mounting coral *newbie question*

[Travis L. Stevens]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8851019#post8851019 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by papagimp
Travis, my man, would you care to ellaborate on this for me? Does Xenia help with nutrient exportation?

Not NEARLY as much as Caulerpa or Chaeto, but with me not being able to keep Chaeto and the obvious risks of Caulerpa, it's almost my only option.

I thought that I was thinking of a different article, but this is all I could find in five minutes. It basically somes up the same information. I could have sworn the article that I recall compared Xenia, Caulerpa, and Chaetomorpha. Instead, this one compares Xenia, Caulerpa, and Skimming as forms of nutrient export.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/rs/feature/index.php

 

[smurray]

I can't wait to get my cheato tonight!!!! =] Thanks again Adam.. ;]~

 

[captbunzo]

Basically the idea with Travis' xenia is that ANYTHING that grows fast and takes up stuff will work as a "nutrient export mechanism". The point is that some things will just do this faster...

 

[papagimp]

smurry, just do what I have done, when somebody helps you in any way just return the favor to another reefer. I was so impressed with the way people in this club come together to help each other out that I actually donated a wet/dry filter to another club member after only being in the club for two months. I'd gotten enough coral frags and instructions on building my fuge that it more than paid for the donation and them some.

Travis, thanks for that link, I wonder if me getting rid of all my large xenia colonies had anything to do with increasing phosphates/nitrates in my system? I mean it was a good week between getting rid of a large pulsing xenia rock and unhooking the fuge, but I noticed phosphates getting higher a week or so ago, I attributed this to overfeeding though, and giving away alot of my cheato. But interesting reading nonetheless.

 

[captbunzo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8850945#post8850945 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by papagimp
2 days without a fuge....ONLY TWO!!! and I have algae starting to pop up everywhere, phosphates are registering again on my test and nitrates have even started to show a bit. The sides and back of my tank now have that nice crusty green film on them, lol. I new my fuge made a big difference but apparently it made a big difference quickly.

Ah, it's all about balance, Danielson.....

Wait, sorry, I'm not Mr. Miagi. But seriously, it IS all about balance. When a system has been up for a while (and has been engineered at least SOMEWHAT decently in the first place), a balance will form regarding input and processing of nutrients, etc. Much of this is related to the populations of bacterias, etc, which process these things.

When you change ANYTHING in the system, this balance is upset. This could be the improvement of your lights, the changing of your bulbs, the addition of more food, the additon or subtraction of livestock, etc, etc, etc.

So that is a big part of what you are seeing here. Perhaps given a month, everything will have had time to re-balance.

Of course, if a tank does not provide appropriate means for nutrient export, etc, then what appears to be "balance" may simply be a tank slowly rolling down a very slight hill toward destruction.

Check this article out. It is by Eric Borneman and all about this stuff....
http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic23945-9-1.aspx

 

[papagimp]

uh oh, I did just increase my lighting, change some bulbs, took some live rock out, put some dead rock in, sold some livestock, got new livestock. man, i really must have done a number on my "balance" then uh? And all that right before unhooking the fuge. At least all my snails look super happy right now, lol. And the stometellas look fatter than ever!

 

[zoomfish1]

I know you have probably left work, so in the morning explain why you can't keep Chaeto in you fuge. All you need is a little flow and a Lights of America 6500K light. But, you already knew that.

So, why no Chaeto Lil' buddy?

 

[smurray]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8851200#post8851200 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by captbunzo
Check this article out. It is by Eric Borneman and all about this stuff....
http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic23945-9-1.aspx

WoW! Intense reading.... So, caulerpa coupled with skimming AND some sorta heavy metal filter seems to be the long term and short term filtration method.

Has anyone else found much information on heavy metal filtration. And here I though that carbon was only to clear up the water.

And.... All this is with a larger tank I'm assuming. Man... I need an upgrade... ;]~

 

[captbunzo]

Do sit and consider what you read there for a couple of weeks before you decide to make any change. Also, while Caulerpa IS great for heavy metal removal, there are many negatives toward keeping it in a tank.

Specifically that includes HEAVY chemical toxins that it puts out into the water to defend it's territory. It's called allelopathy. And those chemicals will greatly affect the growth of other corals, etc. Also, keeping the lifecycle of caulerpa in balance is tricky. And one of the results of it getting out of balance will be to "go sexual", which can easily crash a tank.

Anyhow, a good friend of mine (Michael Wamsley, came and talked @ the November COMAS meeting) recommended a product sold by Kent Marine called Toxic Metal Sponge. He says it is really worth it, so I am going to give it a try at some point.

 

[smurray]

Well... For the moment, the really only change that I'm going to do is get a new bulb. I've already put in the cheato (thanks Adam!!) and I'm going to look into a remote DSB.

Well... Now that I'm home, and able to take a look see at what I have. Here is the information I was missing:

Test kit info:
-fasTest by Aquarium Systems
-Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, and Phosphate.
*Looks like I need to get some more. Anyone had much success with that brand?

Buffer info:
-Kent Marine
-Coral Accel
-Nano Reef Part A
-Nano Reef Part B

Any more info on anything, please lemme know...... TIA!

 

[captbunzo]

A monkey... You definitely need a monkey.....

 

[smurray]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey#Monkeys_as_pets


Like so?

 

[captbunzo]

Hehehe.........

Or perhaps Sea Monkeys.

 

[smurray]

so.... basically scrap my tank, and get those?? or are you suggesting that reefkeeping isn't for me? =\

 

[captbunzo]

No, not at all... I was simply being silly....

Sorry if it sounded elsewise....

Unless you REALLY LIKE Sea Monkeys, I'd keep the Reef Tank.

 

[smurray]

its really a toss up... i like the red ones.... but the blue ones are so playful!!

 

[captbunzo]