Jar of Rocks

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Tokash23

Tokash23

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Its one of the Par 38 bulbs from amazon. Amazon product This one specifically although i need to find a new lamp housing for it the one i order the shade is too small so the bulb hangs way out it looks stupid. Not that i have a need for a light at the moment anyway there isnt anything in the tank.
 

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Interesting, thanks. Tokash, I would still wait a good while before adding any critters if you want more high end zoas/sps etc. If the jar is just softies then in a sense why not get some shrimp (still not sold on the fish). Either way keep us posted and best of luck with it

I must say though that my jar is full of life even though I've never added anything, the amount of pods and amphipods, the back glass is covered in feather duster worms etc. (And the glass has some flatworms very annoyingly). I'd focus on getting that thing packed out with coral first, I'm yet to have a coral that won't have great extension etc (well one Kenya tree died, but it got delivered upset)

If helpful, in my jar I have

Green stag
Stylophora
Red plate Monti
Bird'snest
Setosa
Milka
2 more sps I can't remember the name of
GSP
Xenia (the boring standard one)
10 types of zoa

I'm a massive fan of zoas so am biased, but if I was you I would get a bunch of frags of zoa in there. Feed loads of reef roids once a week and do a 100% water change that evening that you fed

Let those grow for a couple of months and then revisit the livestock
 
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Tokash23

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I had planned for mostly softies. Maybe if that goes well at first then see about some sps. I always kind of bulked at sps because i considered them a little more picky on water quality to keep. I am shooting for this thing to be very simple. I guess time will tell if that pans out lol. Nothing is ever as simple as one can plan. I will post up some pics this weekend when i find some stuff to add to it.

Maybe i will forgo the fish at first and start with some hardy softies like some gsp or something of the sort. Thanks for the incite LondonReefer.
 

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No worries at all and best of luck with it all.

Btw, when I got my gsp, it sulked for ages and ages so don't be disheartened if it does that. Xenia on the other hand, blinked and it was attached to the glass lol
 
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Tokash23

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Finally put some stuff in the tank. Picked up a green shroom and a few snails to start. My big question is if i messed up or not. I put a lawn mower blenny in there as well and i really dont think itll thrive in this small of a tank. I thought a blenny would be fine because they just perch up but after some research i think i want to take him back. What do you all think?

20200620_155626.jpg
 
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Tokash23

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Little update here been a week since i added the green shroom and lawn mower blenny. I think the shroom was getting too much light it looked close to detaching from its rock so i moved it into some relative shade and re did my rock work. Also ditched the pump for and air stone it already seems to be creating a better circulation that what i had before.

I scored a few free zoa polyps from a shop near me along with some hermit crabs. The zoas looked close to death i asked what they wanted for them and he originally said 5 but dropped the frag plug and they popped right off. He said eh you can have em so hopefully they make it . They havent opened up yet but look to be bright orange. Ill post a pic when/if they open up.

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Tokash23

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Need some advice. How far above the tank should i keep my light? Its a 12 watt amazon bulb and my mushroom detached a few days ago and im thinking it was too much light. Ive read these bulbs put out some aggressive par numbers and just curious to what you guys think.
 
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Tokash23

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Welp dud a full rip clean this morning as i had a wicked algae bloom setting in. Scrubbed everything clean rinsed the sand and 100% new water. Pretty easy process when you only use about 2 gallons of water. Did learn a few things to make it easier for next time.

Other than that things are going alright shroom detached and reattached to a different rock it seems to be doing alright. The zoas i got for free didnt make it. They probably would have if i didnt blast them with light. Oh well ill try a different set hopefully soon to get some more color in there.

Blenny seems to be doing ok. Hides most of the time i really wish i had gone a different route fishwise but the LFS wouldnt take it back. Next additions will be a shrimp of some sort and some more clean up crew.
 

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That’s a cool jar setup.
Try another LFS and see if they will take the blenny. I can’t imagine a store not taking one from you because they sell really easy. They may not give you credit for it, but not a big deal right?
I love @TriggerFinger ‘s idea of sexy shrimp in there. I have 2 in my invert quarantine now and they are probably my favorite invert. I just love the way they dance.
A8DC3E39-E78B-43C8-9B69-23D40A3282A0.jpeg
 
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Tokash23

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That’s a cool jar setup.
Try another LFS and see if they will take the blenny. I can’t imagine a store not taking one from you because they sell really easy. They may not give you credit for it, but not a big deal right?
I love @TriggerFinger ‘s idea of sexy shrimp in there. I have 2 in my invert quarantine now and they are probably my favorite invert. I just love the way they dance.
A8DC3E39-E78B-43C8-9B69-23D40A3282A0.jpeg
Yea i could do that but im limited for options around me. I even told the guy i didnt care if i had to eat the price i just wanted what was best for the fish and he said he quit taking returns awhile back because it led to issues.

I like the sexy shrimp i just dont see them much in either of the stores that are closeish to me. I hate doing online orders the shipping costs just eats at me but may have to do that to get what i want.

Ill post a tank shot when the lights come on later. Fun part about a rip clean is i can do a new aquascape everytime lol.
 
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RIP clean Friday. I love how easy it is to clean this tank. I had everything out scrubbed and put back in within an hour. Also swapped the sand out for black not sure i like it but i was thinking it would be nice contrast for coral. I put an order in for some zoas and some gsp it will be in next week. Pretty pumped for that. My green mushroom the had recently detached is looking good on its new peice of rubble it was nice and plump before the water change. Ill need to eventually up my cleanup crew there are only 3 hermits in there at the moment but not a ton of algae growth so far. Had a mild diatom bloom like 2 weeks ago but it subsided pretty quick. Here are some pics

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Made a few additions yesterday. The orange rim zoas were labeled as bam bams and the green are radioactive dragon eyes i believe along with some unknown polyps that came along with them. Also got some gsp that hasnt really opened yet (it might be getting too much light im not sure yet, ill just give it some time). And last but not least threw an emerald crab in to help with cleanup (i worry hes too bug for the tank he has already trampled over the zoas a couple times).

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Scape looks great, corals all seem happy too. The gsp will open up eventually for sure, they can sulk for a while apparently.

I'd be a little cautious with the bio load here though. I really think that fish should have a bigger tank. As for the crabs, they'll also add to the bio load and will almost certainly need supplemental feeding (ie no where near enough algae to eat)
 
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Scape looks great, corals all seem happy too. The gsp will open up eventually for sure, they can sulk for a while apparently.

I'd be a little cautious with the bio load here though. I really think that fish should have a bigger tank. As for the crabs, they'll also add to the bio load and will almost certainly need supplemental feeding (ie no where near enough algae to eat)
Yea i have been worried about the bioload. I found a different LFS that is relatively close to me i am going to be getting in touch to see if they may take the blenny i really dont want it to die in my care because i was negligent. I have been feeding about every other day mysis shrimp but only in small portions. The crab is getting on my nerves already he currently has one of the zoa frags flipped over and picking at the rock. I will be gluing them down later today when i do my water change to help with that.
 
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Did a clean and rescape on Saturday. I am happy with this scape it has a nice thru cave on the bottom to provide a nice hiding space and plenty of real estate to add many more small frags and let this thing grow out. Green zoas have opened up nicely and there are some bonus blue polys on the back side of it. The bam bam zoas are half open i guess they are a little picky. The green shroom is fat n happy on the bottom, still no sign of the gsp though hopefully its just adjust and will open up soon.

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So after almost 2 weeks after the addition of my zoas and gsp i am a little off put that things arent opening up as much as i would like. The gsp seems to have a handful of polyps open everyday, maybe 20% of the mat if that much. The green zoas were doing well but the last few days only 1 or 2 polyps open and not even all the way. The orange bam bams seem to be settling in ok they have opened consistently the past few days (well 2 of 3 polyps anyway and it appears there is a baby polyp off to the side). The only thing that is doing quite well is the mushroom. I am wondering if i have my light too high off the tank.
I was doing some research on the PAR readings and i know that the ABI tuna blue bulbs are pretty strong but i have a lid on the tank as well which i would assume refracts a good bit of light away. I am thinking i will experiment with moving it a little closer every day to try and get it about 10 inches from the top and see what that does for me. I want to add some more corals but not until the stuff i have seems to be doing well.
 
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Was a day late doing my water change this week and really should have done a rip clean but time wasnt on my side so water out and water in is all that happened. I moved my light a good bit closer over the last week or so to see if that helps with my zoas and gsp not opening all the way. Time will tell if it makes a difference or not. It is currently about 12 inches from the glass lid. I did have a loss over the weekend the emerald crab died. The only thing i can think is that it was for lack of food although i was feeding the tank about every other day but i guess it wasnt enough for it. Ill post a full tank shot later today when the lights come on.
 
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Wish things were coming along a little better but im staying patient gsp still only has a polyp or 2 out. Green zoas up front are about half open. The bam bams have actually come around and looke pretty good. The mushroom up front is fat and happy as always.

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