Effects on tidal exposure on SPS

[Eastone]

I want to preface this question by sharing my method of acclimating SPS corals - I like to leave them out of the shipping bag in a humid area of my sump for 15 minutes or so then add them directly to the tank, no drip acclimation. My reasoning for this is that the slime coat that builds up and is later sloughed off allows the coral to acclimate itself to the water, as is normal on a shallow reef.

it would be possible to get this running on a timed simulation. One would need to place a small hole on an overflow at the desired depth and eventually without the return pump the tank would slowly empty, and can be subsequently filled up with the return turning on.

I wanted to know any experiences and ideas/thoughts on simulating this, allowing your corals some 'breathing time' daily. I've done some reading where possible and further theory crafting - It seems that the humidity and temperature of the surrounding air will need to be monitored but it does seem that the increased slime and shed cycle could help rid corals of dirt/pests possibly.

Thoughts and counterpoints would be well received!

 

[vette.tech]

An interesting thought though I can't imagine it being beneficial but who knows. I do know there was a guy that did some air injection a few times a day causing massive amount of micro bubbles and a slime session and I can't remember the outcome of that

 

[DiscusHeckel]

I do this every time I carry out water changes. Two of my acroporas are sometimes exposed to air up to 30 minutes while I am syphoning the sand bed or cleaning the glass. One of my corals starts to look a little stressed when it is out of water as its colour gets darker and its polyps are retracted (see purple Acropora digitifera below), whereas the other one appears to be OK. They go back to their normal coloration and show full polyp expansion shortly after I raise the water levels. I personally cannot come up with a good enough reason why exposing corals to air without a necessity can be beneficial. Hence, I probably would not do this without a good reason (e.g. water change).

 

[trueblackpercula]

sounds great but what about pest?

 

[Chris Lakies]

Hey Discus,

Do you have a full top down tank pic with all the sps exposed. That pic looks sweet!

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Hey Discus,

Do you have a full top down tank pic with all the sps exposed. That pic looks sweet!

Thanks.

Sadly no because the reflection of my T5 tubes get in the way. I will, however, try taking a top down picture this weekend for you during my water change routine.

 

[GreshamH]

Simon Garrett made a system just for doing this. I think he wrote an article on it.

http://************.com/2010/10/19/simon-garratts-intertidal-reef-months/

 

[Reefvet]

Simon Garrett made a system just for doing this. I think he wrote an article on it.

http://************.com/2010/10/19/simon-garratts-intertidal-reef-months/

RC's not allowing your link.

I guess even as a fellow coral reef aquarist there are some things it's not proper to share.

 

[Reefvet]

...allows the coral to acclimate itself to the water, as is normal on a shallow reef.

The corals on a reef haven't been traveling in a plastic bag for days, hours or even just minutes.

After successfully keeping SPS for 20+ years the one thing that still amazes me is the people don't consider how far out of their normal environment the corals we keep really are. Even in the best of reef tanks.

 

[Hentz]

Why is it, as I'm reading this whole post, I close it, turn around, and realize I left my SPS frags sitting on top of my tank since I was replacing them

Oh the irony..

 

[Eastone]

The corals on a reef haven't been traveling in a plastic bag for days, hours or even just minutes.

After successfully keeping SPS for 20+ years the one thing that still amazes me is the people don't consider how far out of their normal environment the corals we keep really are. Even in the best of reef tanks.

You'd be very surprised. I used to live in the Middle East, there were reefs I dived and even took frags of many large Acropora and Pocillopora colonies that would see what I'd describe as 'low flow' (the entrance to a harbor, inner wall) that would see temperatures of 40c water regularly for upto 4 months in summer.

The range and tolerance of these creatures is nothing short of amazing. Issues usually arise when patterns are broken - sudden parameter swings for example, over gradual and steady movements.

I believe that in certain scenarios we provide them with certain factors being on par if not better than in the ocean.

 

[MisterP]

Interesting thought.

I still have no clue what this means??

sounds great but what about pest?

 

[ajcanale]

You'd be very surprised. I used to live in the Middle East, there were reefs I dived and even took frags of many large Acropora and Pocillopora colonies that would see what I'd describe as 'low flow' (the entrance to a harbor, inner wall) that would see temperatures of 40c water regularly for upto 4 months in summer.

The range and tolerance of these creatures is nothing short of amazing. Issues usually arise when patterns are broken - sudden parameter swings for example, over gradual and steady movements.

I believe that in certain scenarios we provide them with certain factors being on par if not better than in the ocean.

^
This! :idea:

 

[trueblackpercula]

Interesting thought.

I still have no clue what this means??

Talking about red bugs , black bugs, AEFW etc.

 

[MisterP]

Talking about red bugs , black bugs, AEFW etc.

How does that relate to this thread is what I'm getting at. Your reply was vague at best and I still have no clue what your asking or if its even a question.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

How does that relate to this thread is what I'm getting at. Your reply was vague at best and I still have no clue what your asking or if its even a question.

Some people advise others that sps corals should be left outside for a while before putting them in a display tank, so that they produce slime. The idea may be that by rinsing this slime pests that are harboured on corals will be removed. In this context, it is possible that trueblackpercula is trying to question the wisdom behind this advice.

 

[MisterP]

Ok.That makes more sense. I was confused because all it said was what about pests which was very vague.