Opae ula vase

[youcallmenny]

Ok, tank is finally done cycling.  Filter was a big no-no for these guys so mine sits brackish.  It does have a 12/12 light cycle though.  The coolest thing about this tank is that it has the false back where the pump and filter chambers are.  Though it's all turned off, that provided a completely black area for them.  Apparently this is very close to how their natural environment is so often in the mornings you will see none.  By the evening the whole colony is out and picking around.  Quite striking.  You can't see it very well but all those white specks on the surface?  Those are pretty much all medusa.  They swim around frequently.  Breeding commenced within the first month and is picking up speed.  25 individuals were my starter broodstock.  I estimate I should be able to house a couple hundred in here.  Oh!  The Chaeto is growing too!

  

Edited December 28, 2017 by youcallmenny

[xmas_one]

Looking good! You guys are inspiring me to start a bigger setup for mine, maybe a UNS cube with a led light and a bubbler. 

 

[Jack-the-reefer]

Breeding already? Dang! You must have gotten a horny batch. I'm still waiting for mine to get started. 

[youcallmenny]

So when I ordered them I received 2 DOA shipments in a row.  We finally upgraded shipping speed and he noticed I live in Oregon and it's winter and opted to add a heating pack.  This batch has been awesome!  I'm more than happy to share them to the club.  Looks like I'll have a lot.  They really seem to enjoy the false back on this tank more than anything.  That's probably the golden ticket if I had to put my finger on it.  After some reading, they mainly live in the blacked out lava tubes underneath the pools in which they are typically observed.  Happy accident but it's working out.  I think I linked the actual tank above but it has my heavy recommendation for this species if anyone wants an easy answer with at least one anecdotal success story.  

Terrible phone video but you can see a bunch skittering around on the underside of the surface.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/IPLbuKuHJp6CWyS72

Let's see some pictures!

Edited December 30, 2017 by youcallmenny

[Jack-the-reefer]

There's not a whole lot to update on this. There's some adorable little shrimp, they swim around and eat algae...

I did pull apart a few of the moss balls and glued the pieces to the rock. We'll see how that works out. 

 

Edited April 4, 2018 by Jack-the-reefer

[lewisriverfisherman]

2 hours ago, Jack-the-reefer said:

There's not a whole lot to update on this. There's some adorable little shrimp, they swim around and eat algae...

I did pull apart a few of the moss balls and glued the pieces to the rock. We'll see how that works out. 

 

I like your shrimp tank Jack,  pretty cool.

[DarkAngel]

There's not a whole lot to update on this. There's some adorable little shrimp, they swim around and eat algae...
I did pull apart a few of the moss balls and glued the pieces to the rock. We'll see how that works out. 
 

Loving the small tanks. Especially this round one. Thanks for sharing.


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[xmas_one]

Jack, that looks like an ideal setup. I bet your shrimp are super happy.

[youcallmenny]

Bleh.  I'm about to throw in the towel on this one.  Green algae started almost immediately and has gotten slightly better since december but it's still pretty gross.  The chaeto I put in there is still alive but not growing.  Breeding has long since stopped.  I dunno, not sure what to do with it at this point. The shrimp are still alive but who knows for how long.  Fun experiment and neat chance to learn about these cool animals though!

[albertareef]

18 minutes ago, youcallmenny said:

Bleh.  I'm about to throw in the towel on this one.  Green algae started almost immediately and has gotten slightly better since december but it's still pretty gross.  The chaeto I put in there is still alive but not growing.  Breeding has long since stopped.  I dunno, not sure what to do with it at this point. The shrimp are still alive but who knows for how long.  Fun experiment and neat chance to learn about these cool animals though!

I was curious how yours was doing- sorry to hear it hasn’t taken off for you. Does seem like a cool experiment though. Wonder what it’s missing?

[Jack-the-reefer]

23 minutes ago, youcallmenny said:

Bleh.  I'm about to throw in the towel on this one.  Green algae started almost immediately and has gotten slightly better since december but it's still pretty gross.  The chaeto I put in there is still alive but not growing.  Breeding has long since stopped.  I dunno, not sure what to do with it at this point. The shrimp are still alive but who knows for how long.  Fun experiment and neat chance to learn about these cool animals though!

Have you been feeding them at all? 

There are nerite snails that you can get that live in brackish water to feel way algae. Look up pipipi snails. 

I'll take the shrimp from you if you're going to junk it though. 

[youcallmenny]

There's nerites in there.   No I haven't fed anything due to the explosion of algae.  I figured they would eat that.

Edited April 4, 2018 by youcallmenny

[Jack-the-reefer]

41 minutes ago, youcallmenny said:

There's nerites in there.   No I haven't fed anything due to the explosion of algae.  I figured they would eat that.

That's interesting. I wonder where the excess nutrients are coming from. Where did the rock come from? Maybe its leaching phosphates?

[youcallmenny]

1 hour ago, Jack-the-reefer said:

That's interesting. I wonder where the excess nutrients are coming from. Where did the rock come from? Maybe its leaching phosphates?

Lol oh... 

Yea the rubble it was constructed from was in my sump for a long time, dried out and not acid washed.  Mystery solved I think.  Oops!

[SantaMonica]

Not a problem. Will come out of the rocks. 

 

Phosphate flow out of rocks

Many people, when they get their nutrient exports going strong for the first time, get worried when more (not less) algae starts to grow on their rocks. It seems really strange, especially when nitrate and phosphate tests have been lower than before. What is happening is that phosphate is coming out of the rocks. Remember, phosphate is invisible, so you can only see the effects of it, and it always "flows" from higher concentrations to lower concentrations (just like heat does). 

Example: If your room is warm, and you put a cold object on the floor, heat from the air in the room will "flow" into the object until the object and the air are the same temperature. Example 2: If you put a hot object on the floor, heat will "flow" out of the object and go into the air in the room, again, until the air and the object are the same temperature. Now suppose you open your windows (in the winter). The warm air in your room will go out the windows, and it will get colder in the room. The object on the floor is now warmer than the air, so heat will flow out of the object and into the air, and then out the window.

Think of phosphate as the heat, and your rocks as the object, and your windows as your export. As phosphate is exported out of the water, the phosphate level in the water drops. Now, since the phosphate level in the water is lower than the phosphate level in the rocks, phosphate flows from the rocks into the water, and then from the water to the export. This continues until the phosphate levels in the rocks and water are level again. And remember, you can't see this invisible flow. It's like a fast flowing, but shallow, river. And it can be much more phosphate than how much you are feeding each day.

This flow causes an interesting thing to happen. As the phosphate comes out of the rocks, it then becomes available to feed algae as soon as the phosphate reaches the surface of the rocks where there is light. So, since the surface of the rocks is rough and has light, it starts growing MORE algae there (not less) as the phosphate comes out of the rocks. This is a pretty amazing thing to see for the first time, because if you did not know what was happening you would probably think that the algae in the scrubber was leaking out and attaching to your rocks. Here are the signs of phosphate coming out of the rocks: 

1. The rocks are older, and have slowly developed algae problems in the past year.

2. Your phosphate export is new and strong, maybe only a few months old.

3. Nitrate and phosphate measurements in the water are low, usually the lowest they have been in a long time.

4. Green hair algae (not brown) on the rocks has increased in certain spots, usually on corners and protrusions at the top.

5. The glass has not needed cleaning as much.

Most people have never seen the effects of large amounts of phosphate coming out of the rocks quickly. But sure enough, it can. How long does it continue? For 2 months to 6 months, depending on how much phosphate is in the rocks, how strong your export is, and how many other phosphate-removing filters you have (macros, GFO, carbon dosing, etc). But one day you will see patches of white rock that were covered in green hair the day before; this is a sure sign that the algae are losing their phosphate supply from the rocks and can no longer hold on. Now it's just a matter of days before the rocks are clear.
 

[nanoreefer]

I found these guys in their natural habitat in Hawaii; theyre so fun to watch; there were at least a few hundred thousands in the pools I found them in; I think I'm gonna set up a similar vase! I have a little vid clip on my istagram (sprinklebuns).