Continuous feeding NPS filter feeders

What's the name of the red looking gorgonian tree on the left side? Do they really only open at night? Really nice tank btw



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Nice. Everything looks pretty happy and healthy. I jsut bought some of that Nutri/cell stuff today because that's what my LFS had and I seriously can't find another powdered food (of the size microns I want) anywhere that isn't sold out!!

Looks like NPS is getting popular again? :)
I've also tried in the past ReefPepper and Ocean Nutrition Coral food, as well as the Fauna Marin dendro and gorgonian recipes.

However, for the moment my champ is ReefPearls, followed by a combination ReefRoids/CoralFood+. All Tubastreas are fed exclusively by 1 measure Reefpearls every 6h (see photo with feeder for a hint of the amount) + each evening manually 1 frozen cube RedPlancton+1 frozen cube Rotifers. I've NEVER target fed them mysis, etc!(it's actually quite challenging to target feed the ones on the walls). The black Tubastrea has lost a lot of tissue, but it's opening wide every night( I got it more than 1 year ago ).

Question for you though, are you in the States?
No, I'm located in Europe, in Romania.

Because I see you have what I REALLY want, the H2Ocean Reef Paste and I can't get it here. I emailed D-D and they said there is no availability in the States. Wondering if you might be in the US but have a reputable international distributor online that is good? I emailed the only one I found and their website is a little glitchy AND their email (that is supposed to provide an international shipping quote) is also glitchy so I didn't feel confident ordering from them.

Reefpaste is not easy to get in Europe, either(but not impossible :). I buy it indirectly from a seller in the Netherlands.
I found ReefPaste useful in a few cases:
1.It's the only dry food my Chelmon eats(ok, not his favorite, but still...)
2.the powder seems to trigger indeed a feeding response in my Tubastreas

However, seems to be a heavy polluter - glass gets greenish faster when I use it compared to the other foods.
 
@Miguelh1302

The leftmost reddish coral is a Nephtyigorgia. It usually opens at night, but sometimes in the afternoon as well. Early morning is always deflated.

To its right side and a bit behind it's a Pterogorgia, and in the middle an Acabaria. In the right-hand back corner there's a struggling Guaiagorgia.
 
Continuous feeding NPS filter feeders

@Miguelh1302

The leftmost reddish coral is a Nephtyigorgia. It usually opens at night, but sometimes in the afternoon as well. Early morning is always deflated.

To its right side and a bit behind it's a Pterogorgia, and in the middle an Acabaria. In the right-hand back corner there's a struggling Guaiagorgia.


Thanks, that's why I didn't get it this weekend, I want something neat for the morning, Your tank is neat mate I like it
 
Thanks!
Well, I only know that the polyps on the walls originated from the yellow tubastrea at the right-hand side of the tank, about 7-8 months ago(it was alone at that time). I'm not sure it spawned, as at the same time it lost a number of polyps. I've read somewhere that it may be possible for the polyps to leave the colony when under stress.Just my 2c... Other opinions?
 
Taken from Advancedaquarist, sun corals are hermaphroditic and can also reproduce sexually and/or asexually by producing planulae larvae11/12, which they will also do in aquariums at times. These can drift around an aquarium until they eventually settle and develop into a new colony. So, don't be surprised if new colonies seem to spring up from nowhere in an aquarium containing a well cared for specimen. Like this.
 

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Keeping food in circulation/suspension is one reason why I prefer no sump. Once you can just keep food in the display, you can just circulate it non-stop until the food is eaten. With a sump however, it eventually settles out.
 
@SantaMonica
I fully agree, when stopping the return pump the polyp extension extends longer after feeding. Strong current pumps are equally important, preferably alternating, to avoid deposits.

However, such a system needs a lot of filtering. how can it be done with acceptable aesthetics using only the display?
 
That's the filtering challenge. Check the advanced section for the scrubber thread, and lots of ideas there.

BTW many NPS are uni-directional feeders, especially deeper ones, and they orient themselves to only one direction of flow.
 
Here's the sun-powered AS on duty on my system, working together with a greatly oversized skimmer, macroalgae refugium, ozone and carbon/GFO reactor.
 
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Hard to do a "reverse photoperiod" though :lolspin:

-droog

Indeed :( . Actually this is one of the main drawbacks(other than size), it makes the day/night pH swings even larger. Also, for an SPS tank, when the sun peak intensity matches the tank lighting, I guess it may happen to compete on photosynthesis ingredients, like CO2, iron, etc. Any thoughts?
 
Here's the sun-powered AS on duty on my system, working together with a greatly oversized skimmer, macroalgae refugium, ozone and carbon/GFO reactor.

How do you keep the outside contaminants out of your reef? Neighbors spraying plants, etc etc etc. This would have my ocd running wild :mixed:
 
True, contaminants are a real risk. Well, there's actually a detachable acryl panel covering the upper side of the scrubber(4mm thickness, similar to the fixed lower part). I have removed it for this picture because of the reflections.
 
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