a very man-made looking thing.
I did a similar rock wall/DSB planter in my previous tank. I made it out of old coral skeletons. It worked well at providing the needed sand depth for Turtle and Manatee grass, without the need for a Deep Sand Bed throughout the whole tank.
I think yours will work well too. To keep it natural looking, I'd recommend it have no straight lines. Make it curvy and organic looking, otherwise you end up with a very man-made looking thing.
ThePurple12
New member
Looks promising, good luck with it.
ThePurple12
New member
The dinoflagellates are definitely going away now, along with most of the shoal grass...
The Johnson's is taking over, which is fine with me I guess. The turtle grass hasn't really done anything but lose leaves, but maybe it's still adjusting.
The Johnson's is taking over, which is fine with me I guess. The turtle grass hasn't really done anything but lose leaves, but maybe it's still adjusting.
ThePurple12
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Thanks Jeremy
ThePurple12
New member
Well, I guess I should update my build thread. Here's a picture:
[IMG="<meta charset="utf-8"><b style="font-weight:normal;" id="docs-internal-guid-dbe8f0d9-7fff-1be5-1944-a8c55fcf70e3"><img width="287px;" height="215px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HzyNkio82hnxlrAchx866rBhuIn19zGttpVPyLl_3T_gw5Ox7bsOWmfzQafpit3E_5x_m-xs5Z47iT1oJFxoCJ9Bho7Pdw1B1kGaBSDIXg24bPgoVS8fPVn6yOnvTPclay-boaFjtkE-e8Z0" /></b>"]<meta charset="utf-8"><b style="font-weight:normal;" id="docs-internal-guid-dbe8f0d9-7fff-1be5-1944-a8c55fcf70e3"><img width="287px;" height="215px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HzyNkio82hnxlrAchx866rBhuIn19zGttpVPyLl_3T_gw5Ox7bsOWmfzQafpit3E_5x_m-xs5Z47iT1oJFxoCJ9Bho7Pdw1B1kGaBSDIXg24bPgoVS8fPVn6yOnvTPclay-boaFjtkE-e8Z0" /></b>[/IMG]
The dinoflagellates are finally gone! I guess the solution was time and an algae scrubber. Now they're being replaced with green algae, but that shouldn't be a problem for long.
I got a Grube's Gorgonian from Petco the other day for $25, you can see it on the reef side of the tank next to the anemone.
You can also see that the big acropora colony that used to be on the top left rock is gone. The dinos killed it, but at least I have some frags from it.
The seagrass needs a cleaning as you can see.
[IMG="<meta charset="utf-8"><b style="font-weight:normal;" id="docs-internal-guid-dbe8f0d9-7fff-1be5-1944-a8c55fcf70e3"><img width="287px;" height="215px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HzyNkio82hnxlrAchx866rBhuIn19zGttpVPyLl_3T_gw5Ox7bsOWmfzQafpit3E_5x_m-xs5Z47iT1oJFxoCJ9Bho7Pdw1B1kGaBSDIXg24bPgoVS8fPVn6yOnvTPclay-boaFjtkE-e8Z0" /></b>"]<meta charset="utf-8"><b style="font-weight:normal;" id="docs-internal-guid-dbe8f0d9-7fff-1be5-1944-a8c55fcf70e3"><img width="287px;" height="215px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HzyNkio82hnxlrAchx866rBhuIn19zGttpVPyLl_3T_gw5Ox7bsOWmfzQafpit3E_5x_m-xs5Z47iT1oJFxoCJ9Bho7Pdw1B1kGaBSDIXg24bPgoVS8fPVn6yOnvTPclay-boaFjtkE-e8Z0" /></b>[/IMG]
The dinoflagellates are finally gone! I guess the solution was time and an algae scrubber. Now they're being replaced with green algae, but that shouldn't be a problem for long.
I got a Grube's Gorgonian from Petco the other day for $25, you can see it on the reef side of the tank next to the anemone.
You can also see that the big acropora colony that used to be on the top left rock is gone. The dinos killed it, but at least I have some frags from it.
The seagrass needs a cleaning as you can see.
ThePurple12
New member
ThePurple12
New member
Aaand it's upside down.
I can't see the pics. They have the blue square with a question mark. Edit: the new pic is upside down. Can you flip it?
Congrats on getting through dinos! So you think the biggest factor was the scrubber? Very interesting. This would suggest that competition for nutrients did the trick for you. It also suggests that low nutrients are not a cause, as some have suggested. But of course there are many dino strains, so it's hard to say for sure.
Good to hear you saved some frags from your lost acropora.
Congrats on getting through dinos! So you think the biggest factor was the scrubber? Very interesting. This would suggest that competition for nutrients did the trick for you. It also suggests that low nutrients are not a cause, as some have suggested. But of course there are many dino strains, so it's hard to say for sure.
Good to hear you saved some frags from your lost acropora.
ThePurple12
New member
ThePurple12
New member
Yeah, I think the algae scrubber fixed it. It was covered with dinos for a bit, then the green algae took over the screen. Some kind of ulva even appeared out of nowhere on the screen.
I guess it's possible that the low nutrients caused by the scrubber took out the dinos. I'm not sure.
I guess it's possible that the low nutrients caused by the scrubber took out the dinos. I'm not sure.
Good pic. Your tank is filling in nicely. I really like your scape too!
On the dinos, did you ever use UV? Along with natural solutions, I thought that UV was instrumental in my battle.
On the dinos, did you ever use UV? Along with natural solutions, I thought that UV was instrumental in my battle.
ThePurple12
New member
I didn't use UV, but I was about to if the dinos continued much longer. My biggest concern was that it would kill any good bacteria/phytoplankton floating around, which could mess up the pod population or something like that. Just a theory.
ThePurple12
New member
I've decided to try again with the mysids. I ordered another 100 from Sach's Aquaculture and drip acclimated them to the 20 gallon long. I had removed the screen previously because I wanted to do that seagrass bed display, and I haven't put it back in yet.
I think last time I didn't feed them enough and they starved, so this time I'll be feeding BBS daily. They are eating it, so it should be fine.
I think last time I didn't feed them enough and they starved, so this time I'll be feeding BBS daily. They are eating it, so it should be fine.
Good luck with your mysis project. What is your goal? Sustainable, reproducing population?
