A Splash of Color - My SPS Peninsula Reef

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Oh Biggles, I was a knowitall before I was ROTM. I just try to not be insufferable:P
The enzymes are superoxide dismutase. (SOD) and catalase (CAT). But some coral fluorescent pigments also perform an antioxidant function, which is why corals produce more pigment in high light.

The tank looks great by the way



See that, you ask him for the name of an enzyme and you get a lot of scientific mumbo bloody jumbo that makes no sense to anyone. And i'm pretty sure there's no such word as 'dismutase' but hey you're ROTM so i guess you can just make stuff up Matt.

If you don't know the answer just say so rather than writing a reef fairytale full of made up words...... antioxidant..... that's another one you just pulled out thin air.
There is just no pleasing you Biggles...who doesn't like a good fairytale from time to time?:D
 
Andrew, Urbanrat84 will be quite disappointed when he finds out half your equipment is from NASA.

Marty


I will give you a rundown of everything and how i do it soon if that's ok, i won't make stuff up like Matt does either........ ( i prob will )


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mhucasey, what means ROTM? :o

Adrew, you wrote: "I will give you a rundown of everything and how i do it soon if that's ok, i won't make stuff up like Matt does either........ ( i prob will )""¦"¦"¦"¦"¦"¦very good idea :bounce3::bounce3:
 
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mhucasey, what means ROTM? :o

Adrew, you wrote: "I will give you a rundown of everything and how i do it soon if that's ok, i won't make stuff up like Matt does either........ ( i prob will )""¦"¦"¦"¦"¦"¦very good idea :bounce3::bounce3:

Reefer Of The Month
 
Sorry it took me so long to post in this thread. Awesome tank Biggles, the coloration and selection of corals you have there is second to none. I love it.
 
I don't shut the skimmer off at night because i'm happy for the skimmer to remove the skimmate in 3-4 hours. I take the take the lid off the cup and quickly give the inside a swish with a toothbrush before opening the drain tap for a couple of seconds. Then i put the lid back on. I'm not following how removing the entire cup and letting the skimmer overflow would be an easier alternative.
What you describe does sound pretty easy. [emoji38] I was just thinking if you keep the food in the water longer in the first place it's...less complicated??
 
That's kinda what I was thinking...why not just shut the skimmer off for a couple of hours instead?
 
I don't know.. I kind of like the idea of delivering a concentrated shot of bacteria and organics after the lights go out. It's when the acros are most actively feeding. I don't really think it's the same as turning off the skimmer. Yes the skimmer is sort of doing what the acros do by absorbing organics on a regular basis but at night when the acros ramp up, they are given a rich food source to consume when they are most able to.. (Theoretically...) and then the skimmer can just continue to pull out the excess by morning...
It gives the advantage to the acros when they can best monopolize on it...
 
A Splash of Color - My SPS Peninsula Reef

I now have a tube from the skimmer cup delivering 5ml of the green stuff at lights out via dosing pump. Will ramp up as I see fit. If this works it's one step closer to more automation.
 
I think I might be doing close to a similar idea but on a much smaller scale and by a different method. I have seen great improvement in my ability to keep my few sps happy and better growth and feeding behavior in my lps.

I've taken to carbon dosing (currently at 60mL vinegar / day). Biggles has discussed using the growth on his glass as an indicator of some things in the system before.

Well when I started carbon dosing, I noticed I get a thin white film on my glass every night now instead of invisible algae that shows up greenish after 3 or 4 days. This white growth is also so much easier to scrub loose and clean then algae.

One day shortly after randomly scrubbing this white film from the glass with my mag float after lights out; I noticed my favia's all had their feeding tentacles going nuts, my torch and hammer inflated again (they usually close up when the lights click off for a bit), and my sps had the best PE I've ever seen.

So since my system isn't as heavily stocked with corals yet, I've continued scrubbing my glass every night after lights out. All of my corals love it when I do this and things in general have gotten better over all in my system since I picked up the habit.

So while it's not the same as running in skimmate each night or as powerful of a feeding mechanism probably. It is a similar nightly idea that is putting lots of bacteria into the water column for my few corals and other nocturnal micro-life to utilize.

And what doesn't get used is hopefully pulled out by my skimmer before morning removing the excess Po4 and No3 the bacteria have absorbed.

Well I think anyway it's a similar concept and has really helped my system anyway. Biggles may argue and tell me I'm crazier then Kevin after snorting some ground up fire coral to believe that they are the same. But either way, I give Biggles the credit for teaching me the fine art of the Growth on Glass System Diagnosis and Feeding Method. [emoji106]

Oh, and the coals are looking great as always my friend! If you feel up for a potential teaching ramble, I would appreciate your thoughts on a few assorted subjects I've been thinking on.

1: I may be altering my plumbing soon. So any thoughts on "must haves" for your plumbing or ways you've set up and run things that you really like. If you have any. I'm just trying to plan it out and get some good improvements built in when I re-co my canopy.

2: And more importantly then 1, any ramblings on coral placement of specific types of coral. Meaning Monti's, or a SSC, green slimmer, etc. More from design and shape placement in the system then based off color. Things like how you move them from the sand bed into your chosen position. Any obvious early observations of whether said coral is liking or disliking its position. Things like that. I'm trying to learn how to place sps around my tank and could use tips on location/design and reading the coral health/happiness response as I move it from sand bed up and across the rockwork.

Well, lunch is over.

So long and thanks for all the fish/coral ;-)
 
Gorgeous pictures!

Thanks Mark, how are things going with your system now mate. I think you and i should put our heads together and put a smile back on your acros dials....... a biggles intervention lol :beer:

Great pics biggles. One day my sps will look half as good as your sps. :)

Thank mate, i wish you wouldn't say things like that because the only reason you don't have a wonderful display full of mature colorful colonies right now is due to acro pests - you're SPS keeping skills are up there with the best of them Sahin. :)

There is just no pleasing you Biggles...who doesn't like a good fairytale from time to time?:D

Lol Matt, you know i smile every time i see your avvy mate - love that pic. He looks like a psychiatrist about to say ' and how did that make you feel Matt ?'

Andrew, Urbanrat84 will be quite disappointed when he finds out half your equipment is from NASA.

Marty

Hey Marty, you know it's starting to irritate me that you still haven't got off your bum and organised something made of glass and filled with salt water.......

Andrew, you wrote: "I will give you a rundown of everything and how i do it soon if that's ok, i won't make stuff up like Matt does either........ ( i prob will )""¦"¦"¦"¦"¦"¦very good idea :bounce3::bounce3:

I'm going to do it before i do any more rambles, pretty sure i'll get a mouthful off Megan if i don't.......:reading:

Everything is looking excellent! Always enjoy this thread

Thanks buddy, as you know i'm going all out with the fish now in response to the challenge you issued posting that awesome video of your display full of SPS/fish yumminess lol.

Sorry it took me so long to post in this thread. Awesome tank Biggles, the coloration and selection of corals you have there is second to none. I love it.

Thanks a lot Joe, as i'm sure you're aware i'm pretty spoiled with the acros i commonly see at my LFS's. I'm like a kid in a candy store when i go to my two LFS's lol. :lol2:
 
Thanks Mark, how are things going with your system now mate. I think you and i should put our heads together and put a smile back on your acros dials....... a biggles intervention lol :beer:


Hi Andrew. I think I know my issue, leaching phosphates from 3 year old poorly cared for rocks. I have to face the music and either spend a small fortune lowering PO4 or do something more radical. My slimer is too big for any of my other tanks or buckets so for now it's $$$. :fun5:
 
I inadvertently tested your coral feeding method Friday night after my SuperMarin turned into a geyser and dumped its cup into my sump. I wasn't sure what I would see Saturday morning but the result was impressive :)
 
M007, what did you see saturday morning after pouring a cup of skimmate in your sump?

Lucky for my reef the cup was only 30% full. Made a mess of my first chamber tho :eek2: The result in the tank were some very happy coral. All of the LPS are at full extension, softies too. As of this morning, Sunday, noticeable increase in SPS PE :celeb1: I don't think I will be doing this every Friday and certainly not at this volume but exploring the idea going forward. I also noticed my freshly cleaned cup now has a healthy load of sludge in the neck so what ever didn't get eaten from the water column has been picked up by the skimmer again. :beer:
 
I inadvertently tested your coral feeding method Friday night after my SuperMarin turned into a geyser and dumped its cup into my sump. I wasn't sure what I would see Saturday morning but the result was impressive :)

I took a couple of pics an hour after dropping a day's worth of skimmate into the display last night. You can see a few dots in the water the flash highlighted but there was quite a bit of particulate blowing around as is the usual case.

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I managed to capture one polyp in the process of reeling in some snotty yumminess. It's not a polyp filament being extended but rather a strand of goopy stuff attached to a chunk of something already firmly grasped by the polyp and destined for the acro's dinner table. :)

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