Coral Maternity in Portugal

[Machado deSousa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10867514#post10867514 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Maximiliun
HI MACHADO,

Same question: What about Rhizoporas ... do you really thing they are a great improvement in your system ?

See ya,

MAX

I think that it may not bring some benefits to the aquariums but it does not harm it too!… lol. I love these plants. I note a loss of magnesium ions and I supplement as necessary. I think that only a heavy mass may be useful for nutrient export....

Cheers,

Machado de Sousa

 

[Machado deSousa]

Hello!

Two twins babies brothers, born and grown in my prop system, are gone for an interesting experience that consists of verifying how corals accustomed to the artificial light (T5) develop themselves when they are moved to live under sunlight. The famous and fantastic aquarium where they moved to http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1095596 belongs to my friend Vitor Pestana

The twin babies brothers before move (first row on the right side)

The two twins babies brothers moved:

The two twins brothers rested in my aquarium, for comparison:

All together in my aquarium before departure (first row):

Let's see how twins grow under diferent light conditions...

 

[Machado deSousa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10869778#post10869778 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The_Taz_Devil
What do you do with the corals that progress well ?

The people who have reef aquariums like to see the corals growing and see them bigger and bigger. It is an indication that the things are going well. I like when mine progress well too and I go on reproducing. That's what I like to do.
I love the rows and rows of frags!!!

Cheers,
Machado de Sousa

 

[Machado deSousa]

<a href=showthread.php? s=&postid=10870723#post10870723 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nyvp
amazing job. where did you get the original colonies from?
ploughs you afraid if something is brought in that it can wipe it all out being that they ploughs all connected?

Hello nyvp!

All corals I have in my prop came from aquariums I had in my home and actually I have no aquariums at my home anymore. Sometimes I change some corals with friends and I use to go to Germany to buy some that are hard to find in my town. I went there twice and brought about 20 species.
About diseases or plagues that's true we always have a contamination risk when some new thing enters in our aquariums but as a prevention measure I disinfect the new chorales with products that contains iodine like Seachem Reef Dip, for example.

Cheers,

Machado de Sousa

 

[Machado deSousa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10870756#post10870756 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by prideprops
Can you elaborate on what you feed your corals and how often?

Hi prideprops!

I feed corals with some frozen food like red plankton, bosmiden, lobster eggs and cyclops or lyophilised food like pro-coral zooton, alternating all foods every day. For enhanced long-term coloration and growth I feed them too with cyclop-eeze almost daily together with the mentioned foods. When I feed corals or fishes the skimmers don’t run.

Cheers,

Machado de Sousa

 

[Machado deSousa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10870756#post10870756 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by prideprops
Can you elaborate on what you feed your corals and how often?

Hi prideprops!

I feed corals with some frozen food like red plankton, bosmiden, lobster eggs and cyclops or lyophilised food like pro-coral zooton, alternating all foods every day. For enhanced long-term coloration and growth I feed them too with cyclop-eeze almost daily together with the mentioned foods. When I feed corals or fishes the skimmers don’t run.

Cheers,

Machado de Sousa

 

[Machado deSousa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10872095#post10872095 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by isistius
what was thew thinking with going with all blue bulbs in the t-5s?

Everything would became too much blue with a very slow growing. Not nice and not recommendable, in my opinion....

Cheers,

Machado de Sousa

 

[escalada13]

Mr. Machado,

Your set up is just I N C R E D I B L E!!!! and very inspiring, thanks for sharing.

Best Regards
Oscar Escalada

 

[RRodrigues]

Hi Machado,

Are you going to the coral farm this week? Can I visit you?

 

[mikekman]

Machado, what do you do with all those frags? Do you sell to stores in Portugal or reefers in Portugal? Or do you just keep them in your tank?


Mike

 

[Machado deSousa]

Hello mikekman!

I keep them in my tanks and I don't sell to anybody and I explain you why. Selling I make money and I loose corals. I spend too much time taking care of my babies. As I said before, most reefers like to see the corals growing in their own aquariums and see them become bigger and bigger. I like too when mine progress, but in a different way: not in larger colonies but in rows of frags. My goal is rows and rows of frags...and to see my name in the Guinness book...let me dream... lol

 

[laomedon]

Hello Machado,

How long does it take for corals to grow so you place them from the 1st frag tank to the Nursery tank?
thanks Adrian

 

[Machado deSousa]

They stay in nursery about 3 or 4 month long. After this time they are ready to be moved to the day care center.

Cheers,

Machado de Sousa

 

[laomedon]

thank you, few more questions, if I may:
Any special reason for the day care to have multiple levels of egg crate ? when in nursery you have only one level ?

Also are all your tanks together connected?

thanks

 

[Machado deSousa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10936496#post10936496 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by laomedon

Any special reason for the day care to have multiple levels of egg crate ? when in nursery you have only one level ?

thanks

Hi laomedon!

The corals of the Nursery only need to be controlled from above because they are still very small. When they pass to day-care center they already have grown a little and I have necessity to observe them from the tank front panel to see if they have problems, to control their growth and at last and not the last reason, I adore this view.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10936496#post10936496 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by laomedon

Also are all your tanks together connected?

Maternity and nursery are connected. These tanks are not connected to Day-care tank. All tanks flow to a common sump.

Cheers,

Machado de Sousa.

 

[Machado deSousa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10873520#post10873520 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jerryz
So you are using algea turf scrubbing as a filtration system. Can you please elaborate on this and provide additional pictures. Do you do anything to help with the water yellowing associated with algea filtration?

Hi jerryz!

My sump has algae filter with Caulerpa taxifolia e C. prolifera, living n the same place lodging mangrove and operating on a reverse daylight regime. I've not algae turf scrubber (ATS).
To maintain colorless water I adsorb dissolved organic compounds on activated carbon.


View of Rizophora and Caulerpa tanks (Caulerpa not visible)

DSB with some growing algae

Cheers,

Machado de Sousa

 

[Machado deSousa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10874566#post10874566 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by db_triggerfish
i would also like to know what are you feeding them also?

Hi db_triggerfish,

I answered this question before:

I feed corals with some frozen food like red plankton, bosmiden, lobster eggs and cyclops or pro-coral zooton (lyophilised food), alternating all foods every day. For enhanced long-term coloration and growth I feed them too with cyclop-eeze almost daily mixed together with the mentioned foods. When I feed corals or fishes the skimmers don’t run to feed living organisms in the sump too.

Cheers,

Machado de Sousa

 

[Machado deSousa]

Some pics releted to Maternity

Maternity view

Maternity fishes

feeding time

handful of fishes

Who knows how many and which fishes are inside of my hand? Think about Neocirrithus armatus (hawck fish)...

I hope you enjoy it!

 

[xfragmanx]

absolutley stunning. this is a gorgeous set up. congratulations on all of your hard work, time ,swet, and money paying off. i have a few questions that i am sure have been asked. how does your feeding schedule go? how many times a week or day do you feed them? what are you feeding them? and last the rubber covers of plastic pipes flowers that the baby corals sit in, do you drill a whole in the tube? or does the same water stay in that tube. i ask becasue if there is no water flow in thoes tubes is it bad for the baby frags to be sitting in that same water. doesnt the water in the plastic pipes flowers get bad with toxins or anything else? thanks alot more then a few questions but very amazed by your set up. thanks

 

[Hogfish77]

damn! that's a lotta sex toys I see! lol j/k.....

That's insanely beautiful even though I'm not a sps fan!