My First Skimmerless System

[Timfish]

Here's a video from a couple weeks ago.

https://youtu.be/cWIEKUsjnYU

[Timfish]

This video shows has a closeup of the Fungia polyps that were all were all born in this system.  A single anthocaulus was transplanted to a smallish limestone rock and placed in this system 8 or 9 years ago.   9 more have since have budded off from the original one.  Development of new baby plate corals start immediately after it's older sibling drops off.  In just a week or two the new polyp can be seen expanding.  Depending on how much it's shaded from other polyps it can take from about a year to several years to grow to a point where it drops off.   Polyps should not be forcibly broken off as it can kill the anthocaulus stopping any further polyp production.  The anthocaulus initially may only be a couple millimeters or about 1/16" in diameter but will grow with each new polyp and can be about 12 mm or 1/2" in diameter.  Larger Anthocauli can be gently broken off at the base and glued to a rock being very careful not to damage any of the tissue around the crown.

 

https://youtu.be/dh_nLhj1QXc

[Christyef]

Awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Timfish]

Update:

 

Video of system before it's moved twice next week (mid December 2022) to replace carpet and wall paper. Quite a lot has happened since last video. Notably during Covid many animals (but not all) started doing poorly. Long story short Lysol over spray was getting into the system.  Actinodiscus mushrooms that had been in the system almost since it's inception were all lost as well as Fungia plate corals, a Tridacna squamosa, all the baby and one adult Turkey Wing Clams and Purple Stylo. Corals that suffered but were not completely lost were pulsing Xenia, Green/Orange Zoas and Pagoda Coral. Unfazed were the fish (thankfully), all the Aquilonastra starfish as well as the Green Brittlestar and Sea Cucumber, Palau Green Finger and red chalice.

 

 

[n2585722]

I will have keep that in mind if I use Lysol. I set my stand directly on the concrete slab and used carpet squares but the stand has a lip you can slip the edge of the squares under so you cannot see the edge of the squares. That is not as good of an option as one piece carpet but it does make it easier to clean if there is a tank mishap. Just remove the squares and hose them off. Let them dry and reinstall them.

[Timfish]

It was a pretty annoying, cleaning staff wasn't supposed to be spraying anything.  After several weeks of slow decline I went in to check on stuff after hours and they were spraying all the furnitutre in the lobby where the aquarium was.  What was intersting was the mushrooms were the first to go.  about the same time the zoas turned brown and over a period of abut 2 months about half dissappeared.  

[Timfish]

Video of a Green Brittle Star that's been in this system since winter of 97-98.

 

 

[Timfish]

Well, this sucks!  Accidentally killed a baby calm when moving this system.  Only consolation is this is confirmation of a 2nd species successfully spawning in this system.

 

[Timfish]

Some pics of the tank move.

Lots of buckets and trash cans.  I prefer using 5 gallon buckets as much as possible, they're easier to move and basicly can go anywhere a person goes.  But trash cans and large polyethelene containers sometimes are needed for their volume and for holding large colonies and rocks.

 

These three are about 12 hours after moving this system the first time.

 

Moving tanks is a lot easier with an hydraulic lift cart.  They're readily available now but this one is one I had custom built a long time ago and can handle over a ton.

 

Quick video a few days after the first move.

 

[Timfish]

Quick video of this 25 year old system about 20 hours after the 2nd move in 8 days. Only loss was one damsel, presumably it got stuck in some of the rock at some point. Some of the sand that's been in this system since it tank was swapped out in 2007 was rinsed in clean aged saltwater and reused and some new live sand was added. Fish are eating and interacting normally and corals have all opened up.
 

 

 

[Timfish]

Here's some current pics:

Two different Pagaoda corals.  The larger brown polyps are Turbinaria peltata.  The smaller green, T. patula.

Yellow tang purchased in 2022

 

Purple Stylo

 

Toadstool, there's a couple in this system that are daughter colonies of a wild colony purchased in '97 or '98.  Unlike some others that have been very fast growing these have been pretty slow.  This colony is about 2 decades old.  The mother colony started to decline and died about 10 years ago, but one curious item was the daughter colonies displayed very different behavior from the mother colony.  While the mother colony was "moody" or would often be closed up the daughter colonies would usually be open and on occasion might be closed while the mother was open.

[+Grog]

I love how the tang gives you the full shot. 

Nice to see the stylos large.   I have something to look forward to.

[Timfish]

Oooooops!

 

Got 4 tangs in this system and none are easy to get full shots of.  None are particularly shy but when someone is in front of the tank they're each trying to beat everyone else to where food might be. 😏

[Timfish]

Just a short video update of my skimmerless system started in 1997, Green Brittle Star added winter '97. Purple Tang. purchased mid '90s, rehomed fall 2015. Yellow Tang, purchased 2002, rehomed fall 2015. Blonde Naso and standard Naso purchased 2013, rehomed 2016.

 

[+Grog]

Star is awesome.

[Timfish]

They are pretty cool and real eye catchers.  From what I've seen in my systems over the years they don't deserve their reputation for catching and killing fish.  They're so slow compared to fish if they're found feeding on a fish they're just doing their job and scavenging and the fish either was dead or on bad shape when they grabbed it.