Juwel Rio 125 Tropical To Marine Conversion

[lljdma06]

Oh these are all very doable. I'll get on it after a nap. I've got a bad cold. But I'm excited, I love id'ing macro algae.

I've only ever used sand. I have live sand in my picos & 4" of oolite in my biotope. People have mixed feelings about the live sand, but I must have gotten a fresh batch because my picos are really doing well.

time for a nap!

 

[lljdma06]

Halimeda discoidea

neomeris annulata

+

My guess: Caulerpa cylindracea, also looks a bit like caulerpa racemosa, but the globules aren't round

I'm not certain on this one, it grows like a caulerpa though or a sargassum

Halimede opuntia, same as I've got.

My guess, a very small caulerpa prolifera or a sargassum hystryx

Botryocladia species, sometimes called red grape caulerpa

Gracilaria hayi is my guess for the next two pictures it's just growing kind of low to the rock right now, grows a bit like dictoya, but it's definitely the wrong color for dictoya.

See above.
~

I hope this helps. You really do have some nice macros growing in your tank. In the US, some macro growers would be pretty envious. Some of them may require calcium dosing, but since you've got sps in your tank, I'd just continue to treat things as you would treat a standard sps tank and you'll have enough calcium for your macros.

 

[dannywrc]

iv took loads out of the tank, some of it grows really fast. iv read somewhere that a lot of the oceans sand comes from the hard algaes.

i dont bother dosing cal now. just maintain the weekly water changes. i check the params every few months but theyr normally spot on, probably why the halimeda grows so well.

 

[lljdma06]

iv took loads out of the tank, some of it grows really fast. iv read somewhere that a lot of the oceans sand comes from the hard algaes.

i dont bother dosing cal now. just maintain the weekly water changes. i check the params every few months but theyr normally spot on, probably why the halimeda grows so well.

You heard correctly. The variety of Halimeda I grow, H. opuntia, is responsible for most of the carbonate sand in the Caribbean. You're welcome, by the way, glad to help.

L

 

[Steve1972]

Hi Danny
Spent a lot of time reading your journal tonight, it is excellent and fascinating, well done. I'm wanting to start out in the marine world in much the same way and would really appreciate your input to my many questions, I don't want to hog your journal so I will start my own thread but if you and other inputters are still out there on the interwaves I would really appreciate your experience, cheers, Steve

 

[dannywrc]

sorry iv not been on for a while, the renovations have taken over.

thanks steve, fire away with the questions. this is where i learnt most of the stuff i needed to know.

i'll post an update at some point in the next few days. the tanks doing well and everything's growing nicely.

 

[lljdma06]

sorry iv not been on for a while, the renovations have taken over.

thanks steve, fire away with the questions. this is where i learnt most of the stuff i needed to know.

i'll post an update at some point in the next few days. the tanks doing well and everything's growing nicely.

Nice to see you again.

Glad you and the tank are doing well. Looking forward to pictures... Don't get too excited, of the tank.

L

 

[dannywrc]

Sorry been busy with work. Here it is finally...

The tanks changed quite a bit since the last update.

The sargassum like algae is spreading quite a bit but i prune it every couple of week to keep it under control. other than that everything is well.

Since the last update iv added a few more corals and the ones that are already in there are growing well since i started properly dosing. The kh had dropped off quite a bit when i was working away and got dow to around 6.2. iv worked out that the tank is using 0.7 per day and have been dosing 1.5dkh a day to get the levels back up. i noticed that cal was quite high to but as iv dosed the kh buffer it has settled down. the mag dropeed off a little when i was dosing too. the levels are almost there now and the corals have never looked better.

Some people wont be happy with the new addition of a small yellow eye tang but with the sargassum taking over i was assured by the lfs that the tank would eat it up. it has a nibble now and again but hasnt realy made a dent. i plan to upgrade soon so he will have a bigger home before he gets too big for the tank.

My unbreakable rena smart heater broke around a year ago and i finally got round to claiming under warranty for a replacement. That arrived on the weekend aswell as the second set of replacement aquarays.

I added some rgb leds for night time viewing that have pretty much any colour you need on a remote control. the corals look amazing at night. im currently playing with the dslr setting to try and get some good pics to post.

FTS with new sand... Feb 2012

heres some pics of the new additions... more to come when i upload them

These were really struggling when i bought them but are recovering nicely

 

[GGtank]

tank is looking good mate!

 

[dannywrc]

thanks , yours too. looking very colorful.

mines changed a little since the last pic... some new pics.

FTS May 2012

The new fish

Clowns

The Manderin

Firefish

Acan

Duncan

I added a small cataphylia frag a few weeks ago that struggled at first but seems to be picking up now. ill get some pics up when its fully recovered.

 

[SaltNoob]

Loving the photos! Really nice tank. I hope to upgrade to something this big one day =)

-Tyler

 

[lljdma06]

Your photography skills are great. What camera?

This tank is smashing. Thanks for the upgrade. Keep them coming!

I see you are also a lover of acans. Great coral. One of my favorites.

Are you feeding the elegance? It'll perk up if you feed it. I feed mine a lot. Haha, nasty little guy though! He stings and stings hard! Killed my Tanaka wrasse.

 

[dannywrc]

thanks, theyr not as good as id like yet. using a canon 400d with 55mm efs lens. thats as close as the camera will allow for most of them pics. ordered some lens tubes last week so i can get closer for the finer details. cant wait to have a play with them.

i really like the acans but theyr pretty expensive. i picked up 3 rocks with numerous withering heads on them for only £15. ill dig some pics out of how bad they were when i get chance. im amazed how much theyv recovered.

the elegance is slowly getting there but its still not very sticky and the shrimp steal its food. im gonna try putting bottle over it tomorrow and giving it a good feed.

 

[dannywrc]

well the macro tubes turned up and i managed to get a few decent shots. took around 100 to get these. the depth of field is tiny and the slightest shake ruins the photo so got some practicing to do.

this isnt the best shot but i found it interesting, i didnt realise the snails had teeth.

I also picked up this lobo for next to nothing to try and rescue it. currently feeding it reef paste and mysis in the hope it recovers.

 

[SaltNoob]

well the macro tubes turned up and i managed to get a few decent shots. took around 100 to get these. the depth of field is tiny and the slightest shake ruins the photo so got some practicing to do.

this isnt the best shot but i found it interesting, i didnt realise the snails had teeth.

I also picked up this lobo for next to nothing to try and rescue it. currently feeding it reef paste and mysis in the hope it recovers.

Wow! Stunning photos. I will need to take some pics of my tank today =)

-Tyler