This summer I decided we didn't really need help selling our aquacultured RBTAs or clown fish. I also have wanted to do a nano tank
picto style for a while. So out came our breeding pair of clowns, and began the adventure into SWE's current Nano.
I always use rods and monster tubes of super-glue for rockwork, so I decidedly went against that habit to expand my horizons. The left structure is two rocks with a thick ring of DnD AquaScape Construction Epoxy. It looked a little goofy at first, but now that the Coraline is coming in it looks just fine and is certainly overkill for structural integrity.
Both rocks have been sitting in sumps for years, so they came with plenty of fauna including a candy stripe pistol shrimp (I noticed it a week after it was set up and only saw it that once since). The rocks are raised up on 3" PVC pipes which are barley visible. I like to do this to let the detritus drop off, keep the rocks stable, and not waist any filtering power.
I added a Tunze 6025 behind the left rock. It's hidden surprisingly well. The back simply has a stealth heater, return pump, and loads of rubble rock. There is enough room to drop a filter bag in with carbon or the original filter pad when necessary (useful when I added sand back in).
Weekly 5g water changes are made from our Top Down Display. RO top off is done... not as often as it should be, by hand.
11/05/08
I accidentally turned on the light timer for a few weeks strait... nice algae bloom. I slowly added the clean up crew. Then some more. Since I am trying to do this like it was at home I decided not to use the.... throw-in-the-shipment-of-1000-astrea-for a-day-method. Which is fortunate because if I had, i would have never noticed the light was on 24-7.
Since I just had a couple of zoanthids and my GSP starter frag in there, I simply turned off the lights for two days and let the clean up crew do their thing. I was thinking I would have to add carbon for a while, but now there isn't a single evidence of algae... I better cut back some of my cleaning crew!
Stock Current list (added over the last 2 months)
Zoanthids on the rock work
GSP on the back wall
Current Critters:
Couple astrea
few nassaria
Many Money Cowries
gaggle of cerith
sprinkling of nerites
trio of trocus
singular long-spine urchin Got too big, pulled.
Singular Mexican Turbo -Did his job, pulled
Pistol shrimp. (I can hear him, but haven't seen him in a while)
Half dozen sexy shrimp
fist full of too small to sell peppermint shrimps (wow they grow fast though)
ORA tiger
goby pair
ORA sharknose goby pair
Yellow assessor
Plans for critters:
One of the things I regret not getting into the store from the get go is a proper invert system. I had hoped to use acclimation boxes in the tanks, and we do to separate out pseudochromis and such fellas... but nano fish and verts are tough to keep in our selling tanks at this time. Good for me! We have plenty of critters who have gotten sucked into our coast to coast overflows and sumps and living all over the place!
What I find I get to throw in. Li just found an ORA tiger striped goby we thought we lost to the Volcano months ago. Can you say, "trans-loca-tion"?
I did order some trimma gobies and I will put in some porcelain crabs once I am sure the tank is aged enough to support their vigorous filter feeding habits.
And, as I have hinted... I'll probably find a pistol goby for the pistol shrimp. I'm not in a rush for that one though as it wasn't part of my original plan.
Corals. I'm just sticking with zoanthids.
I doubt I will find time till Spring to pull out the SLRs. But I will see what I can get with my click click camera.
By the way. We abuse our cameras at the store (seriously when they break its because I keep a million things in my pocket). We have been very happy with Cannon's SD series. All our pictures are from SD1000 and now SD1100. Little to no editing needed, even with full actinics on.
OK a couple quick shots. Blog you later
