Pico Reef Surgery (maintenance tools)

[brandon4291]

Tonite is service-the-nanos nite and I was able to get a few shots in to show how I work on the reefbowl and the femtoreef. I have always used latex (non powdered) gloves when going into the water column, because skin contaminants such as soaps and chemical hitchhikers will do quick damage. I also like to use surgical tools because they can be wiped clean in between servicings, preventing contaminations in the small water column

b429

 

[brandon4291]

The old tried-and-true technique of "rub it with your fingers" works well here. Gloved fingers that is.

 

[brandon4291]

SPS are working well in here, this is how I glue each of my frags into the two reef tanks---

 

[brandon4291]

this is a shot looking down into the reef side from the top. notice the tiny tiny little biological scaling going on...there is a one-inch space of free water column in between the reef structure and the front wall of the tank. Its all in the same proportions to the larger systems out there...

from this angle you can see Montipora (brown and pink var.), Clavularia, star polyps, Anthelia and a little two-headed Caulastrea frag, about the size of a pencil eraser.

 

[brandon4291]

after I wipe off a little salt creep and the spots, it gets a windexed paper towel to give it another week's shine.

 

[brandon4291]

as long as I dont spill chems on it when dosing, it stays clean long enough for me to consider it a low-maintenance, low-tech system.

 

[skylsdale]

Looks good Brandon. Can we get a shotof the substrate in the pico bowl? I'm curious as to what kind of life you have proliferating in there...

 

[brandon4291]

-Thanks skylsdale- Ill be able to get more pics on tonite after I get home from wk. Ill toss in a couple feed pellets and see what comes out for a bite/pic

I do know there is maybe 20-30 pods, one tiny eunicid worm, and about five bristles as far as I can tell. The other day I pulled out a two inch bristle worm with my hemos (added him to the reefbowl) he was way too big for the scaling. He tried to hide but his hindquarters stuck out of the rocks, he was too long to fit in all the way! Its not hard to account for most of your rock life when your total rock volume is about the size of two golf balls broken up and glued here and there.

B

 

[brandon4291]

Oh the Bowl, I should read more carefully. Ill get a good pic of those little guys tonite too, at least a hundred come out every time its feeding time so they wont be hard to catch on cam. Using LS has worked great in there, Ill try to get a close up of all the worm tracks. I wonder, even though its very hard to get a true DSB reduction effect in nanos, does anyone think it will be possible in the reef bowl due to its irregular shape? To me it seems like at least the bottom center mass should be very low oxygen, the sand bed depth is about 4-5 inches deep and that conical shape may change a few dynamics. maybe not, it will be neat to see what happens in the course of another year.

 

[M.E.Milz]

Brandon, I found a 2+ gallon glass vase/container that measures ~12" high by ~8" in diameter. What lighting have you used for this size of a container. My best options would be CSL's 27watt 6700K & 9watt 7100K retrofit, although this might be a little much for such a small tank. The only other option is CSL's mini-mite lights that have 2x 9watt bulbs (0ne 6700k and one 7100K). Any thoughts?

Mike

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like Brandon's starting a trend.

 

[brandon4291]

That sounds alot like my bowl's dimensions, it should work well. I am currently using a Coralife Minimight (not familiar with CSL but if its the same I say go for it) 9 watt pc x2, 7700K daylight and actinic on the other 9 watt PC bulb/
your larger CSL versions may work better. If you can find a way to retrofit that other brighter light over your vase you may like it better. I am needing more light than comes from my minimight so I had to supplement with an extra palm light. My hammer extends so far that he shades others under him, so I hit them from the side with a few rays.

One of the things that puzzles me most about these small vessels is the slow rate of growth of the corals, which is good for us because we would hope we can get some good viewing time out of it before having to prune and relocate. the polyps are very colorful and extended well, so surely they are healthy considering how long they have been in here as well as the asexual reproduction going on (caulastreas, mushrooms, gsps, etc). Another factor Im not quite sure of may be my light limitations---it may be enough to sustain them happily but not like a big MH setup that runs them at their metabolic max and super-fast growth rates you guys get out of your larger systems. Thats one reason, maybe, why xenias and gsp havent taken over everything. So having said that, if you use larger lights you may get much quicker growth and more pruning maint., depending on how you stock.

pics Mike lemme see

Also, you may want to try some other design features. I would love to have less evap., but my purely airstone driven circ. system wont allow for that. What if you used a small pwrhd for your main circ., (75%) and a small airstone lightly driven (25% of circ. needs) to keep the airspace under your lid refreshed. You might get much less evap and still be able to meet your gas exchange needs for the inhabitants. Its well worth a try if you want, the only reason I havent yet is because I can't bring myself to take it all apart. The airstone system definately works, though, so that is reliable without risk. Be sure your ambient room temp is very stable, and with the right mini heater (6 inch/50-25w) you'll have no temp probs.

good luck Mike it will work just fine either way Ill bet.

b429

 

[M.E.Milz]

Thanks Brandon. I am still assembling the components for the system. I plan to use a small power head for circulation. I also just picked up a 25watt heater. BTW, I am still keeping my eyes open for other containers just in case I see something I like better.

 

[brandon4291]

I'd also be interested to see what the evaporation is like with just a purely pwrhd driven system (open top) it may be less than with a partially-capped air driven system. If you left it uncovered so it would have fresh air for exchange, you wouldnt have any bubbles popping to carry the water out, and the restricted neck diameter might hopefully help in slowing evap. Also, why not set up a true plenum in there and stack that bed high--the shape of the vase will allow you to go with a very deep SB relative to your water column.

The next reefbowl ground to be broken is the first successful long-term housing of a small goby or other fish by someone. I can't bring myself to put one in, although Ive considered it, because I don't want to change the water every few days. And if he dies in the rocks somewhere, thats an emergency surgery I dont want to mess with but its chiefly because I have about 5 pounds of LR glued exactly how I want it with tunnels and caves.
However, an aged DSB set up properly along with LR and a little luck might actually be able to process his wastes (NO3->N gas) giving him a healthy place to live.


congratulations on your recent second squat. Im very very far away from even one.

 

[brandon4291]

there are so many things Ive wanted to try lately I just let go with my thoughts on the first person who mentions setting one up! whatever you build will surely work fine because its really just a simple mechanim at work, the fact that corals are relatively low bioload animals so there isn't much waste to build up in a reefbowl. Now that people are making small hq lights for nanos, the doors to experimentation are wide open. I think by the time its over youll drop $300 into the bowl but its worth it, because thats about it except for a couple additives. Many skimmers alone cost that much so that is one nice benefit of a reefbowl.