A Splash of Color - My SPS Peninsula Reef

[DiscusHeckel]

Seriously though, what's in spur?

My unofficially answer is Copper! If you ask some Zeoheads, in the Zeovit forum, then you may be able to get a more definitive unofficial answer. However, you will never get an official answer.

 

[biggles]

Biggles that stuff can be dangerous if you aren't careful...:lolspin:

Its not too bad to be honest. The next day you should see your acros shimmering...its a crazy and cool effect. However, with prolonged usuge ZS2 does cause the tissue to become thin...I dislike the look...the pastel look is something else I dislike...

Why the sudden :idea: ZS2 your acros mate? Did Kevin tell you to use this magical but potentially lethal potion? :lolspin:

I like to mess around as you know so i thought i'd see what the whole zeo pastel look was in real life since i've never had the opportunity to see one with my own eyes. I only added 1/3 the dose recommended so i doubt i'll see the same thing you're talking about tomorrow. Once the novelty wears off it'll probably go in the bin with all the other crap i've experimented with over the years - that is unless i like what it does at a given dosage level
Doing nothing but watch my acros grow for a couple of years has all the appeal to me of watching paint dry. We all like different aspects of reef keeping and i like to mess around and fiddle as you well know lol.

Well, I certainly AM a fly by the seat o my pants reefer and I'm gonna get me a bottle of spur and slap it in my tank!!
Whatever you just said sold me, baby!!
Sounds awesome!!
Seriously though, what's in spur?

I have no idea what's in it Matt, something that mimics one of the conditions that stresses an acro enough to expel its zoa i assume. The obvious way to do it without causing the acro too much long term stress would be to mimic the same conditions that make newly collected wild acros do the same thing. I can tell you that an acro forced to sit in water with elevated slime levels not being rapidly washed away by flow as normally occurs will do it so it's probably just one of the chemicals that's contained in actual acro slime. The guy that first created it wouldn't have needed to be a rocket scientist to quickly identify the particular 'annoying' chemical, all he had to do was have that chemical identified through trial and error and supply only it without all the other gunk that makes up slime. Simply using acro slime won't work because our systems are based on removing these type of products from the water quickly. But if that annoying chemical wasn't bound to other easily removed products the system would work a treat imo.

It's not copper Bulent or you'd kill the zoa in too large a number i think, along with a lot of other stuff. Copper would be easily identified and i know everyone is still puzzled. I'm pooped and fuzzy headed but i'm going to go with something isolated from within acro slime - it's only logical spock........

Time for bed over here guys

 

[mhucasey]

Yeah Biggles, it's just trace elements primarily copper and zinc. The combination of those 2 trace elements cause some corals to expel their zoaxanthellae. You will be fine at the dose you added.

 

[reefmutt]

Have we really strayed so far from the original intent of this hobby - to as closely as possible imitate natural reef conditions in a captive environment - that we are resorting to adding a poison to produce oddly colored corals?!?

There, Andrew, there's my mini rant for the day...

 

[cugly]

Becareful bud that stuff is dangerous lol, if you wanted one i could've sent you a bottle that is almost full still..that stuff works as it is supposed to. When i used it best results for me was 1/8 of recommendation and I was running a full zeovit at the time. Just to tweak some colors.

 

[M007]

Have we really strayed so far from the original intent of this hobby - to as closely as possible imitate natural reef conditions in a captive environment - that we are resorting to adding a poison to produce oddly colored corals?!?

There, Andrew, there's my mini rant for the day...

+1 :hmm2:

 

[sahin]

My unofficially answer is Copper! If you ask some Zeoheads, in the Zeovit forum, then you may be able to get a more definitive unofficial answer. However, you will never get an official answer.

Its copper mainly (maybe other stuff in it too). I recall a thread many years ago from one of the UK sites; someone carried out a copper test and it tested for very high amounts of copper.

Becareful bud that stuff is dangerous lol, if you wanted one i could've sent you a bottle that is almost full still..that stuff works as it is supposed to. When i used it best results for me was 1/8 of recommendation and I was running a full zeovit at the time. Just to tweak some colors.

Me too! I have a bottle of it too sitting deep in the depths of the cupboard full of reefkeeping potions I test and played around with over the years...

Have we really strayed so far from the original intent of this hobby - to as closely as possible imitate natural reef conditions in a captive environment - that we are resorting to adding a poison to produce oddly colored corals?!?

There, Andrew, there's my mini rant for the day...

Andrew is a curious cat I suppose. :lolspin:

I much prefer the deeper/strong colouration than the pastel/zeovit look. I love the appearance of Andrews corals as they are now. The colours look great.

But it looks like our aussie friend wants to tweak the colours a little. :facepalm:
- When his SPS are probably some of the best looking on the forum... :uhoh2:

 

[reefmutt]

I quess I get the desire to see just how coloured a coral can get..
Once the actual keeping alive and happy part is easy, it's human nature to push the envelope a bit..
Copper, though... Hm..

 

[plyle02]

I forgot to tell you guys about the package that came in the mail today......

And before you all say be careful biggles that stuff can be dangerous if you aren't careful, i'm not a complete reef idiot. Since i also got a bottle of Salifert trace hard (Bulent's cyano growing additive) i chucked them both in because we all know that one will cancel out the other in respect of potentially killing every acro in the display.......... i could explain in detail how i came to this conclusion but Reefvet would rip me a new one i think....:hmm2:

Andrew,
That stuff is one of my favorites in the lineup, I am not going to tell you to be careful, but I am going to tell you to use 1/2 of the recommended dosage, only every 7-10 days I also use hard trace, no cyano effects here. Can't wait to see your results over the next few days, you better get some acro pics mate

 

[MichaelW]

Been lurking in your thread for a long time. I love this thread. Awesome acros, with good dose of humor thrown in! Learned a lot for my tank. Keep it up (i pretty much check the sps threads daily)

 

[Reefvet]

Since i also got a bottle of Salifert trace hard (Bulent's cyano growing additive) i chucked them both in because we all know that one will cancel out the other in respect of potentially killing every acro in the display.......... i could explain in detail how i came to this conclusion but Reefvet would rip me a new one i think....:hmm2:

Hah ! You do make up for actual scientific knowledge with your vivid imagination but hey if you're having fun I say go for it. :jester:

I'd keep a polyfilter on hand just in case and remember, rocks love to adsorb copper and it can be nearly impossible to remove. :idea:

 

[n0rk]

It's always nice reading another Aussie's thread, there's a distinct sense of humour that seems to be lacking from the rest of the world in them! Schweet tank

 

[Montireef]

Hi Biggles!

ZeoSpur2 is an alguicide. It does kill zooxanthela (Symbidinium) and also some dinoflagellates at higher doses. As Sahin says, be careful in the long run as it tends to thin up corals tissues.

I'll tell you how to use it:
Do not pour the stuff in the tank, just make a 1:10 dissolution (ZSP2:tank water) and dip the brown turd you want to clean up from zooxanthela for about 1 minute. Then put it back in the tank and wait 24 hours, the change it makes is awesome.

Only do it with healthy and browned out acros, never dip a just bought or recent frag as you can easily kill it.

 

[biggles]

Yeah Biggles, it's just trace elements primarily copper and zinc. The combination of those 2 trace elements cause some corals to expel their zoaxanthellae. You will be fine at the dose you added.

Thanks for that info Matt, it's already been banished to dark recesses of the 'bad for my reef' cupboard - it's sitting on top of the 120W blue/white LED unit.......

Have we really strayed so far from the original intent of this hobby - to as closely as possible imitate natural reef conditions in a captive environment - that we are resorting to adding a poison to produce oddly colored corals?!?

There, Andrew, there's my mini rant for the day...

I have to say Matt i'm pretty disappointed in you mate. To come onto my journal and have a mini rant at me..... if you squirted a dose of poison into your system water i'd open up on you with both barrels buddy - i expect brutal honesty from my mates, not minimoose lala rants. :lol2:

Becareful bud that stuff is dangerous lol, if you wanted one i could've sent you a bottle that is almost full still..that stuff works as it is supposed to. When i used it best results for me was 1/8 of recommendation and I was running a full zeovit at the time. Just to tweak some colors.

Thanks Dan, any future poison experiments will be strictly reserved for the times i'm at Dom's place checking out his reef. To maintain unbiased observation results he will obviously need to remain totally unaware of the dosing......

+1 :hmm2:

Did you take a coffee break midway through composing that lengthy post Mike.......... 'you're being an idiot Andrew' - twenty eight keystrokes mate, and +28 is not the same thing btw......:beer:

Andrew is a curious cat I suppose.

I much prefer the deeper/strong colouration than the pastel/zeovit look. I love the appearance of Andrews corals as they are now. The colours look great.

But it looks like our aussie friend wants to tweak the colours a little. :facepalm:

If i wanted to really tweak the colors i'd just turn up the food coloring doser Sahin........

I quess I get the desire to see just how coloured a coral can get..
Once the actual keeping alive and happy part is easy, it's human nature to push the envelope a bit..
Copper, though... Hm..

Keeping acros alive and healthy is really easy and then it's suddenly not at times Matt......... most of you know exactly what i mean by that i'm sure lol.

Andrew,
That stuff is one of my favorites in the lineup, I am not going to tell you to be careful, but I am going to tell you to use 1/2 of the recommended dosage, only every 7-10 days I also use hard trace, no cyano effects here. Can't wait to see your results over the next few days, you better get some acro pics mate.

Hey Perry, i think i'm going to leave the spur2 to mature in the cupboard for now but that doesn't mean i think you're doing anything wrong mate - just watch out for Matt and Mike.........
I've only chucked one dose of hard trace in so it's early days in regards to whether i think it's a dark cupboard product or actually contains anything useful.

Been lurking in your thread for a long time. I love this thread. Awesome acros, with good dose of humor thrown in! Learned a lot for my tank. Keep it up (i pretty much check the sps threads daily)

Thanks for the kind words mate, i'll be dropping in to check up on your journal over the weekend now that you've made a start on one buddy.

Hah ! You do make up for actual scientific knowledge with your vivid imagination but hey if you're having fun I say go for it.

I'd keep a polyfilter on hand just in case and remember, rocks love to adsorb copper and it can be nearly impossible to remove.

Reefers like you and i who base our observations on scientifically quantifiable information keep this hobby heading in the right direction mate. I might need your input on the hamster reactor i've been perfecting, whilst the chemical absorbing properties of hamsters is well known it's proving difficult to keep them alive underwater for any length of time - as soon as i get them tumbling they spit out the airline and drown, thoughts...........?

It's always nice reading another Aussie's thread, there's a distinct sense of humour that seems to be lacking from the rest of the world in them! Schweet tank

Hey Benjamin, stop trying to be polite mate. You and i both know the rest of the world is clueless when it comes to humor......

Hi Biggles!

ZeoSpur2 is an alguicide. It does kill zooxanthela (Symbidinium) and also some dinoflagellates at higher doses. As Sahin says, be careful in the long run as it tends to thin up corals tissues.

I'll tell you how to use it:
Do not pour the stuff in the tank, just make a 1:10 dissolution (ZSP2:tank water) and dip the brown turd you want to clean up from zooxanthela for about 1 minute. Then put it back in the tank and wait 24 hours, the change it makes is awesome.

Only do it with healthy and browned out acros, never dip a just bought or recent frag as you can easily kill it.

Hi mate, i don't actually have anything brown but i suppose i could always send the bottle of poison over to the UK - i have a good mate over there that might like to try your de-turding method

 

[M007]

^^^^ Biggles at his best :celeb1:

 

[biggles]

^^^^ Biggles at his best :celeb1:

Lol, someone has to keep things from getting too serious around here mate

We have lots to cover this weekend and for a change most of it will be treated in a serious manner. I've been joking around so much lately that a lot of helpful info is probably getting lost in translation so old biggles is going to start making his journal more useful to anyone looking for possible ways to improve their SPS systems. I don't mean i'm any kind of expert but i have pretty much covered every stupid goof you can make and the ways to rectify them along with how to ensure they don't happen again.
Most of you probably know a lot more than me so feel free to switch off when i'm boring you with advice that's more applicable to people newer to walking the razors edge that is SPS keeping........

Myself, Dom and Kevin will also be doing the odd LFS visit and there will be much piccy taking of all manner of things - especially acros and over the top colored flubbery bits. Kevin has been annoying the neighbors with his late night antics of late which resulted in the local council ranger coming by to catch him so we need to wait for his time out at the pound to expire before we can begin exposing the inner workings of our LFS's.
Despite my best attempts to hide him from the ranger with some camouflage board the guy somehow spotted him almost immediately.....

My new fish which is forcing me to spend thousands on a massive tank upgrade early next year - i think if i'm going to go 8ft then i might as well go 9 and be done with it. The fish purchase was a classic mistake on my part with no research whatsoever other than asking the young guy at the shop if it would be ok in my 5ft display - i have no defense to offer for stupidly not getting out the iphone and googling the bloody thing while at the shop other than i haven't ever actually used the internet on a phone despite now discovering that's actually the point of having these fancy smart phones.......:hammer:

 

[M007]

Oh my Andrew, can't believe you got one of those :hammer: You WILL need a bigger glass box going forward. While you're in the dispensing advise mode maybe you could chime in on my MH thread?

 

[MichaelW]

Tank is looking great Biggles. One thing that strikes me (except for the colors) is the thickness of many of your acros, especially stays. Would you put this down to high flow?

 

[glaukos]

@#$$% that is going to become a huuuuuge fish buddy
It's going to be sooo beautiful too:beer:
I've got your back with this "uninvestegated" buy
Has happened to the very best

 

[gavinsepanik]

what species?