1 gal reefbowl 2006 updates

Sps on front glass, few more years until it seals up one side corals will be fragged and planted at the rear open area with the vase turned around

 

Awesome!!

 

I have to say I am really surprised it's still going strong. In 2008 was the first time I laid eyes on this experiment, back then there were not sps I believe.

Still amazing, and thank you for sharing.

At one time there was shrimp in there right?

 

Hi!
I think I had the ugly brown monti back then but it hadn't been glued to the glass yet (mistake in hindsight lol) some of the older threads show it on top nicely controlled, that was then~

the blue acro was added maybe in 2010 if I recall and it didn't take long to grow up off the rocks, send out a bridge onto the glass, and begin blocking out all light. The lps under/behind it don't mind living in the shade they are fed well enough...but as it slowly takes over the whole front of the vase the bowl will have to be turned around 180 degrees so the back will be the new front, and replanted

then when it wraps the whole vase that'll be time to frag it all out lol

interesting point

LPS skeleton does not fuse to glass if given long enough to grow across it, but sps does. I grew my alveopora clear up the side of the glass until it was blocking light, and when it came time to pry it out I was expecting a battle, but it lifted right out. It didn't fuse to the glass as it appeared, but rather crept up from the base rock leaning against it.

SPS is another story, it binds to glass at the crystalline level, it cannot be removed without breaking the glass or destroying the tissue to scrape/pry it out. Just a wierd thing you'll notice after keeping all these corals in a glass container where there isn't much room~

thanks for stopping in! The coral banded shrimp was in there from 2007-2012 not sure if I'll put another one in, it was a little big and rough on the corals. I think I want a porcelain crab now

 

The goal for the tank is longevity above all else. Clearly something this old and unscaped won't have the open spaces of the new tank, its kinda messy lol but its more appealing at the micro vs macro level

as you can see by the airstone only current, its not a high energy setup but the corals make do with the current they have. It is not possible to have algae or any other unwelcome invader in the bowl, so thats a non issue. You know my trick

this tank swizzles peroxide like the rat pack swizzled martinis

the details on the live rock, the thousands of fanworms/sponges etc provide the motion to watch in the tank and the corals are very slow. Ive tuned the metabolism of the bowl to support the feeding and water change frequency I have time for in the hopes of literally filling every square inch up with coral growth, in about another 5 yrs maybe

 

That much be an easy 10% water change. LOL

 

2nd pic, glass cleaning time lol

 

I know! It looks like a blue eye patch over the top third lol.

Hard to believe that's straight sps acro...the other side is all twisted spines of acropora aiming into the rock but all we see is the underside base. The picture showing the blue tip of acro was the contact tip that spread into this blockage!
This is a pic of a rare event


These are bb sized bubbles that came to rest at the edge of the coral and were held there by random currents long enough to be uptaken into the growing sps, forever locked in between sps skeleton and the glass

Another small detail clue is that you can see denitrification happening in the sandbed in certain shots, the bubbles are there. The top layer of sand is occasionally cleaned of detritus by doing several full water changes back to back.


I've had the lfs run nitrate testing on what i consider to be neglected reef water after i skipped water changes...it was 2ppm

There are no dieoffs or smells associated with hydrogen sulfide gas so it seems to me nitrogen gas is the next most logical considering the age, grain size etc and the fact worm tracks are in the bed, doesn't marker the poison that hsulfide is known to be

 

You've inspired me Awesome tank!

Do you dose anything? And how much peroxide do you put in the tank and how often? How much water are you taking out when you do water changes and how often do you do it?

 

Hey thanks for stopping in. I change all of the water each week and feed only just before a water change. If i want to fatten up the corals for a while I'll do the feed/change twice a week for a few months...lots of people change a gallon or two a week on their tanks mine isn't different


I only dose peroxide when a tiny tuft of green hair algae pops up

While the tank is drained, i apply only the amount needed to kill the algae. Tank sits empty for maybe ten mins while the spot cooks, then i refill partially, drain it out again, and refill with clean water.

Having no fish allows these big water changes. The old information that live rock/corals/inverts can't tolerate air contact was incorrect, the ones i stock sure can. This is the fringing reef model and tanks will adapt.

Being able to fully control the total water volume twice a week allows for a level of stability large tanks are lucky to achieve...small water changes kill a pico reef over time, that's why we don't find pico reefs over two years old on the Web. By then they are algae ridden and the owner has 'upgraded'