another BB thread(not meant to be a war)

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6525150#post6525150 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefkeeperrut

With that said I question the traditional method of encouraging a cycling effect with any sort of organic matter. Time and diligence in the cooking process is the only way.
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If it's all base rock you'll need something to get the cycle started..
 
until the stuff stops coming out. I would guess a min of 2 months start to finish. Maybe more. And contrary to what seems to be popular belief, the beneficial stuff is still there. Pods, worms, crabs...still there. They might be hungry and blind, but they are still kicking.
 
even if it is base rock why would you have to add any organic material in order to eventually remove it. I realize there has to be something present to begin/continue the biological process but if cooking is necessary it seems to be implied that these organics are currently available. If not, why cook?
 
Picture of my 210 BB just started over after Katrina, coming along pretty well. It has aged pretty well since this photo. I have coraline growing good now. I don't have starboard, my rocks sit on the glass. I love BB, so much control, easy maintenence, and great contol of algae.

 
sindjin,

I know you are in Tampa but...in regards to your BA problem.

contact Rod of Rod's reef in Dekalb, IL. I watched him feed a clump of bubble algae to a tang last week. I can't remember the species but it readily consumed every bit.

Rod's # is 815-748-2141. I hope it's OK to post his number. While he is a retailer he is really a hobbyist out of control by admition.
 
reefkeeperrut,

Thanks for that info! I wrote his number down...I'll give him a call. I think its a type of sailfin tang.

I'm hoping that the Bubble Algae is just another cyclic algae. In the next day or so Im gonna do my weekly siphoning...Im planning on harvesting some of this BA. If anyone needs any, just PM me. I dont charge for my bushels, but I ask that you do pay for shipping.

:)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6523904#post6523904 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Weatherman
The biggest mistake I made in setting up my 120 was not being more careful to prevent the introduction of pest animals and pest algae. The rock cooking went perfectly. No nuisance algae survived. However, it opened up an environment where pest algae would have no competition for nutrients or space if they were later introduced.

This is my only criticism of rock cooking. You have to be extremely careful afterwards not to introduce pests.

I wasnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t.

I introduced dictyota, valonia and rhodopytes on pieces of rock coral were attached to.
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What about intentionally introducing a macro algae in the sump as a competitor?

I seem to recall a post indicating the typically rolling ball of Cheato was discouraged in the case of BB but I don't understand why. It seems to me the worst case is the culture dies off for lack of nutrients to export (which in itself doesn't sound that bad even if it's likely).
 
well, i found a guy who completely disagreed. i'm going crazy because i want to cook it, but everyone else but this website says no. i'm probably going to do it. also, where can i get this "reeferrock"?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6573806#post6573806 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rickburdeniuk
What about intentionally introducing a macro algae in the sump as a competitor?
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To be really effective, you would have to make growing conditions for algae more favorable in the sump than it is in the main display.

There are a couple of ways to do this:

1) Provide a nutrient source in the sump

This could be a sand bed or Miracle Mud, or anything else to trap detritus. Since the goal of bare-bottom tanks is to remove, rather than store and release, organic material, intentionally maintaining a nutrient source in the sump seems to be a bad idea.

This is one of the strikes against Cheato. It acts like a ball of filter fuzz, trapping detritus. When I was using Miracle Mud, I used to take balls of Cheato out of my sump and rinse them off. The rinse water was dark brown after I was done.


2) Make the lighting more favorable over the sump than the main display

Might work. Need something like a 250-watt DE 6,500K metal-halide bulb to beat the power of the 250-watt DE 10,000K bulbs over the main display. I have a hard time, however, justifying running a 250-watt light for 8+ hours a day just to grow algae.

And, since the algae in the main display are closer to a nutrient source (fish food and fish poop), theyââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢d, probably, still out compete the algae in the sump anyway.

Youââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢d also have to choose an algae type for the sump that could do better in low-nutrient conditions than the rhodophytes. The standard ones, like Caulerpa and Cheato wouldnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t stand a chance. Halimeda would be a better choice, but again, it would have a tough time competing with algae in the main display because the algae in the main display would have a chance to get to the nutrients first.


I think a better bet is to try to introduce an acceptable algae type to the main display to out compete the nuisance ones for space. Or, get an herbivore that eats the nuisance algae.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6574026#post6574026 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Drew Reed
I got a question if I go BB what could/should I do with all my corals and fish well I cook the LR?
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A lot of people set up little PVC racks in their tanks to put the coral on while the rock is in the cooking bins. As long as the fish have places to hide, they should be ok back in the main tank, also.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6574149#post6574149 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Drew Reed
ok thanks, and are all of your tanks bb?
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Yep.

Two out of the three started out as Ecosystem Miracle Mud tanks (my 155 and 180). It was an interesting experience, but the tanks were far too much work to maintain.

If you really like algae, put a shallow sand bed in your main display and Miracle Mud in your sump. Here's what a small section of my 155 looked like shortly before I cleaned it out:

PlantsGalore.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6574205#post6574205 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Weatherman
Yep.

Two out of the three started out as Ecosystem Miracle Mud tanks (my 155 and 180). It was an interesting experience, but the tanks were far too much work to maintain.

If you really like algae, put a shallow sand bed in your main display and Miracle Mud in your sump. Here's what a small section of my 155 looked like shortly before I cleaned it out:

PlantsGalore.jpg
Click to expand...

woooooow!! For your sand and your Miracle Mud to be the main reason for that much algae, it had to be bad! My SSB was never even close being that bad. Are you sure the sole reason for that much algae is from Miracle Mud and sand?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6574989#post6574989 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eidillitih
woooooow!! For your sand and your Miracle Mud to be the main reason for that much algae, it had to be bad! My SSB was never even close being that bad. Are you sure the sole reason for that much algae is from Miracle Mud and sand?
Click to expand...

Miracle Mud is well known to encourage algae growth, because itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s fortified with iron. Thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s one of the main principles behind the EcoSystem method; use algae as the primary nutrient export mechanism.

The algae grew where conditions were the best ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ in the main display where the lights were bright and there were lots of nutrients leaching from the shallow sand bed.
 
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