Swedish fish - behind the scenes rebuilding a public aquarium

[crusso1993]

Here's @Lasse Movable and easy access from both front and back side.

Are you talking about his stand? LOL! (J/K)

 

[Sallstrom]

Very nice, alot work. Thanks for sharing

Thank you! Yes, it's a lot of work. Still a lot left to move. Plus to make sure the new systems are tuned in. Might be some Dinoflagellates in two tanks. But I think it'll be okey in a couple of weeks when we've figured out the nutrient consumption etc.

 

[Sallstrom]

Are you talking about his stand? LOL! (J/K)

Haha. I might edit that to be more clear it's the GHL stand I talk about

 

[Sallstrom]

I've started at least five texts on algae in reef tanks and my approach to them. But I haven't finished any of them yet
Anyway, I think many react a bit too strong if they get into a algae phase.
I for example don't see how you can get a too large CUC. Just stick to the animals you can feed if the algae goes away. There's a smorgasbord of different grazers for a reef tank if you compare to a temperate tank(we hardly have any algae eating fish in Swedish waters).
I won't go on about that subject now. But there are a couple of "common rules" on how to erase algae in reef tanks that I don't agree on. That much I can say

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I've started at least five texts on algae in reef tanks and my approach to them. But I haven't finished any of them yet
Anyway, I think many react a bit too strong if they get into a algae phase.
I for example don't see how you can get a too large CUC. Just stick to the animals you can feed if the algae goes away. There's a smorgasbord of different grazers for a reef tank if you compare to a temperate tank(we hardly have any algae eating fish in Swedish waters).
I won't go on about that subject now. But there are a couple of "common rules" on how to erase algae in reef tanks that I don't agree on. That much I can say

Yes, no lights, cover tank 3mo. No photosynthetic corals in there. Works every time

 

[norfolkgarden]

Yes, no lights, cover tank 3mo. No photosynthetic corals in there. Works every time

Bleah :-/

How about just a few decent snails and wait a month. ;- )

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Bleah :-/

How about just a few decent snails and wait a month. ;- )

I'm guessing, I really don't know

 

[Brew12]

I for example don't see how you can get a too large CUC. Just stick to the animals you can feed if the algae goes away.

I agree with this. My first question when someone has an algae issue is what they have as far as a CuC goes. To me, an algae is only a problem if you cannot find something that will eat it. Otherwise I see it as a healthy part of the reef system.
Now some algae out there seem to do a good job avoiding predators. Those are a different story....

 

[Sallstrom]

I agree with this. My first question when someone has an algae issue is what they have as far as a CuC goes. To me, an algae is only a problem if you cannot find something that will eat it. Otherwise I see it as a healthy part of the reef system.
Now some algae out there seem to do a good job avoiding predators. Those are a different story....

Absolutely! In that we think the same. "Algae is food" is one of my texts called

But I should probably not say too much, and end up with Dinoflagellates everywhere.. I have a plan, just hoping it'll work

 

[Sallstrom]

Bleah :-/

How about just a few decent snails and wait a month. ;- )

My colleague calls them "crab food" or nutrients We had a shipment of snails that didn't survive that long..
Our urchins on the other hand seems to live long life's! So our CUC's now is mostly urchins and tangs.

 

[um02122]

This is way too cool, tagging along.
I'd love to send soft corals frags from my hardy ones (I've got a toadstool for some six years, with fragging and babies larger than the initial coral).

 

[Sallstrom]

This is way too cool, tagging along.
I'd love to send soft corals frags from my hardy ones (I've got a toadstool for some six years, with fragging and babies larger than the initial coral).
View attachment 1049056

Thanks! At the moment I'm not sure I dare to accept more corals. Not sure we will fit the ones we have yet in the temporary Aquarium! But in a couple of months I think we've given away some surplus and can reach out for new species or specimen. And then when we move into the new Aquarium I'm sure we got room!

Actually I think we need to frag our large Sacrophyton as well. It's a bit large for our temporary tanks. Is it possible to cut pieces and attach to new rock? Never fragmented those.

 

[um02122]

Is it possible to cut pieces and attach to new rock? Never fragmented those.

Never frag a toadstool that's in less than full health condition.
Never frag a toadstool in a tank that's not stable.
Fragging with disregard to the above could result in disaster - losing the coral and nuking the tank - this coral holds a huge amount of biomass and if gets infected it could spell disaster.

That being said, using a clean scalpel to cut the hat around the foot with some to be left attached to the foot is the way forward. Ideally in the period when the polyps are withdrawn and the coral looks smooth.
Than slice the hat in many many small pieces and place in a tray with rubble in low current.
The hat pieces will grow a foot and then reshape in small toadstools. Than, you can glue the attached rubble and the foot will extend to the rest of the rock.

The mother colony will look rough for up to a month, the babies will open and look happy within days. The mother colony will then start growing new polyps to the edge. They differ to the old ones by having tentacles and accepting food directly.

Toadstools can and will slowly move on the rock, leaving behind small bits of tissue that would regrow small toadstools - from a polyp - to a full grown coral (I have a specimen grown from tissue on the rock, it was initially a polyp, then two, now some hundreds).

A toadstool can also reproduce sexually, via gamets - there are male and female Sarcophytons. Usually, spawning in the aquaria is not good news as it results in a lot of bioload and it is not possible to obtain babies.

My Sarcophyton is a female, I have witnessed production of large spheres the diameter of a polyp leaving the polyp.

Hope this helps.

 

[Sallstrom]

Never frag a toadstool that's in less than full health condition.
Never frag a toadstool in a tank that's not stable.
Fragging with disregard to the above could result in disaster - losing the coral and nuking the tank - this coral holds a huge amount of biomass and if gets infected it could spell disaster.

That being said, using a clean scalpel to cut the hat around the foot with some to be left attached to the foot is the way forward. Ideally in the period when the polyps are withdrawn and the coral looks smooth.
Than slice the hat in many many small pieces and place in a tray with rubble in low current.
The hat pieces will grow a foot and then reshape in small toadstools. Than, you can glue the attached rubble and the foot will extend to the rest of the rock.

The mother colony will look rough for up to a month, the babies will open and look happy within days. The mother colony will then start growing new polyps to the edge. They differ to the old ones by having tentacles and accepting food directly.

Toadstools can and will slowly move on the rock, leaving behind small bits of tissue that would regrow small toadstools - from a polyp - to a full grown coral (I have a specimen grown from tissue on the rock, it was initially a polyp, then two, now some hundreds).

A toadstool can also reproduce sexually, via gamets - there are male and female Sarcophytons. Usually, spawning in the aquaria is not good news as it results in a lot of bioload and it is not possible to obtain babies.

My Sarcophyton is a female, I have witnessed production of large spheres the diameter of a polyp leaving the polyp.

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much! That's very helpful.
I'll have to figure something out. Maybe set up a tank just for the Sacrophyton frags. To make sure they won't affect other corals during that phase when they are newly cut.

But it won't be this week I think. The colony is at the bottom of the 10000L tank, and we haven't started moving corals from that tank yet. It'll be a project..

 

[um02122]

This is the coral I've grown from a polyp. As you can see, it loves strong light capable of bleaching SPS.



This is a baby it left behind on the rock about a year ago.



And this is my female clownfish, upset that I've turned the light back way up and that I've touched her coral. She stopped biting a long time ago, even lets me touch her. It's her way to tell me off (I think they've currently caring for eggs at the base of the toadstool).



Don't rush things when fragging. Make sure the main coral has good water quality after fragging.

 

[Lasse]

Are you talking about his stand? LOL! (J/K)

Of cause - he is talking about the stand. I´m not moveable - still working at 69 - they have to move me out with the feets first

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Lasse]

This is the coral I've grown from a polyp. As you can see, it loves strong light capable of bleaching SPS.

View attachment 1049130

This is a baby it left behind on the rock about a year ago.

View attachment 1049131

And this is my female clownfish, upset that I've turned the light back way up and that I've touched her coral. She stopped biting a long time ago, even lets me touch her. It's her way to tell me off (I think they've currently caring for eggs at the base of the toadstool).

View attachment 1049134

Don't rush things when fragging. Make sure the main coral has good water quality after fragging.

When I have seen these corals in nature - it has been at a depth around 0.5 - 1 m. They just love light - yes I know that the survive in low light - but they grow very good in high light intensity.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[um02122]

When I have seen these corals in nature - it has been at a depth around 0.5 - 1 m. They just love light - yes I know that the survive in low light - but they grow very good in high light intensity.

Sincerely Lasse

Light and flow. Plenty of both.

 

[najer]

I've started at least five texts on algae in reef tanks and my approach to them. But I haven't finished any of them yet
Anyway, I think many react a bit too strong if they get into a algae phase.
I for example don't see how you can get a too large CUC. Just stick to the animals you can feed if the algae goes away. There's a smorgasbord of different grazers for a reef tank if you compare to a temperate tank(we hardly have any algae eating fish in Swedish waters).
I won't go on about that subject now. But there are a couple of "common rules" on how to erase algae in reef tanks that I don't agree on. That much I can say

About 40 litres water volume, the mushrooms are low flow sulky, that will be addressed shortly.
The black splodge on the glass is a blue velvet nudi, I am removing the cyano very slowly, once it clears an area of flat worms I siphon a bit more out, I want to keep it as long as possible before I need to take it back to my lfs.
Can't rush these things!

 

[Sallstrom]

About 40 litres water volume, the mushrooms are low flow sulky, that will be addressed shortly.
The black splodge on the glass is a blue velvet nudi, I am removing the cyano very slowly, once it clears an area of flat worms I siphon a bit more out, I want to keep it as long as possible before I need to take it back to my lfs.
Can't rush these things!

View attachment 1049561

Very cool nudibranch! And a cool nano

And I like the idea of "borrowing" animals from a LFS or other reef aquarists and then give it back. That's my idea on how to get rid of hair algae. Throw in a bunch of urchins and take them out when the tank is clean of algae. But we can borrow from our other tanks..