Dawn's 36g Bowfront tank

fishroomlady · Apr 29, 2014

yay! so glad it sounds like it's chosen a good spot for viewing!

vlangel · Apr 29, 2014

fishroomlady said:
yay! so glad it sounds like it's chosen a good spot for viewing!

Thanks. He's in an excellent spot for viewing although he's making me a little nervous how close he is to my clam! The clam doesn't seem stressed so maybe I shouldn't be either. Haha.

vlangel · Apr 30, 2014

Inverts: say "cheese"!

Inverts: say "Cheese"! O my, I can see the Sheriff's beady little eyes, ha ha!

ManOfSalt · Apr 30, 2014

hahaha awesome pics. Sheriff does look pretty scary there lol. Ruth seems to be quite photogenic!

vlangel · May 1, 2014

Yes Ruth is either saying "hi!" or "get that camera outta my face!!!"

vlangel · May 2, 2014

I picked up a phosphate reducing media yesterday because ai noticed a little HA on the rock. I tested before I put it in the tank, I'll run the media 24hrs and then test again. I don't want to strip the water of PO4 because I suspect my clam and LPS are utilizing some as food for energy. The PO4 was higher than the last time I tested and I think that is because I was doing more WCs and our tap is high in PO4. I'm also cutting back on the WCs a little.

Diamond1 · May 4, 2014

Your tank is looking great Dawn. Love what you've done with the place.

vlangel · May 4, 2014

The PO4 reducing media worked really well. In 24hours it brought it down from 2.0ppm to .25ppm. I usually ran it around 1.0ppm, (I know that's higher than most folks are comfortable with) so I removed it not wanting to shock my corals. I am really pleased how quickly it worked though.

vlangel · May 4, 2014

Diamond1 said:
Your tank is looking great Dawn. Love what you've done with the place.

Thanks Diamond for the kind words. Just wait, I am getting ready to add an addition to the place - a wing for seahorses!!! You heard it here first!

vlangel · May 4, 2014

Yes, you read the last post right- I am planning a new tank build. I have always loved seahorses but they have some specialized needs that I wasn't ready for until now. I am going to purchase a 30g XH. Because our home does not have AC I need to connect the seahorse tank to the existing tank since it has a chiller. My return from the 36g splits in 2, one half goes thru the UV and one half goes thru the chiller. If I divert the half from the chiller into the seahorse tank but have the controller probe in the DT there may be a degree or so difference in the 2 tanks. That way I can set the temperature at 74-76 which should be OK for both tanks needs. When my fish have all been settled in and I am positive they are disease free I will unplug the UV so as to not kill any beneficial pods or phytoplankton. I hope to have some photosynthetic gorgonians and maybe some easy sponges in the seahorse tank along with some macro algae. I will probably run a skimmer on the seahorse tank too to deal with the nutrients since seahorses are messy eaters. I will definitely buy tank raised that are trained on enriched mysis and after they are eating that well I will offer them some newly hatched bb at times. I'm taking my time with this build. I need to cycle some dried LR I have and maybe add the macro algae and some sold corals first. Then when everything is very stable add the ponies, 2-3 seahorses. I am so excited about this!!!!

ManOfSalt · May 4, 2014

whoa that sounds interesting! cant wait to see how this turns out! Sarah wants a seahorse as well.

vlangel · May 4, 2014

They have some specialized needs, like lower temps to keep them from getting bacterial infections. Also they need enriched mysis twice a day although they will eat pods and newly hatched bb. That makes going away tricky and trusting them to a fish sitter. I don't have that part totally figured out yet. Maybe I could pay my boss from LFS to do one of the feedings. She could stop here on her way to the store.

JerSaint · May 4, 2014

Your tank is looking Great! All of your Euphyillas look amazing! Subscribed.

Diamond1 · May 5, 2014

Sounds like you have a good plan on the start of your seahorse tank. Can't wait to see it come together.

vlangel · May 5, 2014

I was forced to do something I did not want to do - Rosey the nem parked his carcass right under the clam's rock and was stressing the clam big time with his tentacles all over the clam. As a result Clammy's mantle has been pinched looking for 2 days, so tonight I gently but firmly peeled Rosey from his happy place. Needless to say he is no longer happy! I moved him to the opposite rock work and Baby his clown is trying to cheer him up. I hope he's OK.

vlangel · May 6, 2014

Adding the coral pony corral!

I ordered my 30g XH tank and stand for the pony corral addition! While I am waiting for that to come in I dug out some dried LR to work on the aquascape for the new tank. XH tanks can present a challenge to scape but I've entertained making a multi-level tank for years. I will make a 5" box inside the tank, fill it up with sand and in a sense creating a remote DSB inside the DT. The rest of the DT will have 1" of sand. To give you an idea how this will look I used a box to simulate the level inside the tank. So heres what I have so far. I will use some silk or plastic plants at first but will replace those with gorgonians and soft corals as the pocketbook allows. I don't expect to have ponies in the tank until Sept or so. What do you think?

vlangel · May 6, 2014

Going back to the incident with the RBTA and the clam, I am happy to report that all seems well. Rosey settled in her new happy place on the other side of the tank and the clam is opening again and not looking stressed.

SmoothSmoke · May 6, 2014

Wow a seahorse tank! Sounds awesome but a lot of work too.

vlangel · May 7, 2014

SmoothSmoke said:
Wow a seahorse tank! Sounds awesome but a lot of work too.

Ya know, I don't think it so much work as it is commitment! The 2 meals a day of frozen enriched mysis is the biggy. Going away is the trickiest part. I worry about my tank I have now when we leave but a seahorse tank is a whole new level.