{"id":402,"date":"2016-06-03T22:22:12","date_gmt":"2016-06-03T22:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/?p=402"},"modified":"2024-02-24T04:08:57","modified_gmt":"2024-02-24T04:08:57","slug":"6-months-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/6-months-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Reef Jar 6 Month Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It\u2019s been about \u00bd a year since I started adding life to the cookie jar and I\u2019m proud to say it\u2019s finally looking like a Reef Jar!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What&#8217;s possible in 6 months?\u200b<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is my most recent video of where things are at right now. I hope you enjoy the music and hope this post helps inspire others!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ReefJar - Happy 1\/2 Birthday - May 2016\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_1tyVJ25_yo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-11\">Pictures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-13\">Comparisons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Top Down Comparisons<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2 months ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/corals-top-down-2-months-ago.jpg\" alt=\"corals top down 2 months ago\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Today<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/corals-top-down-new.jpg\" alt=\"corals top down new\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Top Half Comparison<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3-4 months ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/corals-top-half-old.jpg\" alt=\"corals top half old\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Today<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/corals-top-half-new.jpg\" alt=\"corals top half new\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Full Jar Comparison<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3-4 months ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/full-jar-3-4-months.jpg\" alt=\"full jar 3-4 months\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Today<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/full-jar-6-months.jpg\" alt=\"full jar 6 months\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-12\">Fighting Coral Photos<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Not everything has been happy inside the jar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is a picture of the octospawn attacking a ricordia. At first I thought the mushroom was attacking, but after i separated them, it was apparent that the ricordia took a lot of damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ricordia-vs-octospawn.jpg\" alt=\"ricordia vs octospawn\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The octospawn also did damage to the warcoral and monti caps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/war-coral-octo-damage.jpg\" alt=\"war coral octo damage\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/octospawn-glory.jpg\" alt=\"octospawn glory\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately I lost some photos of the Pavona I had, its sweepers were insane!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-14\">Random Updates &amp; Observations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some random update photos. These are all taken with my Samsung Galaxy s3 phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sunny-d-coral.jpg\" alt=\"sunny d coral\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/night-time-acan.jpg\" alt=\"night time acan\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The following comparison is pretty incredible. I honestly thought this monti-cap was on it&#8217;s way out&#8230;. wow! Heavy feeding + keeping on top of those water changes really helped this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Damaged Monti &#8211; 3 months ago (Mar. 7, 2016)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/damaged-monti.jpg\" alt=\"damaged monti\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Today (June 3, 2016)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/healed-monti.jpg\" alt=\"healed monti\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Montipora Confusa &amp; Spongodes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The spongodes (lower right) went through a lot of stuff. It was eaten by monti eating nudibranchs, dipped in hydrogen peroxide, eaten some more, cut up, glued and left out of the water for a long time (1hr +)&#8230; and here it is today growing with great polyp extension!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3-4 months ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/montis-confusa-spongodes-before.jpg\" alt=\"montis confusa spongodes before\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Today (June 3, 2016)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/montis-confusa-spongodes-now.jpg\" alt=\"montis confusa spongodes now\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-1\">Current Live Stock<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/stomatella-snail-on-glass.jpg\" alt=\"stomatella snail on glass\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-2\">SPS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Red Planet ORA (acropora)<\/li><li>Birdsnest (different types of stylophora)<\/li><li>Montipora (spongodes, confusa, capricornis)<\/li><li>War coral<\/li><li>1 unknown<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-3\">LPS &amp; Other<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Acans<\/li><li>Candy Canes \/ Trumpet<\/li><li>Zoas &amp; Palys<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-4\">Critters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many critters in the jar, some of which I haven\u2019t been able to identify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Copepods \/ Amphipods<\/li><li>Bristleworms &amp; other unknown worms<\/li><li>Stomatella snail<\/li><li>1 unknown snail<\/li><li>Feather dusters<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Unknown &#8220;worm&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/unknown-worm.jpg\" alt=\"unknown worm\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Unknown snail &#8211; Appears to be nocturnal<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/unknown-snail.jpg\" alt=\"unknown snail\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-5\">Current Hardware<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The only thing that has changed since the beginning is the lighting, but I\u2019ll get to that in a moment. For those who are just stumbling upon my jar for the first time, here is a list of hardware for my current setup:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Cookie jar + plastic planter saucer<\/li><li>Air pump + airline &amp; fittings<\/li><li>Ikea worklamp<\/li><li>Chinese Par 38 bulb 12w (8 blue, 4 white)<\/li><li>Hydor heater<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For mixing salt I have a 5 gallon pail with a rio 90 pump and heater. I also use the pump and heater for quarantine purposes when getting a new arrival (to use Coral RX and to get as much algae and pests off the new arrival).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I also have a betta mag for cleaning the glass. Although at this point I don\u2019t use it often, maybe once a week. For real suborn algae on the glass I use a piece of Velcro glued to a chop stick to use as a scraper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the issues I ran in to was air bubbles and vibrating rocks against the glass. My solution was to control the airline in a better way. I don&#8217;t use an air stone, so what did I do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/modified-heater-tubing.jpg\" alt=\"modified heater tubing\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to control the flexible air line tubing,\u200b I glued a piece of hard tubing to the side of the heater. It&#8217;s only attached plastic to plastic and not the glass. the bottom of the hard tubing is cut like a fork to allow the whole thing to be pushed down, without the air bubbles disrupting the sand bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-15\">A New Light<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I switched lights from the ABI Par 38 Bulb (6 white 6 blue) to another Chinese Par 38 bulb (4 white 8 blue) as recommended by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCU3FZEoOIVgUMCKACbNl9YQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maritza the Vase Reef<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New Bulb &#8211; Weighs more than the ABI bulb (feels like better quality)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/par-38-12w-led-coral-bulb.jpg\" alt=\"par 38 12w led coral bulb\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The white LEDs from previous bulb were too strong, even at a distance. I ended up covering the whites with duct tape, but I wanted more blue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the new bulb, I still covered the whites, the overall blue in the jar is just right for me and the corals are thriving. Remember these are only 1w LEDs ($25 bulb) growing SPS corals!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/new-led-bulb-par-38.jpg\" alt=\"new led bulb par 38\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m keeping the light about 9.5&#8243; from the water&#8217;s surface and currently on for 10hrs\/day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-6\">Current Maintenance Schedule\u200b<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m a little disappointed with myself because I wanted to dose c-balance to get the coraline growing at an accelerated rate. However, I\u2019ve been so busy with my business that I\u2019ve slacked off with other things\u2026 like Reef Jar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The good news is that even though I haven\u2019t been dosing, the jar is thriving! So if you\u2019re thinking about starting a small pico reef like this of your own, you can see that you don\u2019t have to worry about some of the things you have to with larger systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently I change 100% of the water each week. I feed the jar, heavily, a few hours before I change the water. I don\u2019t have a set time between feeding and the water change, but I definitely change it the same day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I tried using reef roids a couple months ago and it seemed to have caused a massive algae outbreak. I think there were a few reasons for it.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>I didn\u2019t read the instructions and I added a lot of Reef Roids. It says \u00bc teaspoon for every 25 gallons, I added probably twice that. Currently with my new water change (as seen below) I add \u00bc teaspoon mixed with calanus\/mysis juice.<\/li><li>I believe the jar was\/is still growing. Even though I had added some established rock and pre-seeded sand, I think there wasn\u2019t enough life from all levels to deal with the abundance of nutrients. Not including algae of course.<\/li><li>100% water change wasn\u2019t exporting enough waste\/excess.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-7\">More On Water Changes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>First, I will quickly use the betta mag to clean the walls. For real stubborn areas I\u2019ll use some Velcro. If my chop stick with Velcro can\u2019t get in to a space where I want, I will bunch up some Velcro and use forcep-tweezers to get it where I want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Depending on how much time I\u2019ll take after draining the jar, I might unplug the heater. If I don\u2019t have to take care of any pests inside the jar, then I\u2019ll leave the heater plugged in. I also leave the air going at all times. This helps keep things stirred up so that I can siphon out as much detritus as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I\u2019m draining the \u201cflush\u201d I tilt the jar slightly (careful not to tip over anything inside) so that I can suck as much detritus out as possible. I usually use a turkey baster at the end after the siphon tube stops. Be careful with tilting, it\u2019s really easy to knock things over and create a lot more work for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So in a nutshell, I empty the jar 100% and then do a \u201cflush\u201d of new salt water with about 1 gallon or so. I drain it again and then refill with new 100% salt water (1.025 @ 80c).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mix salt water in a pail and make sure it\u2019s the correct temperature and salinity before adding it to the jar. In the beginning I would mix the water the night before, but now I do it 5 or 6 hours before I\u2019m ready to do a water change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-8\">More On Feeding\u200b<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I currently feed the jar once a week before water changes and that consists of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Spot feeding mysis shrimp to the acans and candy canes<\/li><li>Dripping a mixture of ReefRoids\/Mysys juice\/Calanus juice with the pump off for 20 minutes.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>What is this juice? I get the mysis and calanus in frozen cubes. So I use a little salt water from the jar to thaw them. I then strain out the mysis so that it\u2019s easier for me to pick them up with tweezers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/straining-mess.jpg\" alt=\"straining mess\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/coral-food-juice.jpg\" alt=\"coral food juice\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The left over juice is mixed with Reef Roids and fed to the jar. The SPS love it and it makes all the critters come out, even those that don&#8217;t like the light!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-9\">Plans Going Forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Things are going really well and I will continue to let the jar grow and shape itself. I think the rock structure that I have now is what I\u2019m going to stick with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If I had to start over, I\u2019d try to come up with a rock structure setup that I like in the beginning, because as the corals grow it becomes much more difficult to move and shift things around. In fact, it makes it difficult when Zoas start growing on both the glass and rocks (thankfully I don\u2019t have SPS growing on the glass yet).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I may need to cut some corals such as the teal birdsnest, it\u2019s growing the fastest out of all the SPS. It\u2019s not only growing vertically, but horizontally as well. or I could just let it do its thing and see what happens. It started to touch the Monti Confusa and the monti wasn&#8217;t having it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tab-con-10\">More Corals?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, I want to add more corals. I\u2019d like to get my hands on some forest fire monti, purple bonsai and some rastas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m in no rush, so I\u2019ll keep an eye on the local classifieds and forums for deals that pop up. There\u2019s always someone shutting down a tank or trading X for Y.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh speaking of trading, I still have the Octospawn. I currently have it in a 1 gallon Brita water filter with the old light. I\u2019m not sure what I\u2019m doing with it yet. It doesn\u2019t extend like it used to because I have a small Rio pump in with it. It doesn\u2019t like any sort of flow above a gentle breeze, so sorry!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe I could put it in a .5 gallon vase on its own. The OctoVase!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, I think I covered everything I wanted to. I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you so much for all the kinds words!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have any questions or comments please don\u2019t hesitate to let me know in the comments section on here or on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCbnY1eKybyoO85gLmXpN4rQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Youtube<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cheers, Justin\u200b<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s been about \u00bd a year since I started adding life to the cookie jar and I\u2019m proud to say it\u2019s finally looking like a Reef Jar! What&#8217;s possible in &#8230; <a title=\"Reef Jar 6 Month Review\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/6-months-review\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Reef Jar 6 Month Review\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1414,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402\/revisions\/1414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefjar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}