Amp's 25g Cube Seagrass build REDUX

This will hopefully be my last update for a while. At any rate, I finally got the Tunze Silence pump in and all I can say is wow. I can't speak for greech, but let's just say that the water moving into the overflow, which only has about an inch of freefall, is louder than this pump. When everything else is turned off, you still cannot hear it. Perfect for what I was looking for and it was more powerful than the 1200 gph Laguna pump I was using. I can wholeheartedly recommend these.
 
That's sad..I would like to know what is going on with your tank even if nothing bad is happening. I like pics too.:worthy:
 
I appreciate you checking in. I meant to type last update on bad news, not update period. Sorry about the misunderstanding from my typo. I'll have more pics soon. Right now, I've gotten rid of all the macroalgae and it is now officially a seagrass only tank. New shoots are filling in and it will be closer to what I had originally envisioned. So exciting things to come, hopefully.
 
Some pics I shot from the side while I had some spare time (a bit yellow since I haven't used carbon in a little while):

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looks really awsome man! wish i could find some sea grass to plant in my tank on my little planted side. i look the natural look!
 
Well, things haven't changed much, except for the death of pretty much all my macroalgae. Oddly enough, the grasses finally just outcompeted it. The Ulva, Gracilaria, etc. just stopped doing very well, became covered in algae, and started dying. So, it's 100% seagrass now, which was, I suppose, my original plan--though I didn't expect it to turn out quite like this. One big change/difference I'm noticing is an insurgence of epiphytes and other clingers-on. One whole patch, I noticed, actually has small pinnate hydroids, which are intricate and somewhat beautiful. It's starting to resemble a real bed now, too, which I like. My whole plan was for it to look as natural as possible and that seems to be coming along really, really well.

On another note, I broke down and bought a small colony of Pocillopora a few days ago, unsure of how even it would do in the tank. Interestingly, it looks great and has extended growth only a couple of days after purchasing it, which shows promise. It is also turning pink, which I like. I'll see how it does, as I think a single Pocillopora damicornis colony above a bed of seagrass would look incredibly realistic. I'd also like to see how something like Acropora would do, especially with so many people insisting on absolutely pristine conditions--which my tank is pristine in terms of dissolved N and P. But it has a lot of bound N and P in food items, which is one of the major things I see missing in many tanks. I'll keep things updated as I have time.
 
If you can find a way to kill pocillopora, let me know. ;) I gave away my big colony years ago when I found out it was spreading everywhere... even after tearing down my tank, moving, and setting it back up (with in 4 hours) the small pieces I had growing on my bulkheads/returns still lived without water and are still thriving to this day. Today I have a mini colony growing on one of my bulkheads. They have to be one of the hardiest corals I have had experience with... short of things like mushrooms.

I think you should try out a Bali Green Slimer for an Acro, or a "Blue Tipped Slimer", those are very hardy and would probably do well in your tank.. well.. better than most other acros I can think of.
 
I know they can withstand a lot. The Pocillopora wasn't placed in there as a litmus test (though I was slightly concerned, especially since the water is pretty yellow right now and alkalinity is at about 5), but as a long term resident. I really just want one colony in the whole tank and this species fit the bill due to its range of habitat preferences. I actually wanted to try a small frag of one of the more "sensitive" species and just see how it progresses. I'm wondering how the differing environment would affect them as compared to the norm. In my old 75, I could sit there and take just about any Acropora I wanted, beat it against the wall, stomp on it, bake it, and throw it in the tank and have it spawning growing prolifically the next month and thereafter. That is until Pocillopora killed most of them :D My luck just hasn't been nearly as good in these more recent iterations. I'm betting that if calcium, alkalinity, etc. are in check, they'd fare much better than would be expected by some. They won't have retina seething color, but I bet I could push growth rates fairly high, especially with the amounts I feed. Either way, they'd be a temporary inhabitant, though.
 
Well, I've decided that I need to return my anemone to the LFS. He decided to uproot himself and float about. Luckily, the vortech has a foam guard on it. At any rate, I suspected this would eventually happen with the rapid growth of the seagrass. It has literally begun to choke out anything in and on the sand bed. The stuff is far, far more invasive than I ever expected. My red open brain is in miserable shape, so when I return the anemone, I'm going to get a small rock to elevate it above the blades. Other than that, the tank as a whole is doing spectacularly. The grass just continues to grow at breakneck speed.
 
Well, it seems I'm coming to a bit of a crossroads. I'm actually starting to have a serious problems with some pretty, but unbelievably invasive hydroids. The little guys absolutely cover the leaves within a matter of days. I'm thinking I may have to cut back on feeding somewhat dramatically to help try to get rid of them. I am also considering running either a filter sock (which I hate) and/or a protein skimmer (which I wanted to avoid) to help reduce particulates and foodstuffs in the water column. I'd much rather just employ a small skimmer. So, that being said, any ideas on good, slimline skimmers? I was looking into the Tunze 9002, but it has been a while since I've been in the market for a protein skimmer, so I no longer know what most consider to be "good." I see what looks to be high quality skimmers, but they are hulkingly huge, which is not something I want. Hence my automatic drift toward the Tunze nano.
 
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