ACBlinky
Premium Member
Today I went to the LFS, and really lucked out. They had a tank full of gorgeous, FULLY cured live rock -- I guess there's not much call for LR lately, because these stunning pieces had been there for over two months. I found some coral skeletons in the rubble bin, so I bought those as well. Why not, they're really very pretty!
I brought the rock home and did my best with the aquascaping. It's a little less minimalist than I envisioned initially, but I think it's going to make a great platform for a lovely reef. It's just going to take a while to fill the real estate!
Before I even got the rock into our tank I saw a tiny bristleworm, some plating coralline algae, bits of macroalgae (including bits of what looks like chaetomorpha). Once I had the rocks under the lights, I saw that one piece is covered in what looks like slightly eroded GSP. It could be the remains of a pipe-organ colony that's covered in coralline, or something else, but it's purple and the right size and shape, so we may just end up with some bonus star polyps!
I cemented the rocks together with coralline-coloured epoxy -- the rockscape is, pardon the pun, rock solid. My plan is to leave everything where it is, moving nothing, unless something disastrous happens.
The FW trumpet snails are still very much alive and kicking, water parameters are perfect, but the water is a bit cloudy. I'm not surprised, given that I just added 25lbs of rock and used a bunch of epoxy to secure things in place, but it'll be nice when it clears up again.
Some pictures...
First, a shot of the tank with the new rocks in place:
A terrible shot of the end view - that piece a the back isn't touching the glass, and the closest piece to the front is about 2" away.
Right side:
Left side:
EDIT:
I went out to look at the tank and noticed pods scurrying about (yippee!) Looking more closely, I saw what look like closed-up zoa polyps on one of the pieces of rubble. The Acropora skeleton seems to have some living polyps on it as well -- I have no idea how to save them, or if it's even possible, but I've posted asking for help.
I'll be keeping a VERY close eye on the water parameters, to try to give the hitchhikers the best possible chance at life.
I brought the rock home and did my best with the aquascaping. It's a little less minimalist than I envisioned initially, but I think it's going to make a great platform for a lovely reef. It's just going to take a while to fill the real estate!
Before I even got the rock into our tank I saw a tiny bristleworm, some plating coralline algae, bits of macroalgae (including bits of what looks like chaetomorpha). Once I had the rocks under the lights, I saw that one piece is covered in what looks like slightly eroded GSP. It could be the remains of a pipe-organ colony that's covered in coralline, or something else, but it's purple and the right size and shape, so we may just end up with some bonus star polyps!
I cemented the rocks together with coralline-coloured epoxy -- the rockscape is, pardon the pun, rock solid. My plan is to leave everything where it is, moving nothing, unless something disastrous happens.
The FW trumpet snails are still very much alive and kicking, water parameters are perfect, but the water is a bit cloudy. I'm not surprised, given that I just added 25lbs of rock and used a bunch of epoxy to secure things in place, but it'll be nice when it clears up again.
Some pictures...
First, a shot of the tank with the new rocks in place:
A terrible shot of the end view - that piece a the back isn't touching the glass, and the closest piece to the front is about 2" away.
Right side:
Left side:
EDIT:
I went out to look at the tank and noticed pods scurrying about (yippee!) Looking more closely, I saw what look like closed-up zoa polyps on one of the pieces of rubble. The Acropora skeleton seems to have some living polyps on it as well -- I have no idea how to save them, or if it's even possible, but I've posted asking for help.
I'll be keeping a VERY close eye on the water parameters, to try to give the hitchhikers the best possible chance at life.
