Matt's natural reef

[Matt Carden]

Today I cleaned out enough GHA/dino to fill the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket about an inch. It must have weighed 3 lbs.

I didn't see Jerry all day
I hope he didn't jump out and get eaten by my cat or dog.
I tried to put a cover under my light support contraption but it didn't work out too well so I removed it.
I have a plan to incorporate hinged eggcrate around my light support to keep jumpers in, I just haven't had time to build it.

I got my plumbing repaired and my sump back online yesterday but alas my power supply got wet in my leaking plumbing so it shut down. I got the power supply working today and the pump running. Man it smelled like a sewer when it started running. I ran some carbon for a couple hours while I cleaned the algae.
I really need to clean up my electrical management!

I made some homemade frozen food today. I combined Oysters, Mussels, Clams, meal worms, and Crickets blended in a food processor and froze in mini ice trays.

 

[Matt Carden]

Pic update:
This looks similar to Apstasia not sure what it is but my peppermint shrimp are leaving it alone for now.
possibly a Tunicate:
Pseudo Chromis
Peppermint shrimp that has a taste for Apstasia just not the big ones.

Not sure about this, maybe feather duster?

FTS

 

[NY_Caveman]

Possibly a Tunicate. Very cool looking.

 

[Matt Carden]

I saw Blue( pseudo Chromis) chasing after Jerry today. This explains why Jerry seems to be hiding lately. He doesn't stay hidden all day, he just comes out to forage and goes back into a cave for protection. They each seem to have their own side of the tank. I think I need to get more fish to shake things up.

 

[Hemmdog]

Your tank is looking great again! Happy to see that!

 

[Matt Carden]

Your tank is looking great again! Happy to see that!

Thank you!

 

[count krunk]

getting there! Your dry rock is still "breaking in". It will eventually mature and look great. I would continue what you are doing, a decent (not overkill) CUC and manual removal every week or two.

 

[count krunk]

my first tank was a 10g. It has the THICKEST GHA for months. I started doing the right things and one day I cleaned it all and it didn't come back. The rock had finally matured.

 

[Matt Carden]

my first tank was a 10g. It has the THICKEST GHA for months. I started doing the right things and one day I cleaned it all and it didn't come back. The rock had finally matured.

Yeah it's a pain in the rear but it will be worth it in the end. I would rather get the uglies over with instead of prolonging them for a year or two!

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

As promised a better picture of a hitchhiker coral.

Looks like Oculina robusta. Very cool hitchhiker indeed.

This is what mine looks like after 3 1/2 years:

 

[Matt Carden]

Looks like Oculina robusta. Very cool hitchhiker indeed.

This is what mine looks like after 3 1/2 years:

Thank you!

 

[Matt Carden]

Looks like Oculina robusta. Very cool hitchhiker indeed.

This is what mine looks like after 3 1/2 years:

Thank you! Yours looks great!

 

[Hemmdog]

Looks like Oculina robusta. Very cool hitchhiker indeed.

This is what mine looks like after 3 1/2 years:

Wow! Are these available in the hobby to buy? I think they are awesome looking lol.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Wow! Are these available in the hobby to buy? I think they are awesome looking lol.

They're native to the Atlantic. I've never seen them for sale in a store... probably because they're brown and not sparkly like a unicorn.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Wow! Are these available in the hobby to buy? I think they are awesome looking lol.

Very robust as the name implies. That particular coral spent five days in a box covered with nothing but wet newspaper. In November.

 

[Hemmdog]

Very robust as the name implies. That particular coral spent five days in a box covered with nothing but wet newspaper. In November.

Impressive! lol. My acros could take some tips from that coral! lol

 

[Matt Carden]

I have noticed in the last 2 days that my live rock is exploding again! I take this to be a good sign that my uglies are fading.

 

[Matt Carden]

I have new additions to the family today! Coral Beauty,
Christmas Wrasse, and
Yellow Watchman/Pistol Shrimp pair.

 

[norfolkgarden]

Pics! [emoji846]

 

[crusso1993]

Pics! [emoji846]

Yeah, PICS! Or it never happened!