Northwest's 20 Gallon Macroalgae Display

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Hello Hello! This thread will be documenting my journey with this tank full of Macroalgae and NPS Corals. At the time of making this thread, the tank is 3 months old, and moving along kind of slowly but surely. My plan is to have it be mostly nano goby dominant with many species of Trimma and Eviota gobies. Here is a quick run-down of everything I have so far:

Equipment |
-UNS 60U 20 Gallon Aquarium
-Dymax Slim Flo HOB
-Hygger Wavemaker (Looking to upgrade)
-Hygger Full Spectrum LED (Looking to upgrade)
-Oase 100W Adjustable Heater (Looking to get an Inkbird for it)
-DIY Stand out of 2x4's

Rock and Sand |
-18 Pounds of Marco Rock
-30 Pounds of Caribsea Fiji Pink Live Sand

Fish |
-Biota Captive Bred Astronaut Goby (Trimma Striatum)

Corals |
-Aqua Green Florida Ricordea
-Red Sea Pulsing Xenia
-Tan Spiny Gorgonian (Photosynthetic) (Muricea Laxa)

Macroalgae |
-Scroll Algae | Padina
-Red Grape| Botrycladia sp
-Red Razor| Bryothamnion
-King Thorn | Gracilaria sp
-Halimeda Opuntia
-Euchema sp
-Galaxaura sp

And that's everything so far! I have a wishlist of stuff I'm on the hunt for, such as some gorgonians and fish. Thankfully for some of the Macroalgae such as Blue Hypnea, Cryptonemia, and a few others I really like, I live nearby Tigahboy.H20 so hopefully we can get a trade going once my collection grows out a bit more. I hope everyone enjoys the ride! FTS is coming soon, the corals are acting a bit weird all of a sudden which means I'll do some testing and a water change and I'll give an update on that. But here are a few pics!

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

I thought I'd put a highlight on the newest addition to the tank I got from the LFS yesterday: A @Biota_Marine Captive Bred Astronaut Goby (Trimma Striatum) ! These gobies are super cool. I haven't seen much media of them as it sounds like they're pretty hard to come by, but they're awesome. They get their name from the fact that a majority of the time, they swim and perch upside down! The only time I've seen it in a "normal" stance is when I was drip acclimating it from the LFS.
I actually thought it died during acclimation cause of how still it was while swimming upside down haha. All the photos I've seen of them in the wild makes it look like their natural range is in overhangs and caves which makes a lot of sense. This guy has claimed the upper half of the left rock structure as it has a decent overhang and a good cave system. It's pretty fun to see this guy poke his head out. Maybe he'll be more outgoing once more fish are in the tank, but it'll also be fun to see what other spots the other gobies take up. I'm so excited to start the goby addiction!

 

[Biota_Marine]

Stunning photos! I know for a FACT these fish are impossible to photograph, but you've gone and done it. Well done! - Felicia

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Stunning photos! I know for a FACT these fish are impossible to photograph, but you've gone and done it. Well done! - Felicia

Thanks Felicia! I think a majority of the fish that will be in here will be from you guys Especially a lot of the Eviota species, I have a good majority of the ones you guys culture on my stocking list haha

 

[Eatfrenchfries]

How is the euchema doing? Just ordered some myself and have been hearing mixed reviews on keeping it.

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

How is the euchema doing? Just ordered some myself and have been hearing mixed reviews on keeping it.

It's doing pretty well (surprisingly)! (Also thank you for reminding me to update the thread haha)
So pretty much after the first 2 weeks, most of the branches fell apart but were still alive. So I stuck some in the crevices and some I rubber banded on the bottom. Turns out both are actually growing pretty well. I cant tell you exactly how much light they're getting but my settings aren't high (it's a Hygger Freshwater Planted Tank light) but both pieces in the rock and on the sand bed are growing pretty well.
It's still got its red-ish color. I'm not dosing anything besides Ferriron as an iron supplement for the Reds but soon I'll be back to dosing Chaetogro, NeoNitro, and NeoPhos. I'll post some update pics in a few minutes, filming some B-roll for a video

 

[Eatfrenchfries]

Thanks for the update. Glad to know there's hope because a couple of other threads had nothing good to say.

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Thanks for the update. Glad to know there's hope because a couple of other threads had nothing good to say.

Yeah, most stories I've heard is that people get it when it's yellow since it looks nice. And then it fades to red then melts. When I got and realized what it was I didn't have much hope but so far so good.
Here's a quick phone pic of the piece that's on the sand bed. Spikes coming out the top and the sides are all new growth and it still has its red color

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Thanks for the update. Glad to know there's hope because a couple of other threads had nothing good to say.

And here's the one that was on the rocks. I just got home and looks like it got knocked over by something

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Wow it's been a while. I'm currently on Vacation and don't get back home until Saturday Night, but before I left this past Saturday, I did get some more pics and put together an update video!
Quick rundown of the stocking:

Macroalgae:
-Red Grape (Botrycladia)
-Halidema Opuntia
-Euchema Spinosum
-Bryothamnion
-Galaxaura

Coral:
-Pulsing Xenia
-Tan Spiny Gorgonian
-Aqua Green Florida Ricordea Mushroom

Inverts:
-10(ish) Cerith Snails
-Loads of Munnid Isopods
-An absolute ton of Copepods
-A Bunch of Sponges that grew in the Ricordea Rock

Fish:
-1 Biota Upside Down Goby

So far, nothing new and everything is thriving. I only see the goby a few times a week since it is a cave species and pretty reclusive. Once I get back, I plan on ordering some more stuff from GCE. If you'd like to see other updates on the tank and / or follow the build on YouTube, here are the links!

Northwest_Scapes_

Youtube:

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Hi everyone! I have some away from home updates:
So unfortunately it sounds like something happened to the light timer, my Grandma told me 2 days ago it won't work so I'll have to investigate that. The good thing the tank gets a good amount of natural sunlight for 6-7 hours so I think that'll sustain it. I've seen the corals open up really nicely in the morning from the natural light so I think they're fine. I get home tomorrow night so fingers crossed everything did okay

I did just place an order from GCE for more Macros. Hopefully we get some good things from the Red Sampler, I wouldn't mind more Euchema Spinosum since it's been growing.
My main hope is either Cryptonemia as I saw they had some in not too long ago, and Laurencia thanks to Tigahboy.h20 cause his Laurencia is fire

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Actually might as well just say what I got:
-Lobophora Macroalgae | this one looks really cool, im not sure what species Russ collects but online the pics vary from Brown, Green, to Red. It can attach to rock and sand so I might spread around and see where it does best

-Rhipocephalus phoenix | Christmas Tree / Pine Cone Macro, I like this one a lot and have always wanted some

-Red Sampler (hoping for some goodies)

Should arrive Wednesday if it ships Monday. I've also got something coming next week I might start another thread about soon

 

[Eatfrenchfries]

Lobophora is nice looking but can be a nuisance once it starts making contact since it literally can grow on anything. I call it my brown ulva since I find it everywhere but easier to control.

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Lobophora is nice looking but can be a nuisance once it starts making contact since it literally can grow on anything. I call it my brown ulva since I find it everywhere but easier to control.

Oof I did hear about that, im hoping if I keep it secluded on a rock of its own or the sand then it won't spread too badly (kind of like Xenia or GSP)

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

I got home 20 minutes ago, and first impressions are everything (except the Halimeda) did extremely well. And by extremely well, they actually grew quite a lot.

The Halimeda went white, im guessing due to lack of calcium. Before I left, I did dose some NeoPhos and NeoNitro since I felt like there wasn't enough of it being produced. Looks like it helped since a lot of the Reds grew a but and parts that were pailing out are now fully Red again.

Later is a water change, needed maintenance, and a FTS

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Update Time! Macroalgae came in yesterday, surprisingly no die off yet, I did replenish a bunch of nutrients so maybe that's the reason. Here's what's changed:
•Scratch what I said about the Halimeda, it's doing really well. It's just Calcified Macros look white when the lights are off.
•I added a Pearly Jawfish! So far he's super timid which I've heard is typical Pearly behavior at first. He's moved a few times but right now he's between the two rocks on the right side.
•New Macros that came in: Lobophora, Christmas Tree Macroalgae, what i think is Gracilaria Compressa, more Botryocaldia, and more Bryothamnion. A few species of Gracilaria also came in with the Red Sampler, but I didn't want them so I gave them away.
•Trimma Striatum still doing great, and the Gorgonians growing a few new branches.

Everything is growing and doing really well so far. As mentioned, it's the first time a Macroalgae Tank is actually doing well for me lol so I'm super happy. This week I'm headed down to Portland again, looking to pickup some Clean Up Crew like Snails and Blue Leg Hermits from Cuttlefish and Corals.

Also of course, FTS! (and video coming soon)

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I couldn't get the bottle brushes and pincones to grow. Course I tried in my sump with a reg house light on a reflector but hey. Lol.
Watching and following along.
From puyallup! Lol.
D

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

I couldn't get the bottle brushes and pincones to grow. Course I tried in my sump with a reg house light on a reflector but hey. Lol.
Watching and following along.
From puyallup! Lol.
D

Another Washingtonian, hello!
Yeah tbh I don't know much about them other than that they're a Calcified species and they need Deep sand beds. Hopefully these guys grow and spread, one of my favorite Calcified Macros

 

[Eatfrenchfries]

They need bright light. And they're from shallow areas that occasional get pounded high tide vs low tide. Recommend 3 - 4 inches substrate to make sure you get run offs as well as strong pulse flow like lagoon. Calcium needs to be high since they'll consume it quite fast once going. Not enough for reactor but maybe dose instead of water change.

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

They need bright light. And they're from shallow areas that occasional get pounded high tide vs low tide. Recommend 3 - 4 inches substrate to make sure you get run offs as well as strong pulse flow like lagoon. Calcium needs to be high since they'll consume it quite fast once going. Not enough for reactor but maybe dose instead of water change.

Thank you, I think I should look into dosing since I'd love to get some Bottle cap Macro as well. I've got the flow down, I should probably move the one on the left then to the right side since there's a good 5 inches there for the Jawfish