Dawn's 56 gallon natural nutrient garden

vlangel · Mar 14, 2020

Oliver d said:
this is really a beautifully natural looking reef

Thank you Oliver. Yes, I am striving for a very natural looking reef so I very much appreciate your comment.

Well 1 of the firefish is looking like it will not make it. Bummer, I hate this. This may be a poor decision on my part but I moved all the healthy looking fish into the display. I hope that I do not really regret this choice but I felt the healthy ones could benefit from being in a stable enviroment with lots of hiding places. I was pretty sure that they would not be bullied and I feed this tank very heavy with a good variety of frozen and dry food. Wish me luck!

vlangel · Mar 14, 2020

Good news...the 1 firefish, the clownfish, the wrasse and the Royal gramma all ate in the display tank. They are also comfortably swimming in the open water. The YWG is residing in a cave but does not appear to be cowering. I have not seen it eat yet but he is a robust fish so I am optimistic.

These 5 fish make a nice addition to the tank's inhabitants. They spend more time in the open water and add color so I am pleased with them as long as they live! LOL

vlangel · Mar 16, 2020

This morning the yellow watchman goby ate well so he was the last hold out that was worrying me. I have probably turned the corner and hopefully my new fish will all fatten up like my old fish. I love having plump fish!

vlangel · Mar 25, 2020

Uhgg, the yellow watchman goby did not make it. The rest of the new fish look good so here is a video of them.

vlangel · Apr 2, 2020

I placed another order with Live Aquaria using the credit from the fish losses I experienced with the last order. I will not order anymore fish but I felt inverts have a better chance being mailed. I used to have a beautiful purple blue Crocea clam for years which I sold when I got seahorses. I have been wanting another clam so I ordered an ORA aquaculture Hippopus clam. It sounded sturdier than croceas so I thought it should do pretty well in this high nutrient tank. I have 2 volunteer scallops that are growing great so even though this clam is barely 2" I think it will get the food it needs to thrive. I placed it in the lowest level in the sand with a cup shaped live rock under it. Hopefully it attaches its byssal thread to the rock and so can be moved if that ever becomes necessary. I will take a pic when it opens and the lights are on.

kevinl · Apr 3, 2020

Did u take pic of the clam?

Chrisfish · Apr 3, 2020

vlangel said:
Uhgg, the yellow watchman goby did not make it. The rest of the new fish look good so here is a video of them.

Tank is looking awesome Dawn!!

vlangel · Apr 3, 2020

kevinl said:
Did u take pic of the clam?

Not yet Kevin but I will work on that.

vlangel · Apr 3, 2020

Chrisfish said:
Tank is looking awesome Dawn!!

Thanks Chris! I am liking this tank more than any I have ever had. For this season of life, this tank is just the right size and it's very easily maintained and yet had a lot of life in it.

Chrisfish · Apr 3, 2020

I love your choice of fish and their names

vlangel · Apr 4, 2020

0 new items by Dawn Gilson

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Meet Clam-chops!

vlangel · Apr 4, 2020

kevinl said:
Did u take pic of the clam?

0 new items by Dawn Gilson

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This crazy clam was open all day and now when I went to get a pic didn't he go and close up!

kevinl · Apr 5, 2020

we need an open picture!
Nice, what color is a Hippo clam?

vlangel · Apr 5, 2020

kevinl said:
we need an open picture!
Nice, what color is a Hippo clam?

0 new items by Dawn Gilson

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This pic shows the clam open and captures the color fairly accurately. It's kind of a white-ish very pale greenish color with tan. It's not striking like the maximas, croceas, squamosas and other greater clams. I don't know if all Hippopus clams are so drab or not. Of course the pic on Live Aquaria look a bit more exciting. When I first saw it, I was somewhat disappointed but it was fairly reasonably priced for a 2-3" clam and I care more about health than it being showy. It's still a cool creature and I will enjoy it.

vlangel · May 6, 2020

This morning I worked in the basement 30 gallon fuge. Since I have a DIY reverse durso (to control drain noise) and a DIY overflow into the 20 gallon L sump, the fuge is, shall we say ' a bit homespun'. It will never be display worthy but I decided to do what I could to make it a little less utilitarian looking. That entailed moving rockwork to hide as much of the drainline as possible. This also opened up a lot more of the sand bed which I am going to plant shoal seagrass in. I am trading some of my photosynthetic purple sponge for the seagrass. It should be fun trying my hand at it and shoal seagrass is one of the easier species to grow. I will take a pic after this all happens.

vlangel · Sep 28, 2020

0 new items by Dawn Gilson

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This is a long overdue update on my tank but this past weekend I finally got the shoal seagrass. I am excited at the prospects of trying my hand at them.

vlangel · Sep 28, 2020

This is the latest video taken of my tank,
9-24-20
This tank has been so stable since the fuge was added and matured. I am hoping that the addition of the seagrass does not negatively impact the balance of the system. Everything seems to be working like clockwork!