TheKingInYellow Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Here's my question. Albert, how do you feel about bare bottom tanks versus a tank with a substrate. Assuming you have no animals/inverts in the tank that require the sandbed, of course. Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 A very interesting video on the Duncan Coral ... http://www.flickr.com/photos/pipsqueaks_dad/5777770104/ Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Here's my question. Albert, how do you feel about bare bottom tanks versus a tank with a substrate. Assuming you have no animals/inverts in the tank that require the sandbed, of course. Good question TheKingInYellow .... hard to answer as it depends IMO on what else is in the tank and what one likes when looking at the tank. So let's say you have live rock in the tank ... likelihood is that at some point lifeforms that are part of the live rock will come out of it and may need a substrate on the bottom Now let's say you do not have live rock but just a few pieces of totally dead rock with nothing living it, I guess then it becomes a matter of personal preference and whether you prefer something on the bottom of the tank or not. My personal liking is a fine layer of substrate if indeed no live rock is in the tank as I prefer the bottom to be covered. Consider also that as time goes by you are likely to introduce something in the tank that prefers a substrate so that would then mean that it is more desirable to have one right from the start Also .... what if at some point you need to add CUC's to the tank ... then again you will need a substrate, maybe just a fine one, but a substrate nevertheless. So to answer your question : I guess it depends ... Perhaps some members who run bare bottom tanks want to chime in and give us their opinion. Of course no substrate means less maintenance in most cases so that would be an argument for not having one but as I said ... as time goes on you may end up with lifeforms that need one . Kind of a catch 22 but again I think a matter of personal preference and also what one does with ones tank as time goes on Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Since most hobbyists are always interested in CUC's, and since there are so many on the market, below is a link to a site that shows them and also tells you what they feed on ... This is a commercial site and I am not associated with them but the information they give will IMO be helpful to those who want to learn more about what each type of Cleaner actually likes to feed on http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.php?opti...4&Itemid=58 Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Additional Pictures of Sarcophyton Leather corals Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Thank you for all of your contributions to the community Albert, it's great to have you with us! Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Thank you for all of your contributions to the community Albert, it's great to have you with us! Thank you for the kind words, they are truly appreciated, and as long as my time permits I will be providing more information FWIW based on my personal experience and what I have learned about reefs over all the years that I have been involved with them both as a hobbyist and as a manufacturer till 1996 Albert Just posting this link because it shows such a large amount of Zoa's and other polyps and corals and some members may be interested in the pics http://www.exoticfrags.us/corals.php?s=21&c=62 Albert P.S. not associated with them so only posting this for the pictures on that site Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Yellow Fiji leathers are my favorite and I was able to get a small frag of it recently! Thank you for all of your contributions to the community Albert, it's great to have you with us! +1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Yellow Fiji leathers are my favorite and I was able to get a small frag of it recently! +1 Yes they are indeed very nice and pretty sturdy as most Sarcophytons appear to be IME. When actively running tanks I used to make cuttings and grow them just like so many do with SPS frags. Hope yours gets to grow Laaaarrrrgggeee Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 A large RBTA anemone in a 125 gallon tank. IME it is usually a good idea not to add this anemone to a tank that has not been set up for at least several months ... they just do better ... These anemones come with various colorations ... red tips, rose, whitish, and more Albert Quote Link to comment
Genj Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Albert, First let me say thank you for contributing your time here. My question pertains to my Scolymia. I have a Scoly that is showing signs of symmetrical tissue retraction. In my current and prior tank I have had a hard time keeping a Scoly, as well as a Lobo. My prior Scoly did the same, and I took it to the LFS and it is much happier. My current Scoly lies on the sand bed of a 20" high tank, lit by a combination of MH and LED. It received moderate flow from a MP40 vortech. It is not close to any other coral. My parameters of my 115g (4 months old) are: 8.2 avg PH 9.0 avg dKH 420 Calc 1250 Mg 0-5 NO3 0 NH3 0 NO2 .02 ppm PO4 temp = 76 low - 79.5 daytime high DD H2Ocean salt 0.8 ROX Carbon 6 tbs of GFO Skimmer and UV All other corals are doing well. SPS in this tank is growing well. Dry rock used to start with a 10 week cure before adding livestock. I add 3 drops of iodine with weekly 20 gallon water changes, as well as an alternate patter of tropic marin bio-calcium and bio-mag. Top off freshwater is RODI buffered with PH buffer, as well as a bit of kalk in the ATO that just sits in a small cup. All that being said, I'm at a loss as to why I am having good luck with the other corals, but seem to always be doing something wrong with a Scoly in both tanks. I do have one open brain that has been very happy and shows no signs of similar stress. Thank you for your help. Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Albert, First let me say thank you for contributing your time here. My question pertains to my Scolymia. I have a Scoly that is showing signs of symmetrical tissue retraction. In my current and prior tank I have had a hard time keeping a Scoly, as well as a Lobo. My prior Scoly did the same, and I took it to the LFS and it is much happier. My current Scoly lies on the sand bed of a 20" high tank, lit by a combination of MH and LED. It received moderate flow from a MP40 vortech. It is not close to any other coral. My parameters of my 115g (4 months old) are: 8.2 avg PH 9.0 avg dKH 420 Calc 1250 Mg 0-5 NO3 0 NH3 0 NO2 .02 ppm PO4 temp = 76 low - 79.5 daytime high DD H2Ocean salt 0.8 ROX Carbon 6 tbs of GFO Skimmer and UV All other corals are doing well. SPS in this tank is growing well. Dry rock used to start with a 10 week cure before adding livestock. I add 3 drops of iodine with weekly 20 gallon water changes, as well as an alternate patter of tropic marin bio-calcium and bio-mag. Top off freshwater is RODI buffered with PH buffer, as well as a bit of kalk in the ATO that just sits in a small cup. All that being said, I'm at a loss as to why I am having good luck with the other corals, but seem to always be doing something wrong with a Scoly in both tanks. I do have one open brain that has been very happy and shows no signs of similar stress. Thank you for your help. Below are the general recommendations that IME ensure that Scolymia does well in a tank : Temperature of water: Seventy-four to seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit. Specific gravity of water: 1.023 to 1.025. pH of water: 8.10 to 8.40. Scolymia Brain requires moderate water flow in the marine aquarium hosting it. The exposure of the Scolymia species to strong water flow may hamper the coral’s complete spread. Scolymia Brain Coral requires moderate lighting. The color of the Scolymia species may vary according to the lighting the coral gets. Place it at the bottom, on the sand in your reef aquarium. Give it ample space to spread itself completely. Keep it away from the other corals as it may sting them if obstructed while expanding. It derives its nutrition mainly through photosynthesis which is performed by zooxanthellae, a photosynthetic alga living symbiotically within the coral. It is also Carnivorous in feeding habit and filter feeds a few times per week, when open. It feeds upon small marine invertebrates, Mysis Shrimp, frozen meaty bits of raw shrimp, fish, squid and Silver Side, zooplankton and phytoplankton. Based on what you have listed those conditions seem to be met so I must give this some thought and will get back to you later or in the morning Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Albert, First let me say thank you for contributing your time here. My question pertains to my Scolymia. I have a Scoly that is showing signs of symmetrical tissue retraction. In my current and prior tank I have had a hard time keeping a Scoly, as well as a Lobo. My prior Scoly did the same, and I took it to the LFS and it is much happier. My current Scoly lies on the sand bed of a 20" high tank, lit by a combination of MH and LED. It received moderate flow from a MP40 vortech. It is not close to any other coral. My parameters of my 115g (4 months old) are: 8.2 avg PH 9.0 avg dKH 420 Calc 1250 Mg 0-5 NO3 0 NH3 0 NO2 .02 ppm PO4 temp = 76 low - 79.5 daytime high DD H2Ocean salt 0.8 ROX Carbon 6 tbs of GFO Skimmer and UV All other corals are doing well. SPS in this tank is growing well. Dry rock used to start with a 10 week cure before adding livestock. I add 3 drops of iodine with weekly 20 gallon water changes, as well as an alternate patter of tropic marin bio-calcium and bio-mag. Top off freshwater is RODI buffered with PH buffer, as well as a bit of kalk in the ATO that just sits in a small cup. All that being said, I'm at a loss as to why I am having good luck with the other corals, but seem to always be doing something wrong with a Scoly in both tanks. I do have one open brain that has been very happy and shows no signs of similar stress. Thank you for your help. After reviewing your params again I cannot find a water condition issue but I think that the tissue retraction may be due to the lighting you are using and that the tissue retraction is due to the MH being used that is either too strong for your Scolymia or the combination you are using is going it way too much light. What I suggest is to place it in an area where it gets a lot less light and as long as you do not see any brown slime (tissue decomposer) that is all I suggest you do You could do a dip with Lugol's as a preventative measure but try moving it out of the light first and see what happens Keep us posted pls Albert Quote Link to comment
Genj Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Thank you Albert. I will move it to the outside corner of the tank. I certainly agree that my lights are strong and provide quite a good bit of photons! Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Thank you Albert. I will move it to the outside corner of the tank. I certainly agree that my lights are strong and provide quite a good bit of photons! Yes I think that may very well be the problem as everything else seems to be where it is supposed to be, so all I can think of is the lighting or an infection but if there was one you would have seen brown slime and disintegration of the tissues and you did to mention that .... so lighting is my guess that needs to be changed Let us know what happens .. and changes may take a little while Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Glad to let you know that the Coral Magazine with the long long article on LED Lighting by Dr Joshi and by a number of other Authors arrived today .... Great ... now I can brush up on LED lighting which is the one thing that has changed so much in this hobby that I have to get up to speed on it ...when broke my last tank down we were still into using MH lighting supplemented by actinic So if Dr. Joshi is on this forum I want to tank him a lot for sending me the Mag and if he is not I know how to contact him in a different manner Just wanted those who read this forum know .... can you tell that I am excited Albert Quote Link to comment
wombat Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 So if Dr. Joshi is on this forum I want to tank him a lot for sending me the Mag and if he is not I know how to contact him in a different manner Sanjay does not go on public forums any more. Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Sanjay does not go on public forums any more. Thanks. I can get hold of him in another way Quote Link to comment
wombat Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Let me know if you need a current email. Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Let me know if you need a current email. Will do thanks Quote Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 (edited) Glad to let you know that the Coral Magazine with the long long article on LED Lighting by Dr Joshi and by a number of other Authors arrived today .... Great ... now I can brush up on LED lighting which is the one thing that has changed so much in this hobby that I have to get up to speed on it ...when broke my last tank down we were still into using MH lighting supplemented by actinic So if Dr. Joshi is on this forum I want to tank him a lot for sending me the Mag and if he is not I know how to contact him in a different manner Just wanted those who read this forum know .... can you tell that I am excited Albert I will Have to get that issue Albert. I have never even thought about using anything but halides on my 4 systems, but all i hear about these days is LEDS's LEDS's - have to keep up. THat and im setting up a few experiment tanks and feel like I am bending over for old CON ED. Also the huge goiniopora I showed you opens up to about 12 "X 10". I have only had it a couple of months so we shall see. She is a good eater. I have not properly identified her yet, and the vendor just called it Goniopora sp. but I do know it is from Australia. I believe the key in keeping gonioporas is how good you are at target feeding them, and how good they eccept food. Certain Gonis, like G. LOBATA, are terrible eaters and youre practically wasting your time feeding them, and I dont think anyone has had good success with them. Edited June 21, 2012 by ZephNYC Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I will Have to get that issue Albert. I have never even thought about using anything but halides on my 4 systems, but all i hear about these days is LEDS's LEDS's - have to keep up. THat and im setting up a few experiment tanks and feel like I am bending over for old CON ED. Also the huge goiniopora I showed you opens up to about 12 "X 10". I have only had it a couple of months so we shall see. She is a good eater. I have not properly identified her yet, and the vendor just called it Goniopora sp. but I do know it is from Australia. I believe the key in keeping gonioporas is how good you are at target feeding them, and how good they eccept food. Certain Gonis, like G. LOBATA, are terrible eaters and youre practically wasting your time feeding them, and I dont think anyone has had good success with them. Zeph: I guess what lighting to use much depends on the life forms kept and their requirements. When I started Thiel Aqua Tech in CT I imported the Osram HQI's and we did have good success even though their Kelvin rating was still low but as time went on we got better and better ones. I always had real good results with them. Eventually as German hobbyists started adding actinics of various kinds we did so too. Now in June 2012 it seems that LED is what everyone wants. Since it seems to be quite a complex subject with so many options I am brushing up on my knowledge on them so no comments on LEDs yet from me On your Gonio if you have a real close up pic and some descriptive details I'll be glad to try and help with the ID. Just let me know Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Link on how to grow coralline algae ... I know there are many but reading one more will not hurt I think http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/page/index...lgae-growth-r71 Albert Quote Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Albert, thanks so much for this thread. It already has more useful info than most threads with 100 pages! I can't wait to see how you are going to build your tank and what type of components you choose and why! Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Albert, thanks so much for this thread. It already has more useful info than most threads with 100 pages! I can't wait to see how you are going to build your tank and what type of components you choose and why! Well I am just about ready with the planning and will post what I plan to do either by the end of the day or by the morning .... what I will not have decided on is the lighting but I hope to make that one very soon ... with all the choices, types and combinations now around it gets kind of hard to decide and I have to take what I plan to put in the Nano into account ... I did some searches on NR and on the web and am somewhat surprised about the number of people who seem to be satisfied with those BC's without making modifications to them ... What is your opinion on those ? Albert Quote Link to comment
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