I made a new webpage just to document the Pico tank.
http://www.melevsreef.com/pico.html
I did a 54g water change on the 280g, and cleaned out the sump of all detritus. The skimmer was cleaned as well, and it was nice to discover how easily the Sedra pumps disassemble for cleaning.
Meet Casper, the newest addition to the Pico tank.
And here are a bunch of images taken: Late-night Photography
I was looking in my tank by flashlight, and came across some stuff I'd not seen before. So I'll post those as well as some other things that were kodak-worthy. ;)
So here is my little 2 gallon Pico tank after another visit to the LFS on Saturday. ;)
Here are both clams. They tend to move a bit, so what you see is what you get. The first (1 yr old) maxima looks better already, and it has only been a couple of days since it was moved from the 280g reef.
Occasionally I'll see images of sundial snails on Reef Central. I'd never seen one in person until today. While buying some zoanthids at the LFS, I picked up a frag and found it underneath. Sundial Snails are predators and will eat zoanthids greedily.
If you own zoos, you would be wise to study your colonies late night when the coral is closed up to see if these snails are in your tank.
I bought some new zoos today during Tranquil Scape's one day sale. They are really pretty, and I didn't want to put them in the main tank since my livestock tends to enjoy checking things a little too, ah... thoroughly. I even got a blue polyp or two. ;)
So I set up my Fry Tank, the one I've been hoping to keep baby clownfish in one day. Since I can't get the hatchlings, I decided to put it to use for now. I might even get the Clown Goby out of my tank and put it in this little pico tank.
I tested my water a couple of times over the past few days to see if Phosphates are rising again. The Pura-Pads were removed as they looked "full" to me, and the Tunze Silphos system was returned to the vendor that lent it to me to try out.
Today, a new product arrived called PhosBuster Pro, by CaribSea. After following the directions closely and preparing the tank for the dosage, I added it and hoped for the best.
Six hours later, I tested the PO4 level and it had dropped from 1.5ppm to .25ppm or less. I'm very happy to finally see the phosphate level brought down significantly, and hope that I can set up my system to keep it that low from now on. I'll be sure to update this log with any changes.
A couple of days ago, I tried to take a few pictures of rotifers. Rotifers are needed when you want to feed newly born fry (baby fish), and some reef keepers pour rotifers in their tank to feed their corals. I'll go more into what rotifers are in the future, but for now, here are the pictures. While not as good as I'd hoped, it is better than nothing at all, in case you just wanted to see what they are. A microscope might be better in the future.
A new webpage has been created to help those that want to make their own acrylic sump. This page explains how to create the top flange.
http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/diy/flange.html
Water tests were done again. Parameters page
Here is the new clownfish fry tank. It is only good for the first couple of weeks, to raise the babies while very tiny.
I built this in anticipation for the eggs that the clowns produced 7 days ago, but while I was working on this project, they hatched. I'll have to wait for the next clutch of eggs.
First, with the moonlight.
