MrAnderson Posted October 20, 2007 Author Share Posted October 20, 2007 the peltiformis and everything else has looked fine all along. i THINK the spumosa i recovering. polyps are slowly emerging and extending more and more... i'll keep you guys posted, thanks for all the thought provoking posts Ray, Hinecken, Flo, spanko, weetabix, greenstar. all you guys are very helpful in many ways. Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Being a couple inches from a 150W mh is not equal to the sun. At one of the LFS they use 400watt mhs about six inches over the water, frags are placed a few inches below that. The light coming indirectly through the side of the tank is still brighter than the 400s, considerably brighter. Don't underestimate the power of the sun. Danny Honestly, I didn't mention that to insinuate it is. Rather, to illustrate my point about light acclimation. As I stated, I no longer acclimate for light differences and have seen no negative results. Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 the M. spumosa looks fully recovered - YAY!!! NO MORE SUNLIGHT FOR ME. on another note, i've been reflecting on my lighting situation, and i was considerring that i didn't really know how old my bulbs were - as noted in my original post, this was a used system and although the bulbs weren't burned looking or anything, they definitely did get some use by the previous owner. in my original order i ordered some replacement bulbs which i just used to replace the bulbs that came with the fixture. the original bulbs were an 18W dual daylight (6700K and 10000K) and an 18W dual actinic (420nm and 460nm). i've always been of the opinion that the limited spectrum of actinics, although technically targeting chlorophyll a and b, was biologically less useful to organisms photosynthesizing using chlorophyll c, carotenoids, flavonoids and xanthophylls (like zooxnathellae) as photon harvesters than bulbs with broader spectrums. considering my tank was a little underlit, i wanted to make sure that what i was providing was maximally useful for photochemistry. since the main chlorophyll pigment in zooxanthellae is chlorophyll c, and the absorption spectrum for this pigment is 450 and 630nm, i felt the 420nm component useless and the 460nnm closer. point is, i replaced the dual actinic with a 50/50 bulb, 10000K/460nm actinic. considering the exquisite specificity of photon harvesting pigments, the 460 may also be pretty useless, so i may switch down the road to 2 dual daylights. we'll see how it goes, i'll post pics with the new lighting soon, it's not drastically different, but it is definitely brighter. Link to comment
c est ma Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I'd never thought of the different pigments requiring different spectra (tho now I remember learning this way back when...). Thanks for the nifty tutorial. --Diane Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 yeah, i think the original rationale for 420nm/460nm actinics in reefing is outdated knowledge - it was invented for plants, to target chlorophyll a and b. when people realized that corals perform photosynthesis via their symbionts, it was probably assumed the photochemicals were the same and actinics were co-opted for marine use. but subsequent research has shown that zooxanthellae use chlorophyll c and have a massive range of accessory photochemicals. so in my mind, a broad spectrum bulb allows for all of these to function compared to monochromatic bulbs like actinics marketed for marine aquaria which can technically only excite pigments that absorb that particular single wavelength. Link to comment
Caesar777 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I'm sure people just use actinics because of "all the purty colors". I mean, try growing any plant under 420 or 460nm and you'll find that it won't do crap. Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 I'm sure people just use actinics because of "all the purty colors". I mean, try growing any plant under 420 or 460nm and you'll find that it won't do crap. very true, it's use is mainly aesthetic for most. TOMORROW ADIN!! Link to comment
Caesar777 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 NONO PICS NOW OR WE ALL GET MAD AT JOO! Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 pics with new light: the pink afro algae are wilting. the bright-blue macroalgae: a little macroalgae garden at the top of the tank behind the Halimeda. these are interesting, red stalks, feathery tips: also, i've discovered that a couple of the coralline-covered mussel shells attached to my rock are actually alive - i just noticed one open a few minutes ago that was closed when i was taking the pics (can you see it in the blue algae pic? lower left). also, there are a few tiny feather dusters emerging from the rock. i love that there's always something new to see!! Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 thanks A i'm feeling really unobservant right now, i've been staring at this tank for six weeks and i just NOW notice that i have 4 live mussels in there... weird. Link to comment
aparker Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I'm sure people just use actinics because of "all the purty colors". I mean, try growing any plant under 420 or 460nm and you'll find that it won't do crap. Dem corals keeps dem purty colors bettr when deys exposered to short-wavelinth, hi-enrgie fotons from dem acktinik litebulbs. Yer Acanthastrea is REAL purdy under my actinic lights (and super happy - growing new polyps). Link to comment
Caesar777 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 YA FUR REEL!! MrA I don't like the looks of that stringy new macro; looks too much like Bryopsis or a cousin of it. Not quite as "feathery" looking but still...HMM.... Anyway looks 80x better with the new lights. Link to comment
Rene Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Your bright blue macro is Dictyota algae. I'm told it can become invasive, and it will grow like a weed under high nutrient conditions, but I never had a real problem with mine. If it got too wild, I just ripped it out. Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 whoa - and thank you for that tidbit! i should re-name my tank "hitchhiker paradise" or "what you get without a hard cure". the Dictyota IS spreading, but it's also really pretty. right now i have undetectable phosphates so hopefully it won't become a problem. i suppose most forms of macro can get out of hand so with all i have i suppose if i keep it pruned it should be ok... Link to comment
Caesar777 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I personally haven't had issues with Dictyota, but it does spread a fair bit. But like Rene said, it's really only a hassle in a very high-nutrient environment. Link to comment
c est ma Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 i should re-name my tank "hitchhiker paradise" or "what you get without a hard cure". the Dictyota IS spreading, but it's also really pretty. right now i have undetectable phosphates so hopefully it won't become a problem. i suppose most forms of macro can get out of hand so with all i have i suppose if i keep it pruned it should be ok... Hitchhiker paradise, indeed! I've seldom seen such beautiful colors! That Dictyota is out of this world...I love the look of macros, problematic though they can be. (Wonder why the pink one is flagging? I suppose marine algae have their successional species, just like terrestrial habitats...) --Diane Link to comment
Greenstar Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Looking very good mr. a. When I set up my tank at humboldt I am taking a cue from yours as far as doing a very soft cycle with minimal dosing and frequent large WC. Tank is beautiful. A little bummed on the color of the squmosa though, hopefully it will color up. Link to comment
Kigs Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I didn't even know there was blue macroalgae. very cool Link to comment
Caesar777 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Yeah, it's really purpley-blue with a bright, iridescent blue sheen! Awesome stuff. We used to have it in the displays at work. Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Mine was always more reddish brown with an irridescent blue sheen. I'm not so sure it's Dictoyota though. From what I remember when I ID'd mine. Wetwebmedia stated it was from Carribian/Mexico area. I'll check later tonight, unless someone wants to do it for me. *Looking in Diane's general direction* Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 a little retrospective of the last 7 weeks. Sept 1: Sept 8: Sept 13th: Oct 8th: Oct 14: Oct 22: Link to comment
c est ma Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 What a fascinating series of pics! Wonderful documentation! * * * Algae are hard unless you're a professional phycologist. Maybe even then... But for visual comparisons it's hard to beat AlgaeBase... For some reason the specific links I try to post from it don't always come thru; but with luck, this link should lead to 3 pp of Dictyota (and spp that were once in the genus) pics: http://www.algaebase.org/search/pictures/?...d=imgs&sk=0 (If not, go to main AlgaeBase page [ http://www.algaebase.org/ ], click on 'Search,' click on 'Images,' and type in Dictyota.) Clicking on the species that then come up leads to species pages describing locality, etc. --Diane Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I really love that bright blue algae. It's so cool that I think it would be worth messing with pruning it just to have it as part of the aquascape. I really hope your pink afro algae makes a comeback, I really like that one too. I'm hoping to start a display refugium sometime soon. Maybe I should get some algae "frags" from you, if such a thing is possible! Link to comment
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