Aqua One 500 Nano Reef!

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Well had a busy morning, went back to check the sun corals and found that Hamlet was in the middle of cutting the polyps in half to access the food in the stomach, he'd also removed three Duncan polyps. So i spent the morning rearranging tanks and Hamlet will now be residing in very simple 32g tank with an AquaClear 50, a 100w heater and all the tacky fake marine decorations people keep giving me. I'll be running it as a Fish Only and just have him in it, I can't afford more LR my parent would kill me, the only reason they won't freak over this is I already had this particular tank set up and running, as an apple snail breeding tank but the apple snails and eggs have moved to my tropical 55 and Hamlet will be getting the tank. It's all set yup but i had to use my emergency saltwater so it's nowhere near the right temp, until it is Hamlets in a plastic box in the reef that he can't get out of.

I won't be getting any more fish for a while, will just run the tank with corals, as my parents want me to stop spending for a while, but I think I'll just get a clown goby or something small next time.

 

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Well heres Hamlets new tank, since he isn't able to behave. And yes its tacky and yes I'll be making it tackier LOL. The decorations are mainly from second hand tanks I've picked up, though a few of the worse ones have been presents from friends LOL. hamlet managed to wreck his acclimatisation by jumping out of the container he was in, into the tank so I'll be keeping an eye on him.

 

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Okay well my large reef tank just went off to its new home and I have $250 which will be going mainly towards this tank.

I also added a few snails from the big tank, two zebra tops and a turbo, I'll get some more zebra tops at some point since Hamlet is no longer in there.

There's also a little crab in the tank, he's got an inch wide carapace black and white striped legs and the rest of him is mottled browny/black and white. he's been in the same little hollow ever since I spotted him a few weeks ago, maybe he'll come out now Hamlets gone so I can proper ID on him.

 

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Just spent close to 2 hours watching pods swim around the rocks, do I need a live or what LOL. The pods are fascinating though i seem to have had a population boom I've never seen so many, their taking the tank over LOL. I guess the extra food combined with extra water changes because of extra food helped. Theres also a tonne of bristleworms. The crab still hasn't done much, hasn't even left his hollow so I'm inclined to leave him, still can't get pics of him but here's a description. He has a blocky body almost hexagonal shaped and is entirely symmetrical if you drew a line from his head to his butt, with a black background and a kind of white diagonal zig zag pattern on either shoulder then a random diamond shape in the centre of his back with more mottle white lines. His claws are fairly narrow and graduate from black to brown to white at the tips, their fairly fine and definitely not designed for fish catching. he has stocky legs covered in very short fine hairs and the legs are mottled with white, the legs give him the traditional oval crab shape. Any ideas? I'll keep trying to get pics I'm inclined to leave him for now as he hasn't touched the corals and considering his cave is directly next to the sun coral you;d think he'd try for its food but he seems content just plucking microscopic pieces of something off his roc and eating them.

Still feeding the sun corals, the black coral seems to be doing well, its no longer going completely hollow within a couple of hours of feedings, the orange sun has also begun extending so I should be able to start leaving these guys in the tank soon.

 

[stokey_matt]

Just spent close to 2 hours watching pods swim around the rocks, do I need a live or what LOL. The pods are fascinating though i seem to have had a population boom I've never seen so many, their taking the tank over LOL. I guess the extra food combined with extra water changes because of extra food helped. Theres also a tonne of bristleworms. The crab still hasn't done much, hasn't even left his hollow so I'm inclined to leave him, still can't get pics of him but here's a description. He has a blocky body almost hexagonal shaped and is entirely symmetrical if you drew a line from his head to his butt, with a black background and a kind of white diagonal zig zag pattern on either shoulder then a random diamond shape in the centre of his back with more mottle white lines. His claws are fairly narrow and graduate from black to brown to white at the tips, their fairly fine and definitely not designed for fish catching. he has stocky legs covered in very short fine hairs and the legs are mottled with white, the legs give him the traditional oval crab shape. Any ideas? I'll keep trying to get pics I'm inclined to leave him for now as he hasn't touched the corals and considering his cave is directly next to the sun coral you;d think he'd try for its food but he seems content just plucking microscopic pieces of something off his roc and eating them.

Still feeding the sun corals, the black coral seems to be doing well, its no longer going completely hollow within a couple of hours of feedings, the orange sun has also begun extending so I should be able to start leaving these guys in the tank soon.

hiya mate.. i have the same tank as u (aquastart 500) was wondering what skimmer you use? im thinking of getting one

Just spent close to 2 hours watching pods swim around the rocks, do I need a live or what LOL. The pods are fascinating though i seem to have had a population boom I've never seen so many, their taking the tank over LOL. I guess the extra food combined with extra water changes because of extra food helped. Theres also a tonne of bristleworms. The crab still hasn't done much, hasn't even left his hollow so I'm inclined to leave him, still can't get pics of him but here's a description. He has a blocky body almost hexagonal shaped and is entirely symmetrical if you drew a line from his head to his butt, with a black background and a kind of white diagonal zig zag pattern on either shoulder then a random diamond shape in the centre of his back with more mottle white lines. His claws are fairly narrow and graduate from black to brown to white at the tips, their fairly fine and definitely not designed for fish catching. he has stocky legs covered in very short fine hairs and the legs are mottled with white, the legs give him the traditional oval crab shape. Any ideas? I'll keep trying to get pics I'm inclined to leave him for now as he hasn't touched the corals and considering his cave is directly next to the sun coral you;d think he'd try for its food but he seems content just plucking microscopic pieces of something off his roc and eating them.

Still feeding the sun corals, the black coral seems to be doing well, its no longer going completely hollow within a couple of hours of feedings, the orange sun has also begun extending so I should be able to start leaving these guys in the tank soon.

hiya mate.. i have the same tank as u (aquastart 500) was wondering what skimmer you use? im thinking of getting one