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Coral Vue Hydros

25yr old 75G Jaubert Plenum


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Tank is undergoing big changes as I aggressive clean substrate which has been neglected.  

 

The initial concept of Jaubert Plenum was to use bacteria for nitrification and denitrification.  The nitrification bacteria require oxygen to break down amonia to nitrite to nitrate.   As water migrates deeper into sandbed, oxygen is consumed.  In lower oxygen environment, facultative bacteria break nitrate down to free nitrogen gas, de-nitrification.  The success of this coarse (3mm-5mm) substrate at 5” deep requires good sandbed maintenance.  At this present time, I stir substrate with filter feeders grazing particulate in water.  Ten minutes after a cloudy tank, water is crystal clear.

 

A 30G mud macro refugium is on bottom.  Two months ago, I turned out the lights and made it a mud / cryptic zone refugium.

 

My focus for this system will be filter feeders,  previous favorites were flame scallops & sea apples..  This is a utube video from 4 years ago.

The tank was moved one time, 16 years ago.  It was set up 9 years when I moved it.

 

 

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I alway enjoy seeing old reef tanks and I am a fan of DSBs.  One of my dear friends has a 240 g predator tank that is about 15 years.  It has a DSB and live ocean rock.  It is still going strong and the fish are spectacular in it, regal angel, 3 different tangs, 3 different puffers.  Many of the fish are the originals.  It does have a 70 g fuge with miracle mud and macro algae but no other filtration.  I serviced that tank for years and it never had cyano or any major problems.

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Thanks V,

 

Once the biodiversity from multiple food webs that are interconnected and dependent on each other mature, there is no more powerful filtration method in our tanks.  Ken Felderman, a PHD Marine Scientist, has conducted extensive testing on effects of carbon dosing on diversity of bacteria populations.  Data collected showed efficiencies of DOC (dissolved organic carbon) removal in a reef tank.    Carbon dosing with protein skimmer removed at best 35% of DOC.   GAC is indiscriminate in its removal of DOC using absorption and adsorption to remove 60% of DOC.  The big winner was the inhabitants of a mature reef tank process 75% of DOC.

 

I like it when my nutrient sink is desirable like coral.  To frag and sell is nutrient export.

 

I went to my first MACNA conference in Pittsburg.  I had just read Anthony Calfo’s book, “How to grow corals in a greenhouse” and I was pumped up.  Is Anthony still located in Pittsburg?

 

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First the Dawn

 

I manually turned on one of four led light bars.  Last night, I did some major aquascaping with a 15 lb uncured diver farmed rock that was harvested 20 miles west of Tampa in 30’ of water.  It had Sargassum seaweed attached with several holdfast.  I moved it to my only high light intensity tank which has Tangs and Urchins.  I suspect that neither Tangs nor urchins will eat it.

This rock was removed from a reef with a robust herbivore population, yet it had Sargassum growing on it.  Other rocks that were collected from this reef are now exploding with macro growth like Bortacladia and Dragons Breath.

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I think Anthony is still in the area, although I haven't heard of him being at a club meeting in a very long time.  I don't make the club meeting all that faithfully myself though, only a couple a year.

 

I wasn't involved in the club at all yet the year Pittsburgh hosted MACNA.  I was involved in aquariums however and I wished I had been a part of that.  I have heard Anthony speak and also Eric Borneman.  Both had excellant presentations.

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Filter feeders are my biggest reason for using natural filtration.  I want to produce live food in the tank to feed the tank.

 

Just  did receive this Chillie Coral  three hours ago.  I did not know that clams were so expensive.

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Two weeks ago, I received a shipment from live aquaria which included:  flame angel, three flame scallops and four yellow tentacle cucumbers.  I got the “cucumbers because their needs were similar to apples” and live aquaria didn’t have apples.

 

When shipment arrived scallops were individually bagged and were showing off there red arms.  Cucumbers were very small.  When I placed then in tank, the current from my hand moving moved them 12”.  My tank was flowing 40-50 volumes per hour and I worried about their survival.  I only saw one after the second day.  The condition of the flame angel concerned me the most.

 

Cucumber is on Red Tree Sponge in first picture.

 

Bi-color Hammer is hosting two clowns.

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On 11/7/2017 at 6:57 PM, brandon429 said:

SUb that is a really great setup its so clean and perfect rocks, no algae wow + corals healthy and diverse that's laser sharp

Braden,

You are too generous.  These fifth generation iPads project the picture “as you would wish it to be”, 

 

On another thread I have been posting about cryptic zone filtration with a focus on nutrient recycling.  Cryptic sponges are ugly.  I just got an Orange Encrusting Sponge along with some deepwater NPS gorgonions.  The second picture shows a second orange encrusting sponge (looks red to me) with a flame scallop over him.  I am awaiting a reply from Russ Kronwetter about weather this sponge is bright or low light.

 

https://www.live-plants.com/orangesponge.htm

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Due to rock slid, three days ago, I have put Chilli Coral in the hospital, unlit 30G mud cryptic zone refugium.  After 6 hours he is looking “better than dead”.  

 

Rewind three days.  

On Tuesday morning, I received a gorgeous Chilli Coral showing his feathers thru the shipping bag.  Transfer was made with no feathers withdrawing.  I went to bed with Chilli showing off his feathers.  Wednesday morning,   I woke up like a kid at Christmas.  I looked into my 75G Jaubert Plenum to see collateral damage. A rock wall with a ledge for shade was dislodge by bulldozer urchin.  I moved Chill and reconfigured my shade device.  It is a Tang macro feeding station that is thick enough with Grape Caulerpa to provjs shade .  However, even with an acrylic post to elevate above substrate,  Chilli would not show feathers.  This morning at 4AM I put Chilli in unlit cryptic zone refugium.

 

second picture includes two different deep water gorgonions and an orange encrusting sponge.

 

third picture shows yellow cucumber on red tree sponge

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hey you know what else stands out

 

that sandbed grain size

 

it should have way more detritus incursion than that.. its fun to try and trace out controls for that not knowing the details

 

either its massive flow and fine filtration and upwelling currents keeping that detritus from settling, or this is getting top cleaned every once in a while? no diamond goby looks to be able to be that thorough and deep on the bed? I couldn't imagine pass-through to the bottom layers/plenum being that efficient as to have no catches and accumulations along the way

 

how is that larger grain bed so sharp and nice ~

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I stir it to feed the tank.  Because of the large grain size pods live in it as do micro stars.  Yes, I use high velocity flow using vertical loop current that sweeps along bottom from right to left.

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I added some larger pieces of uncured live rock to this tank that had Sargassum Seaweed bush attached to rock.  The fish love grazing on this uncured rock with Sargassum.

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love this tank, and the techniques you're using to keep it going.  Really like the stirring to feed concept. Will have to research that further. 

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Thank you.  For certain, stirring feeds suspension feeders.  It blew me away to watch a Sea Apple feed during tank stirrings.  However, I do not think it would agree with all filter feeders.  Just received a Chilli Coral and it did not respond well to detritus in the water colum.  

 

So for now, Chilli is in unlit Cryptic Zone mud refugium

 

First light.  It may not be apparent but there are two clowns in lps.

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A major change in my focus for tank inhabitants tool place three months ago when I turned out the lights in my mud macro refugium, removed macro and added rock seeded  with some cryptic sponges.  This change favors filter feeders.  By removing macro which consume inorganic nutrients and give off DOC (dissolved organic carbon) which is food for sponges,  macro feeds sponges.  

 

Because I removed macro growing in the sump thereby removing “sponge food”, I put a 5G bucket of chaeto in my overflow box.  I also added a Tang feeding platform of Grape Caulerpa to provide shade for newly acquired NPS (deep water gorgonions) from the Caribbean.  

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Lobster,

 

Refresh my memory.  Which macro and for what kind of tank?

 

Russ Kronwetter at live plants responds to emails and has always been helpful to me as I will try to be helpful to you.

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15 hours ago, lobster876 said:

did you ever hear back from live plants.com as i am on the hunt for some macros for my frogfish tank

Their website says they are on vacation until after Thanksgiving, so you may not hear back till then.

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On 11/14/2017 at 1:09 AM, Lula_Mae said:

Sargassum! :wub:

It is a graceful seaweed.  

 

When at Texas Maritime Academy in Galveston, I  would collect critters from the mats of floating Sargassum.  These mats probably traveled > 2000 miles.  In those days, we did not have enough light to keep this “graceful seaweed”.  I am stoked that this Sargassum that I now have is grown from an attachment.  I had already doubled PAR to provide for photosynthetic Caribbean Gardonions..

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