TBS Nano

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PART 2!!!
Acclimation... I used clips to hold the bags in place... some started to go rogue when I was adding water and tried to prematurely add their contents to the tank.

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And here is everything in Part 2 in one big jumble. The lights are low because I don't want to scare/shock anybody but I need to see what I'm doing during early aquascaping.
 
Here are some of the amazing extras Richard included!!!
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This live rock piece has a beautiful purple and green coral growing on it... I had to wrestle this LR piece away from the condylactis anemone as they got into a stinging war when I dumped everything into the tank.

As an aside, I've found a turkey baster and bamboo shish kabob skewers are highly effective at moving stuff around in a small tank. The anemone was happy to move to another rock when his home base was tugged further away every few minutes while gentle jets of water were pushed toward the offending side via baster. Plus if you drop either item, them both float!

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Here is the happy condy after being relocated.

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Richard you totally got the anemone I was looking for!!! Do you know the genus or species? Perfect specimen! Thank you so much!
 
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2nd coral piece bottom right, orange fan sponge middle, condy left.

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There's stuff piled on stuff! I'm not sure I can fit everything Richard sent... I'm counting on years of Tetris to finally pay off!
 
Nano Reef Mark I

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I still can't figure out how to fit the giant sponges that came with part 2... current plan is to leave them at the sides and see who looks like they might be tank happy in a few weeks... then find a home.

Time to watch my reef!
 
Cool!

Cool!

Awesome job there aquascaping......I love nanos.....stay on top of your water quality...very important right now, especially in your 10 gallon tank....is crucial to keep the ammonia under 1ppm....and if any of the critters change in any way..or appearance .....be suspect..and examine as you do not want an ammonia spike now.....as small tanks are very unforgiving as you know!



keep us posted!
Richard TBS::wave:
 
Nassarius Snails have hatched! Some of the oldest egg sacs are empty today... The few remaining old ones clearly have living, moving things inside that have turned from round white eggs into thin black tubes. This is only visible at 10x with a magnifying glass but it's pretty cool! I'm looking forward to finally cleaning my glass in a few days. And the snails have started laying new egg sacs on the back wall of the tank for a change (which I'm fine with as it doesn't obstruct my view). I would say gestation is about a week for those of you counting.
 
Nice little ecosystem. I think you asked the page back about the smaller anemone. It is Epicistus crucifer, commonly called a rock or flower anemone. They will usually intensify the coloration under aquarium lighting, but can be a bit finicky getting settled in. Great stuff.
 
Thanks! My little rock anemone is already starting to turn bright green in parts with new white scales and arms. The tanks has cycled (6 days) for part 2! Everybody big is still alive- more pics to come :)
 
Sneaky Parasite found!!!

So Richard sent this sweet purple gorgonian or sea fan (not sure - if you recognize it please identify). It has tiny white polyps that were fleetingly glimpsed. In fact, I only saw a few at a time, if any. I figured it may be on it's way out... but one night I happened to shine a flashlight in my tank and found a weird, slow moving gastropod on a branch. It was the exact same color purple as the gorgonian/fan and even had tiny little white spikes on it's shell to simulate the tiny polyps. When disturbed it withdrew into it's shell which had two perfect little semicircles at each end that drew flush with the branch on which it was hiding and it became quite inconspicuous. I observed it for a few days and it moved slowly at night, with a definite snail like foot and two antennae. The next morning there were a few bare areas where the gorgonian/sea fan had been eaten away.
So I clipped off the branch including the parasite. Pic is below with a dime for size reference (parasite snail in middle, gorgonian/fan branch right)...
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Within about 8 hours of removing the little bugger, the gorgonian/fan sprang to life - polyps jumped out everywhere. I figure it must have been in some sort of safe mode while under parasite attack.
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I googled this phenomenon and found out there are actually snail parasites for gorgonians. Their camouflage is spectacular! Has anyone else seen this?
 
So far I've found that just about EVERYTHING has some damn parasite that mimics it perfectly in this hobby. I'm planning a mantis tank and knowing me I'll somehow get a hitcher mantis parasite no one has ever heard of existing. :D

Worth the life of the rock though, and sometimes, the stuff is cool enough to be worth keeping alive. I have seen some awesome looking cowries that munch coral.
 
also: jealous.

Was that the 10G package or is it a 10G tank with a smaller 'the package'? My kids tank is an up and running 20 tall already way to full of rock and stuff but I really ponder a small few lb rock and sand to swap out just for the life.

;(
 
I to have a 10g nano. Quick question, even though it's a small 10g package do you still have to go to the airport to pick up both packages. My tank has been cycled for 2months and ive been waiting for this dry rock to color up, Huuuh. Just wanted to know if tbs can ship to your door instead of airport. Because you have to pay more when it's going there right?

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My understanding is it is typically much more expensive to ship overnight as opposed to air freight. Maybe with a tiny package it would be closer (assuming the airline had a minimum freight charge or something). I guess when Richard get's back you can find out the specifics for your situation.
 
Well I have read and reread the tbs shipping info. And still dont get how it's cheaper. Overnight shipping usually is around $35. If I want 20#s of LR to south Carolina from tbs, I pay $108 to tbs then another $100 to the airline since they have a 100lb minumin and it's .65-$1.00 per pound. Plus a $8 box charge. That's $216 for 20lbs of tbs rock! Am I not understanding?

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Well I have read and reread the tbs shipping info. And still dont get how it's cheaper. Overnight shipping usually is around $35. If I want 20#s of LR to south Carolina from tbs, I pay $108 to tbs then another $100 to the airline since they have a 100lb minumin and it's .65-$1.00 per pound. Plus a $8 box charge. That's $216 for 20lbs of tbs rock! Am I not understanding?

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Fed ex cost about $5.50 a pound to ship priority overnight.....and you can double the rock weight as it is under water...IE 20# of rock will weigh 40# X 5.50= $220.00 for shipping via fed ex for 20 pounds of rock.

compared to depending on the airport, $65 to $100 for up to 100 pounds on the airlines...to your local airport....

Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com
 
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