dshnarw BIOTOPE

[dshnarw]

**This thread is the continuation of my build thread, lost somewhere in the general forums. Much of it will be reposted in this thread eventually, and is a copy of my tank thread on nano-reef.com, for those of you on both sites.

 

This tank is my attempt to recreate an “enhanced” natural habitat of the mini carpet anemone, Stichodactyla tapetum, according to pictures, video, and descriptions of the lagoons and reefs of Singapore. That’s right – full-blown mini carpet biotope! Because this is a biotope, I think the only fitting way to introduce the tank is to (as briefly as possible) explain my “research” into the various habitats and critters that live there. Sorry to those who can’t stand long-winded posts, but the first few are necessary to explain this tank, and you can always scroll through the pics.

 

Since the mini carpet needs little introduction, I will simply link you to other threads posted on nano-reef, where I spend more of my time, concerning their care and propagation:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=tapetum

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=tapetum

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=tapetum

 

Its habitat, however, may need some explanation. Typical habitat for carpet anemones, including S. tapetum, is reef rubble and seagrass lagoon. The best way to explain this area is simply by posting pictures – these are pictures from Singapore taken from blogs and park/preservation site websites:

 

**NOT MY TANK** This is a tank from a park in Singapore, showing the progression of habitats from the shoreline:

 

 

Closer up, small patches of corals are found:

 

Zoanthids:

 

Encrusting gorgonian:

 

Mushrooms:

 

Brain corals:

 

Acropora:

 

Plates:

 

There are, of course, many more species found in these areas, including Montipora, Porites, Leathers, and Carnation corals, along with several species of Gorgonian. My intention is to replicate the species found as accurately as possible – to genus or species level when I can.

 

Finally (for this post), there are the anemones. Clown-hosting species include E. quadricolor (bubble-tip), Heteractis, and the clown-hosting Stichodactyla species. Others include the tube anemones, “swimming anemones” (Boloceroides), Phymanthus, several small and unidentified species, and S. tapetum:

 

Mini carpets:

 

Clown-hosting carpets:

 

Websites, articles and blogs used to research Singapore lagoonal environments and S. tapetum:

 

http://whelk.aims.gov.au/coralsearch/coralid_search.php

http://wondercreation.blogspot.com/

http://books.google.com/books?id=9owfyLxzq...GbVkcnw4G03qr0Y

http://cjproject.blogspot.com/

http://chekjawa.nus.edu.sg/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chek_Jawa

http://chimck.tripod.com/chekjawa/

http://coralreef.nus.edu.sg/

http://iyor08singapore.blogspot.com/

http://wildfilms.blogspot.com/

http://ashira.blogspot.com/

(WARNING: this one is very large!!) http://www.nhm.ku.edu/inverts/pdf/Dunn_1981.pdf

 

Dikou, A. and R. van Woesik (2006). Survival under chronic stress from sediment load: Spatial patterns of hard coral communities in the southern islands of Singapore. Marine Pollution Bulletin, v. 52, pp. 7-21.

 

 

 

UPCOMING: fish, inverts, and THE BUILD!

Edited January 15, 2008 by dshnarw

[lletellier]

very cool, def interested to see how this progresses

[flowerseller]

Somebody nominate this for TOTM

[dshnarw]

very cool, def interested to see how this progresses

 

Thanks! Hopefully I can finish the background and post some tank shots in the next couple of days.

 

Somebody nominate this for TOTM

 

 

Thanks for the thought...but lemme get some seagrass in there first - just isn't quite right without it.

[gmubeach]

Neat Idea ! Makes reefing so much more intreasting I think that if you got a fish that fed upwards it would be cool like if he sat under the ledge and picked off food hope it turns out ok Troy

[davelin315]

Very neat! It looks like many of the things I thought I knew were actually misconceptions based on what you're showing us. The sponges, for example, have always been something I have been told could not exit the water or they would be unable to get rid of the air bubbles in them and die off, but those are exposed by the tide. It's also interesting to see that these corals and invertebrates all get exposed to air during low tides, yet they are very healthy and look great regardless! Are these all photos that you took yourself? What an awesome trip that must have been - diving a reef while walking on the ground!

[dshnarw]

Very neat! It looks like many of the things I thought I knew were actually misconceptions based on what you're showing us. The sponges, for example, have always been something I have been told could not exit the water or they would be unable to get rid of the air bubbles in them and die off, but those are exposed by the tide. It's also interesting to see that these corals and invertebrates all get exposed to air during low tides, yet they are very healthy and look great regardless! Are these all photos that you took yourself? What an awesome trip that must have been - diving a reef while walking on the ground!

 

The sponges quite get me as well. From what I can tell, the species most commonly collected for the aquarium are deeper water, and may not be able to remove the air bubbles. The ones in the pics sure can though! Would love to find one of those!

 

Should have mentioned that somewhere - the pics are from the various blogs I've been reading/researching. I would LOVE to go there myself, and quite intend to before I'm out of grad school - good reefs AND good rocks...hard to beat. Until then, I live vicariously through others

[flowerseller]

What happened to the tank pic in the first post?

[dshnarw]

What happened to the tank pic in the first post?

 

I made a grammar edit earlier. Must have deleted it by accident. Thanks for pointing that out.

[VicSkimmr]

I didn't realize you were a member here too

[dshnarw]

I didn't realize you were a member here too

 

I had no idea you were either! Glad to see some fellow NRers here! (found out last week that dtfleming is a member as well)

 

[dshnarw]

Fish:

 

The seagrass lagoon has nearly as much fish diversity as the reef. Many species overlap both areas: damsels and clownfish, cardinalfish, wrasses, groupers, perchlets, rays, and butterfly fish just to name a few. Other fish include the various toadfish and frogfish, some scorpionfish, pipefish, and seahorses.

 

 

 

Inverts:

 

Starfish and snails are probably the most common inverts. Starfish include the popular sand-sifting star, brittle stars, and chocolate-chip star. Population density for starfish is extremely high in lagoonal areas for the same reason seagrass is – waste produced by the reef is left in the lagoon to provide tons of food. (This doesn’t, however, mean that the water is any less quality than at the reef, but that the sandbed is very high in nutrients).

 

 

Snails include Cerith, Nerites, and Nassarius – the typical sand/intertidal inhabitants. More exotic species include the spider conch, many cowry species, and the moon snail.

 

 

Others:

 

Shrimp: anemone and pistol

Stomatopods

Octopus

Clams

Worms: Fan/Tube, Bristle, Eunice

Sponges

Crabs

Cucumbers

Urchins

Nudibranchs

Crinoids

 

[dshnarw]

“Plants”:

 

Seagrasses and macroalgae include:

 

Caulerpa

Chaetomorpha

Halimeda

Neomeris

Ulva

Halymenia

Padina

Dictyota

Cymodocea

Thalassia

Halodule

Halophila

Sargassum

 

 

Tank Build:

 

I have been working on the idea for this tank for several months, since my first shipment of mini carpets came in. With a lot of research and a great deal of help from fellow nano-reefers, I came up with the tank you’ll soon see. To those reefers, I say thanks. To Amber, who has dealt with my obsession and pushed me to finish the build, thanks and I love you.

 

The basic stand was made following a design on nano-reef. For better pics of his design, look for "Adin Tank" in the member's aquariums subforum. Mine is slightly altered from that design based mainly on my lack of tools than stability.

 

My photos will start with the water test, which was a great deal of worry and headache. I currently live in a second floor apartment, making the water test extremely hazardous. My sink has already flooded the kitchen below me, and I didn’t feel it a good idea to flood their living room as well. So….water testing happened in the bathroom, with a tarp and some rope:

 

 

After much begging, pleading, and headache, I finally found someone willing to drill 5 holes in a 30 gallon tank. This was, unfortunately, the most time consuming effort in the whole ordeal, and 3 people backed out when I refused to let them drill less holes. Why 5? Because I plan to have NO powerheads in this tank. Too many anemones, and they like to move. Just after drilling:

 

 

(You’ll notice the top plastic trim has been added back on. While I’m fairly certain the glass is fine without it, I need the extra area for the light fixtures currently on the tank). Since this pic, The plumbing was painted black and completed. The spray bar at the bottom is the return from a closed loop system running ~850gph. The sump is returning ~300gph, and contains all the equipment – heater, ASM Mini-G skimmer, and ~20lbs of live rock.

[dtfleming]

there's a couple of nr'ers here, steveoutlaw, professor.

[toastiireefs]

wow this is really interesting-- cant wait to see the finished product- when ever that may be

[dshnarw]

Finally, some shots from the tank:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh....were you waiting for a FTS??

 

 

Things I considered:

 

Sand: I like black, and although the majority of pics from the blogs had white/mixed sands, black sand would not be a stretch. The geology of the area includes several ancient igneous bodies, including gabbro "sheets" within granite intrusions. Gabbro is a black rock, equivalent in composition to basalt, and localized areas of Singapore would, at least in the past, have had black sands similar to Hawaii.

 

Rock: Is a mixture of what small amount of Indo live rock I could get with some various aquacultured rock from around the Pacific. Singapore does not export live rock, and Indo live rock is becoming very hard to come by.

 

Corals: May come from various parts of the world, aquacultured or wild. In most cases, I can ID the corals to species level, but some I can't (Acropora and the encrusting gorgonian, for example). In those cases, I got as close as I could to the morphology of species in the images I've come across. A couple of corals have been "hidden" from view because they don't occur (or I haven't found some evidence that they occur) in the area. These corals will be removed as soon as my office tank is set up again.

 

Fish: Currently, I have 2 clarkii clowns and a yellow clown goby. Clarkii do not occur in Singapore - only Tomato and Ocellaris. For now, these guys will stay in the tank in place of the naturally occuring species because I am attached to them, after 6+months of them swimming around in my cramped 15g. Hopefully, they will trigger my being allowed to have another tank (yes, Amber...I said ANOTHER TANK), where they can happily fight, and I can replace them. The YCG is also awaiting the office tank (and will be sorely missed - the only fish smart enough to stay away from the anemones). Other fish are still up for debate (if anyone has suggestions, please tell!)

 

CUC: hitchhiking stomatellas, my prized money cowry (distribution fits the tank!) whom I only see when re-scaping, and myself. This is how the 15g has been running for more than 6 months, without a very nasty buildup of algae. Planning to get some nerites, ceriths, and nassarius to help out.

 

Others: brittle star, hitchhiked in on the purple rim monti

 

anemones: 40+ mini carpets, a Heteractis the clowns have been hosting since I've had them, and 2 Borneman anemones, which are quite similar to some found in the lagoon at Singapore.

[VicSkimmr]

Very nice!

[dshnarw]

Very nice!

 

Thank you, sir!

 

 

 

 

At this point, its necessary to say thanks to Tri Bui for the skimmer, pump for the closed loop, and especially drilling the holes for the tank!

[dshnarw]

And the mini carpets:

As I've already said, I have ~40+ mini carpets. Upon count today, I could find 29 in the display and 4 in the sump. Given that I regularly find more popping up, an estimate of 40 is fairly conservative. Of those, the vast majority are the mini variety that splits naturally. This is the first variety I acquired, starting with 18. From these, I sold and traded several, then begin small daily/every other day feedings of mysis and cyclopeeze. At current rates with daily feedings, I get about 2 splits weekly. Most of the time, I've sold or traded the new splits off to prevent the 15g tank from being overrun by them. Lately, though, I've let them go, estimating there to be at least 30. All of this version are the watermelon/"Gary M special" variety (so named after Gary M on RC who propagated a ton of this variety).

 

The other variety is the maxi mini carpet. This variety does not, or very rarely splits in captivity, and grows to be much larger (2" maximum for mini, reportedly 12" maximum for maxi). I acquired 6 initially, and immediately split them. Four more were sent to me for my birthday (THANKS! Amber and a certain bot on NR). Several were sent to the bot for his birthday. Currently, I have 13, of 9 different color variations:

 

red

green

"camo" - green/tan/brown

purple/green (maybe I should call it PPE maxi??

pink/black

and four distinct varieties with varying amounts of green, yellow, red, pink, and brown (some are mottled, striped, ringed, etc)

 

Many of the pictures are poor, but they give you an idea. These were taken today:

 

The last pic gives you an idea of the size difference between minis and maxis. The mini is nickel-size, average for minis. The maxi is on the smaller side - a couple of mine are nearing 4" in diameter, and one was nearly 8" before the first cut.

[dshnarw]

Some more shots from the tank:

 

The lady of the tank, half-asleep. She'll bite me for turning the flash on next time I'm working in the tank:

 

My yellow clown goby...waiting for the office tank:

 

And some corals:

 

FTS:

 

Not much changed...but that pic is really making me wish I'd gone ahead and painted the glass instead of that freebie background Soon as I get some paint, that things going away.

[zotzer]

Love this tank...great job!!

Tracy

[dshnarw]

Love this tank...great job!!

Tracy

 

 

Thanks

[toastiireefs]

wow this is really awsome!

nice work

 

those mini carpets are great

[dshnarw]

wow this is really awsome!

nice work

 

those mini carpets are great

 

 

Thanks Sara!

[jason the filter freak]

tank looks neat, glad it's all coming together! I love my black sand as well!