THE OFFICIAL ASK ALBERT THIEL THREAD

[atoll]

Thanks Paul am recovering slowly. Just have to feed the fish and top up my ATUs. May daughter is visiting me this afternoon and I have a few jobs and errands for her. At least am out of bed at the mo and moving around if a bit gingerly.

[albertthiel]

Cheers guys. They tell me at least 6 weeks recuperation. My tum feels like It's done 10 rounds with mike tyson. I have 4 wounds in it from the operations 2 from the failed keyhole surgery 1 drain hole and the major op itself. Oh happy days.

 

Yes I can imagine Les ... take it easy and as Paul recommend don't schlepp any buckets of water around ... lots of rest I guess is what is needed and soon you will be yourself again but "better"

 

Albert

 

Thanks Paul am recovering slowly. Just have to feed the fish and top up my ATUs. May daughter is visiting me this afternoon and I have a few jobs and errands for her. At least am out of bed at the mo and moving around if a bit gingerly.

 

Good for you and "gingerly" is indeed the operative word here Les

 

Get well soon my friend

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

Hi Albert,

 

I hope you can help me identify what this is how to take care of it.

 

 

Thanks

 

Is this growing on one of your Power Heads ... looks like a stalk with fuzz as PE ... what color is it really (in the pic I see it as white)

 

Could be a number of things IMO but a close up pic would help

 

 

albert

[atoll]

Yes I can imagine Les ... take it easy and as Paul recommend don't schlepp any buckets of water around ... lots of rest I guess is what is needed and soon you will be yourself again but "better"

 

Albert

 

 

Good for you and "gingerly" is indeed the operative word here Les

 

Get well soon my friend

 

Albert

Thanks Albert,

Slow but sure is the pace. I have good friends and family who pop in etc. I had my first shower today 5 days after my last it was good but wore me out lol. Guess I will need to build myself up again as it certainly took a lot out of me.

[albertthiel]

Thanks Albert,

Slow but sure is the pace. I have good friends and family who pop in etc. I had my first shower today 5 days after my last it was good but wore me out lol. Guess I will need to build myself up again as it certainly took a lot out of me.

 

Yes those kind of intervention sure take a lot of of anyone Les so a lot of rest is probably what they recommend and no strenuous exercise ....

 

I am sure you know all that though, and good you have friends and family that come by to help out ... That is a definite +

 

Get well soon Les

 

Albert

[Paul.b]

My leak detector worked. Today a pipe connected to my hot water heater started leaking. I installed the thing five years ago but it decided to leak today. I would not have known except the water in my reef tank started to get low even though I have an ATO that is gravity fed. Under my hot water tank I installed a DIY water shut off in case of a leak and it worked well. It uses a regular GFCI outlet. I installed an electric valve in the pipe that feeds the hot water tank. That valve is plugged into a GFCI so that if the GFCI trips, the water valve shuts off. I plug a wire into the GFCI where I only have the neutral wire and ground wire connected with nothing on the hot prong. The ends of that wire are under the hot water tank. If that wire gets wet, the GFCI trips off shutting water off to the hot water tank so I don't flood my house. The ATO for my tank is also on that line so the water to the tank stopped notifying me of the leak. I have the same system under my reef tank that shuts off the pumps if there is a leak. I love technology.

[albertthiel]

My leak detector worked. Today a pipe connected to my hot water heater started leaking. I installed the thing five years ago but it decided to leak today. I would not have known except the water in my reef tank started to get low even though I have an ATO that is gravity fed. Under my hot water tank I installed a DIY water shut off in case of a leak and it worked well. It uses a regular GFCI outlet. I installed an electric valve in the pipe that feeds the hot water tank. That valve is plugged into a GFCI so that if the GFCI trips, the water valve shuts off. I plug a wire into the GFCI where I only have the neutral wire and ground wire connected with nothing on the hot prong. The ends of that wire are under the hot water tank. If that wire gets wet, the GFCI trips off shutting water off to the hot water tank so I don't flood my house. The ATO for my tank is also on that line so the water to the tank stopped notifying me of the leak. I have the same system under my reef tank that shuts off the pumps if there is a leak. I love technology.

 

Clever set up indeed Paul and good that it worked as intended ....

 

Nice DIY project ...

 

Albert

[Paul.b]

Mandarin at his feeder

 

[albertthiel]

Mandarin at his feeder

 

 

Nice Paul ... feeding and feeding and grabbing anything it can .... all those Nauplii get devoured

 

Albert

[atoll]

Just some of my experiences reefkeeping 35 years on.

Around 35 years ago I ventured into the almost impossible world of marines at the time or so it was believed. I say impossible as many thought it so and I was warned of inevitable disasters and wipe outs.

The fact first my fish only then soft coral tanks were quite successful seemed to go against popular opinion and what was thought possible. 30 years plus ago I not only kept a H. Magnifica anenome but it grew huge and it housed a trio of common clowns 2 of which spawned regular. I was told it was impossible to keep this anemone.

I was told lots of things that were either untrue or at best miss leading. You can't keep the likes of caulerpa it will die and wipe out your tank. I pulled loads out and gave it away to anybody who wanted it. My various species of Caulerpa grew like weeds.

I moved from T8s to mercury vapour lamps to HQI lights. I read skimmers were little more than toys but I used air driven Sander ones to good effect then made my own. I moved up to a large 6' tank (Large in those days)and made my own sump at a time most were still using UG filtration using air pumps then powerheads to run them. We were innovators those days and there was much to be learnt and to some extent we still are innovators but it seems not as many these days.

People came from miles around to see my tank of soft corals and fish inc people from zoos and public aquariums. The keeping of hard corals was more or less considered impossible at the time and few if any were available.

Oh how times have changed but they were exiting times as we were making so many discoveries beyond what many scientists of the day had achieved or thought possible.

Boring old fart that I am lol.

[albertthiel]

 

Just some of my experiences reefkeeping 35 years on.

Around 35 years ago I ventured into the almost impossible world of marines at the time or so it was believed. I say impossible as many thought it so and I was warned of inevitable disasters and wipe outs.

 

The fact first my fish only then soft coral tanks were quite successful seemed to go against popular opinion and what was thought possible. 30 years plus ago I not only kept a H. Magnifica anenome but it grew huge and it housed a trio of common clowns 2 of which spawned regular. I was told it was impossible to keep this anemone.

 

I was told lots of things that were either untrue or at best miss leading. You can't keep the likes of caulerpa it will die and wipe out your tank. I pulled loads out and gave it away to anybody who wanted it. My various species of Caulerpa grew like weeds.

 

I moved from T8s to mercury vapour lamps to HQI lights. I read skimmers were little more than toys but I used air driven Sander ones to good effect then made my own. I moved up to a large 6' tank (Large in those days)and made my own sump at a time most were still using UG filtration using air pumps then powerheads to run them. We were innovators those days and there was much to be learnt and to some extent we still are innovators but it seems not as many these days.

 

People came from miles around to see my tank of soft corals and fish inc people from zoos and public aquariums. The keeping of hard corals was more or less considered impossible at the time and few if any were available.

 

Oh how times have changed but they were exiting times as we were making so many discoveries beyond what many scientists of the day had achieved or thought possible.

 

Boring old fart that I am lol.

 

Nice indeed Les to reminisce on all the issues and problems we had to through in those days and the personal inventiveness we had to have to make things happen and be successful, and indeed the attitude of many in those days was very negative towards the marine Hobby

 

Anytime one mentioned something along the lines of "I am going to keep .... (fill in the blank)" we were told as you write "that is impossible" " you will fail" " that cannot be done" and so on

 

But as we persevered we found out that it could be done ... maybe with more personal involvement and maintenance than what is needed or done today, but many of persevered were indeed successful just as you were ...

 

Thanks for the historical perspective you wrote about and my experiences were pretty much the same as yours ... but as you say us old farts did manage to make it happen

 

Albert

[atoll]

Thanks Albert and of course there is much much more that we had to over come and learn as Paul has pointed out food is ut one of them. Technology was in its infancy with regards to marines and we have come a hell of a long way in what is such a short time. Necessity is the mother of invention however.

[albertthiel]

Thanks Albert and of course there is much much more that we had to over come and learn as Paul has pointed out food is ut one of them. Technology was in its infancy with regards to marines and we have come a hell of a long way in what is such a short time. Necessity is the mother of invention however.

 

Yes indeed Les. I would take a series of books just to describe all what we had to go through in those days

 

Albert

[Sk8n Reefer]

Hello Albert, incredible to have the opportunity to discuss topics with you. I have just recently found this thread- sorry if this has been covered before

Question- this is for specifically SPS coral. As they grow can they " sense " other corals within a close proximity- it seems when my SPS are starting to touch and they extend "stingers" off. I have seen LPS send " sweepers" off but didn't know the extent with SPS. I have a Ponape Birdsnest and a green Pocillopora starting to touch in a few areas. The Birdsnest is losing this battle with a few arms and has lost polyps but it has stopped receding where the Poci can't reach- my other question is will the Birdnest realize the poci is there and concentrate its growth in other areas. I have numerous other Stylo's, Mille's and Monti's that are near similar situations. Any incite would be appreciated - thx ?

Here's an iPad shot( sorry about the quality) you can see the area of concern on the right front side

 

And a top down shot- the Green Poci is now starting to send small "stingers " towards my purple stylo- can't they just all be friends? it seems it knows another coral is near

 

[albertthiel]

Hello Albert, incredible to have the opportunity to discuss topics with you. I have just recently found this thread- sorry if this has been covered before

Question- this is for specifically SPS coral. As they grow can they " sense " other corals within a close proximity- it seems when my SPS are starting to touch and they extend "stingers" off. I have seen LPS send " sweepers" off but didn't know the extent with SPS. I have a Ponape Birdsnest and a green Pocillopora starting to touch in a few areas. The Birdsnest is losing this battle with a few arms and has lost polyps but it has stopped receding where the Poci can't reach- my other question is will the Birdnest realize the poci is there and concentrate its growth in other areas. I have numerous other Stylo's, Mille's and Monti's that are near similar situations. Any incite would be appreciated - thx

Here's an iPad shot( sorry about the quality) you can see the area of concern on the right front side

 

And a top down shot- the Green Poci is now starting to send small "stingers " towards my purple stylo- can't they just all be friends it seems it knows another coral is near

 

 

Thanks for the kind words. In response to your question yes SPS corals just as LPS corals can and will put out sweeper tentacles if another coral is too close by and they sense its presence by the chemicals released by the other coral.

 

And of course this works both ways. An SPS may detect another SPS that is too close or the other SPS may sense the presence of the first one resulting in either the extension of sweeper tentacles (which is a method that is visible to us) or by releasing toxins that will affect the other coral (a release we cannot see) and this method of protection/aggression is referred to as allelopathy, a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms.

 

So keeping differing corals apart and allowing for space for growth of one and/or the other coral is definitely something one needs to pay attention to.

 

No not all corals will act in this manner especially towards like kinds but it is a good idea to observe what happens when you have two of them in close proximity.

 

Hope this helps

 

Albert

[Sk8n Reefer]

Thanks for the kind words. In response to your question yes SPS corals just as LPS corals can and will put out sweeper tentacles if another coral is too close by and they sense its presence by the chemicals released by the other coral.

 

And of course this works both ways. An SPS may detect another SPS that is too close or the other SPS may sense the presence of the first one resulting in either the extension of sweeper tentacles (which is a method that is visible to us) or by releasing toxins that will affect the other coral (a release we cannot see) and this method of protection/aggression is referred to as allelopathy, a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms.

 

So keeping differing corals apart and allowing for space for growth of one and/or the other coral is definitely something one needs to pay attention to.

 

No not all corals will act in this manner especially towards like kinds but it is a good idea to observe what happens when you have two of them in close proximity.

 

Hope this helps

 

Albert

 

Yes, very helpful- I started everyone from a small frag but the Monti's in particular have been on a growing spurt for sure. Will a coral that loses the battle focus its growth in another direction?

[albertthiel]

Yes, very helpful- I started everyone from a small frag but the Monti's in particular have been on a growing spurt for sure. Will a coral that loses the battle focus its growth in another direction?

 

They may or they may not but you would have to frag off the portion of the coral where tissue loss occured due ot the stinging from another coral so that the poplyp necrosis does not keep extending further and further or that a bacterial infection sets in that would also cause additional tissue loss

 

Albert

[Sk8n Reefer]

They may or they may not but you would have to frag off the portion of the coral where tissue loss occured due ot the stinging from another coral so that the poplyp necrosis does not keep extending further and further or that a bacterial infection sets in that would also cause additional tissue loss

 

Albert

 

Got it- you answered my next question then- thank you again for your time

[albertthiel]

Got it- you answered my next question then- thank you again for your time

 

You are welcome

[atoll]

The age old question of what is best dry skimmate from your protein skimmer was asked on Facebook this morning this was my reply.

 

"It's an interesting question asked often but I have yet to see a scientific report on which is best. What I have read that alternating between the both has benefits but I can't recall just why that would be apart from the obvious of getting the best of both worlds. However IMO skimming wet maybe more efficient in that it might be removing organics and proteins the more concentrated dry skimming may not remove. Just a hunch and thoughts on the matter. If anybody can point me to a definitive answer then please do"

 

Albert do you know of any definitive research paper etc on the subject please? .

 

 

.

[albertthiel]

The age old question of what is best dry skimmate from your protein skimmer was asked on Facebook this morning this was my reply.

 

"It's an interesting question asked often but I have yet to see a scientific report on which is best. What I have read that alternating between the both has benefits but I can't recall just why that would be apart from the obvious of getting the best of both worlds. However IMO skimming wet maybe more efficient in that it might be removing organics and proteins the more concentrated dry skimming may not remove. Just a hunch and thoughts on the matter. If anybody can point me to a definitive answer then please do"

 

Albert do you know of any definitive research paper etc on the subject please? .

 

 

.

 

That is a very good question indeed and I agree that until some definitive answers are available that alternating between some wet and some dry skimming is probably the best approach for now

 

I am not sure that anyone has actually done some more in depth research of the benefits of wet or dry skimmate

 

I have not come across any such studies (yet) Les

 

Albert

[atoll]

I found the following excerpt from an article by Randy Holmes but I am unsure just how old is it.

" Wet vs. Dry Skimming

Foam draining is a critical stage for most skimmers. One problem with drainage is that some organics are washed away with the draining water. There is always an equilibrium between organics in solution, and those actually attached to the interface. As water continues to drain, some of the organics are lost. Further, as some bubbles pop and their organics are redistributed into the nearby water, the local concentration of organics in the water between the bubbles in the foam can rise to concentrations far higher than are present in the aquarium. For this reason, the most effective skimming, in terms of total organic removal, comes from removing somewhat wet foam, rather than waiting for this same wet foam to drain prior to removal. The primary difference between wet foam, and drained dry foam, is that additional water and some organics have drained away. A dry form is more efficient in terms of the amount of organic removed in relation to the water volume, and all skimmers and their potential adjustments strike some balance between removing more water and slightly more organics, or less water and slightly fewer organics. Perhaps a careful analysis of different types of skimming will, in the future, show this expected result experimentally"

 

 

Les..

[albertthiel]

I found the following excerpt from an article by Randy Holmes but I am unsure just how old is it.

" Wet vs. Dry Skimming

Foam draining is a critical stage for most skimmers. One problem with drainage is that some organics are washed away with the draining water. There is always an equilibrium between organics in solution, and those actually attached to the interface. As water continues to drain, some of the organics are lost. Further, as some bubbles pop and their organics are redistributed into the nearby water, the local concentration of organics in the water between the bubbles in the foam can rise to concentrations far higher than are present in the aquarium. For this reason, the most effective skimming, in terms of total organic removal, comes from removing somewhat wet foam, rather than waiting for this same wet foam to drain prior to removal. The primary difference between wet foam, and drained dry foam, is that additional water and some organics have drained away. A dry form is more efficient in terms of the amount of organic removed in relation to the water volume, and all skimmers and their potential adjustments strike some balance between removing more water and slightly more organics, or less water and slightly fewer organics. Perhaps a careful analysis of different types of skimming will, in the future, show this expected result experimentally"

 

 

Les..

 

Yes I read that too Les but if you go over what he is saying it is not really crystal clear (no [pun intended) which one is better : wet, dry or semi wet/dry IMO

 

And if I remember correctly that is a pretty old article and I guess what we are both looking for is a more scientific approach and a more recent one ...

 

Hopefully someone will come up with one

 

In the interim I guess alternating between the wet and the dry may be IMO the best approach

 

 

Albert

[atoll]

Agreed Albert. However I have a hunch wet skimming is more likely to be the best based on what I said earlier but then who truly knows? If I read it right Randy seems to suggest wet skimming the preferable of the 2.

[albertthiel]

Agreed Albert. However I have a hunch wet skimming is more likely to be the best based on what I said earlier but then who truly knows? If I read it right Randy seems to suggest wet skimming the preferable of the 2.

 

Yes he does but it does not appear to be "definitive" as a suggestion the way I read it

 

I guess we'll have to wait till more research info becomes available

 

Albert