Aaarrrggg's Elos Mini Build

[Aaarrrggg]

The Yasha and Pistol have been enjoying having the tank to themselves. They've moved over to the left side now and have actually taken up residence in an even better lair than the one I made them -yay nature!!



The pistol never stops changing the burrow layout, so they'll pop up in various places over the course of the day... sometimes even appearing out of the holes in the rocks above! (I'll say it again; Marco rocks are awesome! )



They both have bags of character and get bolder by the day. The Yasha has gotten very used to me gazing in at them, in fact I think he's even started associating my face with feeding time, because he'll often start coming out further when he sees me!

I managed to snap some good piccies of them:



Taking the shrimp out for a for a walk (or is the shrimp walking the goby...?)


Extreme close up!


I also took a vid at feeding time. The beginning is pretty funny... a narcissus snail rises out of the sand nearby and the Yasha isn't amused, hehe! (Apologies for the shaky cam, took it on my iPhone.)



A couple of days ago the pistol kept the burrow shut off for longer than usual and finally emerged with a shiny new set of claws! They're only mini, not even big enough to snap yet, but it's good to see he's on the mend after his epic battle at the LFS. (You can see them in the previous pic of them coming out the rockwork.)

I must say they are fascinating creatures! The shrimp is always busy moving stuff around... he's even taken some rubble and empty snail shells and plugged up some of the gaps in their "roof." Actually he's tried using "full" snail shells for that too, but it's not nearly as successful.

[Aaarrrggg]

Since I started regular feedings the LR has been getting more, ermm... lively!



I have a bunch of tiny curly white tube things all over the rocks and overflow (you can see a couple in the pic above.) I had a look about online and it sounds like they're spirorbid worms.


(Not my pic, but it's what mine look like if I could take a better pic!)

Thankfully they're harmless filter feeders and apparently their population number should subside its own; so I'll leave them be.

There's also been a progression in the coralline:


There even seems to be some bright green coralline...



...is that a thing? If I didn't know better I'd think my LR was going to turn into one of those tacky spray painted day-glo aquarium ornaments!

I'm also starting to see some diatoms, blurgh! I guess it had to happen eventually.



I was a little worried this could be partly a result of my low flow, as the sand at the front was making it impossible to turn the mp10 up further than 1/4 speed. I moved the pump to the left side so the current would crash on the rocks (and the diatoms!) I now have it just over 1/2 speed on Reef Crest mode (rather than Lagoon,) which looks way better. You can see all the crud being pulled up by the undertow. Vortechs really are amazing pumps!

Unfortunately I noticed the encroaching diatoms too late for my chaeto...



RIP chaeto. I tried a few days of half light, but it was breaking apart and feeling all slimy. It's possible, with time, a potion of it could have recovered like it did against the cyano, but I didn't want the rotting stuff polluting the tank in the meantime. I'm going to start doing 2.5g water changes twice a week, instead of once, until this phase passes... which is no biggie because WCs on a nano are eeeeeeasy!

The 2 newer hermits have, ahem, "come of their shells" more. All 3 seem to be getting on better too, I haven't had to break up a fight between them for a while (with my trusty chopstick!)

The blue leg, (who's been dubbed "Tom Haverford" -we've been watching a lot of Parks & Rec recently) had a tug-o-war with Robocop over Jariah's old shell:



Tom Haverford won...



...but he must have realized afterwards what an ungainly shell it is, because shortly after he was back in his old digs.

[Aaarrrggg]

I'm looking into getting a Clown Goby, but ran into the problem of "common name vs scientific one." What I want is a green one with a bright red pattern like this:


Gobiodon histrio

...but often in stores you'll get...

Gobiodon atrangulatus

I managed to find an article with someone in a similar boat, who had some luck asking Blue Zoo Aquatics. I called and left a message for their livestock manager, but it's been a few days and I haven't heard anything back yet.

I also have my LFS on the lookout for a Flaming Pawn Goby and some colorful Trimmas. We'll see what they can come up with!

Everyone keep your fingers crossed for me for the Nano Sol this month. My Yuma seems to be doing ok under the temporary light, but I don't really want to order in corals until I know they'll be happy under a "real" light. Hopefully this build should get a bit more interesting after that!

[Aaarrrggg]

Just noticed my Yasha/Pistol vid doesn't show up when you view this thread though the TapTalk app. Hopefully this link will work instead: http://youtu.be/nPzc69Mm7E0

[Michael B]

Awsome update & just love Yasha & Pistol - look forward to seeing how they continue

[Cloudburst2000]

Originally Posted by Aaarrrggg

.

Alas, I'm still waiting on the Sol Nano to come out.
It's half the size of a regular Sol, so it's perfect for a Mini! The last news was that they were hoping for a mid May release, but seeing as it was originally supposed to come out Sept last year... who knows! It has to come out sometime though...right?! Starting to go a little crazy waiting for it. I'm so tempted to just give in and get a Sol instead, but I know as soon as I do the Nano will make it's grand entrance.

Actually, I have recently changed my mind on the LEDs and am going to purchase the 12" Vertex 200. I likely need two AI Sols on the Midi but only one Vertex. The Vertex costs about $900 but it is less expensive when compared to two AI Sols. And it is much nicer to look at. It also gets better reveiws then the AI. I'm going to buy my Elos Midi around mid-summer. No time to set it up before then. And I will then get my live rock. I'm going to be ordering the rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater. I will then save my money for the Vertex light and use the metal halide from my old tank in the meantime. I'll probably get the Vertex light sometime in the fall.

Any word when the AI Sol Nano are coming out now? I will be replacing my nanocube in the late fall and am possibly looking at the AI Sol Nanos for that tank.

[guarda]

Beautiful and charismatic Yasha! Congratulations! Beautiful beautiful tank! Love it!

[nemosworld]

great build! gooing to check out the vid later, Thanks for stopping by my build thread, Go Texas!

[Aaarrrggg]

Well it's been a few weeks and my rocks have colored up a LOT!



Here's the coralline progression so far:



I also had a HUGE attack of diatoms, which sucked.



They're subsiding now I think (hope!) but they managed to reach their peak for the Game of Thrones finale, which was very embarrassing. I'm not sure our guests believed me when I said that this is a normal stage tanks go though. Thanks diatoms...

What I'm really fearful about now is that when they diatoms go I'll get something worse like GHA. I know my cheap Home Depot light has been exasperating the problem, but there still has to be nutrients in the mix too. I tested my water and my nitrates were pretty high. I've been trying to figure out why and have come to the conclusion that I'm either over feeding (its hard not to with 1 tiny fish,) or the millions of blasted tiny snails I have in there are dying off and causing a spike. I've started doing 2 x 5g WCs a week and dropped my feeding to once every 2 days.

I gotta say, I'm really tried of these dwarf ceriths. They'd be ok if they would just stay on the rocks, but they're all over the sand... and even worse, they commit suicide in the MP10 and jam it! They're also so tiny it's hard to tell if they're alive or not. I tried gathering them all up and putting them in the center to see who would crawl away, but the pistol started coming out and grabbing them to use in his burrow!!

I ended up getting so fed up with them that I collected what I could and took them into the LFS. I bought a couple of Turbos and 3 Margaritas instead. If (when) they get too big I'll just take them back in and trade for some smaller ones. More dratted dwarf ceriths have surfaced since then though, I have a horrible feeling I'll be picking them out forever!

[Aaarrrggg]

I also got some new fish!! After a bit of a miscommunication with Blue Zoo Aquatics I finally got the confirmation that they do have Gobiodon histrio (rather than atrangulatus.) Hurrah! I ordered a Green Clown Goby, Hancock's Barnacle Blenny (another one I'd been looking for for a while,) 5 sexy shrimp and a Ricordea Yuma from their collectors corner!

After my DOA with Live Aquaria and the escalating temp in TX; I was really nervous about opening the box. I'm happy to say though, everyone made it safe and sound! The packing was very well done and they even give you a free drip line and suction cup, plus a sample of their dried food.

The green clown goby's markings are beautiful, but the poor thing is very nervous:



The Hancock's Barnacle Blenny made a beeline for the pistols burrow, but after a "POP" came flying out of there again. I think it's safe to assume the pistols claws are working again! He then took up residence in a hole in the rock next to the red yuma.



I find it amazing the the pistol can distinguish between a Yasha and Barnacle Blenny. Out of the 2, I'd expected it to be the Yasha that would chase the blenny off, but he didn't really seem to care that much. The Blenny has been named "Kevin" because he reminds us of Kevin C. Cucumber from Spongebob Squarepants.

The sexy shrimp have been awesome!! I'd heard that they hide a lot and will get lost in anything bigger than a pico, but I can normally see all of mine, bums a-wagging!



I haven't done so well on the yuma I bought from BlueZoo. Its majorly bleached out since adding it (it was the same color as the rock when it arrived) and now some of the bubbles have started to tear away.



It's my fault. I was tired when the parcel arrived so I might have used too much CoralRX dip. I also just chucked it in after washing the dip off... which had worked fine for the red ric, but seemed to really upset this one. Oops! It hasn't started spewing it guts out of its mouth yet, so there's still a chance it will make it. If it doesn't then at least I've learned a valuable lesson about acclimatizing corals too.

[Aaarrrggg]

As you might have guessed from the photos the AI Nano Sol is STILL not out. They had said late June but all they'll say now is:

"Thank you for your patience with the release of the Nano. Apologetically, we do not have a definitive answer as to the "exact" release date of the Nano. However, we are literally reaching the home stretch and I can confidently say that the release will be very, very soon. Please hang in there as it will be worth the wait!"

...Sigh...

On the plus side I did manage to get a blue bulb for the lampstand my cheap light is clamped onto, which means I can swivel the stand around and flick on an "actinic" at dusk and dawn! Yay glowies!



Finally seeing my red ric glow has got me all fired up about ordering corals. On the most part I've resisted, but I simply couldn't say no to this little stunner I saw on BlueZoos collectors corner. It looks like the love child of a bleeding apple scolly and a ric!



It was more than I ever thought I'd pay for a ric, but still less than I've seen them go for in other places. I'm hoping one day to get into the fragging game, and I can see this being a nice little earner (we all tell ourselves that though eh? )

They offer free shipping for orders over $140 so that meant I HAD to bump up the order (oh poor me!) I grabbed some much needed empty hermit crab shells and a blue porcelain crab. They all arrive Tues!

Speaking of Hermit Crabs, I'm afraid Jariah was a bad boy and had to go. My husband caught him attacking poor Kevin (barnacle blenny.) Jariah found him sticking out of the rocks and pounced on the poor thing! Kevin was an idiot and reacted by coming OUT of his hole instead in and out of reach... so I guess that explains why he ended up in the aquarium trade. I managed to separate them with my trusty chopstick and put Jariah in "prison."



Up until now I'd assumed that because he was a hitchhicker from reefcleaners, he'd be reefsafe. I Googled around for a bit and now believe he's a juvi starry eyed hermit crab (Dardanus venosus) and very much NOT reefsafe. They turn into to these monsters:



Farewell Jariah! I traded him in for a scarlet hermit, who is henceforth called "Mr Crabs" (on a Spongebob theme atm.) I'm really going to miss that shell though, little blighter made off with the best one I had!

I didn't think Jariah had damaged Keven, but since the attack, he's stopped eating and is now MIA. I have yet to see the Green Clown Goby eat and it's vanished now too. The clown goby at least used to come out at night and freak out against the glass, but now he's even stopped doing that. I really hope they're both ok...

[natedogg]

I feel bad for how long you've been waiting on the Sol Nano... They need to get their act together.

[Aaarrrggg]

Originally Posted by natedogg

I feel bad for how long you've been waiting on the Sol Nano... They need to get their act together.

They really do. I think I've actually gone through the 7 stages of grief with this blasted light! Thankfully I'm out the other side at "acceptance" now. I just have a feeling about it being mid Aug. Of course if that comes and goes I'll be...

I had a look at alternative lights in the LFS the other day (when I was in the "bargaining" stage! ) but they just had a clip on thing that looked like an upscale version of my home depot light. I might have a look online as well, I guess I can always use it on a frag tank later.

[Aaarrrggg]

It's not my day... BlueZoo just rang and apparently my beautiful ric has taken a turn for the worst.



They did say they'd let me know if anything similar came in though, which I really appreciate. Live Aquaria said such a thing wasn't possible when my Tanakas Wrasse died. (Incidentally I'm STILL at my computer every day at 5 for my daily dose of Divers Den disappointment.)

The Clown Goby and Barnacle Blenny still MIA. Since arriving, the Clown has always stayed hidden in the daytime, but with the way my aquascape is, I could usually spot it in the rocks. The Blenny used to have its little head poking out with it's very obvious red eyes... but I can't see him anywhere either.

I wouldn't have thought either of them could fit through the overflow cover, but I dug about in the sump just in case. I usually have the mesh top on so I doubt they jumped. The CUC haven't been gravitating towards anywhere in the tank, which is usually what happens when someone's died. The only thing I can think of is they're in the Pistols burrow... either as guests or dinner.

The yasha and my sexy shrimp are doing their best to keep my spirits up, but this streak of bad luck is getting depressing...

[Genin]

Wow you are very patient, far more than I. Earlier you said extra points for those that could tell where you names are referenced.....INUYASHA!!! So how many points do I get? I used to watch that anime years and years ago.

Don't worry it will turn around soon. Luck comes in waves, yours is just on a low slide and will spring back up soon.

[nemesis7]

I am so feed up with ai on their handeling of this light. They have promised and pushed back release dates to the point that it will be december before they release it. Or the next macna conference. Which is in iowa in des moines. Also c2 the manufactures of this light are in ames iowa, I live in iowa and I am about ready to drive there and ask them point blank to show me this light if it really exists or not.(I guess i am still in the denial , angry stages.) I have not reach acceptance yet. But I to have begun to look around for a new light do to loosing to many sps to lack of light, waiting on their promises. They also no longer answer the phones either in sales or tech support. On that I still like your tank plus your choice of fish. I went through trying the green goby but got ones that never made it a day through quarantine . They came from petco and they are about all I can get out here unless I travel an hundred miles.Keep up the pics and please post one of the light you are currently using.

[curlykid]

hey dude. i know you think the rocks have colored up. but it's actually cyano. do you do water changes? it seems to be thriving in your tank.

[ange062]

Originally Posted by curlykid

hey dude. i know you think the rocks have colored up. but it's actually cyano. do you do water changes? it seems to be thriving in your tank.

+1, coralline doesn't grow that quickly, and it's a pink color not dark red like cyano.

[Aaarrrggg]

Originally Posted by curlykid

hey dude. i know you think the rocks have colored up. but it's actually cyano. do you do water changes? it seems to be thriving in your tank.

(I'm a girl btw, you can tell from my over use of emoticons!)

Originally Posted by ange062

+1, coralline doesn't grow that quickly, and it's a pink color not dark red like cyano.

There's some cyano and diatoms in there too, but there's definitely coralline. A lot of the pics from my last post where from the right side of the tank where the light is weakest. But that's how the rocks on the left side looked before they purpled up. Here are some close up pics of the rocks on the left side:



None on the glass yet, which is weird, but it just started appearing on my mag float:



I was surprised at the speed of it as well, esp under such a weak light source. I'm not dosing anything, just doing WCs with Oceanic Salt. Because of the diatoms, I've upped my WCs to 5g every 3 days or so and when I do, I always blast the rocks with a turkey blaster first to help clear the bad stuff. Oh I guess I'm adding liberal doses of SW bacteria, but who knows if that actually does anything or not, it just makes me feel better!

I'm wondering if having it empty for so long has helped speed things along? I mean, most people would have some corals in there by now, which would presumably compete for calcium etc. Also maybe my weak light has actually helped. The diatoms have been flourishing under it, which means they have been using up any excess nutrients, rather than something more insidious like GHA. As diatoms die back every night, and the CUC regularly munches through them, maybe the coralline has had an easier time of taking hold on the LR? Hmm not sure, just theories.

Originally Posted by nemesis7

I am so feed up with ai on their handeling of this light. They have promised and pushed back release dates to the point that it will be december before they release it. Or the next macna conference. Which is in iowa in des moines. Also c2 the manufactures of this light are in ames iowa, I live in iowa and I am about ready to drive there and ask them point blank to show me this light if it really exists or not.(I guess i am still in the denial , angry stages.) I have not reach acceptance yet. But I to have begun to look around for a new light do to loosing to many sps to lack of light, waiting on their promises. They also no longer answer the phones either in sales or tech support.

Awww that sucks! So sorry that you've been losing corals, that's not fair at all. AI have really done a number on us with their endless carrot on a stick routine. I hate that there isn't a good alternative LED out there. I've looked and looked but just always come back to AI. I know there's DIYing it, but I'm simply not that handy, plus I love that controller.

Originally Posted by nemesis7

On that I still like your tank plus your choice of fish. I went through trying the green goby but got ones that never made it a day through quarantine ..

I'm starting to suspect that Clown Gobies are priced so low that dealers don't want to hold onto them for very long, so they get an accelerated trip from ocean to tank. I've never seen a fish freak out as much as my clown goby. It hid all day and would come out at night and endlessly bash against the glass. It was very distressing. Made me feel bad to be in this hobby... admittedly not bad enough to stop, but it certainly made me think. I might leave getting fish for a while. Who knows, maybe they might still come out of hiding..?

Originally Posted by Genin

Wow you are very patient, far more than I. Earlier you said extra points for those that could tell where you names are referenced.....INUYASHA!!! So how many points do I get? I used to watch that anime years and years ago.

Close, but the Jariah I named him after is actually from Naurto (he's a hermit who is also a ninja! ) Although they often have repeating names in animes, so it's entirely possible there's a Jariah in Inuyasha too. We got tried of Kagome's complaining and didn't finish watching it. Blast, I should have called my Yasha Inuyasha! Oh well, too late now, if I change it now it would only confuse him.

Originally Posted by Genin

Don't worry it will turn around soon. Luck comes in waves, yours is just on a low slide and will spring back up soon.

Awww thanks. I'm feel bad this thread has been a bit of a downer so far! That's all about to change though because...

[Aaarrrggg]

...I've cracked and ordered a Sol Blue. (Ha that will teach AI!! Oh wait, no...) I was in a funk all of yesterday and when I saw Premium Aquatics had just got in the Sol Blues I just couldn't resist. I'm strongly considering making a cover for the top of my tank, so nobody would see the light housing anyway. I know it's a crime to put a lid on an open top tank, but with my chair in the lounge right next to it, and my husbands bouts of cluster headaches, we really can't have the light spilling out into the room. We'll have to see what the spread is like when it arrives.

If worst comes to worst and the Nano Sol is all that, then I can always ask Santa for it for Christmas (if it's out by then! ) and use the Sol Blue to set up a top notch frag tank.

So come Friday it will be goodbye this...


(Picking up and manually turning lampstand twice a day for actinics!)

...and hello frag ordering mania!!

[Genin]

Ah poop I should have known that I used to watch Naruto too! The two I had confused were Miroku and Jeriah, I guess I just switched them somehow lol. Put that sharringan to work!

[JTrem94]

Awesome build!!! I subbed!!

[psidriven]

Is that Aku on top of the tank? Too cool.

[natedogg]

I just ordered my Sol Blue as well!

[Johnny C]

Well... did you get 'er installed?