unique fish room, multiple picos and planted tanks

**brandon429** · 12-02-2009, 01:30 PM

i really thank you for stopping in! every light I have is a taken down galaxy light you are correct, they are cheap and the 50 50 bulbs i get from aquaticeco.com keep them perfect. one key element to growing corals with 13 w bulbs is the spacing you can see...1/2 inch away is actually too much sometimes so I have to make little light barriers to keep from light-induced bleaching...

im glad you like that shot, lemme ask you this did you see the shrimp hiding in the upper right area of the shot, mimicking the coral stand? lucky catch that snapshot...in that aquascape it took me a week of hard work because every frag in there was shaped with a dremel, often leaving white or scarred edges, and then spot-glued into place using surgical hemostats and suture ties and such. it all had to grow in for a few months to overgrow the cut edges and look seamless, it was the most delicate model of an aquascape I could do, too much$$ to do again I now just concentrate on the bowl designs because they are so much cheaper and don't need to be fanned.

I just noticed yesterday the coralife lighting I use was called mini-might back in the day but it's changed to something else, but the point is they lowered the cost down from 99 to 35$ which is dang cheap for a reef tank light. They are 9w and come with one 10k bulb, and one actinic bulb. You just add one galaxy light to hit the vase from the side to get the lower corals, and you will never have to upgrade lighting to keep any coral you can fit in the bowl pretty much

**hursab** · 12-09-2009, 05:28 AM

This is very cool.

Thank you for sharing this with us.

**LadyHatred** · 12-09-2009, 09:54 AM

No, I didn't notice the shrimp. Is it the little black and white thing? That, to me, seems to be the only thing that kind of stands out in all that.

**brandon429** · 12-16-2011, 05:49 AM

the reefbowl is still alive. coral banded shrimp, gold var, in for four years. sps frags are commonly fragged off not ever any real profit but at least it exports biomass. this vase grew 5 blastomussa merletti frags into about 100 that species is very well suited to pico reefs.

This reef is fed in a unique manner to control nutrient overloading

a mixture of high grade feed such as frozen cyclopeeze and Reefcleaners filter feeder formula are fed to the tank and then a large water change is done. So I limit the feedings to once or twice a week, but the corals eat well, since the system is small a water change takes no time.

pics this month

**brandon429** · 12-16-2011, 05:59 AM

top down view of the bowl

coral allelopathy has stopped even among acanthastrea and montipora, and montipora vs duncan, the polyps actually touch now with no war. The study of stimulus negation of corals in the vase is mesmerizing.

**Cliff** · 12-16-2011, 09:56 AM

Just moved your thread in the SW journal section.

**Lady Hobbs** · 12-16-2011, 01:22 PM

Wow. This thread began two years ago and now going again. Corals are looking remarkably good in such a small area.

**brandon429** · 12-16-2011, 08:01 PM

thank you for stopping by
I think the bowl has an indefinite biological lifespan its all about luck with the home ac, tank heater etc

the reefbowl was a few years old even before the thread started I think it close to 75 months now~ my goal is to see how long it will run. there has been a few insults along the way but its still been pretty lucky
forgetting to plug the heater in for two days after a water change was a close call...