A.berry Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Hello Everyone, I just introduced myself in the "Welcome" forum but I wanted to go ahead and start my build thread! I'm going to be building a 2 gallon reefjar as my first attempt at keeping a saltwater tank. Crazy, I know, but I'm a glutton for punishment I guess! I'm planning to keep it simple by setting it up along the same lines as done on reefjar.com. I have the 2 gallon cookie jar already and tomorrow I plan on trying to get a bag of love sand and some dry rock to start cycling. I'm going to get a bubbler and an ABI(?) tuna blue bulb in an architect lamp or possibly even as a hanging lamp, as well as an adjustable 25 watt heater. A user on nano-reef used clear rubber tube split and wrapped around the lip of the bowl to seal the lid but allow a gap to pass the airline and heater power cord through. I was thinking about adding a sump but I think I'll go without one and set it up the same as the other jars and bowls I've seen. as far as livestock, I'm thinking I will just get some beginner soft and sps frags and let them grow, as well as a feather duster, a Pom Pom crab or porcelain crab and maybe some sexy shrimp. I've flip flopped about getting a clown goby or neon goby but I think I'll have to see how the jar looks after it's cycled. I've seen a cardinal in a jar online, but I don't know how happy I feel about one of them in such a small space. I'm also thinking a bit of macro algae to handle some of the nitrites in between weekly water changes. So there's my plan! Any thoughts? I'm expecting some "you're insane" and like I said, I am, but I feel pretty confident I can do it. Anything I'm missing? Any ideas on more suitable livestock or varaieties of corals that would be a good starter? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centex99 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Well, good luck! Look forward to watching... and thanks for the link to the world of reef jars... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Good luck! Looking forward to the progress of this jar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted February 12, 2017 Author Share Posted February 12, 2017 40 minutes ago, centex99 said: Well, good luck! Look forward to watching... and thanks for the link to the world of reef jars... Thanks! Yea absolutely, reading that has absolutely blown my mind. Check out Natalia's reef bowl and pongpits 2g pico. They both have tiny pico's that will blow minds. 40 minutes ago, Gig 'em @ NDstructible said: Good luck! Looking forward to the progress of this jar Thank you, I'll HOPEFULLY get the sand and stones tomorrow so I can start laying it out. I'll be sure to post some pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted February 14, 2017 Author Share Posted February 14, 2017 So I didn't end up getting to get any dry rock this weekend but I did pick up my sand today! I checked out aquatec which was amazingly cool. Anyways, I'm heading to the coast this weekend and I've seen a few threads claiming to use rock/sand/water from the beach to build a biotope and it got me thinking. I'm thinking I might grab a 5 gallon bucket of water and maybe a small stone or so to start seeding the sand and the dry rock I plan to buy. Any thought? My only concern is the possibility of picking up parasites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 There is more than just a concern of getting a parasite. Collecting water from the coast can have all kinds of pollutants and things like that. If you were going to use water from the coast it would need to be from an area free from boats, people etc. Maybe getting the water from far out but that would require a boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted February 15, 2017 Author Share Posted February 15, 2017 On 2/14/2017 at 7:06 AM, madsalt said: There is more than just a concern of getting a parasite. Collecting water from the coast can have all kinds of pollutants and things like that. If you were going to use water from the coast it would need to be from an area free from boats, people etc. Maybe getting the water from far out but that would require a boat. Yea I've been doing more reading and thinking and have pretty much come to this conclusion. $20 for a bag of salt good for a year and a 5 gallon jug of ro water aren't so expensive that I could justify taking any risks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 Hello! So little bit of a delay, but I've got it set up! Just picked up my first livestock! I have a bumble bee snail and a red legged Cortez hermit crab. I'm really enjoying this project! Any ideas for good first coral? What's the best place to find an inexpensive starter coral? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 It all depends on what you want to ultimately put in there, but leathers and softies (mushrooms, neon green toadstool) should do well. I assume you're not thinking of sps. I've got freebies I can give you of both mushrooms and toadstools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 7 hours ago, mFrame said: It all depends on what you want to ultimately put in there, but leathers and softies (mushrooms, neon green toadstool) should do well. I assume you're not thinking of sps. I've got freebies I can give you of both mushrooms and toadstools. I was thinking of both of those. I haven talk even gotten to thinking about sps corals yet! And I would really appreciate some freebies! I'm looking forward to adding some more color! I snapped a few new pics this evening. I love watching these animals! Any ideas what this little tag along polyp is? It's getting bigger and staying open more. I'm curious if it may be the same thing that the dead coral it's growing on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 I don't see any pictures and I'd really like to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 Here are a handful. I don't know why they aren't showing up but I'll upload them again differently. The critters are all doing awesome though I am having a bit of an issue with temperature maintenance. I'm thinking my cheap heater isn't maintaining the temp great so I think I'll be investing in a better one or a temp control Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Thanks to mFrame, I now have a handful of awesome corals! I did a full water change and positioned the new corals. I didn't quite wedge the mushrooms as well as I should have and one has moved onto the sand. I don't know if they will grow on the sand but I don't want to try to move it tonight as I feel like that may be too much handling for one day. Anyways, please enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted March 5, 2017 Author Share Posted March 5, 2017 So I had my preset heater die last night, so this morning I had to run to petco and get the only heater option they had. Now I have an adjustable 50 watt that is the same length as the jar itself. I'm going to be ordering a new one asap but I'm hoping this should tie me over until a better suited one gets here. Coral seemed stressed this morning but since the light came in and I got the heater in, they seem to be opening up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 That's a really nice collection of corals starting out. I especially like that ricordea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted March 6, 2017 Author Share Posted March 6, 2017 4 hours ago, KimP said: That's a really nice collection of corals starting out. I especially like that ricordea! Yea that's my to wife's favorite one too. I really like the hammer for it's color. This has definitely been a learning curve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 Did my second full water change using premixed water this time. Went much faster and way less stressful! Did some rearranging as well. The leather coral shed but it seems to be perking up. The ricordea wandered off the rock (didn't realize they could move that much!) and a big mushroom that did exactly what mFrame said it'd do and hid down in a corner! I moved those to some seemingly more wedged spaces so I guess we'll just watch and see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 And I just spotted this little hitch hiker! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Looking good! Asterina star will help with algae. If they become a nuisance you can get a harlequin shrimp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BobcatReefer Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Really interested in watching this long term. Can't imagine continual 100% water changes, or whatever the eventual ratio/timeline works out to be for a reef tank so small. The concept is pretty badass though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Looking at that picture again (it's a bit blurry), it looks like you got a micro brittle star and not an asterina. Those guys are awesome! I notice that the neon green toadstool isn't extending. Is it coming out during the day? It should look more like this: So you're doing only the bubbler for flow? The biggest concern I would have would be low oxygen in the water due to very little agitation. As for water changes, I kept a 3g pico on my desk at work for about 2 years. It was literally the easiest water change I've ever had to do. I would take a super Big Gulp cup each week, scoop it full and dump. Then replace with saltwater. In low light conditions with non-SPS corals the biggest thing you have to deal with is removing excess nutrients. Just don't overfeed and have a few good sand sifters (nassarius) and you should be able to keep it going for a good long while. Looking at the lid of that jar, I'm thinking you could really go with one of the new LED pucks and build it into the lid. With a little clear epoxy all you would have coming out from the top would be a power cord, and then you could ditch the desk lamp. Of course that's me overthinking it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Puck link, would totally blow the whole concept of a jar's budget. http://www.rapidled.com/aurora-puck/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 54 minutes ago, mFrame said: Looking at that picture again (it's a bit blurry), it looks like you got a micro brittle star and not an asterina. Those guys are awesome! I notice that the neon green toadstool isn't extending. Is it coming out during the day? It should look more like this: So you're doing only the bubbler for flow? The biggest concern I would have would be low oxygen in the water due to very little agitation. As for water changes, I kept a 3g pico on my desk at work for about 2 years. It was literally the easiest water change I've ever had to do. I would take a super Big Gulp cup each week, scoop it full and dump. Then replace with saltwater. In low light conditions with non-SPS corals the biggest thing you have to deal with is removing excess nutrients. Just don't overfeed and have a few good sand sifters (nassarius) and you should be able to keep it going for a good long while. Looking at the lid of that jar, I'm thinking you could really go with one of the new LED pucks and build it into the lid. With a little clear epoxy all you would have coming out from the top would be a power cord, and then you could ditch the desk lamp. Of course that's me overthinking it... So the leather was coming out a bit, not fully, but definitly enough to see green. Then it started shedding and it didn't come out at all, but this morning it started coming out again. The bubbler seems to move the water surprisingly well! It's plenty to push the mushrooms and ricordea off the rock. I really like the puck idea! Might have to do that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 I'm actually at aqua dome right now checking it out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.berry Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 Just got the new stuff in! Picked up a zoa frag and a polyp of some sort. Also got some macro algae to try to buffer any potential ammonia spiking, but I still plan to change the water every week. I put the polyp on the coral skeleton I had but as soon a soon as I took the picture I noticed some hair algae, so I moved the polyp and pulled the rock out to peroxide. Hoping it didn't spread elsewhere I also go surprised with a yellow watchman goby! Happy birthday to me! It's one of the species I've been researching and I'm pretty pleased with it. He seems to be making himself at home burrowing under the edge of a rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.