Heres my NanoCubeHD-12DX

[Master Er]

After some persuation and tips on posting pictures, I finally did it. Not much to show since all of my corals are tiny fragments which would hardly show in full fiew. This is my first cube, the other one is still in the modding proccess...so I kinda lacked information on my real estate which was too late.

My tank composed of 16Lbs. Live Rocks and 5Lbs. Live Sand..

Close-up of my Live Rock...

Pics of what I have at the moment...

My Little Yellow Sea Cucumber

What is so cool is that the green algae on the rocks have slowly turned purple. At first I thought it was an algae outbreak but after reading a thread somewhere and comparing what I saw, I did notice the color changes.
Besides the pics, I also have a Capnella, GSP, and another zoo, and my cleaning crew composed of:

4 Astraeas
3 Bumble Bee Snails
2 Ceriths
2 Margeritas
3 Hermits (black-small, blue-medium, scarlet-large)
1 Seerpent Brittle Star (and 8-10 babies)
1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

Will add 2 Nassarius Vibex Snails if I find some. Do I have too much?

 

[mikeguerrero]

Marlowe,

Nice start, I like the coloration of the rock, nices purples. What you can do to give you more real estate is don't add any more corals or polyps yet. When you get the other tank going, transfer some of this live rock into the other tank. This will free up space and allow you to become creative.

When we first begin a cube, our LFS uses the 1 gallon per pound deal, I fell for that too. That doesn't work in my opinion. That works good in big reef tanks but not in nanos. If you do insist on that much rock, then let it be very small pieces and maybe some rubble.

Having like one nice large rock in the middle and working around it would be nice. It's amazing that your rock work looks just like my old mikeguerrero tank.

Keep the pics comming as you continue to build/downsize or landscape.

Mike

 

[Master Er]

Yeah, I fell for that rock ratio deal...too late. Remember, I told you I had the same formation as you. Anyway, soon as I get my Pico started I'll transfer some of the rocks there. Also, I've been asking some tips on the board on how to do fragments so I wouldnt have to add any more rocks. The rocks ($3.49/lb)a mix of Fiji (purples) and Brazilian (reds)....I like the reds but they grow slow compared to the purples. Funny thing is, the coralines are all growing on the rocks and not on the backing of the tank . Do I have too much cleaners? Oh yeah, I also posted the mods I did to my other tank in the DIY Index. lol!!! By the way, what kind of mushroom do I have?

Thanks for the comment....

 

[mikeguerrero]

Your tank is too new to start having the coraline grow on the back wall, thats a sign of an aged and rather mature reef tank.

Mike

 

[Master Er]

I have a friend who started his tank 2 weeks earlier than me has corlaine on the back of his tank but not that much on his rocks. Anyway for me its a plus....stay on the rocks. By the way, I have these white swirly things growing on the back wall, looks like bird dung...what are those things? And should I scrape them off?

 

[mikeguerrero]

Are they moving or stagnant?

Mike

 

[Master Er]

They'rejust there.....if you look at the picture of my tank, you'll see some white spotson the upper right corner. Some have turned yellowish. I have them too on some of my rocks. Been there for quite some time now. I didnt scrape them off thinking some creature might emerge from it. White and swirly like ice cream.

 

[sadielynn]

you have a nice tank there Master very nice
I know what you mean by the fragments
mine has been up since oct 04 and I am still "tweaking" mine
and watching it go so slowly

 

[Master Er]

Thank you very much Sadielynn. I admit that this hobby requires alot of patience and thats a good thing I have a lot of it. Infact I actually enjoyed modding my tank more than anything (posted on the DIY Index), unfortunately theres nothing left to do but just watch the live rocks evolve. Come to think of it, does anyone have any suggestions on what else could be done? Thanks again Sadielynn.

 

[Anonymous]

looks good - but I agree - maybe a little less rock so that you have more actual water volume and space, and now be patient. You have a very nice selection of frags to start. Stick to a theme and watch for exceptional pieces and add just the nicest colors you can find cuz before you know it ir will be full.
IMO oranges, yellows, and flo greens, tend to stick out more against a purple rock background then other colors. As far as coraline algae goes, within 2 months you should have spots growing on the glass if your Ca, DKH, and I levels are kept correct.
white swirls??? hard to say but if they are Ca based probably tube worms?????
Also real like you mods - you really did an awesome job on the overflow and the fuge light - very creative!!!

 

[sadielynn]

patients is something that I am working on
I too fell for the rock to h20 ratio and weeded some out of mine
I would guess that the white squiggleys are tube worms ,we have quite a few on
our lr I will have to get more pictures of our tank with the new arrivals up

 

[Master Er]

Thanks again everyone....I scanned my tank carefully last night and hahaha, did see small purple coraline spots on the back wall, they were too tiny to be seen during the day. Is that good or what? I mean, it would look kinda messy with stuff growing on the backwall, wouldnt it? As for the colors, yeah, I was trying to find some orangey or yellowish zoanthids but couldnt find any. I like the purple that I have but the problem is it tends to blend in with the rocks. The newest addition was the yellow polyp but that was set on a white rock and did want to move it to a purple rock though I have no idea if that is possible. For now I have to stay away from anything purple or green. Its hard to find zoanthids here....they sell fast!!!

Johnanddawn-good you like the mods I did, though I should have posted a pic explaining how to set the pumps for the over flow...height and flow strength.