Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank

[Genera]

1300th post. Wowwee, that's a lotta posts.

[Michael Hoaster]

That IS a lot of posts! Tanks to all who have contributed! It's been a wondrous journey so far!

[Michael Hoaster]

I'm in fish-watching heaven. 7 grammas!

I've never had seven of any salt water fish. Not even chrommis.

The way they interact, so naturally, and with eye-melting color! So fun to watch. It looks like I have a functioning harem (although I doubt they're 'fully functional'). Observing the social structure, and seeing each fish's own personality, now that's just good, sciency fun.

[piquesegue]

Glad to hear you're happy!

By the way, i don't know if you ever said it:
How much Co2 do you dose? (bubble per X-seconds)
I noticed on my tank that it's hard to get above one bubble Co2 per 8 seconds.
Above this value, fishes and corals don't seem to do well.

[Michael Hoaster]

"This meeting will come to order."




I noticed when the tang grazes, he stirs up plankton, that my planktovores are happy to pick off.




Verticality.




Algae detail. I'm starting to get a good patina of stuff popping up on the root and the wall.

[Michael Hoaster]

I'm not using a bubble counter, but I count about one bubble a second going into the intake tube of the canister filter. With 180 gallons and a lot of plant biomass, I can afford more CO2 than some.

[piquesegue]

Ok, thanks for your answer.
Very nice pics!

[karimwassef]

I love watching artificial structures I've made get colonized and totally transformed into their natural equivalent.

My live rock looked like real rock, but now, it's amazing. Those holes that took so long to drill in concrete are access ways for pods and worms. The rock structure covered in coralline, limpets, hard tube worms and stomatella snails that blend in perfectly!

There is a lot of satisfaction in making it and then seeing it come alive.

That's what your root looks like to me.

[karimwassef]

My favorite is the yellow tunicates under that last rock. It's special because I remember how hard getting that piece's shape right was and needing to add more concrete in that section. I shaped it with my hands and now there are tunicates there... weird feeling but good.

[sam.basye]

Everything is looking great Michael! Love all the life on the fake root!

How are all the fishes interacting and getting along?



Karim - thought I'd let you know that your tank was the initial inspiration for my foam wall. Stumbled upon your thread while scouring the diy pages when you were first building the ledges while I was on vacation. I remember showing my dad how cool it was that you made that rock scape.
I then found the foam alternative and ran with it. It's amazing how much life is covering your concrete formations!

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Sam!

The fish are doing great. The grammas have spread out some, but they still interact with each other constantly. Most of them still prefer the right end of the tank, with lower light and higher current. The tang still appears well fed, despite having never eaten any introduced fish foods. The blennies don't seem to be getting quite as much food as before, so I'll keep an eye on that. I think they're fine though.

The anemone has been moving a bit. It has gone from the front of the left end of the tank to the rear, and has rounded the corner. I think it's trying to find the right combination of light and current. It has grown some too. I feed it every week or two. It seems to prefer to be in contact with the sand, as it hasn't gone up the walls.

[Michael Hoaster]

I did some tank tidying today. I removed most of the dead seagrass blades I had been letting accumulate. I just couldn't stand the way it looked! This is a display after all. Plus I'm concerned with the possibility of hydrogen sulfide production.

I resumed sodium silicate dosing, that I had let go of for awhile. I noticed my test sponges looked a little smaller. I don't think any of the sponges I got from Griffin made it, but I have a fraction of hope that they may have seeded new sponge growth - we'll see.

I fertilized the substrate with glutamic acid, and dosed nitrate and iron into the water column. I'm still getting new manatee grass plants emerging, so yay!

I snapped a few pics of course!




A pretty good shot of Junior. I'm a little surprised he's still with us, after adding the grammas.




The tang has pruned back the weird macro a little.




More evidence of the tang's work - the barnacles are reemerging from the caulerpa.




One of the grammas sat still for one second.




Lusher and lusher! As soon as all the new blades grow taller, it's going to be sweet!




And, last but not least, Botryocladia has made an appearance! It's been over a year since this plant disintegrated. How cool is that!

[karimwassef]

congrats! Looks great.

[Portsie]

Looking great Michael! Been following along since the beginning but haven't said much. The last set of pictures are great! From them it seems like the tank is approaching the vision you set out with at the beginning.
Keep up the good work, and keep the updates coming, there are lots of us out here who look forward to them. We also love full tank shots.

[Michael Hoaster]

Well thanks, Portsie! I appreciate the encouraging words!

Yes, it is approaching my vision, I think. I would like to have had more encrusting organisms on the fake wall and fake root by now, but it will come. It takes a while to build a diverse ecosystem.

I'm glad you like the pics and the updates. It's my pleasure! I love this stuff.

More full tank shots, ok. With the size of my tank, FTSs don't capture much detail though. But it is good to have FTSs, for context and records. I should do a FTS for every pic post I do. Good idea!

[Pigpen17]

I haven't been checking in for a while, but I can see your pictures now! Amazing!

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks for stopping by, Pigpen17! I'm glad to hear you can see the pics!

[saltwater sam]

Everything is looking great, Michael. Your vision is taking shape before our eyes! I feel very privileged to have been following along with your progress. You are definitely setting the bar high for anyone looking to get into this niche of the aquarium hobby.

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks, Sam for the very generous comments! It's been a pleasure to follow your progress as well.

We are in a bit of a niche, aren't we? That's cool. Someday this may be mainstream. I kind of see it as a more forgiving segment of the salty side of the hobby. The plants make our 'jobs' so much easier! Although the reef keepers may be in the midst of a gizmo arms race at the moment, the system simplicity we both advocate is another thing some may want to try.

[Michael Hoaster]

My original plan was to get my caulerpa to the overgrown phase, before adding the tang. Well, it didn't quite work out that way. The wife 'released' the funds right after a massive pruning, and I had halted water column dosing to slow the caulerpa's growth rate.

Now I'm playing catchup! I've resumed dosing to speed it back up, but I'm afraid it may be too late. Everyday there's less caulerpa. If I can get it back to the ridiculous growth rate I had before, it might work out. Stay tuned!

In other news, the purple condylactis anemone is getting bigger and looks quite happy lately. It may have stopped 'traveling' - no movement for the past couple days. snapped a half descent pic:

[karimwassef]

Tangs consume a lot of vegetation. Mine each consume half a sheet of Nori every day. What are you dosing to accelerate growth?

[Michael Hoaster]

I had to wait until it was almost dark outside, to avoid reflections, but I got it.


It's good to get an overall view, though I wish I could get more detail. Notice at the left end of the DSB planter, there's not much caulerpa left. Also note the bulge in Mr Tang's tummy! All seven grammas are visible.

[Michael Hoaster]

[Portsie]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

I had to wait until it was almost dark outside, to avoid reflections, but I got it.





It's good to get an overall view, though I wish I could get more detail. Notice at the left end of the DSB planter, there's not much caulerpa left. Also note the bulge in Mr Tang's tummy! All seven grammas are visible.

Wow! Everything looks great. I can't believe how natural everything looks, especially the root. Great job man.

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks again, Portsie, for the FTS suggestion. Your comment on how natural everything looks means a lot to me. That's really what I'm going for! That root was a real challenge, and I'm thrilled it's still functioning!