Melev's new 280g Starfire tank thread

[melev]

There will be no upgrading, unless I just replace the glass box. Seriously, no way.

I just bought a brand new central A/C system for my home and I still can't believe I signed that contract. It'll save me on electricity, but OMG! :eek2:

 

[Laddy]

Wow, nice growth on the sun coral.

How long does it take you to feed them each night?

 

[melev]

I feed them some mysis and cyclop eeze every night. It only takes a few minutes. When I thaw food for the reef, I thaw a small amount for the suncoral tank at the same time. When the food is ready, I turn off the pump to the display as the suncoral tanks. The reef gets its food, and the suncorals are fed with a pipette, shooting some food at each open polyp. 15 minutes later, the pumps are restarted.

When I'm thawing the food, I dip the bowl in the suncoral tank to get some tank water. I swish and pour it out a couple of times to get the smell of the food in the water, then fill it up again and set it aside. The suncorals open up by the time the food is ready (15 mins).

 

[Laddy]

I saw the first shots you put on your site a while ago, and they look terrific. You should be documenting your husbandry with tubastrea--far too many people get them and treat them like mushrooms without solid knowledge of their requirements.

Glad to see they've done well :thumbsup:

 

[melev]

I have been documenting it both on the Suncorals page as well as the Suncoral Tank page. Between the two, it is my hope that people are being provided with the knowledge necessary to keep these beautiful corals alive. It isn't hard, but it isn't one you can ignore either.

 

[BigJay]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12807089#post12807089 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
There will be no upgrading, unless I just replace the glass box. Seriously, no way.

I just bought a brand new central A/C system for my home and I still can't believe I signed that contract. It'll save me on electricity, but OMG! :eek2:

What did you buy and what was the damage?

 

[rEd86]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12807289#post12807289 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
I feed them some mysis and cyclop eeze every night. It only takes a few minutes. When I thaw food for the reef, I thaw a small amount for the suncoral tank at the same time. When the food is ready, I turn off the pump to the display as the suncoral tanks. The reef gets its food, and the suncorals are fed with a pipette, shooting some food at each open polyp. 15 minutes later, the pumps are restarted.

When I'm thawing the food, I dip the bowl in the suncoral tank to get some tank water. I swish and pour it out a couple of times to get the smell of the food in the water, then fill it up again and set it aside. The suncorals open up by the time the food is ready (15 mins).

Marc,
What do you do on the times you are traveling? Do you have someone with experience look after your tanks? That's one of the reaons I haven't gotten into anything like suncorals - I am out of town too many times and wouldn't trust someone to give them the frequent TLC they need.

--Ed

 

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12807630#post12807630 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigJay
What did you buy and what was the damage?

It's too soon to talk about it.

I'm hoping to sell the old one to help pay a fraction of the new one.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12807665#post12807665 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rEd86
Marc,
What do you do on the times you are traveling? Do you have someone with experience look after your tanks? That's one of the reaons I haven't gotten into anything like suncorals - I am out of town too many times and wouldn't trust someone to give them the frequent TLC they need.

--Ed

Since I tend to be here the majority of the time, they are fed nightly. If I'm out of town for a few days each month, they'll be okay without direct feedings. My son knows how to do it, but I don't know if he actually does it. Same with the LFS owner that I have come by if my son can't.

They'll be okay without direct feeding for several days, but at the very least they need a solid meal weekly. Daily is just funner.

 

[NanoGurl]

I almost bought one today... you're making me want to go back and buy it.

 

[Ed Reef]

Your sun corals looks great...do you have to fed every single head or you just squirt at those open heads and let them capture the food themselves?

 

[melev]

Get it Gurl!

Ed, I like to feed all the polyps, but if you feed the majority that is usually good enough since they do share a common mass. Feeding each polyp encourages better growth. I heard a guy in our club is feeding his twice daily. I may have to step up my game.

 

[InsaneClownFish]

I think there is alot of misconception out there about Dendros and direct feeding. They can and will take particulates out of the water column. While direct feeding is necessary, they can go for much longer periods than people realize.

However, that being said, they will GROW faster with regular feedings.

 

[NanoGurl]

I should right?

Wait.. so you're saying that each head feeds into a central stomach? That would make life a lot easier then trying to feed the pinhead sized heads.

 

[Tang Salad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12808071#post12808071 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NanoGurl

...each head feeds into a central stomach?

Pretty much. But to be technical... each head/polyp has it's own stomach, and these are connected by gastrovacular canals. These GCs allow an entiure colony to share nutrients.

I wonder if some colonies have slacker polyps that always just mooch off everyone else?

 

[BigJay]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12807820#post12807820 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NanoGurl
I almost bought one today... you're making me want to go back and buy it.

Hanging out with Marc is bad for the pocketbook.

:rollface:

 

[InsaneClownFish]

:lol: @

slacker polyps

 

[NanoGurl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12808194#post12808194 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tang Salad
Pretty much. But to be technical... each head/polyp has it's own stomach, and these are connected by gastrovacular canals. These GCs allow an entiure colony to share nutrients.

I wonder if some colonies have slacker polyps that always just mooch off everyone else?

lolol

Okay... so like if the coral has 30 heads.. and you feed the top 20 heads.. and not all the way around the sides... then you're saying the other 10 will live and be okay... you just won't experience fast growth?

 

[NanoGurl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12808428#post12808428 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigJay
Hanging out with Marc is bad for the pocketbook.

:rollface:

I know right... he's a big spender now! GBOGH lol (right Friskers!)

 

[melev]

Yep, the rest of them should be fine. I do like to focus on those little guys when I can, but I don't worry about feeding every last polyp.

GBOGH?

 

[NanoGurl]

I didn't know that.. that's really interesting to me. And I just told someone the wrong info on that... now I am going to have to track her down and make sure she gets the right info. That's going to save a lot of hassle... I used to feed every head 2 or 3 times a night lol... x that by like 30 heads it was a bit overwhelming... and really hard to reach!

GBOGH = Go Big Or Go Home Words given to me by my friend Friskers who has got me into trouble on more then one occassion.