what did dr.ron say?
- Thread starter billford
- Start date
if was great. Basic message was don't worry so much 
Pufferpunk
New member
Big tip I got is not to worry about my tank's temp. The waters most of our corals come from is around 83 degrees & warmer. I always freaked out when my tank got that high. Now I don't worry. Fluctuation is good too.
Pufferpunk
New member
I feed my tank heavily, 2x/week. I make a slurry of many different-sized foods--from microscopic to large/meaty foods. I spot-feed every single polyp that will eat & all my LPS, squirt the microscopic foods at my gorgonian & goniapora & let the tank remain cloudy with food for about 2 hours, until it clears up & then I put the pumps back on, minus the skimmer. That stays off for 12 hours, because it doesn't need to eat. Been doing this for as long as i can remember.
Pufferpunk
New member
Thanks, Carl. I wanted to stay but I had a silly hat/game party to attend at 1:00. I would love to hear what he said. I have several filter-feeding animals.
bubbletip2
Premium Member
He also said Strontium was poison basically when added and reduces calcium intake by coral. I think everyone started to remember when they first heard to add strontium to build up the coral skeleton. Apparantly it does the opposite.
I think it makes sense to increase our temp. I am slowly increasing mine to 82 degrees and will not worry so much about temp fluctaution and see what happens. I have always kept my temp between 1 degree and now set it to do a max of a 2 degree swing.
I found it funny when he recited a day in a Palau(I think that was the one) reef's history where there was a 45 degree change or something like that in one day. :eek1: He used this as an extreme example and I immediately said, "well how did the reef look that day." I am sure most of the coral was closed up that entire day. I know I have seen my tanks periodically look awful when I discover a major change in water quality. My coral is less than 2 years old in most cases. A bit harder for them to recover than a 200 year old coral colony in the ocean.
The whole thing about temp makes sense to me but in our closed systems our tanks are not really thriving. At least not like it is in the ocean so to relate the ability of ocean organisms to cope and the organisms in our reef tanks is a stretch in my opinion. If we cannot feed consistently throughout the day to give the organisms the nutrition they really need, we will always be in a less than optimal situation in our reef tanks. We don't have replications of the ocean, not even close. I think it is important to discover what nature has done but I am sorry folks - our tanks are not natural and they never will be.
In my experience with SPS and particulary Acropora species, fluctuations in water temp, salinity, etc. can be noticed very quickly. Sure they may recover wen they are finally acclimated to the new condition of the water but did we stunt growth in the process?
I will not be as neurotic about slight changes but I have to tell you I will not be changing anything quickly. I was worried that people listening would just go home and boost there tanks to 82 when it was at 78 for the past year. Acros are sensitive and I don't think them in particular would appreciate this very much. Not a good idea in my opinion. A degree a week would be better just to be safe.
I think it makes sense to increase our temp. I am slowly increasing mine to 82 degrees and will not worry so much about temp fluctaution and see what happens. I have always kept my temp between 1 degree and now set it to do a max of a 2 degree swing.
I found it funny when he recited a day in a Palau(I think that was the one) reef's history where there was a 45 degree change or something like that in one day. :eek1: He used this as an extreme example and I immediately said, "well how did the reef look that day." I am sure most of the coral was closed up that entire day. I know I have seen my tanks periodically look awful when I discover a major change in water quality. My coral is less than 2 years old in most cases. A bit harder for them to recover than a 200 year old coral colony in the ocean.
The whole thing about temp makes sense to me but in our closed systems our tanks are not really thriving. At least not like it is in the ocean so to relate the ability of ocean organisms to cope and the organisms in our reef tanks is a stretch in my opinion. If we cannot feed consistently throughout the day to give the organisms the nutrition they really need, we will always be in a less than optimal situation in our reef tanks. We don't have replications of the ocean, not even close. I think it is important to discover what nature has done but I am sorry folks - our tanks are not natural and they never will be.
In my experience with SPS and particulary Acropora species, fluctuations in water temp, salinity, etc. can be noticed very quickly. Sure they may recover wen they are finally acclimated to the new condition of the water but did we stunt growth in the process?
I will not be as neurotic about slight changes but I have to tell you I will not be changing anything quickly. I was worried that people listening would just go home and boost there tanks to 82 when it was at 78 for the past year. Acros are sensitive and I don't think them in particular would appreciate this very much. Not a good idea in my opinion. A degree a week would be better just to be safe.
Pufferpunk
New member
I can say there have been days where my temp has gotten up close to 84 degrees & I panicked, opening the canopy & cabinet doors & adding 5 fankns at one point, only to wake up in the morning with the tank being around 77 degrees. Everyone was fine.
Pam Little
New member
I found this out while in Vegas, my temp would go between 82 and 84 during the day, then cool down at night. Everything thrived!
bubbletip2
Premium Member
I have experienced similar swings with no problem and hav ehad swings that were only a few degrees where my acros that typically polyped were closed all day. I think most coral will be just fine - some SPS are just more sensitive. For instance I actually guage my water quality based on how orange my orange digi gets. When I start to notice it fade a bit, typically being the first coral to do so that is noticeable, I check my water parameters.
Again, I am sure most tanks can take swings - we keep a lot of different species in our tanks from different parts of the world and some may be able to take it better than others especially in our less than optimal closed systems.
Again, I am sure most tanks can take swings - we keep a lot of different species in our tanks from different parts of the world and some may be able to take it better than others especially in our less than optimal closed systems.
Pufferpunk
New member
A bunch of my corals (palys & SPS) have been bleaching (getting pale) lately & I found out my Mg was around 1080. Could that be why? I'm adding it now.
bubbletip2
Premium Member
Again an example of swings not causing a problem. Do you have any idea on how low it would get at night>
In a 12G nano it is almost impossible to control temopwithout a controller and a fan and heater. Your tank and coral have probably been used to these swings from day one.
A lot of us have been stabalizing temp with fans, chillers, 2 liter ice bottles, etc.
To all of a sudden just start major temp swings in 1 - 3 year old tanks that were always stable temps would be asking for trouble. If you have acclimated everything in your tank over the past few years to a stable temp meaning within a degree and sometimes even a half degree, how do you think coral will respond if you just start swinging temp instantly. I really encourage people to take it slow.
I think Dr. Ron's temp discussion was an eye opener to hear and I will certainly do more to follow his lead but I am taking it slowly. I was particularly interested in adjusting temp for the seasons having lower temps in the winter and higher temps in the summer. That will be easy to do but seasons change slowly and so should our tanks IMO.
Keep in mind that he also stated that metabolic processes will be increased by even slight increases in temperature so fish and coral will need to be fed more to stay the way they are now...
One other thing to remember
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