Stand Alone Macro Build - It begins

Dancingmad · Feb 1, 2017

Day 2 of cycling. I built this with a "dollar a gallon" 29G petco tank, a ~20+ yr old stand that I originally got as a child (Repainted and plywood'd the top), and a bunch of gear that's been collecting dust in the garage. The pressure to make room for my wife's car gave me an excuse to go forward with another build.

Its got a large piece of "Texas holey rock", a dense, cool shaped limestone boulder - not a great biological filter, but I totally dig the nooks and crannies kinda like an English muffin but different.. A completely over-sized ancient sump (~30G volume), an overflow box, left over plumbing/pump etc. Using discontinued kessil freshwater planted tank light as well.

Two Goals -
1. I'm looking to grow some edible algae for the DT and for sharing locally as a short term goal.
2. Inspired by @Wiz I'm even considering adopting what most reefers consider undesirables (Gratz on the Eunice worm acquisition if you read this - freakin' sweet bud) - Fuzzy crabs, killer conchs, Mantis shrimp, worms, etc. Creepy crawly critters are awesome.

So a few of questions on this rig as the real tinkering begins:

1. Do I need a bunch of biological filtration for a macro setup? I have tons of rubble available to accomplish this task if needed.

2. Skimmer or Skimmerless? I've got some skimmers in the boneyard I can bust out, but I've heard of going skimmerless is possible on this type of setup.

3. I decided on a DSB - not for the nitrate consumption, but because I genuinely like the aesthetics of it, and I'd like to get some "rooting" algae(e.g. Shaving brushes). I put a 2-3" layer of mud inbetween a crushed oyster shell base and a finer aragonite top thinking it would provide nutrients for rooting algae to seek out. At the highest point the DBS is 7-1/2" and valleys at 4-1/2". Good/bad choice or doesn't matter?

4. Livetock suggestions! This'll be stand alone so I'm not so worried about pod production and soforth. What should I put in this joker?! I do like seeing the tiny critters, so I'm leaning away from mandarin/wrasse types that like to om-nom all the things, all the time. I've got a chiller kicking around in the garage too, which almost had me think about a Seahorse stable for the lower temp requirements, but I know I don't have the attention and constant care required to keep a successful stable.

Happy reefin, y'all!

eatbreakfast · Feb 1, 2017

You don't need much biological filtration, as the algaes will consume the nutrients.

I'd go skimmerless, as a skimmer will reduce available nutrients, and decrease CO2.

As long as you don't have any diggers that go deep into the samd a dsb will be fine.

I suggest a Paraclinus blenny or a Xenojulis wrasse. They prefer seagrass beds and algae fields in the wild.

Wiz · Feb 1, 2017

Thanks

and looks great. Just remember, with a dsb you must be sure the sand stays "live". You don't want a buildup in the sand due to stagnation. All those worms and such areally super important. You don't need much for filtration. Might keep a reactor ready just in case. But the fuge should handle it. mud might get blown around but is helpful. Rocks are only necessary as hides or homes for whatever you put in. And some rooting macros like the red feather plant.
Hope it turns out well

Wiz · Feb 1, 2017

As far as stock, I like unique. Things you wouldn't normally have In a display. Maybe a garden eel. Of coursee eunice, mantids, and other fun stuff. Maybe research which fish tend to inhabit planted areas around the reefs.

I don't think things that dig are much of a problem personally. It is the ones they eat the worms and such in the sand that are a problem. Diggers are actually helpful. The worm has been moving the top layer of sand since I put him in there and I find it quite helpful. The sand actually looks healthier

Chanjad385 · Feb 1, 2017

Nice looking rock there.

I'd go for a wrasse.

Dancingmad · Feb 2, 2017

Thanks for the replies! I need to get my hands on some worms! Unless I got lucky and that miracle mud happened to have some hanging out. Otherwise this is a "sterile" setup with exception to one bioball from my other DT for some seedin'. I used to have the beneficial bristle worms and tons of micro brittle stars in my main DT, but lost all of them in the great red planaria battle of 2014. All the micro brittles formed an orgy of death in the middle of my tank as the red planaria died (thus releasing their toxins). I wish I could have snapped some pictures/video of the unfortunate event - they formed a giant mass ball of doom. One of the weirdest things I've witnessed in this hobby. Sad times.

Maybe I'll buy a live rock from a LFS and get lucky w/ some worms/critters. I kinda wanna get a cucumber - hear they're terrific sand sifters and leave tiny critters alone. I'll keep this thread refreshed w/ updates as they are available - or at least until someone calls me a forum necromancer(Someone who revives old threads from the dead)!

Dancingmad · Aug 10, 2017

Time for an update and some pictures! All kinds of Macro added - I'm thrilled my sea lettuce has taken hold on the back wall of the tank. Will be an excellent harvest area for feeding the DT in the livingroom. Still no fish.

I went to a couple of LFS in town and seeded the tank w/ all kinds of micro fauna. Basically asked them for a dirty ol' frag plug that had some worms crawling all over them. So far I'd detected at least 3 different varieties of worm (bristle, spaghetti and dorvilleidae - score!). A few giant bristle worms in there too!

Needless to say every type of life I introduced completely blew up to epic proportions then died off and stabilized. It was really cool it watch. Pineapple Sponges, feather dusters, ctenophores, amphipods, and glass flatworms all had ridiculous pop spikes.

I only dose a little iron for the red macros and have done zero water changes. A few ceriths - full sized and dwarf + all the micro criters are my CUC.

I still haven't decided what, if any substantial creatures to add. We'll just let it run! Here are some pictures.