10 Gallon Mangal
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Topic: 10 Gallon Mangal
Posted By: WhiteReef
Subject: 10 Gallon Mangal
Date Posted: March 21 2011 at 1:42pm
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Well, I have all the items finally to start setting up my tank. All of the mangroves arrived and are currently soaking in fresh water in a vase in my kitchen (they were started/grown in fresh water). I have the root dip ( http://www.microbeliftshop.com/Microbial-Root-Dip/Microbial-Root-Dip-p-219.html - http://www.microbeliftshop.com/Microbial-Root-Dip/Microbial-Root-Dip-p-219.html ). Adam was gracious to supply me with a good amount of sand and rock. Next steps will be to get the tank setup in my office. Aqua-scape -> I am going to make a tower of sand in the back two corner of the tank and grow 2-5 mangroves on each side depending on the space. Then I will be placing some on each side that will be angled toward the opposite wall to give the roots a chance to attach to the rock that holds up the sand in the corners and reach down to the sand in the bottom of the tank. There will be a few that I will be planting in the bottom sand near the front to hide the small pumps. There should be about 4" of sand on the bottom. I will be starting the tank out with fresh water and then gradually add in the salt over the next month. When I add in the water I will be calculating how much salt I need to add, and I guess that I will be adding in around 3 cups of salt, so I will be adding about a 1/4 cup of salt on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until it gets to full strength saltwater ~.023-.025. This will be done when I add in the top off water. Setup with the mangroves, I will be using the root dip per directions on half of the mangroves to see if it helps. The other half will not be placed in the dip. It will be interesting to see if the roots grow any faster and if the ones in the root dip have less transplant shock. Lighting will just be the ambient light from the window and the NO fluorescents in my office. Depending on conditions I may add in a light later on after things are setup and looking good. Heater...no heater, just using the temp of the office to heat/cool the tank. Circulation will be two small pumps placed near the front on each side pointing up and to the back of the tank. Bacteria load will be added by adding in about 1-2 cups of LS from my tank and different macro algaes. Also I have a few rubble rocks that I will be migrating to the new tank. Live stock plans at the moment once it is acclimated and stable will be several damsel fish with macro algae and hardy soft corals, and some sponges if I can remove some from my tank or get some from club members. Also a good clean up crew with several snails, a few hermits, maybe a crab or shrimp, and a serpent star. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Replies:
Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: March 21 2011 at 1:46pm
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Sounds interesting. I'll be following along. ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: March 22 2011 at 12:50pm
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Well, I have finished dry aqua-scaping and wanted to share a few photos so far. Where the mangroves have been since Saturday afternoon. Chill'n in the kitchen.  front shot. I used a good sized piece or Utah rock and managed to break it into workable pieces.  Here is the back side showing all the sand behind the rock walls. I used a stick to push the sand around to fill in as many gaps as I could. Also I thought Adam gave me to much sand, but it looks like it was just about right.  Tomorrow morning I will be moving the dry setup to my office including the mangroves and the root dip. Hopefully the move goes well and it transports okay to the office. When I get there I will be putting in water, dipping half the mangroves, and getting it all in place.
------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: March 22 2011 at 1:09pm
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Awesome! ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: March 22 2011 at 7:45pm
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Well even the best plans have set backs. As I was moving the tank to my jeep, to transport it in the morning, I sat it down on a raised corner accidentally and cracked the bottom of my tank. Dang! At least it is just a few cracks and not a full blow out. Off to Wal Mart tonight, unless someone is up late and wants to sell me a 10 gallon tank. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: March 24 2011 at 10:10am
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Well, I chose to go to petsmart and get my replacement tank. After that it was attempting to redo the same aquascape and prep for moving. This morning all went well with the move and the tank is now setup and in place. It took exactly the 6 gallons as I thought, so I will be adding in 3 cups of salt over the next ~4 weeks. Hopefully they all transition well. Also I was amazed that 21 mangroves would fix in that tank and look as good as they do. Half the mangroves that were not dipped placed in the tank while the others are still waiting out the 15 minute dip time.  All setup    ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: jwoo
Date Posted: March 24 2011 at 10:24am
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That is really awesome! ------------- None at the moment Soon: 72 Gallon Bowfront |
Posted By: JB
Date Posted: March 24 2011 at 2:32pm
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Looking real good there Richard ------------- If not for construction, where would we be? |
Posted By: Deluxe247
Date Posted: March 26 2011 at 12:01pm
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That's pretty cool. I'm curious what your nutrient source is. ------------- 90G Mixed Reef |
Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: March 26 2011 at 1:10pm
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That looks really good! ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: March 26 2011 at 8:43pm
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Nutrient load: "Bacteria load will be added by adding in about 1-2 cups of LS from my tank and different macro algaes. Also I have a few rubble rocks that I will be migrating to the new tank. Live stock plans at the moment once it is acclimated and stable will be several damsel fish with macro algae and hardy soft corals, and some sponges if I can remove some from my tank or get some from club members. Also a good clean up crew with several snails, a few hermits, maybe a crab or shrimp, and a serpent star."
Right now I have added in a Koralia Nano Circulation Pump/Powerhead 425gph. Also I noticed that when I left on Friday the tank was really cold, so I will be bringing in a heater to help keep the tank warm when the office gets a little chilled. Also Monday I start adding salt slowly over the next ~4 weeks.
Question: I have a few pods that are not quite green and are more of a brown color. The leaves on them look okay, but is this normal or something to be concerned about? If this is not normal what can be done to help them. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 4:15pm
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No idea about the brown pods? Also I have what looks like a white bacterial growth on the pods. Should I be concerned? Also after 2 weeks all of the leaves are still on the plants and the water is 1/4 of the way converting to salt water. Also I added 16 drops of Kent Marine iron and manganese to the water each day, next week I will drop that to 8 drops and then 4-5 drops after that. What fish should I add? I was thinking about cardinal fish as there are a few kinds that are found in mangals. Since I want to keep it close to a biotype setup I would be curious as to what others might think. Orange Lined Cardinal ( http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+1926+1431&pcatid=1431 - http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+1926+1431&pcatid=1431 ) Speckled Fowler Cardinal ( http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+26+1718&pcatid=1718 - http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+26+1718&pcatid=1718 ) Red Stoplight Cardinal ( http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+26+1870&pcatid=1870 - http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+26+1870&pcatid=1870 ) Banggi Cardinal What coral should I add? I was thinking about some soft corals, but I am not certain. The tank gets about 5 hours of direct sunlight and about the same of shaded light. Again I would want to keep it along the lines of things that live in mangals and are hardy. I am thinking something along the lines of leather corals. Any thoughts?
------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 6:35pm
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I think leathers would be ok, clove/wood polyps would so fine too. I think a catalina goby or a flaming prawn goby would be awesome for that tank. For the cardinals, out of the ones listed I like the orange lined the best, but that's just me. I noticed some white fuzz when I had mangroves in my frogfish tank it eventually just went away when I upped the waterflow. ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 11:03pm
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I'm envious. Add any coral you want. Mangals are all over the tropical world so all kinds of coral grow in them, including SPS like Pocillipora in Hawaii. Brown propagules are normal, as are brown leaves. What I found was that the propagule goes into a dormancy stage for up to 3 months. During this time, when it feels like it has been stationary/solidly anchored in the substrate long enough, it first sends out roots to help stabilize it against waves and wind before it puts out a new leaf shoot. The shoots are protected by a hard sheath which breaks open and falls off as the nice green leaves start to expand and fill out. I used to just let those sheaths be part of the Mangal environment (the Refugium  ) as they waterlogged and slipped to the Mangal floor to become a tiny source of recycled nutrients. Speaking of nutrients, I simply added dirt/mud (maybe half a cup or so) because dirt, along with fish waste, has all the minerals and nutrients needed for Mangrove growth. If you think about it, all kinds of land run-off provides nutrients to the Mangroves which grow at the margin between land and sea. Here is my favorite Mangal in Kona on the Big Island, just south of Honokohau Harbor, the place where they found all those hundreds of dead Tangs in the dumpster last year. Baby Convict Tangs were swimming in this "pond". I wish I could have brought some home.   ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 11:38pm
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I must say I like the catalina goby, sexy fish. The other goby is way to pricey, but stunning. Thanks for the input on the brown propulates and the white fuzz. Another two weeks and I will be starting to test for salinity to make sure I don't over shoot the mark. I hope that by the 15th I will have the salinity high enough to add in some sand, rock, and macro algae from my home tank. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: April 11 2011 at 11:48am
Well, I am just over the half way mark with the salinity. It just is not reading yet on my hydrometer yet, so it is below 1.017. Hopefully it will be high enough by Friday to add in some macro, LS, and LR rubble. If not, oh well later on then. I must say that I love the shimmer the sunlight gives the tank as it makes it just sparkle, but I am still getting impatient as everyone in the office still wants to see something alive in the tank. Maybe my mini beluga whales will come in or at least mini dolphins  .Still on the fence with fish, so if anyone has a few other suggestions I am all ears!  ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: bfessler
Date Posted: April 11 2011 at 12:45pm
I like it. I've been thinking of putting up a tank at work that wouldn't need a lot of work. A mangrove tank could be cool. ------------- Burt An equal opportunity reefer, I support all hobbyists and organizations involved in Marine Aquarium Keeping. [email protected] |
Posted By: dc
Date Posted: April 11 2011 at 9:34pm
| i have 2 orbic cardinals (sphaeramia orbicularis) the silver/black ones. if you would like one i would be more than happy to give you one. they are both males and fight sometimes. from my understanding they are mangrove fish. let me know |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: May 04 2011 at 2:10pm
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Thanks for the offer on the fish, I will PM you about it. The tank is now completely converted over to SW. All of the mangroves have their leaves still, except for the one in the direct flow of the powerhead (also it looks like it has a 50/50 chance). The only thing that I am needing to start doing is spraying them with fresh water. They have been getting a small build up of salt on them, and the spraying should help correct that. Monday I added in about 1 1/2 cups of sand from my refuguim (loaded with crap), a small piece of LR, a small LBTR from my backyard (living in Magna I find some pieces on occasion), macro algae from my refugium, and some phyto. The tank looked like a mess and I was ashamed to even look at it much since the water was so polluted. Today the water is clear and looking good. Also the roots on the mangroves have been developing nicely and a few of them with partially exposed roots are showing growth (in the photo the red roots are new growth). Also at this point I still do not know if the root dip helped or not.     ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: May 04 2011 at 3:26pm
For me it's impossible to describe that awesome look. It has to be seen to be appreciated.------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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WhiteReef wrote:Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: May 05 2011 at 4:15pm
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Well I finally did it. There is life in my tank! I added in a yellow clown goby, chromis, peppermint shrimp, 3 margarette snails, 3 cyrth snails, green star polyp frag, and 2 different zoanthids. Here are some photos.       ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 12:58pm
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Chromis died...sad... ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: May 09 2011 at 12:02pm
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All 3 margarette snails died over the weekend. I think it might be due to a dead one that was transfered when I seeded the tank. I did not know it was dead, but the smell this morning was nothing but rancid. So far the shrimp looks okay and at least one of the cyrth snails. Also the yellow clown goby is hanging in there. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: May 11 2011 at 3:22pm
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The goby is still doing good and the star polyps, but the zoanthids are not very happy still. I will give them a week or so and if they still look bad then I will be taking them home for my other tank. Went out and purchased a few more things. I got 3 bubble bee snails, 3 nerit snails, some more calerpa, feather duster, tiger pods, and a bangaii cardinal. I have a few pet stores looking for some other cardinal fish for me, hopefully that will work out some time soon. Here are a few updated shots. (I apologize for the poor quality, that's what I get for not having a good camera at work, so my phone is my only option).   ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: May 11 2011 at 11:04pm
When you're ready to cut back the caulerpa let me know!  ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: May 12 2011 at 2:40pm
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I will let you know. It might be a bit before I am ready, but I will let you know.
Here is a better shot of the fish. Fun to watch them play hide and seek.  ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: May 27 2011 at 3:30pm
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Well, I added some supplimental lighting to my tank. I was worried that the macro algae and mangroves were not getting enough light to grow and flurish. My IT department had a spare mounting bracket, so I used that and a dowel for the stand. Then I used the generic utility lamps and 27W bulbs.
Also I removed the zoanthid frags a week ago as they were not doing well, but the GSP are hanging in there. Along with that I added tiger pods to the tank and I have had a good growth rate with them and the other pods from my other tank that were seeded into this one. The fish seem to only be eating the pods as they ignore the flake food I put in.
 ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: June 03 2011 at 10:52am
I finally brought my good camera to give everyone an update and good pics of the tank. This first one is just a full show showing the lights and everything. I have only had the lights on the tank for 3 days, so I am curious to see if the growth improves. The mangroves were growing roots within a few days of putting them into the tank, but it has taken almost this long for the leaves to start to show signs of growth. Also I have been misting them on a daily basis even though the leaves are not getting salt on them, but the pods do get some salt creep. Also there are a few of the mangroves that lost their 'baby' leaves, but most kept them and are looking good. Oh, and don't forget the sea friends hanging out at the top, my beluga and dolphin.
   Here is a close up of the tank. I love the way the C. prolifera has clumped together to form this column of macro algae. The C. peltata seems to be making a showing now along with the C. mexicana. The last two calerpa species came in on some LR from Florida, and the prolifera I purchased at a LFS. I really would love to get some red calerpa, but I need to see if anyone locally has it available.
 This is the typical growth on the mangroves right now, just about nothing, but showing signs that they are close to starting to leaf out.
 Here are some real promissing signs of the mangroves starting to leaf out.
 ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: bur01014
Date Posted: June 03 2011 at 1:35pm
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Looks great.....
I wonder how many co-workers or neighboring offices think your farming something illegal...especially with those lights now...looking at the pictures, I started to wonder what I would think if I saw that setup and wasn't familiar with the hobby....
 ....probably gets you a lot of extra conversation with peeps! |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: June 03 2011 at 2:09pm
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Actually I get traffic into my office periodically to see what new 'life' I have in the tank. No one has brought up about the pot farm yet. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: June 27 2011 at 3:42pm
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Well I finally have my cardinal fish! Now my tank is full of life. I went over to the Aquarium and they had exactly what I wanted! Now it is just a wait and see how things settle in. Also I have been seeing some really good growth on the tops of the mangroves 2 yellow striped and 4 red/copper striped (were listed as gold striped at the store)   Growth shots of the mangroves.   ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: June 29 2011 at 3:46pm
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Did some research on the fish and found out their actual names for the cardinal fish I added. The fish are starting to get a pecking order setup and still doing good. Apogon margaritophorus - Red/Copper Striped Cardinal ( http://fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=58156&genusname=Apogon&speciesname=margaritophorus - http://fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=58156&genusname=Apogon&speciesname=margaritophorus ) Apogon cyanosoma - Yellow Striped Cardinal ( http://fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=4600&genusname=Apogon&speciesname=cyanosoma&AT=Apogon+cyanosoma&lang=English - http://fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=4600&genusname=Apogon&speciesname=cyanosoma&AT=Apogon+cyanosoma&lang=English ) ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: June 30 2011 at 3:13pm
Well I found another jewel to add to the tank, red macro algae Halymenia Floridana. There were a few pieces at Fish4U and I bought one and found 2 lovely hitchhiker mini brittle stars on the algae. Nice to finally add some color other than green to the tank.  ( http://marineplantbook.com/marinebookhalyfloridana.htm - http://marineplantbook.com/marinebookhalyfloridana.htm )
------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: July 01 2011 at 7:52am
Awesome, I  it.
------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: July 13 2011 at 9:27am
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Sad day...I lost one of the copper lined cardinal fish. They had been eating just fine, so I'm not sure why it died. Also my yellow clown gobby is one skinny thing. I tried rotifers to see if he would eat them, but from what I observed he did not touch them. He is still hanging on. If anyone has a good suggestion on what to feed him, I am ears. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: August 17 2011 at 11:43am
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Well the bangaii cardinal and yellow clown goby died. The clown goby was a starvation problem as it would not eat anything. The bangaii just disappeared one day, kind of odd. I thought I would give a little update on the tank and how it is doing. The mangroves are doing really well and only 2 or 3 still have not started producing new leaves. Also the macro algae is flourishing. The only thing that I have noticed is the copper lined cardinals are hiding out more in the top layers of the tank within the algae. All of the cardinals are taking flake food. Also I have removed one of the lights as the mangroves were getting close to the bulb.    ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: September 02 2011 at 3:46pm
I have branches now! One of the mangroves has branches starting.    ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 03 2011 at 10:58am
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THAT'S AWESOME I love it. I see the red Macroalgae is growing. Thinking about what fish I would add, pure and simple that's a Damsel, and even a Clownfish habitat for sure. If I was still around there, I'd offer you a couple baby Nemo's for free, just so you could enjoy them. I'd also consider a Blenny, assuming there is soft algae growing on glass and rocks. Might have to remove a few snails to ensure the Blenny has enough to eat. Blenny's have personality. I love 'em. Damsels also have personality. (A lot different than Cardinals as I'm sure you've noticed, they just sit there....) Have fun. I just love it.   ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: September 04 2011 at 9:35pm
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Thanks for the feedback, Mark. The brown/copper/orange lined cardinal fish are rather docile, but the gold/yellow lined cardinal fish seem to add some enjoyment as they are the dominant ones in the tank. I don't know about a damselfish other than if they were to only ones in the tank as all my experience with them has been bad. Meaning, they harass any new fish to the point of death or they bit the hand that feeds them. I would consider clownfish or blenny, but right now I am happy for the most part with the fish in the tank. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: November 16 2011 at 11:07am
I lost one of the mangroves the other day. It was all shriveled up, so I threw it out. Also when I was doing some maintenance on the tank I accidentally broke the top off of one. It was one of the smaller ones that was not really doing much. As of right now I still only have the one that branched out. There seems to be a bit of hair algae (green and red) growing in the tank. I think it is time to do a water change to help things out. Here is the latest view of the tank.  ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: March 01 2012 at 9:54am
Well at this point I thought that I would provide an update to things. I am now down to just 1 gold striped and 2 copper striped cardinalfish. Also I have added in 5 astrea snails and an emerald crab (which I have not seen since I put him in the tank. The 4 small snails are still there doing fine along with the shrimp.   The mangroves are still growing a little, but not much. The one that I broke the top off of seems to be budding out a new stalk, but I will have to wait and see if that happens (fingers crossed). Another thing that I have noticed is that the woody part of the stems are starting to grow outward. Also my tank got really low on water and covered one of the smaller mangroves in salt spray. By the time I got to it, it was too late. Growth shot of the roots.  See the little bud, maybe it will turn into something...  See how the stock is splitting. My guess is that the stem/trunk is growing.  Death by salt spray. It is to entangled in the rockwork to remove it.  The red algae that I got for the tank is all but gone. I don't know if it was the sunlight, but it just did not do to well. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: March 02 2012 at 10:56am
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Yesterday I was having an issue finding one of the fish, and I think it was stuck in the algae. When I found it today it was dead. Down to one of each cardinal. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: March 09 2012 at 3:16pm
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I took a new position at my work, and as a result I will be loosing my window office for a cubical. That also means I will be moving the tank a short distance. I will post pictures of the move. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: July 12 2013 at 2:02pm
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It has been awhile since I posted any updates. The tank has had quite a few things happen. The tank is now in its new home and has been for some time. Unfortunately all but one of the gold striped carnal fish died, so I was down to one fish for awhile. Also all of the corals did not survive, and the red algae died too. When I moved the tank I did not have the light setup on a timer, and as a result the mangroves were not getting sufficient lighting. Since then I have added a timer and things are looking much better. Along with that I have been doing a 1 gallon water change weekly to keep water quality in check. Since things stabilized I added in two sunshine chromises and some soft corals. I first added a kenya tree and it has been opening up fine, so I added in a mushroom and GSP.   ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: July 12 2013 at 6:41pm
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Aloha, Mangroves grow much better in conditions of 80% humidity more akin to their natural environment. My guess is that the vertical splits on the trunk is growth as it appears in the 20% humidity environment of Utah. I don't know if I showed this before but here is a pic of Mangroves as they grew bushy in my enclosed sump. All this new green growth you see in this pic happened in about a year. Just thought it might be helpful to see the comparison.  Mark 808-345-1049 ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: July 12 2013 at 9:43pm
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Thanks for the info. Since the lighting schedule things have improved. I spray the mangroves every day I am in the office, and make sure that any salt creep is removed. Since the lighting change I have seen good growth signs, but I might need to upgrade the lights. Currently I am only running one 28 watt 5k bulb, and I think I could get better results with a stronger light. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: October 24 2013 at 12:10pm
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I have changed a few things out to help the mangroves and I will see how well it helps. I changed the CF light to a 75W plant light, and I spray the plants several times during the day. The reason is that an office is rather low on humidity, and that is my way to combat that. Another change I made was to start using a phosphate absorbing media along with carbon. This is in a hopes that I can help get rid of the green hair algae that has found a home in a few spots. Also there has been an outbreak of green slim algae on the sand, and I hope to get that under control soon. I added some LED lights to the tank, and that has helped me keep some different corals, and it has made the previous ones much more happy. Also I have added a few things to the tank. Two weeks ago I added about 5 snails, an emerald crab, a hermit crab, red macro algae, and green mermaids cup macro. Also I now have a frog spawn, green star polyps, green mushrooms, blundel buttons, and a kenya tree. All of those are doing well. I did add a cutting from my gorgonian, but it is not doing so well. Also the sebae anemone I added a few weeks back disappeared and I can not find it, so I think it passed away. Also this week I added in a pair of clownfish. Here are some updated pics.   ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: October 24 2013 at 4:30pm
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I have a new mangal system just going up now! Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: October 24 2013 at 4:39pm
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Awesome! I can't wait to see some pictures! ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: October 24 2013 at 5:27pm
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If you want to brough the root dip I used, let me know. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: October 24 2013 at 5:52pm
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Wish I would have! I'm super nervous on the transplant (already done). We'll see if they pull through. Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: April 28 2014 at 4:49pm
The LED lights that I was using finally died on me. They were in the water one to many times and gave up. I changed them out for a T5 setup. Since then I lost the macro algae in the tank and I have been battling some hair algae. Also I added a few other corals. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: April 28 2014 at 4:55pm
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Oh, on an interesting note. I added 4 fish, 2 clowns and 2 sunshine chromis. The clownfish disappeared, and one of the chromis. Also I added an anemone, but that also disappeared. The rumor in the office was that the cleaning crew took them since there was nothing left in the tank that would have indicated where they went. However, after being out on vacation for a week, when I came back one of the clown fish showed up. The thing that is funny about it, no one in the office claims to have added it and I have a hard time believing that after so long the fish would just show up after being missing for several weeks. Good mystery! ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: May 16 2014 at 9:34am
Someone in the office has been bugging me for awhile to get a mermaid in the tank. His idea was a potential HR issue, so I I found a compromise to that. Had to show my Disney side. Also I have noticed the emerald crab in the tank eating the hair algae, yea! ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: February 05 2015 at 1:36pm
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Update: The tank had a horrible algae bloom. I suspect it was due to others in the office over feeding. I worked on solving the issue, but it really did not get any better. As a result I chose to break down the tank and bring it home for some remodeling. However, the stress of the move killed everything! Ugh! @#$%@$. Anyway, at this time the tank is no longer. However, I may at some future point start it back up again. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: February 05 2015 at 7:11pm
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I still really like this thread. Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |