blueheaven

Baby acans sprouting at the side

Hi guys, these few days, I had noticed that my yellow birdnest had extreme polyp extension, somewhat similar to those of a sarcophyton if you can imagine. In this picture, you can see that the polyp extension is so extreme that when the polps sway to the current, the little cavities in the skeleton structure can be seen (of course there's still tissue there, only that it is translucent) What can be the cause of this? Could it be the dosage of AA or other factors?

Tort

Pinky

Watch your nutrient levels!!!

The main reason why people plant mangroves is not for its nutrient export capabilities (which I doubt to be substantial) but for its ablity to provide your tank with an almost inexhaustable supply of micoorganisms. Unless you have a sump the size of a pond and run 400w MHs on them, they would definately lose out to macroalgae

Hi guys, I have been thinking about this controversial issue recently and I find it worthy of a serious discussion. Firstly, I'll state the rules: 1) No flaming or insulting comments 2) Only constructive comments are allowed 3) Spam comments will be requested to be deleted 4) There's no right or wrong, just share your views 5) No deviation from main topic (eg. What type of macroalgae for refugiums?) Ok, now that I've set things straight, let's have a healthy discussion on this topic. Here are my views: Algae exists in almost every place, it is only natural to have it in our reefs. I remember Daniel asking Anthony Calfo about cyano in natural reefs and his reply was that if cyano didn't exist, we probably won't too! Actually algaes in captive reefs serve much more a purpose than spoil the image of the reef itself. Algae that grows on rocks and walls serve as a food source for herbivourous fish and inverts. Not simply as a food source, but also a food source which contains much more energy than other types of food. Energy from the lights are being converted into biomass and stored energy in these plants. The herbivourous fish, being a secondary consumer, would receive the most amount of energy by directly consuming the algae. It bears the same theory why going vegetarian would give you more energy than meaty foods. The energy from the algae is then converted to biomass in the fish and the waste products from fishes serve as another energy source for other organisms. As a rough guide, about 60% of the total energy taken in by the fish is being given off in its waste. This makes fish waste "energy packets" in which organisms, especially the saprophytes will then take in this energy and the cycle goes on. Most importantly, most corals do contain zooxathellae which is also a form of algae (for those who still do not know). The byproducts of photosynthesis by these algae in the coral's tissue would provide the coral with nutrition. By considering that certain corals will be able to give away its zooxathellae and then capture new ones, it seems to me that zooxathellae is essentially important to the coral. In conclusion, I am an advocate of having algae in our reef systems. Although there is a threshold to the nutrient levels in our tanks, we should not shun away from algal growth as it is all part of the natural ecosystem. The only problem which most reefers have misunderstood or have a misconception is that if I have that small patch of greens on the rock, my water parameters must be out of hand. This might not always be the case as I still have small patches of algae even though I have undetectable levels of nutrients. The problem will only arise when we have minor (yes, minor) cases of eutrophication where there is excessive algal growth due to an excess of nutrients.

Talking about me? I only know how to auto balance, unsharp mask and brightness/contrast Not that good in editing colours or else I make it purple and make you guys envious Anyway, have been dosing the Salifert AA for 4 days already but I have not seen much effect. I have also caught the habit of stirring up my refugium a little at night when the lights are off to feed the corals And still waiting for the Phoenix to arrive. At the mean time, going to head down to Iwarna this week to get some carbon. Finally, I have put my ozone on a timer which runs it for 15min every hour for 8 hours. That makes a total of 2hrs of ozone dosage every day

Yeah polyp extension looks ok today Wish me luck

Yeah I know hyacinthus is one of the more difficult specimens Had told Keith about this too as a cautionary note So with regards to your list, here's my checks 1) Multi-directional pulsing flow especially to the core of the table I have, especially when the currents are curving down at it 2) Strong lights 2x250w, the hyacinthus is around less than a foot from the surface 3) Stable parameters in the correct ranges (Alk 7-8, CA ~ 420, Mg ~1250, Low temp) Alk 8, Ca 480, Mg 1350, Temp 26-28 4) Pristine waters with very low PO4 levels (0.01-0.03) and NO3=0 PO4 undetectable, NO3 undetectable 5) Regular AA supplements 5 drops per day of Salifert AA 6) Regular water changes to replenish depleted trace elements and dilution of toxicity Weekly water changes with Coralife salt using DI water

jimng: Thanks, let's just hope it'll not brown up tineng: I am also holding back the cash. Hope it'll not be disappointing

Care to share so that I can do a checklist Have not gotten a hyacinthus before so I'm not sure of the colouring part But all my SPS are going great with their colours holding well so I guess it'll be ok

Thanks Alfa It's at the middle of the reef where currents on both sides meet so there's gentle multidirectional flow. And not to mention it is also under the area where the rays of both MH meet so lighting is not a problem. Hope it'll develop some nice growth and colours

veliferium: Got them from Harlequin tineng: I like your style, frag one for you when they grow up first ok btw, big big shipment want to hold frag trade with the guys?

Which one??

A. hyacinthus

I also got a hyacinthus table from PR Not something to shout about except the blue tips and pink polyps Hope it will change colour soon (not brown of course! )

It is leaking a little at the John Guest connectors but not a big problem I bought the o ring so that when I connect it to the tap, the pressure would not cause water to splash all over And as promised, the pink zoos

Haha still preparing, thanks for the concern Sure, you are invited as long as I am free Would love to see your setup too

The Beckett looks a little underpowered Try opening the air valve more

Salifert's amino acids are used mostly for SPS which is said to improve their colours and aid growth Don't think this is used to make coralline grow though I am currently using this product and I'll post a review in a couple of months' time