ZephNYC Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 Thank you, Zeph. I honestly never thought I'd be capable of keeping a lone clam - what more two! When I first started out, they were both under 3" and I was worried about the lighting. Once I decommed my 30G and shifted them to my 15G and upgraded my lights, they seemed to be doing far better (nice healthy mantle extension and noticeable growth). I feed them a mix of phyto, zoo and mysis-brine juice about twice to thrice a week. I only dose trace elements and a dKH buffer to keep Ca, Mg and Alk levels in check. They're aquacultured croceas though, so I -think- they're hardier and slightly more forgiving than the regular wild crocea. Your clams look healthy and fluffy. Allot of times clams will open up more under moderate light then they would, say under a strong halide. When I keep clams under high 400w halides they start closing early, like...enough is enough already! Link to comment
ClownTriggerDude Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 "like,....enough is enough already" lol,....funny **it ! Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted July 4, 2014 Author Share Posted July 4, 2014 Yayyyyy!!!!!!! I can post pictures again !!!!! Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Dem gorgs, dat goniopora. Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted July 4, 2014 Author Share Posted July 4, 2014 Dem gorgs, dat goniopora. Care to see a few more goniopora's? Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 That pic looks so festive, I don't know what it is about it. It looks so nice. Link to comment
tetraodon Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Care to see a few more goniopora's? hey zeph any tips on keeping gonios? and my clam is opening better, today Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share Posted July 5, 2014 hey zeph any tips on keeping gonios? and my clam is opening better, today Glad to hear about the clam! Gonios appreciate super duper clean water. Which is why my clams don't do so well in that system. I don't target feed them, but I feed the tank a lot of zooplankton and microplankton for the corals and clams, and im sure they get some of it. Link to comment
tetraodon Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 So pretty much very clean water eith heavy feeding, what kinda light levels work for you Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share Posted July 5, 2014 So pretty much very clean water eith heavy feeding, what kinda light levels work for you I only use metal halide lighting on all 4 of my reef tanks. I keep Gonioporas in a 210gal with 1000W of halides, and I also keep them in a 125gal with 900W of halides. Half the bulbs are 10K and, and the rest 14K blue. I feed a lot of Two little fishies Marine Snow, Frozen pyto, rotifers, and kent Microvert or Brightwell Microvore. All of those Goni,s were started as small frags of just a few heads, most from PEA, The big green one is actually an Alveopora. Link to comment
metrokat Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Best give that to me to color up, Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted July 6, 2014 Author Share Posted July 6, 2014 Best give that to me to color up, Hush you!!! It has perfect color!!! Its a dark blue A. Samoensis. Check out how itty bitty it was 2 years ago. and here it is today. Link to comment
metrokat Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Blue you say? From which angle? Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted July 6, 2014 Author Share Posted July 6, 2014 Blue you say? From which angle? hush u. When Im done with you youll be blue from every angle. Link to comment
metrokat Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 hush u. When Im done with you youll be blue from every angle. You keep threatening to put me ovah your knee. I say you've had plenty of opportunity. I scare you. Even though you are as big as a house. Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Zeph, may I ask you a question regarding my Croceas? I am currently suffering from a really bad outbreak of GHA in the tank due to dead clumps of chaeto exporting a lot of nutrients + extended photoperiod of 96W of T5HO lighting (for the clams) of 10 hours per day. If I cut down my photoperiod to 6 hours a day, will this negatively impact my croceas? I know they need a lot of light to thrive, and they're thriving (nice and fluffy) despite the algae issue, but if I keep this up, I might as well trade my tank in for a forest. My parameters are Ammonia, Nitrite = 0ppm, Nitrate = 10ppm, PO4 = 0.015ppm, dKH = 9+, Ca = 580ppm, Mg = 1390ppm. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Zeph, may I ask you a question regarding my Croceas? I am currently suffering from a really bad outbreak of GHA in the tank due to dead clumps of chaeto exporting a lot of nutrients + extended photoperiod of 96W of T5HO lighting (for the clams) of 10 hours per day. If I cut down my photoperiod to 6 hours a day, will this negatively impact my croceas? I know they need a lot of light to thrive, and they're thriving (nice and fluffy) despite the algae issue, but if I keep this up, I might as well trade my tank in for a forest. My parameters are Ammonia, Nitrite = 0ppm, Nitrate = 10ppm, PO4 = 0.015ppm, dKH = 9+, Ca = 580ppm, Mg = 1390ppm. A shorter photoperiod will not help you. Increase nutrient export or decrease nutrient import. Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 A shorter photoperiod will not help you. Increase nutrient export or decrease nutrient import. Hi Jedi, thank you for your response. So if I add more macros to my tank - will this help to boost nutrient export? Also, will stepping up WCs from 20% to 50% from once a week to twice a week help as well? Will any of these changes affect the clams? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Hi Jedi, thank you for your response. So if I add more macros to my tank - will this help to boost nutrient export? Most macroalgaes do not have the sustained growth rate and nutrient uptake to be useful in nutrient export. Unless you have a very large refugium that is lit to several hundred micromols of PAR and contains chaetomorpha, Caulerpa prolifera, or gracilaria, then your nutrient export from macroalgae is zero. Also, will stepping up WCs from 20% to 50% from once a week to twice a week help as well? If your nitrate level is 10ppm right now, a 20% water change with water containing 0ppm nitrate will reduce your tank concentration to 8ppm nitrate. A 50% change will reduce it to 5ppm. If you are adding 1ppm of nitrate per day in food, then in 7 days, the nitrate level will now be 12ppm, and a 50% change will reduce it to 6ppm, a net increase of 1ppm. If you were to change 50% twice a week, starting from your initial 5ppm reading after the first 50% change, then if water is changed on Thursday, the initial nitrate reading would be 9ppm, going down to 4.5ppm, and then increasing to 7.5ppm on Sunday, and another 50% change brings it down to 3.75ppm. You would need to perform 50% water changes twice a week for the entire life of your tank to prevent a buildup. Water changes are a very poor form of nutrient export, I've been saying this for a couple of years now. You would be better served spending your money on better hardware (skimmer, large refugium tank with extreme lighting, etc). Will any of these changes affect the clams? Maybe, maybe not. Clams generally don't appreciate change. Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted July 6, 2014 Author Share Posted July 6, 2014 Hi Jedi, thank you for your response. So if I add more macros to my tank - will this help to boost nutrient export? Also, will stepping up WCs from 20% to 50% from once a week to twice a week help as well? Will any of these changes affect the clams? Yes sir, as the macro grows, it takes up nutrients, than you prune it so it can grow some more. In my beastly macro tank I cant get a phosphate or a nitrate if I tried. I actually add sodium nitrate to feed the plants and clams. Also the water changes you are talking about are to much in my opinion, but in all fairness, tanks can be so different that I cant speak for yours. All I know my clams don't like water changes, and they respond negatively to even small ones. garbage picture, but you get the idea..LOL! Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Okay, thank you both for your speedy responses. Perhaps I will try the WC route first and monitor the clams. I know they don't like changes either, and I know this sounds crazy - but it almost seems like they're actually enjoying the algae outbreak and nitrate buildup in my tank. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Yes sir, as the macro grows, it takes up nutrients, than you prune it so it can grow some more. In my beastly macro tank I cant get a phosphate or a nitrate if I tried. I actually add sodium nitrate to feed the plants and clams. Also the water changes you are talking about are to much in my opinion, but in all fairness, tanks can be so different that I cant speak for yours. All I know my clams don't like water changes, and they respond negatively to even small ones. garbage picture, but you get the idea..LOL! This is a perfect example of what is required to achieve true nutrient export using macroalgae Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted July 6, 2014 Author Share Posted July 6, 2014 Okay, thank you both for your speedy responses. Perhaps I will try the WC route first and monitor the clams. I know they don't like changes either, and I know this sounds crazy - but it almost seems like they're actually enjoying the algae outbreak and nitrate buildup in my tank. They do !!!!!!! They LOVE IT. and youre welcome. This is a perfect example of what is required to achieve true nutrient export using macroalgae I love it. ....and u aint seen nuthin yet. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 I love it. ....and u aint seen nuthin yet. Pics or it didn't happen Link to comment
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