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Kat's Ol' Max


metrokat

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I can collect macros straight from the ocean, and I believe I can take some sand, too, but no rocks. That has to count for something, right Mr. A?

 

btw, your new name is Señor A.

 

 

absolutely jedimaestrobenito, especially if your tank was set up with semi-local material to begin with, like LR from TBS or something. i've found geographical locations have their own characteristic microbial taxons, i.e. the bacteria/archaea i identified from indonesion rock most closely matches others who have done similar experiments from that area of the pacific. i'd imagine the same applies for caribbean/floridian microbes.

 

even if it's allopatric material (from somewhere else) i don't think it would hurt.

 

i'll let you know if i do get more kat! also, if that gunk is from overfeeding a mandarin you gotta export that material like nanosapiens said.

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Ermagawd your tank is amazing x.x.

 

Btw Kat how long until u can call sucess with a mandy? Like how long can u have one before u can call sucess.

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Ermagawd your tank is amazing x.x.

 

Btw Kat how long until u can call sucess with a mandy? Like how long can u have one before u can call sucess.

Thank you. I'm not sure how to answer that question. Draco ate Nutramar OVA at the fish store so he was a success even before he came home with me. He hoovers up everything I feed. Bella has resisted frozen foods and her training was interrupted when she decided to spazz out at being in a breeder net. She also spent a good 10 days looking ill and not eating which stressed me out about her to the point that I practically threw in big quantities of live black worms at her to get her to eat. Nutrient spike right there.

 

Bella is eating live BBS which is a problem as I am leaving for a 2 week trip. I have begun experimenting with brine eggs in a dixie cup just sitting out and they have hatched without any aeration in less than 24 hours. I am about to order decapsulated eggs.

 

Bella is not a success right now but I hope she will be soon. It would have helped if Draco and her had become friends so she could mimic his feeding behavior. He LOVED pellets and OVA but eats pretty much everything except mysis.

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The pipe organ coral.

 

I bought the sweetest frag in May 2012 from Dr Mac. The pipe organ coral was healthy and vibrant.

 

Pissed off the day I got it but you see the red calcerous skeleton it is famous for.

IMG_4569.JPG

 

 

IMG_4571.JPG

 

IMG_4594.JPG

 

I found a low flow spot for it which also had low light but it grew. It didn't look white and mint any longer but as a happy coral it showed cream with light green polyps.

IMG_9964.JPG

 

Here it is on the right side

IMG_1332.CR2.jpg

 

It looks like clove polyps right? Here is what Live Aquaria says:

The Pipe Organ Coral is a soft coral, but is often referred to as a hard coral because of its red calcareous skeleton. Its common names may also include Organ Pipe Coral, or Daisy Coral. When its polyps are open, it is often confused with the star polyps or clove polyps because of their similar appearance.

 

Just for kicks here is the papaya clove frag I got also from Dr Mac which grew too and I sold it some time ago.

IMG_4596.JPG

 

So riddle me this. Why does every picture of the Pipe Organ Coral depict a stressed coral? Granted it looks pretty when stressed but what a let down don't you think?

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jedimasterben

absolutely jedimaestrobenito, especially if your tank was set up with semi-local material to begin with, like LR from TBS or something. i've found geographical locations have their own characteristic microbial taxons, i.e. the bacteria/archaea i identified from indonesion rock most closely matches others who have done similar experiments from that area of the pacific. i'd imagine the same applies for caribbean/floridian microbes.

 

even if it's allopatric material (from somewhere else) i don't think it would hurt.

Well, I started my tank off with only a tiny bit of live rock, and used bottled bacteria stuffs. After I started adding macroalgae straight from the ocean, I actually noticed the tank just looked a bit nicer, in addition to tons of pods, and coralline starting to spread (my tank has historically had zero coralline). I've also added some of Dr. Tim's products, but I can't comment on how big of a part they played (added One and Only [nitrifying bacteria], Waste Away [denitrifying bacteria], and Eco Balance ["probiotic" bacteria]).

 

Thanks for the info!

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Stressed as in too much light? So when it is stressed by too much light are the colors are more vibrant?

No comprendo. :unsure:

Stressed as in they didn't care for being in a bag and bounced around till they got to my tank.

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Well, I started my tank off with only a tiny bit of live rock, and used bottled bacteria stuffs. After I started adding macroalgae straight from the ocean, I actually noticed the tank just looked a bit nicer, in addition to tons of pods, and coralline starting to spread (my tank has historically had zero coralline). I've also added some of Dr. Tim's products, but I can't comment on how big of a part they played (added One and Only [nitrifying bacteria], Waste Away [denitrifying bacteria], and Eco Balance ["probiotic" bacteria]).

 

Thanks for the info!

IMHO, A complete bacterial profile is not possible when adding bottled bacteria. Will the tank have a bio filter? Yes. Will it be efficient? Yes. Will it work? Yes. Is it a complete biological profile of a natural reef? NO. Not saying uncured rock reefs like mine are complete but they are certainly more whole than artificially started reefs.

People are scared of introducing bad hitch hikers so I am fully understanding of the resistance.

I wouldn't ever think of starting a tank without uncured rock.

 

I gots balls. :lol:

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Great video. I used the same grain size sand in my 40 and I don't have a lot of spaghetti works but I do have a ton of twp tentacle worms that extend every time I feed. I also liked the acro piece in the sand, polyps out.

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Since Tank Sitters camera is so popular around here I took some more pictures. The T5s make top down shots nearly impossible for me at the moment, I just need to practice more.

 

Oreo the Clam

IMG_1413.CR2.jpg

 

Zoanthids

IMG_1415.CR2.jpg

 

The runaway mushie said: There must always be diversity in mushrooms.

IMG_1418.CR2.jpg

 

The new location of the MP10s made the Tubbs Bird all Gnarly :lol:

IMG_1421.CR2.jpg

 

Nerite secret society secret meeting. Shhhh.

IMG_1416.CR2.jpg

 

Trapezia crab on the BOP

IMG_1426.jpg

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Rollermonkey

I'd been gone a while, so I figured for sure that Kat would have one of them fancy, new-fangled super-sized Red Sea Max tanks by now.

:P

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IMHO, A complete bacterial profile is not possible when adding bottled bacteria. Will the tank have a bio filter? Yes. Will it be efficient? Yes. Will it work? Yes. Is it a complete biological profile of a natural reef? NO. Not saying uncured rock reefs like mine are complete but they are certainly more whole than artificially started reefs.

People are scared of introducing bad hitch hikers so I am fully understanding of the resistance.

I wouldn't ever think of starting a tank without uncured rock.

 

nice. it's my preferred method as well. you do lose diversity over time no matter what though, i did a metagenomic profile on the rock i had kept in quarantine for a year compared to when it was fresh out of the ocean and the bacterial community did decrease in calculated diversity. just like corals and fish, not everything is 100% happy in captivity. i do think a refresh-inoculation would be a healthy thing for a tank though, although that's just a squishy opinion based on the feel of things.

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jedimasterben

nice. it's my preferred method as well. you do lose diversity over time no matter what though, i did a metagenomic profile on the rock i had kept in quarantine for a year compared to when it was fresh out of the ocean and the bacterial community did decrease in calculated diversity. just like corals and fish, not everything is 100% happy in captivity. i do think a refresh-inoculation would be a healthy thing for a tank though, although that's just a squishy opinion based on the feel of things.

But sometimes that is all we have to work on are those squishy opinions :)

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Nano sapiens

nice. it's my preferred method as well. you do lose diversity over time no matter what though, i did a metagenomic profile on the rock i had kept in quarantine for a year compared to when it was fresh out of the ocean and the bacterial community did decrease in calculated diversity. just like corals and fish, not everything is 100% happy in captivity. i do think a refresh-inoculation would be a healthy thing for a tank though, although that's just a squishy opinion based on the feel of things.

 

Hmmm, I wonder what the metagenomic profile is like on my 15 year old LR. Whatever bacteria is still on/in there, it still get's the job done :)

 

Nerds. :wub:

 

...as they all reach for their shirt pocket pen and calculators (or is it Smart Phones and Tablets these days) :)

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Hmmm, I wonder what the metagenomic profile is like on my 15 year old LR. Whatever bacteria is still on/in there, it still get's the job done :)

 

i can tell you if you want.

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