A must read for all aquarists!!

[drbronx]

Check out this article. Someone referenced it on the soft coral forum: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/cj/index.php
Of the many articles I have read, I believe this to be possibly the most informative and important I have read.... ever. It very lucidly identifies the many myths that pervade our hobby that directly bear upon our husbandry practices. This article may make you rethink how we identify corals and their requirements. Don't be intimidated by some of the scientific jargon. You can still catch the drift of the article even if not comprehending every word and phrase. It would be great to discuss this article further after folks read it. It might influence how we go about doing things or at least think about them.

 

[drbronx]

OOOOps...sorry for the double post.

 

[frankandmaura]

Excellent Article...definately makes you think about what we are doing daily to these animals.

I wish there was a place you could go, input what you have in the tank and get a printout of what would work well with your system.

Maybe someone can get on that develop a software that does that for us!!

 

[Szwalla]

Makes me feel a lot better. I know in the past I was listening to a conversation where someone mentioned that soft corals would not grow in their tank because it was not "dirty" enough.

I kept quiet and did not share that mine were doing ok.

 

[stressed damsel]

Some of us keep SPS ,LPS, and softies in "clean" tanks with everything doing well ..Just goes to show how adaptable life is.

 

[drbronx]

I guess we have to specofy the meaning of clean vs. dirty. Any scuba diver has observed tons of suspended organic and inorganic material on the reefs. However, nitrates and ammonia remain at 0. I have always prescribed to Anthony Calos method of very gentle stirring of the substrate, especially at night to bacteria and other particles to re-enter the water column. But one must be cautious so as not to release nitrates. Thats another reason why I stay away from bare bottom tanks which could be too nutritionally sterile. But i guess whatever works for people is fine. One think for sure after reading this article, I'll be keeping up on my carbon!