Operation Pony Corral... dun dun dun...da ..dun dun dun dun dun...
Due to rain, my baseball opening weekend was cancelled. This is what I spent my time doing. My new 26G bowfront has been stood up in the Family Room. this is where my first reef (20 gallon nano) stood four years ago. I missed having something in this spot. Soon it will be a seahorse display.
I've got 20 lbs of mixed Fiji and Tonga Branch, a 4 inch layer of sand. Caulerpa Prolifera and Halameda and a couple dead branches of monti digi as hitching posts. I'm getting more macro and LR from Skiptons soonest.
I stripped out the AGA hood (18W NO) and fit it with 32W PC Smartlite retro. I'm running a Red Sea Prism. The siphon tube was too deep in the water column, so with a little urging from a friend, I made my own DIY Skimmer Box/Tube. It works like a charm. Between the prism and the small powerhead, I'm turning 2.5X per hour. Just right for ponies me thinks...
I did a water change in my 75G and used the water for the bowfront. I also claimed the macro, some sand, and about 6 lbs of LR from the fuge. The bow is already teaming with mysid and pods.
I'm keeping it free of fish for a couple months, to build up the micro fauna. There are just a couple hermit crabs and snails that hitched on the rock. I'm not expecting a huge cycle as most of the tank contents are recycled and cycled Eventually, the ponies will be joined by Hendrix, my mandarin who, while eating frozen food, has to fight for his share in the 75G. He should fare better in the bow with the Hippocampus.
What do y'all think? Any suggestions?
Dave