DTC Build - Jim

[Jim]

Alas, the game is afoot.
Bill of materials:

• re-purposed drinking water filter/dispenser
• Tunze waterproof full spectrum LED Fixture 8850
• aPump Silent Air Pump
• Tetra 26447 Submersible Aquarium Heater
• Hawaiian Black Arag-Alive! Reef Sand
• (2) medium sized Reef rock 2.1 taken out of from sump of main system

goals are to grow out some paly/zoa colonies on the two rocks that could one day move to the DT, also thinking about a mangrove through the opening since there is a small collar I can strap it to, and then also plan set some coastal rosemary in the upper chamber for a surf & turf look.
If it goes way better than expected maybe also a future retirement home for my watcher/snapper duo some day when they will need to get out in place of a mandarin.

Should get cycling tonight. and never mind about the curtains;

 

[Trio91]

Very cool

 

[Mark Shelly]

Great to see another tank going.

 

[Jim]

day 6;



Thoughts on best online sellers for zoa frags? I;d need them on plugs that I could get them off of

 

[Trio91]

Could try Zoanthids.com Live Salt Water Zoanthids and Palythoa Coral For Sale

 

[Jim]

wow those look nice but very pricy. I'll probably go with more heads on some less exotic models for this

 

[Mark Shelly]

A tank this small is very tough to keep balanced. I would not spent too much for the contents.

 

[diana a]

Could try Zoanthids.com Live Salt Water Zoanthids and Palythoa Coral For Sale

Wow those are expensive. I love zoa and I wish the prices were close to what they were 5 years ago. Post if you find a dealer with normal prices

 

[Jim]

day 13;

Mangroves are from Gulf Coast Ecosystems, I was surprised how grown out they are.
So far so good under the surface; although the rocks are browning a bit

 

[Mark_C]

Fantastic!

 

[Jim]

decided to order these packs from two different providers to compare ..ones price is 2x the other hm. I'll mount them on separate rocks

Zoanthid Frag Pack
Zoanthid Frag Pack- 05 Frags

 

[diana a]

Interested in what they send you! Post photos when they come in. I love zoas

 

[Jim]

relieved that after 10 or so days in the water some of these frags are finally starting to open and at least one is looking fully. Still the macros are outperforming they love the sunlight (phone doesn't focus well through the acrylic so pics are a bit hard to read)




regarding the 2 online providers of zoa sample packs, hands down winner was yourreef.com. They actually sent 6 samples instead of 5 and all the specimens were large with 4-8 heads. They were not unidentified.
The WWC samples were well labeled but all of them small with 1-4 heads and none seem to have survived. They might have been a better variety but I wouldn't know / appreciate that very much plus they were double the price. Both were well packaged and arrived on time.

View attachment 17713

 

[Jim]

botched up the photos here was the other

 

[Trio91]

With the "tank" being so close to the window, did you ever consider running sun lit?

 

[Jim]

that would be cool to try down the road; but with only a few hrs a day of sun in that spot its probably a stretch. Plus i haven't decided yet how to watch out for high temp