The_Nexis_One's Tank Photos

[Samala]

John (The_Nexis_One) hasnt been around RC lately but he sure has been busy with his seagrass tanks. I recently viewed a number of his tank photos and John graciously agreed to let me share them here. I dont know any major specifics about the tank, though I imagine it is the same one he commented on previously this year. I do believe John is dosing NO3 and CO2.

So, view the photos, drool and we'll just have to wait to hear back from John about all the how-I-did-it aspects. :D

Tank inhabitants are mangrove, saltwater mollies (Poecilia latipinna (?)), Halodule wrightii, grass shrimp, a Strombus conch and Thalassia testudinum.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/slardizabal/john/nine.jpg
Unbelievably beautiful stand of Halymenia, hard to believe this grew from a small frag I sent!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/slardizabal/john/eleven.jpg
Grass shrimp hanging out in shoal grass

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/slardizabal/john/five.jpg
Nice banded goby next to, what I believe is Fauchea

[Samala]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/slardizabal/john/eight.jpg
More gorgeous Halymenia

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/slardizabal/john/one.jpg
Baby saltwater mollies, mangrove stem..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/slardizabal/john/seven.jpg
Adults in shoal grass bed

[Samala]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/slardizabal/john/three.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/slardizabal/john/ten.jpg
Just fantastic

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/slardizabal/john/six.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/slardizabal/john/twelve.jpg
Conch hiding in the grasses..

Thanks again to John for letting me share a bit early. John I hope you are around a little to maybe tackle a question or two, I'm sure they'll come up. ;)

>Sarah

[moosejac]

I used to have some Halymenia like that...sooo pretty. Stupid dinoflagellates.

[mr. bojangsjang]

OMG that tank is orgasmic! I love that red algae!!!

Im really surprised the mollies havent munched on the plants yet.

[graveyardworm]

Thank you Sarah, excellent photos. Definitly looks like John's been busy. I would like to know tank size, lighting, how much flow, does it have a sump, does it have a skimmer, and dosing? :D Not too many questions.

[graveyardworm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7968687#post7968687 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mr. bojangsjang
OMG that tank is orgasmic! I love that red algae!!!

Im really surprised the mollies havent munched on the plants yet.

I think the mollies primarily eat algal film.

[Samala]

No not many questions at all.. geez.. just pretty much everything. Hehehe.

On the molly front, I've had them and they seemed to work great in the seagrass tanks. Much more grazing than biting and decimating the plants. A few stray bits of shoal and stargrass nibbled, nothing major. I see them in the lagoon here all the time. Some really gorgeous color morphs too - iridescent green bodies with super electric orange tails and sails and red pectorals. Just be-a-utiful fish. Females are pretty drab though.

I believe the tank has MH lighting. Lets see if I can prod John into popping in for a bit.

>Sarah

[The_Nexis_One]

Howdy Sarah, David, and all.

Sorry for my lack of participation here lately, work has taken over life, but a reprieve is in sight. I'm working on the tanks daily it seems like (tinkering and additions), and also writing up some info to post about mangrove maintenance.

As for the pictures: thank you all for the kind thoughts!

The system is almost as it was a few months ago when we had the KNO3 and Fe dosing threads. "Almost" the same due to my tinkering (it keeps me sane) with them and adding lots of critters.

The system is about 90Gallons total and consists of two glass displays, an inline plastic rock box, and a 10g sump (temp for the 20 w/ baffles). The primary Display is a 40g Breeder with ~2" DSB and 150w DE HQI pendant (Current USA). The lagoon is a 40g AGA that is drilled/partitioned for a end overflow. The tank section is 42x12x12 with about 5" of DSB, this leaves a shallow, long tank area for the lagoon @ around 27g. Both displays are fed from a common Mag 9.5 pump and the 40breeder has a Maxi 1200 w/ Hydro-flo.

The Lagoon, where the Halymenia, Thallasia, and dense stand of shoal grass lives is lit by 2 Lights of America 65w CF's (6500K). With only 8" of water, they are strong enough to do the job nicely on the shoal grass/haly and keep the Turtle grass alive, although not spreading.

I dose: KNO3, Fe, and CO2. I have stocked the tank with fish as if it were a reef and feed more than I should every day, and I still fight to keep the nitrates up enough to hold Caulerpa from sporulating... I feed heavy primarily due to still having my original Damsel from my first saltwater system (May 2000)... it keeps him passive and not chasing/tearing fins of the gobys/mollies/chromis. But I just can't seem to get rid of my oldest fish... the one who has been through every algae bloom, every issue, the two crashes, the over feeding, the lack of feeding.... come to think of it... that fish should be nominated for some kind of award... It must be the Chuck Norris of damsels!

All the adult Mollies were converted from freshwater (about 7 hour drip acclimations). The Molly fry in the tank were from two of the females that were in mid stages of gravidity at the time of acclimation.

Thanks!
John.

[BrianPlankis]

Sarah,

Fabulous pictures and seagrasses and great article on Reefkeeping!!! Looking forward to listening to your podcast.

I'm assuming the Thalassia testudinum is the wide and long bladed seagrass in the first picture?

[sunfishh]

Nexis_One your tank is awesome. I am a little confused. Are the pics of a 40 gallon or a 90?

[graveyardworm]

Three tanks equaling 90 gals, a 40 gal breeder display, and a 40 gal AGA lagoon, and a 10 gal sump.

[Samala]

Brian its so nice to see you in this forum. Yes, the long thick bladed plants in the first photo are Thalassia testudinum. John's got such a great setup going here. :)

>Sarah

[sunfishh]

Thanks graveyardworm :)

[chbarber]

Does anyone know where I can get some seagrass? I have a 37 gallon tank that I wish to have a grass bed in. Email me if you have an answer please. chbarber@ncsu.edu

[bluenassarius]

WOW, that tank is amazing!! i've heard about converting freshwater mollies to saltwater but haven't gotten around to it.

Hey John,

Can you post a FTS of your setup? I'm getting ready to have a custom tank made for a marine planted setup.