jaddc

Hello, everyone, I'm moving soon and I'm going to use this as a chance to take a temporary break from the hobby. I have a complete 28 gallon set-up with livestock and a ton of supplies that is free to a school, or the like, to be used for educational purposes. WAMAS has helped me a lot over years with this tank so I'd like to give back. Is there any interest? If so I will post more details. Thanks! Jeff

There is nothing wrong with your thought process. Two points: 1) there are tons of cruise controlled awesome reefs whose reefers don't worry about this, and 2) use data that you collect and not what a company tells you. At the the end of the day -- its all marketing. When you make up fresh saltwater with RC and test it -- do you get the same values that's on the package/table? If not, why trust the table? Tom's last post is spot on -- as usual! Jeff

Thanks! Yeah -- I haven't posted in while!!

I don't think the actual brand of salt really matters. Instant ocean has been around forever without changing its recipe (despite the knowledge boom over the last 10 years) and people swear by it. They key is to just be consistent. Like most reefers (like Spidey) I pick my mix based on how well it dissolves in the water. For me, Instant Ocean left a lot of residue which doesn't hurt anything but isn't as clean as I like it. I use Red Sea Coral Pro. Are you worried that a WC is causing your params to jump around? You can test that by: 1) testing the tank water before the WC, 2) testing the tank water after the WC, 3) test your freshly mixed water, and 4) testing your new saltwater just before you do a WC. I used to test my new mixed water params on occasion, and when I open a new bucket, but all I learned is that it really doesn't matter. There is no reason to think the values you pasted above are true or will be the same when you mix it up.

That was most likely the culprit to the short life span.

I agree with all above. pH probes have a limited lifespan and proper care can extend it. Tons of info on the interwebs on proper ph probe care. The pH probe is an electrical device. When the pH probe reaches its end of life, the compensation voltage offsets exceed the operating range and so the probe can no longer be calibrated. If you are really keen on observing pH, then I recommend having at least 2 (one on apex and one stand-alone) to maintain your confidence.

Great project -- I can offer this link for one perspective:

Reefdvms on YouTube just posted an awesome vid on this topic.

We should definitely have these for MACNA

I think she meant that they don't have a respiratory system. Jelly fish are cnidarians the same biological family as coral so they get their oxygen by diffusion through their tissues. I don't think they need much oxygen, but they need it. But anyways -- I want that tube.

I use this one. http://www.plastic-mart.com/product/2460/20-gallon-upright-rectangle-flat-bottom-tank-sp0020-om They have different sizes: http://www.plastic-mart.com/category/28/flat-bottom-portable-water-tanks

Nice Rob. Has anyone tried to pre-coat a frag plug with coralline algae before attaching an SPS frag? I wonder if it would speed growth and healing of the fresh cut frag.

Yeah - I don't disagree with that. I think that out of all my tank worries hydrogen sulfide would rank pretty low. And if you have pods that like stinky black crud, then you should be good to go.

It's probably an low oxygen area that was colonized by sulfate-reducing bacteria. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/rhf/

I'll add one other variable to the mix. Slow tissue necrosis can be caused by bacteria (possibly vibrio). If it is bacterial, then you can either frag the coral about a half inch above the necrosis line (to make sure you are fragging healthy tissue) or reduce the amount of light on the frag until heals. By heal I mean stop dying. Low nutrients plus high light PAR stresses the coral (so much light -- so little food!) and that may inhibit its immune system to defend against bacteria.

No prob -- its Friday and I have a subscription to Science so why not. :-) As for coralline -- yes. In that same article, coral settling increased by 800% in the presence of coralline.

I checked out the research, and it is pretty cool. Taken in collection with a lot of other great conservation work, it provides more data on why it is so hard to restart a coral reef. Alan, I wouldn't shut down your fuge just yet, though. As Tom mentioned, it is known that some algae secrete molecules that irritate corals and prevent growth -- but that is through direct contact. That's why herbivores, urchins, and the like are key supporting elements to a healthy coral reef. The researchers were wondering if there were also chemical cues in the water. Jack -- they used what is known as a Atema Flume (developed by Jella Atema at BU http://people.bu.edu/atema/index_files/page0004.html) this set up has been used in several studies looking for chemical cues in marine systems. The article is great, but it shouldn't change our practices. 1) They looked at motile juvenile acropora and fish. It's known that these tiny swimmers are quite selective as to where they settle, but the researchers are trying to learn more about how the choices are made. This research offers nothing for the effect of chemical cues on adult coral and fish. 2) The seaweed they looked at were: Padina gymnospora, Sargassum polycystum, and Galaxaura filamentosa. I don't think those are really present in the trade as export macroalgae.

In most cases, direct addition of nitrogen in the form a nitrate is non-existent. Using fresh water that is not filtered via RO-DI is the usual culprit of direct nitrate injection.

A good link http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2009-01/diy/

I'll add that filter floss is another good option.

I think they all tip over easily until they permanently attach.

Yeah, don't do that.

Clams have a foot that they use to move around and anchor themselves. For long term attachment they have byssus threads. The threads secret an acid that dissolves the rock, essentially welding it to the rock. That can take some time and patience is key. I personally have not seem clams at LFS that are attached to a rock, but you could probably find one. I don't recall if Dr. Mac secures his to rock -- I tend to think not. I'd wait for the clam to fully acclimate to the tank environment before trying to attach. Clams move around a lot at first. I'd plop it in the sand and make sure it doesn't topple over at first. Stores sometimes use a cup full of marbles. That will keep the clam in place without attaching. Once it stops moving and is happy, then I'd attempt to attach it to rock. What worked for me was to use a small chunk of rock (in the neighborhood of 2" in diameter). I had some rubble laying around from aquascaping. I smoothed the bottom of the rock so it would be stable on the bottom. The top should have crevaces -- something for the clam to hold onto. You can always ask the LFS when you buy the clam if they have any bits and pieces of rock. I cleared a pocket of sand and put the rock on the glass bottom. I then put the clam on the rock (make sure they fit together well or the clam won't be happy) and then I pushed the sand up and around the clam for stability. It takes some trial and error so just be patient. Definitely secure it to a small rock. That way if you want to put it in your rock work, then you can simply epoxy the small rock base to your rock work.

Oh and drip acclimate.

No need to burp. Clams move a lot of water through their system.