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...and I don't mean substituting sand for live rock either. I mean a sterile, plain system with nothing but corals.
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yes. Live rock is there, mainly for its filtration properties isnt it? Coraline Algaes grow on glass, as does encrusting corals, so as long as you were able to maintain water quality, I dont see why not. It would look kinda stark, at least until the corals encrusted and covered the glass and whatnot...
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The xenia and mushrooms growing on my glass is proof, neh? Water quality is going to be your challenge, but if you somehow solve that, I don't see why not.
Sure, I just think it would be difficult to keep the corals from blowing over since you wouldnt have anything substantial for them to attach to. Some will attach to glass but is much more difficult. As for water quality all you need is a good biological filter in adition to skimmer and chemical filtration.
Matt_Wandell":e5i1qrwc said:I think he's saying no filtration. No skimmer, no wet dry, no carbon, etc. Just water and water movement, and light. And I think it is possible. And I think it will help if you start with ocean water. And I also think Chris already knows the answer.
A test? I'm not ready. The mantis ate my homework....
As far as the question asked, that would depend on the type of coral, wouldn't it?
Matt_Wandell":1n4hqgh6 said:I think he's saying no filtration. No skimmer, no wet dry, no carbon, etc. Just water and water movement, and light. And I think it is possible. And I think it will help if you start with ocean water. And I also think Chris already knows the answer.
No, you can have mechanical/chemical filtration, skimming, UV, ozone, any and all of that in the scenario, just nothing "live" though that reef aquarists typically rely on. No live rock, live sand, nothing. Epoxy to anchor corals, if necessary. We'll even go a step further. No food.
You're likely to get amphipod and copepods breeding in the mechanical filtration. Worms and sponges will likely come in, as well as some snails. This is just my experience with using "sterile" substrates in FO systems. I guess they all come in as larvae or small juveniles along with the fish water...and they're almost certain to come along as hitchhikers with the coral.
I think it's possible. But why do you ask?
I think it's possible. But why do you ask?
Matt_Wandell":3emm4a3q said:
Yes, not only that, but he settled, grew and reproduced Porites before the days of electricity on the Dry Tortugas at the beginning of the 20th century. He did it in vats using seawater that he had "sterilized" by keeping in the dark. Old water in the vats was drawn off and replaced with this seawater. The colonies grew and were maintained for five years.
I'm just curious to see how many people cling to the warm and fuzzy mesocosm/ecosystem notion that Adey pioneered so long ago with algae. It's still rampant in the hobby. DSB's, live rock, refugia, mangroves, algae, useless food, etc. etc., and warnings from "experts" like Shimek not to have too much of a "coral garden" in your tank.
If you stick with phytosynthetic corals only, yeah, I don't see why not. Otherwise, you have to make sure you are feeding them the right target food though.
If you start out with nothing "live", then you won't even have nasty bug problem.........provided that you FW dip all corals before you put in the "test" tank.
If you start out with nothing "live", then you won't even have nasty bug problem.........provided that you FW dip all corals before you put in the "test" tank.
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