Reef Microbiology!

[java1]

Hello! Welcome to the forum side of the MACO Reef Microbiology course.

I will be posting the first week's reading on January 7th, 2008, and a 3-hour chat will follow on Saturday, January 12th. I'd like to tentatively schedule it for 2PM to 5PM, EST. However, I would be willing to reschedule it one or two hours earlier OR later to accomodate any conflicts.

Because chat with a large group can be somewhat hectic, and we have a limited time constraint for that medium, I hope that students will take advantage of the forum here to start threads with discussion and questions about anything related to the course material or reefs. I will be frequenting this forum on a daily basis to answer any questions and moderate discussion.

I will be covering the basics of microbiology in the first couple weeks, with some auxiliary material pertaining to marine microbiology. Later, when people become more facile with the subject matter, there will also be some primary literature (i.e. orginal research papers) posted as well, but for the most part we will stick to abstracts and/or discussion/conclusion sections since some of them can be quite technical. After all, my intention isn't to teach the latest and greatest in microbiological research techniques, but rather to illustrate some relevant concepts with real-life data.

It should be noted that the field of marine microbiology is rather new and untraveled. Many of the topics that would be of most intense interest to reefers are not heavily researched areas. So it is important to realize that there are not always definite answers to many common questions that reefkeepers may have. However, there is quite a bit of relevant data which can shed light through extrapolation on the microbiological workings in our aquaria. So, for example, although I may not be able to provide you all with a single magic bullet for home denitrification, hopefully with the understanding and knowledge conveyed in this course, one should be able to successfully tackle the problem on their own as the need arises.

Please chime in here and introduce yourselves as you first check in. In particular, I'd like to know what my student's backgrounds are. If any of you are scientists or have an educational background in science, or conversely have no background at all in science, please let me know. I'd like to tailor my instruction so that everyone learns something new.

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

Jason

 

[Fishie Nut]

Hello Jason.

I'm George. I am in Los Angeles, have a 300 gallon reef system. I am not a scientist nor do I have a background in microbiology. I used to teach secondary education history in New York, way back when.

I do find the first week's reading somewhat incomprehensible, although I'm slowly getting through it. It is somewhat less than a lecture, rather reading abstracts from a textbook, which I find much too complex for the average aquarist.

I am under the impression this is a course for aquarists to learn and understand the microbiology in a succint and understandable forum and not a graduate course in microbiology. Am I incorrect? Is the remainder of the course going to be similar, with textbook sections to read, then discussion on Saturday or are you going to fashion it toward the reefkeeper and the keeping of marine aquariums?

BTW, Saturday afternoon is great for me; the earlier the better. I look forward to the class and hope I can follow along without too much frustration.

Thanks: George

 

[java1]

Hi George!

I'm sorry that the first week's reading seems so academic.

Generally speaking, microbiology is the study of bacteria and viruses. Although seawater is actually packed with viruses, we will be ignoring that component and concentrating on the role of bacteria in our systems. In order to do that I provided introductory, college-level microbiology material for the first week's reading in order to provide a foundation to build upon later. Concepts like growth curves or nutrient cycling may seem irrelevant, but are actually very central to understanding subtleties of the nitrogen cycle and techniques used to manipulate it in our aquaria.

The first week was intended to establish a common language in order to discuss these topics. If later we discuss the initial unhindered exponential growth due to a dose of vodka, for example, I would rather that we all have a common definition to refer to, because conversations along those lines on message boards become bogged down in misunderstanding or alternate preferred definitions for the same concept.

The second part of the week's reading, the Nature article, is intended to illustrate the ecological entanglement of various scales of biology in the ocean. It addresses the roles of dissolved organic material, suspended bacteria, reef snow, all topics i thought people in our hobby would find interesting, discussed in a scientific context outside of the bias of our typical hobby literature. Obviously it is not imperative to memorize the organizational web illustrations or other minutiae, but rather to get an idea of the interrelationships at the microbiological scale.

In general, bacterial populations and their activities are extremely dynamic, and can alter chemistry in microenvironments on a timescale that can be measured in minutes and hours. This is somewhat contrary to the hobby-based view that bacterial effects are slow-acting or take months to manifest. My intention in these early weeks is to provide a foundation by which everyone can appreciate these workings to the fullest within their own aquaria.

So, to George and all the other students, please post here any topics that you think I should expand upon or explain further, and I will address them.

 

[java1]

Oh and to address George's other question:

Because I didn't envision the students doing the majority of talking during chat, I planned on using the chat session to bring in relevant topics from our hobby. So just like most classes of any subject, it's useful to read first, then discuss the topics and the relevant implications later. So, I was planning on using chat as our "lecture" with the outline of subjects to be covered along with reading provided beforehand. I have a hard time envisioning "lecturing" online any other way, except for ongoing discussions here in this forum.

 

[James S. Baker]

Greetings to my fellow students and to our instructor!

As my shockingly imaginative user name would suggest, my name is James. I have no formal background or education in the sciences beyond a high school level. I have, however, had a life-long interest in science in general, and the biological sciences in particular. My (also nearly life-long) interest in the aquarium hobby is one manifestation of this. I'm an avid reader of, well, anything that interests me, which is often something related to biology. For me, much of the material covered to date has been review (which is not a bad thing!), but I've also already learned quite a few things (which is even better!). I've had no trouble assimilating anything so far, although I can appreciate that the learning curve may be rather steep for many aquarists. There are exceptions, but for the most part the hobby literature glosses over the critical role of bacteria in our aquaria. That's a shame, but it's also why a course like this is such a good thing.

- James

 

[olaf1]

Hey Jason,

I have been an aquarist for about 30 years now, since I was 7. I started with freshwater, soon after went to brackish water then after a while advanced to saltwater then to reef.
I have some formal background in science, (some pre-med college classes), but didn't continue that route. I ended up going into design. I have studied science since I could open a book. I am fascinated with science and technology and ways things work biologically and/or mechanically. I am definitely not a school type person, majority of what I know is from me having an interest and learning it on my own. After being out of school for this many years, I didn’t know what to expect from a class, especially online, so here it goes…

I didn’t have any issues with the readings assigned to us. Actually, it dusted some of those cobwebs off from earlier learnings in my life.

About four years ago, I ended up getting a contract to do maintenance on a doctors FowLR saltwater aquarium. Since then I have picked up many contract for setup and maintenance of saltwater aquariums. This has turned into my second business.

 

[Bob5920]

Hello All,

My name is Bob and I reside in El Paso, Texas. I'm originally from Chicago, IL and needed to bring some form of water to a desert, so I got into Marine Aquariums about 3 years ago. I have an engineering background which covers science & technology but not much biology. My difficulty with the readings was solved with an online dictionary and the resurfacing of some old brain cells.

My purpose for taking this course is to learn enough of the basics to apply natural methods for achieving & maintaining a healthy environment for my marine tanks.

Saturday's works great for me and like George the earlier the better.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Patty11550]

Hi, my name is Patty. I am not experienced with forums or reef tanks. But I have had a freshwater tank for 40 years and I am planning a 150 gallon reef tank I am purchasing in February. It will have 5 -6 inches of live sand, live rock , a sump and protein skimmer. Something for water movement. I plan to let things develop naturally for awhile. Not really sure yet what live creatures will be added when. I am depending on my local aquarium retailer. I have been researching many marine and reef aquarium books. My last contact with biology or chemistry was a LONG time ago. But I want to struggle through the course as best I can. I think it is good for me to be reading the material in this course. It will help me evaluate and remember what I am reading in my library.
Thanks!

 

[walla2butterfly]

hi My name is Tami and I live in the land of onions and grapes; Walla Walla Washington. I have had some form of tank for as long as I can remember. I finally took the plunge 2 yrs ago in to SW, and so far have loved it and wondered what took me so long to take that first step. I have had some college level science classes dealing with biology in humans, so some of the cell stuff rang bells in the brain, ( just some were slow to respond). I am taking this course to improve my understanding of my tank over there, and would like to be as natural as possible in its set up. I plan on setting up another tank ( have built the stand, but figured I had better redo the floor under it, or live with it for ever), and hope to use some knowlegde attained here with it. Also I have a quilt complex over loosing some LS after a long power outage ( though I know it wasnt my fault but still feeling guilty)
I got to know some of you a little on chat today, and sounds like we have a good group to get to know, share and learn with
Tami

 

[dma6473]

Hi. I just got signed in and will have to catch up.

I studied some microbiology in college, several years ago. I was very interested in the subject.

I am a hobbiest with a 75 gallon reef tank with fish, 120 fowlr, a couple of 30s with clownfish pairs and a new 56 for my cute little dogface puffer. I also have a freshwater 150 with a tiger oscar and pleco.

I am interested in a microbiology course because I looked at the contents of my protein skimmer under the microscope and wanted to learn more about the things I saw. Also, I have rotifers and brine shrimp tanks which are fairly new to me and I need to be able to keep them up and running.

Donna

 

[Patty11550]

Hello, again. I am going to be on vacation for a week and a half and will try to catch up and join in when I get back. Just now got the mIRC configured I think. I feel a little lost reading the course forum but will be able to take my time when I get back.