THE OFFICIAL ASK ALBERT THIEL THREAD

[albertthiel]

Thanks so much.

 

I am going to be checking my phosphates once my boyfriend gets his new meter. Not having a protein skimmer or a fuge, i'm sure i do have some, even though i do weekly 4 gallon WCs. As for the flatworms, they never got to an overwhelming number, and they mostly stayed on the glass or rocks, i'd occasionally notice them on the stalks of my zoanthids or other corals but the corals didn't seem to mind really.

 

I'm wondering if my target mandarin has been eating them as well, since they started to disappear when i put him in the tank, but i haven't actually witnessed him eating them, just zooming around pecking at the rocks.

 

I'll let you know if my chalice gets worse, but for now thank you for the advice! I'm glad there's people on here to help us newbies out.

 

On the PO4: Yes that is a good idea indeed as most corals do not fare well when phosphates are too high, and of course, too high ones bring about hair and other types of algae, so keeping them as low as possible is definitely recommended.

 

It would be a good idea to get a skimmer and possibly a sump, but starting with a skimmer would be a good idea and a good addition to your system.

 

Some will say that it is better to start with a sump and not the skimmer and I am not going to argue that point as there are pros and cons in both cases.

 

Personally I would go with the skimmer first (rated at at least twice the size of your tank, Venturi valve type, and the newer types of impellers).

 

Yes I have read reports that supposedly Mandarin Fish do eat flatworms but I have never seen any evidence that they do. Six-Line Wrasse however will do so and a few others do too and as far as I know the Mystery Wrasse does too so if the flatworms seem to disappear then maybe it is indeed the one that is eating them, as I believe you have one in your tank.

 

Anyway glad to help when I can ...

 

Albert

Edited October 30, 2012 by albertthiel

[jedimasterben]

I really appreciate all your help, as for my phosphate control I use seachem phosguard, so it's Aluminum oxide. I use it for a couple days and then take it out and let it dry to "regenerate" it, I usually do this around 3 times before throwing it out. I'm not even 100% sure you can regenerate it, but it says so on the bottle. What do you think?

no phosphate remover is able to be regenerated. seachem phosguard actually says that on the bottle.

[saltt]

On the PO4: Yes that is a good idea indeed as most corals do not fare well when phosphates are too high, and of course, too high ones bring about hair and other types of algae, so keeping them as low as possible is definitely recommended.

 

It would be a good idea to get a skimmer and possibly a sump, but starting with a skimmer would be a good idea and a good addition to your system.

 

Some will say that it is better to start with a sump and not the skimmer and I am not going to argue that point as there are pros and cons in both cases.

 

I don't have any room for a skimmer unfortunately, the only one that fits in the back chamber is the Tunze 9002 and I can't afford it right now. I have the JBj nano cube.

 

 

no phosphate remover is able to be regenerated. seachem phosguard actually says that on the bottle.

 

Oops...I guess I read it wrong! Well that might solve some of my phosphate problem

[jedimasterben]

Oops...I guess I read it wrong! Well that might solve some of my phosphate problem

yeah, i would just leave it in 24/7.

[albertthiel]

I don't have any room for a skimmer unfortunately, the only one that fits in the back chamber is the Tunze 9002 and I can't afford it right now. I have the JBj nano cube.

 

Oops...I guess I read it wrong! Well that might solve some of my phosphate problem

 

Can you use a HOB one ? I am not sure about the top of the JBJ and whether there is space at the back where you could attach one ... from a picture it looks like it has a lid but I don't know whether there is an area that is open in the back but if not then you can't use an HOB one.

 

And on the phosphate removers: the way you use it is fine IMO, and when you think it is exhausted just use a fresh batch and rinse it well first to get all the powdery stuff off it that may have come off the granules as they rubbed against each other during shipment and transportation to the seller, or to you if you buy online.

 

Albert

[Diver35]

Hey Albert, I have a problem that nobody else seems to be able to help me with, and i'm REALLY hoping you'll have some answers.

 

Over the course of 2.5 months, my euphillyas have gradually started to look very odd. Their tentacles start to curl and the tips pretty much disappear. And if my purple tang swims by the coral too quickly the tentacles fly off and go all over the place. There is no sign of brown jelly or any type of disease like that. All that's visible is the tentacles that are curly (literally) with no tips. My gold torches both went from being beautiful to looking sad, with their tentacles all curled in and no tips. It seems this disease could be contagious, since most of my euphillyas are acquiring it. I added a new grape coral a few months back and lately it's been coming up with the same symptoms. But my frogspawn that i have in the back of my tank and a new one i just got are unaffected so far. Here are some pics of what they looked like before and then today:

 

My gold hammer before, this one by far is the worst out of them all:

 

Today:

 

 

The blue and gold hammer before:

 

Today:

 

The green hammer before:

 

Today:

 

Green frogspawn before:

 

Green frogspawn today:

 

Gold torch before:

 

Today:

 

And also my water parameters are perfect, ive tested over and over. I've been in this hobby for a while so i know what i'm doing, but i've never seen this before. My flow is also moderate, not NEARLY enough for this to happen.

 

Please help me if you have any clue as to what is going on! I really have no more ideas as to what this could be, and everyone i ask also has no idea.

 

Thanks!

[Kfmmartin19]

Hey Albert, I have a problem that nobody else seems to be able to help me with, and i'm REALLY hoping you'll have some answers.

 

Over the course of 2.5 months, my euphillyas have gradually started to look very odd. Their tentacles start to curl and the tips pretty much disappear. And if my purple tang swims by the coral too quickly the tentacles fly off and go all over the place. There is no sign of brown jelly or any type of disease like that. All that's visible is the tentacles that are curly (literally) with no tips. My gold torches both went from being beautiful to looking sad, with their tentacles all curled in and no tips. It seems this disease could be contagious, since most of my euphillyas are acquiring it. I added a new grape coral a few months back and lately it's been coming up with the same symptoms. But my frogspawn that i have in the back of my tank and a new one i just got are unaffected so far. Here are some pics of what they looked like before and then today:

 

My gold hammer before, this one by far is the worst out of them all:

 

Today:

 

 

The blue and gold hammer before:

 

Today:

 

The green hammer before:

 

Today:

 

Green frogspawn before:

 

Green frogspawn today:

 

Gold torch before:

 

Today:

 

And also my water parameters are perfect, ive tested over and over. I've been in this hobby for a while so i know what i'm doing, but i've never seen this before. My flow is also moderate, not NEARLY enough for this to happen.

 

Please help me if you have any clue as to what is going on! I really have no more ideas as to what this could be, and everyone i ask also has no idea.

 

Thanks!

Wow idk but those r some beautiful euphys! Hopefully Albert can figure it out!

 

Albert:

Unfortunately I will not have time to take my tank apart again until Thursday, so I will do it then. I know which rock I saw the worm in, so I will put this one in freshwater first. If, say, the worm has moved and is no longer there, how many rocks can I dip at once without causing problems with 2 fish, and then how long would I have to wait for the bacteria to come back on those rocks before I started dipping more?

 

Finally, do u have any ideas as to how to search the sand bed? I know I have to be careful because the sand has been more or less undisturbed for over a year and I don't want to cause a mini cycle!

 

Thanks!

[jedimasterben]

Hey Albert, I have a problem that nobody else seems to be able to help me with, and i'm REALLY hoping you'll have some answers.

 

Over the course of 2.5 months, my euphillyas have gradually started to look very odd. Their tentacles start to curl and the tips pretty much disappear. And if my purple tang swims by the coral too quickly the tentacles fly off and go all over the place. There is no sign of brown jelly or any type of disease like that. All that's visible is the tentacles that are curly (literally) with no tips. My gold torches both went from being beautiful to looking sad, with their tentacles all curled in and no tips. It seems this disease could be contagious, since most of my euphillyas are acquiring it. I added a new grape coral a few months back and lately it's been coming up with the same symptoms. But my frogspawn that i have in the back of my tank and a new one i just got are unaffected so far. Here are some pics of what they looked like before and then today:

 

My gold hammer before, this one by far is the worst out of them all:

 

Today:

 

 

The blue and gold hammer before:

 

Today:

 

The green hammer before:

 

Today:

 

Green frogspawn before:

 

Green frogspawn today:

 

Gold torch before:

 

Today:

 

And also my water parameters are perfect, ive tested over and over. I've been in this hobby for a while so i know what i'm doing, but i've never seen this before. My flow is also moderate, not NEARLY enough for this to happen.

 

Please help me if you have any clue as to what is going on! I really have no more ideas as to what this could be, and everyone i ask also has no idea.

 

Thanks!

If it makes you feel any better, all my euphyllias except for one torch have always looked like your 'after' pics.

[tiepilot68]

It is a harmless filter feeder and will not do any harm to anything in your tank, it just catches food or other particles with its tentacles

 

Here is a link to a video on it :

 

Eupolymnia crassicornis are maybe unsightly but usually IME a sign that your tank is doing well and can support that kind of life form and that there is enough particulate matter in the water to support them.

 

Not sure how many you have but yes it may not look appealing but then we all often have organisms in our tanks that do not.

 

If you wanted to rid the tank of them you would have to remove rocks and bathe them in freshwater to get the worms to come out of their holes in the rocks ... or take the rock and run carbonated water over it as that will usually make them come out as well.

 

OTOH, their numbers will stabilize by themselves as there is only so much food stuff available for them in the tank so their population is in a way self-limiting based on the amount of food they can trap and get them to survive. Less food = less worms.

 

Personally I would just leave them alone and wait for their numbers to diminish if you think you have too many and on your general question as to do they harm anything : no they do not

 

You can read up some more on them here ( an article on research done on them by the "thecephalopodpage.org" authors Julian Lim and Dr. James B. Wood Editor :

 

http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/marineinv...assicornis.html

 

And if you do a Bing or other search engine search for Spaghetti worm you will find many more articles that discuss them including links to posts on other forums.

 

But as I said they are harmless so if you don't have too many just let them be since they are not doing any harm to anything in your tank.

 

Here is another picture of one that has real large feeders out :

 

 

And if you want to see a whole series of them on images.G here is the link :

 

http://tinyurl.com/99rp6fz that will show you a large number and in various views ..

 

Hope this helps but if you have more questions feel free of course to post them tiepilot68

 

Albert

 

 

Awesome!! Thank you so much for your fast and amazing reply. I'm very glad they are beneficial and am doubly glad that they are a sign of a healthy tank.

 

And thank you for the links! I've got some good reading to do!

[Diver35]

If it makes you feel any better, all my euphyllias except for one torch have always looked like your 'after' pics.

 

Huh, well my girlfriend has a gold torch and hammer as well for just as long as i've had mine and her's look completely normal, so i'm at a loss for what this could be....

[Paul.b]

To update, we have no power for about 6 hours, I am running the generator intermittingly. Lower Manhattan is flooded with 6' of seawater. Cars are floating near Wall Street. The Brooklyn Battery tunnel is flooded al the other ways into the city are closed. Many subways are flooded and there are explosions all over the city as transformers flood and explode. A power station outside NYU hospital just exploded and they are evacuating patients.

I will try to post in the morning

[wombat]

no phosphate remover is able to be regenerated. seachem phosguard actually says that on the bottle.

 

GFO can be regenerated with sodium hydroxide (lye). It has been done for a long time in the wastewater industry. GFO/GFH was originally designed to pull arsenic out of groundwater. Its use in aquariums for phosphate control is a tiny niche market.

 

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/10/chemistry

[atoll]

To update, we have no power for about 6 hours, I am running the generator intermittingly. Lower Manhattan is flooded with 6' of seawater. Cars are floating near Wall Street. The Brooklyn Battery tunnel is flooded al the other ways into the city are closed. Many subways are flooded and there are explosions all over the city as transformers flood and explode. A power station outside NYU hospital just exploded and they are evacuating patients.

I will try to post in the morning

 

 

Oh dear not good at all. My thoughts are with you guys and I hope things reside real soon. Hope all those evacuated from the hospital will be fine along with all citizens of course. We are getting regular news feeds here in the UK. I guess all the preparations that could be put in place within the time limits have been and all measures taken. I guess its now a case of sit tight and ride it out until it blows over. Good luck to all and may your god go with you.

 

Les.

[albertthiel]

Hey Albert, I have a problem that nobody else seems to be able to help me with, and i'm REALLY hoping you'll have some answers.

 

Over the course of 2.5 months, my euphillyas have gradually started to look very odd. Their tentacles start to curl and the tips pretty much disappear. And if my purple tang swims by the coral too quickly the tentacles fly off and go all over the place. There is no sign of brown jelly or any type of disease like that. All that's visible is the tentacles that are curly (literally) with no tips. My gold torches both went from being beautiful to looking sad, with their tentacles all curled in and no tips. It seems this disease could be contagious, since most of my euphillyas are acquiring it. I added a new grape coral a few months back and lately it's been coming up with the same symptoms. But my frogspawn that i have in the back of my tank and a new one i just got are unaffected so far. Here are some pics of what they looked like before and then today:

 

And also my water parameters are perfect, ive tested over and over. I've been in this hobby for a while so i know what i'm doing, but i've never seen this before. My flow is also moderate, not NEARLY enough for this to happen.

 

Please help me if you have any clue as to what is going on! I really have no more ideas as to what this could be, and everyone i ask also has no idea.

 

Thanks!

 

Unfortunately you may have acquired on those corals that was infected when you got it with EDS, or Euphyllia Disease Syndrome, which was prevalent for a long time in all Euphyllia corals that were coming into the hobby.

 

AFAIK no one really has diagnosed what causes it or caused it to my knowledge, but the "disease" slowly leads to the symptoms that you describe, and it does spread from one type of Euphyllia to others, and can affect other similar types corals as well such as Catalaphyllia.

 

There are a number of articles that deal with Euphyllia and Catalaphyllia corals that deal with this problematic disease in some of the sections of the articles and I am listing links to those articles below so you can read up on them and get a better idea of what the issue is although none of them offer a solution to the problem.

 

This "disease" or "infection" was something that imported corals suffered from and it is not really known what caused it and how to cure it. All you can do is watch for those corals that seem to be dying off and remove them from the tank so you do not pollute the entire aquarium.

 

I am afraid that based on what I have read and based on what I know all you can do for now is take those corals that are affected and dip them and hope that as you do several dips over a period of several days that you rid the affected corals of whatever it is that cause it and that as time goes by and as they are in high quality water of the right parameters and get the right kind of lighting as described in the articles, that they come back from their sad state and slowly start looking like they should again.

 

From what I have read on it though, this is unfortunately one of those instances where dips may not necessarily help with all of them and so you may loose some of the corals.

 

Here are the links I mentioned (and as I said the articles deal with the good of these corals but in some sections with the issues you can run into (like you have).

 

1. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/10/corals

2. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/eb/index.php

3. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-01/eb/index.php

4. http://animal-world.com/Aquarium-Coral-Reefs/Hammer-Coral

 

There is more information in article about coral diseases but not necessarily specifically about the corals you own but about corals in general including the ones you have :

 

1. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/eb/index.php

2. http://www.chucksaddiction.com/coraldisease.html

 

I know this does not solve the problem or give you a straightforward explanation on what the issue is, but as I said those symptoms do occur from time tot time in the type of corals you own, and yes it does spread to similar ones as is the case with yours and if you were to introduce one in another tank that has similar corals they would IME eventually get affected too.

 

All you can do at this point IME is the dips for a few says in a row (as suggested in one of the articles) and then hope that the coral will heal and regenerate itself, but unfortunately there is no guarantee that it/they will I am afraid to say.

 

Not good news I know, and I apologize for it but those seem to be the facts.

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

Wow idk but those r some beautiful euphys! Hopefully Albert can figure it out!

 

Albert:

Unfortunately I will not have time to take my tank apart again until Thursday, so I will do it then. I know which rock I saw the worm in, so I will put this one in freshwater first. If, say, the worm has moved and is no longer there, how many rocks can I dip at once without causing problems with 2 fish, and then how long would I have to wait for the bacteria to come back on those rocks before I started dipping more?

 

Finally, do u have any ideas as to how to search the sand bed? I know I have to be careful because the sand has been more or less undisturbed for over a year and I don't want to cause a mini cycle!

 

Thanks!

 

Usually and in most cases once these worms have found a place to hide in, they will keep going back to the same one so in all likelihood it will still be in that same rock on Thursday when you deal with it.

 

If not then your issue will be to find what rock it is in and I would then treat one of the larger rocks per day, or two if they are smaller ones and then put them back and give the tank about 36 hours or so to regenerate some of the bacteria, and then if you still have not found the worm move on to some of the other rocks.

 

My guess though is that the worm will still be in the rock that you saw it in.

 

What you can do to see whether it is, is look at your tank an hour or two after the lights are out and look to see whether you can see the worm and where it actually is and then chase it back in its hole, and then remove that rock.

 

if it is out of its hiding spot and you prod it with a piece of plastic of some kind it will crawl back to its hiding space which will tell you what rock it is in.

 

Now, OTOH, and I did suggest this before, an easier way that I think that you should seriously consider is to use a worm trap, and see whether you can catch the worm or worms that way, as when you do so you will not have to remove any rocks at all.

 

I would use that method before the rock removal one as it may simplify everything for you. Get a trap at an LFS or make one yourself using one of the many DIY methods you can find on the Net.

 

A friend of mine used a medium sized soda bottle and weighted ti down and attached a string to the neck that was long enough to hand over the edge of the tank. He put some bait in it, and put it in the tank in the area where he had seen the worm he was after last, and did so at night, and in the morning he had actually 3 worms inside the bottle, he then just lifted the bottle out by pulling up the string and then disposed of the worms.

 

He repeated the process for several nights and removed even more worms and when he did not catch anything in the trap for two days in a row, he stopped putting the trap in the tank.

 

I think that doing so is simpler and is effective, and suggest you try that before starting to remove rocks (that is if the worm is no longer in the rock that you saw it in and that you are going to take out on Thursday).

 

Hope this helps but if not just let me know what other questions you have

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

yeah, i would just leave it in 24/7.

 

Well with the type of coral saltt has running it 24/7 may not be the best way to go when the compound is brand new and fresh and at full potency as it may change the PO4 levels too fast and the corals may react to that sudden change negatively IME.

 

if however the compound has been used a few times and is not "fresh and full potency" any longer then I would agree that it can be run 24/7.

 

There may be different opinions on this but that is what I would do

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

If it makes you feel any better, all my euphyllias except for one torch have always looked like your 'after' pics.

 

Gee that is odd Ben .. they never looked like the before pictures? Did you ever figure out what was wrong and why they did not look as they should have? Did you loose any?

 

That is odd as with your set-up I would have expected that they would have look real healthy and expanded and open ...

 

Any ideas on why they did not ?

 

Albert

 

 

 

 

Awesome!! Thank you so much for your fast and amazing reply. I'm very glad they are beneficial and am doubly glad that they are a sign of a healthy tank.

 

And thank you for the links! I've got some good reading to do!

 

You are welcome and I am glad I was able to help ... and yes do some reading ... and as i said they are filter feeders and harmless.

 

Happy Reef keeping

 

Albert

Edited October 30, 2012 by albertthiel

[albertthiel]

Huh, well my girlfriend has a gold torch and hammer as well for just as long as i've had mine and her's look completely normal, so i'm at a loss for what this could be....

 

Well she may have gotten them either elsewhere or she may have gotten ones that were not affected.

 

I will do some more searches for you when I get back home as I have to leave in about 20 minutes for an appointment and will not be back till maybe around 10:00 am or so

 

I'll see what else I can come up with for you and post it then

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

To update, we have no power for about 6 hours, I am running the generator intermittingly. Lower Manhattan is flooded with 6' of seawater. Cars are floating near Wall Street. The Brooklyn Battery tunnel is flooded al the other ways into the city are closed. Many subways are flooded and there are explosions all over the city as transformers flood and explode. A power station outside NYU hospital just exploded and they are evacuating patients.

I will try to post in the morning

 

Thanks Paul for the update, and I hope all is ok with your tank ... and yes as I listen to the news what I see and hear is just unbelievable ... what an incredible amount of damage that was done.

 

This storm is going into history for sure as one of the worst ones ever.

 

Incredible damage done all along the NE coast and as the day goes on more and more of the damage gets discussed on the networks and it does seem to just get worse and worse what is reported.

 

Hopefully you will be back up and running soon but what I hear is that some areas may not get power back for days and days and in NY with some of the subways flooded who knows how long it will take to get those back up and running, and the same for the LI trains etc ...

 

A true disaster for sure.

 

I have never experienced an event like it although here in GA we had no damage, just strong winds but I hear it all on the news and it seems to get worse and worse as time goes on and as more gets related by the newscasters and who knows what they have not reported yet.

 

All the best to you and to all others.

 

I have to leave for an appointment and will be back in a few hours at which point I wonder whatever else they will be reporting ... Nature sure is powerful and we humans can't do much about it except try to cope as best as we can.

 

Godspeed

 

Albert

 

 

 

 

Oh dear not good at all. My thoughts are with you guys and I hope things reside real soon. Hope all those evacuated from the hospital will be fine along with all citizens of course. We are getting regular news feeds here in the UK. I guess all the preparations that could be put in place within the time limits have been and all measures taken. I guess its now a case of sit tight and ride it out until it blows over. Good luck to all and may your god go with you.

 

Les.

 

Have to leave for an apponitment but will be back in a few hours ... and will respond to pending messages then.

 

Thanks Les

 

Albert

[jedimasterben]

GFO can be regenerated with sodium hydroxide (lye). It has been done for a long time in the wastewater industry. GFO/GFH was originally designed to pull arsenic out of groundwater. Its use in aquariums for phosphate control is a tiny niche market.

 

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/10/chemistry

I should have said aluminum oxide specifically . GFO can be, but it's not easy to do, especially for the bulk of hobbyists. Much easier IMO to just toss in a new bag.

[jedimasterben]

Well with the type of coral saltt has running it 24/7 may not be the best way to go when the compound is brand new and fresh and at full potency as it may change the PO4 levels too fast and the corals may react to that sudden change negatively IME.

 

if however the compound has been used a few times and is not "fresh and full potency" any longer then I would agree that it can be run 24/7.

 

There may be different opinions on this but that is what I would do

 

Albert

That's one reason i don't use a lot of the media, that way when it gets changed it doesn't drop like a rock.

 

Gee that is odd Ben .. they never looked like the before pictures? Did you ever figure out what was wrong and why they did not look as they should have? Did you loose any?

 

That is odd as with your set-up I would have expected that they would have look real healthy and expanded and open ...

 

Any ideas on why they did not ?

 

Albert

To this day I have no idea. I've lost a couple to brown jelly infections, but the others just don't look as they should. My only euphyllia that opens up fully is a beautiful green torch. Got it for $15, then saw a smaller one online for almost $100.

 

The others still do not open up much. I have a yellow branching torch, a branching frogspawn, a branching hammer, and a regular frogspawn. The branching two frogspawns have opened up a little more than normal recently, but neither have tentacles more than 2". My yellow torch has never sent out tentacles more than an inch long. the hammer has never had hammer-shaped tips, and has never been more than 1" or so. The big torch, though, sends out tentacles 5" all day. I don't know what's going on. I've tried lower flow, higher flow, lower light, higher light, none seem to make a difference. :/

[albertthiel]

To update, we have no power for about 6 hours, I am running the generator intermittingly. Lower Manhattan is flooded with 6' of seawater. Cars are floating near Wall Street. The Brooklyn Battery tunnel is flooded al the other ways into the city are closed. Many subways are flooded and there are explosions all over the city as transformers flood and explode. A power station outside NYU hospital just exploded and they are evacuating patients.

I will try to post in the morning

 

As a follow-up Paul I heard all the bad news and all of the problems that have been identified so far on the News and it does not bode well for several areas where the damage was more severe and flooding greater than what was originally thought apparently.

 

An on NYC they have not given much details so far, mostly about that crane that broke and has that large hanging piece that is swaying in the wind gusts and yes on the Hospital.

 

No much news on the flooding of the subway so maybe you can fill us in as you probably know more about it than what is being broadcasted on the News.

 

Seems like the LI situation is pretty bad and that there is a lot of house destruction and loss of power but no indication of when they think it will all be fixed.

 

Guess the assessment of all the damage does take time and that is probably the reason we are only getting tidbits of what happened but no detailed information.

 

Overall though as I said before it appears to have been a real very severe hurricane/superstorm that may have caused billions of damage.

 

Hope all is well with your tank, and also that others who have lost power can save theirs ... this is a major setback for many I think and is going to be an even major problem is the power stays out for more than several hours and that is what it looks like : days and days for some areas.

 

The latest I heard on the NY subways is that they may be out for days and days ... and that right now millions and millions are still without power.

 

A true disaster is all I can say ...

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

That's one reason i don't use a lot of the media, that way when it gets changed it doesn't drop like a rock.

 

Very good point indeed Ben ... and that is what I do too ... I use far less than what the manufacturers recommend to minimize those sudden drops in phosphates and silicates and other elements removed by other compounds. I do what you do and that is change it more often than what they recommend since I use less of the actual compounds.

 

In fact I use little GAC a well to reduce the impact of changes that fresh carbon can bring about.

 

But that is just my method and the remarks are FWIW

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

To this day I have no idea. I've lost a couple to brown jelly infections, but the others just don't look as they should. My only euphyllia that opens up fully is a beautiful green torch. Got it for $15, then saw a smaller one online for almost $100.

 

The others still do not open up much. I have a yellow branching torch, a branching frogspawn, a branching hammer, and a regular frogspawn. The branching two frogspawns have opened up a little more than normal recently, but neither have tentacles more than 2". My yellow torch has never sent out tentacles more than an inch long. the hammer has never had hammer-shaped tips, and has never been more than 1" or so. The big torch, though, sends out tentacles 5" all day. I don't know what's going on. I've tried lower flow, higher flow, lower light, higher light, none seem to make a difference. :/

 

Not sure what is causing that but I posted a few links earlier to Euphyllia and Catalaphyllia coral care that you may not have seen.

 

It is odd indeed that with everything you have installed on your tank, and with the lighting you have that they would not do better ... but I do not know a lot more about your system so I cannot figure out why that may be happening.

 

Here are the links again in case you did not see them (although you may have):

 

1. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/10/corals

2. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/eb/index.php

3. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-01/eb/index.php

4. http://animal-world.com/Aquarium-Coral-Reefs/Hammer-Coral

 

Apologies for the duplication but others may not have seen them either.

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

So Close, You Can Almost Touch Them: The Fish Of MACNA 2012

 

© by MARK CALLAHAN

 

Listening to the call of my loyal (yet bored) fans who are riding out Hurricane Sandy, I’ve put together some unique footage of some of the fish @ MACNA 2012.

 

The question is, which shot do you like best? The designer clownfish from ProAquatix, or the Hippo Tang?

 

Link to the Video : http://tinyurl.com/97kmpk6

 

Albert