40 Gallon Anemone Garden

[Brickster]

This tank was started three months ago after Petco's dollar per gallon sale. It sits as a room divider in my apartment, helping to separate the kitchen from the living room. That makes the tank three sides viewable and precludes the use of a sump or other complicated filtration. The setup is very basic, an Aqueon Power 30 HOB, a Maxijet 900, and a heater. From the beginning, the plan was to use the display as its own refugium to make the tank as naturally sustaining (and cheap to build/operate) as possible.

Starting with the tank and the rock, this:

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/E50780C1-4520-4347-85AA-9510EAEADA00-4533-000004DA94A9DC3C.jpg

has become this:

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/ABCFF99D-FBF4-4BAB-BE58-40105A658370-4906-000005F11AFF833F.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/60643F32-37CB-4144-BBA0-273A7C5E1507-4906-000005F1159301B3.jpg

The tank is home to several things that send shivers down peoples spines. Like this guy.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/3AAA3729-A1BC-4201-906F-50674674725C-4533-000004D7E3B5600F.jpg

It's a tiny green mantis, and it's unbelievably entertaining to watch it popping in and out of that giant piece of holey rock. These get to about 2.5", so it will be pretty comfortable in this tank. I haven't seen it strike the glass yet, but it wouldn't have a prayer of cracking a 40B. I keep a revolving clean up crew of small hermits and snails and the mantis takes care of itself ;)

The sandbed belongs to tube anemones and caulerpa prolifera

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/53D3999A-4685-48D0-974A-EFA3D1113879-4533-000004D7A57D566D.jpg

There are several gulf coast rock anemones scattered around the tank

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/48E4A0CE-BB7B-4CF3-A3A3-9772DE77DD61-4533-000004D7C5F5A8E4.jpg

These things are really neat. Some kind of giant relative of aiptasia, with a wallop of a sting. It feels like getting zapped with a battery! There is a maxi-mini anemone and a scattering of paly frags. I'm trying to start some halimeda on the big rock, but that's contingent on the mantis not knocking it down (already happened once). Fish list is short. A spendid dottyback, a three stripe damsel and a PJ cardinal. There is a big nasty brittle star that the mantis won't eat, so it's a permanent resident as well.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/793B4E2B-B23A-4B7B-B5D0-0EA55D3CBE89-4533-000004D7C0A09BD8.jpg

Lighting is simple. There is an Odyssea PC fixture that runs for 9 hours a day, and a pair of Zilla reptile clip lights with screw in 50/50 bulbs for more subdued lighting in the morning and evening. The tank is being slowly added to as the weeks go by. I'll be using this thread to keep a record of the tank as it grows and evolves. Thanks for checking it out, let me know what you think!

[RayAllen]

A like it, very creative setup.

[Brickster]

Thanks Ray! My background in the hobby is freshwater planted tanks, and I undoubtedly bring that mindset with me. This tank is kind of an experiment to keep a foot in comfortable territory while I learn more about marine husbandry. I played with razor caulerpa in a previous tank and it was a terror. This prolifera is much more tame, and does a pretty convincing job of acting like a vascular plant. I dose the tank with f/w plant fertilizer, and I can tell when it needs more by monitoring algae growth. It's not efficient enough yet to hit 0ppm nitrates, but it stays pretty low.

Water change schedule is lax if I'm being honest. About 5 gallons every two weeks. I use the Formula something (28?) blocks Aquarium Designs sells, and I upgraded the fertilizer to Seachem Flourish, which adds Mg and a dozen or so trace elements to the plant food. Anything else to consider adding? Should I be considering using some kind of chemical media? I could fit a half unit of chemipure, or a small carbon bag in the filter prechamber. I doubt there is more than an incidental amount in that filter pad.

No good update without pictures.

Some new rock anemones. Different colors, peach and a sort of turquoise blue. There's a nice collection of these in the tank now. New arrivals are three weeks from natural seawater, and two days in the tank. Looking forward to seeing them once they settle in.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/CCD4BD9D-CCC5-4D13-8250-15412D57B5F5-2593-0000017E3A4245CF.jpg

Can you spot the mantis shrimp in this photo? I haven't seen it in three days, but the pile of snail rubble it spent the last couple of weeks hauling in the rock is now in a neat pile in the cave under the rock. They're pretty entertaining critters when they have the space to do their thing.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/2945CD0F-CBE4-4F7C-BA3C-B4ABD03C7DDB-4533-000004D79C0DD317.jpg

[Mr Cob]

wow, love it, very nice setup. What are those palys in the last shot? They look cool.

[Europhyllia]

Love it!

[Brickster]

Thanks for the kind words! @Mr Cob, not sure what the name of those palys is. Pretty purples and blues, and about 4 heads on that little chip of oyster rock. They were a donation from a friend to the tank. Getting coral coverage on that big rock will be a challenge. Larger pieces of rock look funny when you try and stack them on the big monolith stone. Going to have to start with tiny frags and grow them. We'll see how I manage with that, lol

So I have been realizing I'm drastically underfeeding the tank. The big tube anemone in particular has been growing like crazy, but started looking really lousy a few days ago. The answer has been to throw giant chunks of food at it, which is perking it right back up. I'll power feed until it looks like it did last week, then I need to experiment and find a new feeding regimen. On the bright side, after dumping food in the tank all morning, all the rocks are big, swollen and looking like a million bucks, and the tube is colored back up.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/135DC429-87D9-418C-9DA8-FA8CEF2D8801-3394-0000035554AC1283.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/D44607BF-482D-4E9C-8085-1DC7EF1F43DB-3394-00000355503FED8C.jpg

[Brickster]

Minor changes and new additions all around. I added an ORA saddleback clown to the fish mix, which seems to have done everybody some good. The clown acts as a 'dither fish,' encouraging the other three to spend more time in the open. Even the dottyback has taken up a new residence on the topside of the rock. The funny thing about the fish is that aside from the cardinal, they're all from Petco. That wasn't the plan per se, but that's how it worked out.

The mantis has been popping up again. It looks a little huskier, and I'm guessing its been hiding out to molt. Could be my imagination, but I swear he's a little darker and more caulerpa colored too. The mini wrecking machine was dearly missed in its absence, and it's great to have him back.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/87380F93-C057-476F-9A35-4E14F318A2E5-10718-000009C7F351F7FA.jpg

My concerns about the tube anemone may have been unfounded. It's back with a vengeance after its week of looking lousy, bigger than before by a noticeable amount. At full extension, it's a couple of inches taller, against the glass on two sides, plus it touches the rock. When I put this in a 40 gallon tank I had no idea it would grow this fast! Apparently it was not dying, merely plotting its next move.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/EFB26711-1E74-4501-B191-E0443D9752A3-10718-000009BF24B58710.jpg

[wiildmanzeke]

I am loving everything you're doing with this tank. It's really does have it's own personality. You're definitely using the KISS method with this and look how beautiful it is. It almost looks like a cold water tank. Keep it up and keep us updated. I would put this tank in a class of it's own.

[Brickster]

Thank you for the kind words everybody, I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving!

This is the tank today (11/23/12)

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/CAE6023F-199B-4A20-B145-384724396CB4-1385-000000A8DFFAEBDB.jpg

There has been some... creative destruction since my last update. Some of the new rock anemones started moving, and two of them converged on the maxi-mini to try and steal its spot. That was like matter and anti-matter colliding. The maxi and one rock melted almost immediately, the other rock is hiding in a hole it may never crawl out of. Sucks, but I knew these rocks wouldn't play well with others the first time I got zapped by one. I'm surprised 'incidents' like this are not more common honestly. On the bright side, the caulerpa looks fantastic :angel:

The mantis learned a new trick. I keep such a big assortment of live feedstock, I never thought the mantis would care about dead stuff. It took one look at me spot feeding coral, and decided it wanted in on that action.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/583CA447-E58B-42AA-95A9-11C048C47CED-1008-000000635747AA01.jpg

Some good photos of the little squirt. Cutest. Seabug. Ever.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/D3FAD6D3-5095-4C64-AF3F-37779DFA8BA4-1008-000000635EAF2A7F.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/3AE85718-F7D3-466D-B3AC-4832B5FF147A-1008-00000063978013E5.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/4D0755FE-7428-4E60-9530-6842C0F0C17F-1008-000000637D6C3BC5.jpg

There are some coral frags scattered around. Some GSP that has been veeerrrrryyyy slow in acclimating, but gets another polyp or two out each day. It was fragged out of a high light tank with halides, so it probably took it a week to realize the lights were on. I have three patches, will have to be patient. A tiny kenya tree was added yesterday and seems to be doing well. A friend was so horrified by my rock anemone incident I received his two yesterday too. Will get some pics when they settle in.

Got a couple of good pictures of the fish too. The new mix is very nice, harmonious and active.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/36158250-29FD-45FA-BBED-39D994DDF2F4-1008-0000006373E22EBA.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/2545D994-2C0E-4ACB-BCA1-17A1ED30CB7D-1008-000000636AAB0A57.jpg

It is a very simple setup, and will continue to be. My freshwater tanks all rely on biology much more than technology. My previous attempts with saltwater were more tech-intensive than this one, but not necessarily more successful. I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing here, but I like it.

[Brickster]

This weekend I made some equipment changes to the tank. I put some new bulbs in the 4x30" T5HO fixture from an old tank and moved it onto this one. It's nominally the same wattage as the PC setup, but looks nicer and has a few advantages. Moonlights for one, and better options for color mixing. I used two actinic bulbs, one 10K and a freshwater colormax. At low light, it runs the colormax and one actinic, which makes a great purple/pink wash. At full light it looks "warmer" than normal 50/50 lighting. Aesthetics aside, the coral frags have responded very positively to the new light. The GSP is finally waking up, and all the photosynthetic stuff generally looks happier.

I also swapped the Maxijet for a Biocube propeller pump. It's significantly more water movement than before, which should be healthier for everybody. At some point in the near future, I will be removing the HOB filter and placing a second powerhead there. I think the tank has outgrown the need for the filter, and it's just capturing stuff that would be eaten if left in the display. Plus its ugly. I want to see how everybody responds to the new prop pump before I make another change, but the HOB is next on my list.

In other news, the mantis has become utterly corrupted by store bought food. When I fed this morning, it threw down a hermit crab in disgust to collect brine shrimp. And silently, the snails rejoiced.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

wow you got a mantis. he threw a crab. If you get a chance post a mantis video.

[jvene1]

"And silently, the snails rejoiced." That part made me lmao.

[Brickster]

I'll try and get some video the next time the mantis has a particularly social day. It's not afraid of people, but the iPhone scares it, lol. Makes pictures tough to get.

I removed the HOB filter, and the tank is now running 'au natural.' Between the water movement and the new light, most everything is looking happier. The halimedia has been doing awful, and probably just can't compete with the caulerpa. That stuff has been going absolutely nuts. The seaweed has been the biggest winner in the equipment change.

Here's the tank, front and back, today 12/1/12

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/E60F1513-88F1-4F08-81BA-6E637FC74B92-4801-0000035E3E84496A.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/898AB50E-393E-4EE4-8F55-1AA207A09F91-4801-0000035E4399E10D.jpg

I picked up a new tube anemone, which has been doing great. It seems to be the same species as the big one, so I am hopeful they can be good neighbors. If it grows as fast as the first one, I'll know soon enough.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/4269A34B-741C-47BF-B8DE-637A820A6DF2-4801-0000035E4E41E7B9.jpg

This little kenya tree has been growing like a weed. Palys have never been happier. The GSP has been a mixed bag. One patch is super happy, one kind of meh, and the one in this picture seems to be dying. I thought I saw a little tentacle poking out from under the patch and I think aptasia may be to blame. It's been on the rise lately. Peppermint shrimp are off the table with the mantis, but I've been considering a file fish for long term solution.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/DAE6A037-D2EF-407B-8478-F976A9E6EFCF-4801-0000035E489A0704.jpg

The rock anemones have been annoyed by the new setup, spending less time open. They can be tempted with food, however, and seem to be getting used to the altered environment.

[Brickster]

Another week and things have further settled down after the equipment change. More livestock added as well.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/633CEC4A-969E-4617-AAB2-1229ADEC75B3-4870-000005112F1A1F24.jpg

A pretty colony of daisy polyps added this week, palys in the background living it up. A rare (mostly) in focus picture of the Dottyback. I replenished the turbo snails and added a group of tiny Mexican Nassarius snails.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/175324F8-05C6-4116-8795-A050DBE087B3-4870-0000051129BFCE0D.jpg

Damsel. Chillin with the big green nitrate killin machine.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/23582B18-8D64-465C-A9A6-09250B469712-4870-0000051123962AB0.jpg

A rock anemone 'cleaning' the caulerpa. The tubes do this too from time to time.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/4AB8F634-A51A-4602-963E-F55D2087BEA6-4870-00000509011F919F.jpg

[Mr Cob]

Really fun looking tank!

Sent from my HTC VIVID using Tapatalk

[Brickster]

Thanks! I'm just sort of figuring this out as I go along. If you don't know what you're doing you might as well have fun :cool:

I've been experimenting with Kent MicroVert the last few weeks, and so far I think I like it. Most of the reviews were horrible, but I think my anemones and even the starfish will eat the stuff. The hitch hiker feather dusters have never looked better. It sounds like it's basically liquified fish food? Anybody have any experience with this stuff?

[ramsey]

This is really nice! I like the mantis. I had one for a while and they're about as cool as you can get in this hobby. I'm also toying with setting up my 185 as purely an anemone tank. Are you spot feeding that tube nem? Also, where'd you collect the gulf rock nems? Again, it's looking great!

[Big_Pun]

This is really nice! I like the mantis. I had one for a while and they're about as cool as you can get in this hobby. I'm also toying with setting up my 185 as purely an anemone tank. Are you spot feeding that tube nem? Also, where'd you collect the gulf rock nems? Again, it's looking great!

where did you come from!!! lol

[Brickster]

This is really nice! I like the mantis. I had one for a while and they're about as cool as you can get in this hobby. I'm also toying with setting up my 185 as purely an anemone tank. Are you spot feeding that tube nem? Also, where'd you collect the gulf rock nems? Again, it's looking great!

Thanks! I used to spot feed, but since I increased the circulation and removed the filter I get good results with just broadcast feeding. The larger tube is about 10" across the disk, and easily eats as much as a 10" fish. I add enough food (brine shrimp, daphnia, mysis) to snowball the tank and the anemones clear it in about 10 or 15 minutes. I understand the Rock Anemones came from Port A, where they are pretty common. I really like the mantis. Sometimes you don't see it for days at a time, but it is just really neat every time you do.

This is my first anemone tank, and I have really enjoyed keeping them. I think in a 185 you could do some neat stuff with the big pretty anemones like bubble tips or long tentacle. fwiw, I've been very happy with the macro/anemone combo. On a big scale the potential there is very appealing.

[Brickster]

My garden has been growing. There are several new residents, including a pair of giant PJ cardinals. I only thought my 3 year old was big!

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/0A67D11E-9CB1-415C-A5B9-2B4F45932810-2821-000004E70BDE4B41.jpg

I added a nice patch of GSP a few weeks ago. It spent the first couple of weeks settling in, and now it's growing pretty steadily. My first attempts with GSP didn't go so well, but this one is doing fine. Go figure.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/CE4BD976-4EBE-4A6D-A8AF-81D6D7ED745A-2821-000004D7268001DD.jpg

There is quite a few things going on here. The daisy polyps have been happy as can be. Taller, thicker, and sending out runners to expand. I can't wait for this to fill in a little bit and cover the 'tacked on' piece of rock. The palys have been multiplying as well. I may move that piece and try and split it, seeding two locations on the rock. There is also my little urchin, wearing GSP as a hat. Adorable.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/E6A5813E-C789-42B4-B59D-94D2F1D4B163-2821-000004D737668379.jpg

Gratuitous mantis photo

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/F213300A-E9FC-482E-AD95-1F1C3F31EB45-419-0000001231B5CA3C.jpg

Miles to go, but everything is coming along. I'm still having aptasia troubles, and will probably have to drop in some peppermint shrimp. Hopefully they'll get the aptasia I can't see before the mantis gets them... To complicate it, some of the nems look pulpy and blue. If the rock anemones are multiplying too, it'll be a real mess figuring out what's what. The clown is also desperate to host something. Poor little guy is going to wear a hole in the rock if I don't find him a piece of coral that won't try to eat him.

[Brickster]

So it's been about 5 weeks, and quite a bit has happened in my little lagoon. Here's the tank on 2/18/13

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/A1712309-F40E-454F-A897-C214DE4FDBD4-7739-000005786CF43522_zps6cdf757d.jpg

A few new pieces of coral added, and some significant changes to the ecosystem.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/9CA90E39-6187-47A1-A03B-E7BF557A80E8-7739-00000578606DD248_zps0f9a14bb.jpg

There are many things going on here. First off, the great surprise. See those little red guys under the heater? Those are peppermint shrimp. I picked them up hoping they would eat all the aptasia before the mantis ate them, but guess what? That was a month ago. All five are still here, and at least one has completed a molt. The aptasia problem has been completely eradicated, and these guys do a great job breaking down garbage on the sand bed. I am astounded that this is working. Your mileage may vary. Fun fact, with the cleaning station being right there up top, you can stick your hand in the tank and get a pepermint pedicure. I bet in LA I could charge a hundred bucks for that.

The lion and lamb situation led to other problems. The mantis stopped eating the hermits too, which left them very overpopulated. I pulled about 20 over 2 weeks, which is a whole lot for a 40B. They were roaming in gangs and disturbing the coral. I kept about 6 nice big ones and gave the rest away. The whole system is a lagoon environment, so waste is "managed" rather than removed wholesale. As you can imagine, and environment that supported all those crabs got messy without them. I took a two pronged approach.

First, new equipment that I am very happy with. That's a second biocube prop fan, and a Fluval 105 with a custom intake. Every filter I've tried so far has attempted to murder the caulerpa one way or another. This one does very well. The canister only moves 125gph, and the inlet diffuser has a 4" drilled section. 100% Seagrass and anemone safe. I added the canister last week with pretty impressive results. Polyfill and carbon only, but it keeps detritus to a dull roar. The carbon turned out to be very beneficial! The GSP has been lousy and struggling for a month, but it's been perking up day by day since the canister came online. Lesson learned. Canister has a light touch, representing only 20% of circulation.

Step two is just adorable. (OMG look at his little face!)

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/846CF4F4-51F3-44D9-90CC-A1F6C339F4FC-7739-0000058E6A8174B5_zpsc93db030.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/EF0121CB-3CA4-4BD8-BE0C-50346FC1B305-7739-00000578729759C9_zpsaaf58e41.jpg

The blenny has been a model citizen, and loves to eat the new things that have been growing since the crabs took off. (little brown blobs on the caulerpa in the picture above) As a bonus, the perching stirs the junk from the rock and suspends it where it can be eaten or filtered away. In the second picture you can see the new zoas, and the new growth on the daisy polyps. Their freaky and rapid method of expansion has earned them the nickname "Tetsuo." It worked out its strategery, and now it's on the move. Everybody else better hurry up if they want a place in the daisy patch. Curious to see what happens when it hits the rock anemone. It's encroaching on the baby already.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/3E0E3024-EBE2-457A-B852-3E3796B3D5C7-7739-00000578666C409D_zps0c1acff8.jpg

The new fancy pants Zoas doing not so hot (not enough light I suspect), the Kenya Tree doing great, and a sprig of dragons breath doing nothing at all. I had to remove the turbos to keep it from being eaten, but it just con't compete with the caulerpa beast. Just sitting there waiting for the blenny or urchin to get bored enough to finish it off. Oh well. I relocated the palys to give them better expansion opportunities. In the background you can see early construction on the 'Lizard Lounge,' a 6' wet enclosure for water dragons :bigsmile:

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/808F82B3-F78D-41BE-8B70-465BA77B6946-7739-000005798E9E2842_zps47406bac.jpg

The tube anemones always get shortchanged in the FTS, being on the night crew. Just before lights out, in all of their glory. You may have noticed the absence of the clownfish. The big tube anemone is the culprit there. The clown was always a little cavalier with that thing, it finally cut it just a little too close. Real bummer, as he got eaten the day I brought him those mushrooms to sleep in. I was hoping to settle him down and keep him away from the dangerous stuff.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/1770D7A8-FDBB-434A-9773-EC73EDA39779-7739-0000057994F76DC4_zpsf8e067ce.jpg

The cardinals use them for shelter in the late evening, but they're smart enough to hang out below the mouth, not above it. You can also see what the GSP looked like for a month. They are finally in recovery (they prompted the crab purge), so we'll see.

That's enough for today. I want to give it another week or so to see what happens, but I could just about post an update on just the weird stuff emerging from the live rock in the past few weeks. Hopefully it won't be a month this time :angel:

[Brickster]

Picked up some neat striped mushrooms and placed them in the shadow of the worm. Turns out they're happy here, which opens a new placement area for coral. The big tube anemone rarely touches the substrate. You can see it all closed up there. Trying the red caulerpa too, hopefully it can compete. Shrimp dig it.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/760CC666-2C3E-4D5B-B89D-402990412727-6683-00000765DC3F64ED_zps7830e549.jpg

[Fracture]

I would love to see your tank I am in love with it lol

[Brickster]

Thanks for the kind words! It's an interesting tank for sure. Everybody looking happy today

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/8BE9473F-E3E6-46E4-9CCF-822E3F6F231C-4464-000006D0A7A1CF71_zps0d6b5058.jpg

I've been playing around with using both the T5 and the PC light, which seems to make everybody happier. Except the palys, but they'll get over it. The setup looks cludged, and really screws up the low light shadowing, but it's functional for now. I'm in the middle of building a 125gal vivarium, once it's more complete I'll probably build a canopy for this tank and dismantle both of these lights for placement inside. The GSP was continuing to look lousy, so it was donated to a friend's tank. No idea what happened, but that was attempt #2 for GSP, so I'm done. This is a hostile environment, and that stuff isn't happy here.

These however, are really happy

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/75C5EF09-C6F8-4694-99FD-C8D6D3EB0346-4464-000006D0AC4C8F75_zps78067699.jpg

Somehow it isn't surprising that worms would love this nasty lagoon tank, lol. You can also see the little red macro that is absolutely everywhere now. It was a hitchhiker on the caulerpa, but it virtually dissapeared for months. Now it's everywhere and looks really nice. The base is encrusting, so even when the urchin scours part of the rock, it returns pretty quickly. The red caulerpa has new growth too, so I can finally see some of those nice reds in the tank.

The peppermint shrimp are finally dwindling in number, I'm down to two. Go get 'em tiger. Now a pair of shots from the "mantis looking at things" collection.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/6A94C7D9-F42B-4F59-98E4-50C474726219-4464-000006D0B2E9E529_zpscfecf3ad.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Anemone%20Garden/BCE5CDD1-C72E-4FC0-8010-DDB83CE55A11-4464-000006D0B8EA798D_zps8511b7d5.jpg