by ReefBum | Dec 24, 2015 | Corals, Fish, Reef, Science, Tanks
Reef Tank Tip – Resist The Urge to Submerge There are a number of best practices for reefkeeping and one of the bigger ones in my book is to try and minimize the amount of time I put my hands in the tank. I consider myself a perfectionist and when I started to keep reefs I was always looking at my tanks and tinkering with the rocks or corals to achieve a “better” look. I would buy a new coral and spend a lot of time trying to place it just right, moving it from spot to spot. This stressed out the coral and made it tough for it to establish itself in its new environment. What I learned over time is that Mother Nature needs to by AquaNerd | Dec 22, 2015 | Corals, Reef, Science
The AquaNerd featured coral of the week originated from a zoa colony collected by ReefGen, called the Superduperman Zoanthid. These beautiful zoas are brightly colored, very hardy, and grow rapidly once established in the aquarium. For optimum growth, the Superduperman Zoa prefers moderate lighting and moderate water flow. We went to the ReefGen site to locate a price but it appears their site is currently under construction, however we were able to find these for sale at Unique Corals. For Eight to Ten polyps a nice frag sells for $34.00. Photo by Unique Corals Care: CARE LEVEL: Intermediate TEMPERAMENT: Semi-Aggressive PLACEMENT: On rock-work or rubble WATER MOVEMENT: Moderate LIGHTING: Moderate HUSBANDRY NOTES: Unique Corals grows their zoas out under a combination of LED and by AquaNerd | Dec 21, 2015 | Tanks
Aquarium maintenance companies are often asked to set up up a fully functional reef aquarium as quickly as possible. You know, just like they do on those reality TV shows. Well, entertaining TV aside, that’s not how it works in the real world of reefkeeping is it? A successful start to a reef aquarium requires establishing the necessary bacterial colonies to manage nutrient loads and avoid toxic accumulations of nitrogenous waste. Nevertheless the speedy set up of a life-sustaining reef aquarium is an appealing concept if it can be done in the interest of the inhabitants. And we’re not talking here about cycling a new system with stressed out damselfish. New on the reefkeeping scene is a system aimed at the professional aquarium maintenance by AquaNerd | Dec 17, 2015 | Corals, Reef, Science
Combo Joe’s Retina Blaster and Fukushima Acan This weeks Featured Coral of the Week comes to us from one of our sponsors, Joe Knows Reefs. As featured above, Combo Joe’s Retina Blaster and Fukushima Acan give a visually appealing display involving every color of the rainbow. Speaking about this stunning Australian Acanthastrea, Joey Nichols tells us that it has been in his grow out system for about 6-7 months thriving best under conditions of low water flow and low to moderate lighting conditions. In the reef aquarium, Acanthastrea corals are very hardy and fast growing. They are some of the most ideal corals for fragging with a quality frag saw. Like many aquarists, coral farmers and coral importers, Joey uses the Gryphon Aquasaw to cut through the by Saltwater Smarts | Dec 5, 2015 | Corals, DIY, Opinion, Reef, Science, Tanks
These SPS coral species are a beginner’s best betUpon entering the world of small polyp stony corals (or SPS), many people ask the magic question, “Which types are best for beginners?” In my opinion the most beginner-friendly choices are found in the genera Montipora, Pocillopora, Seriatopora, and Stylophora. Most of the corals I’ll discuss here are commonly available, so there should be a low cost of entry. They’ve also proven fairly hardy in my experience and can be kept in a wider range of parameters than most SPS corals. What’s more, they’re rarely susceptible to the dreaded rapid or slow tissue necrosis (RTN/STN) that you see in Acropora species. General requirements for these SPS coralsCare level: moderate Temperament: peaceful (will not try to attack neighboring corals but will most likely lose to aggressive species) Lighting: moderate to high (of the correct full spectrum) Flow: medium to high Temperature: 72-78F Alkalinity: 8-12 dKH pH: 8.1-8.4 Specific gravity: 1.023-1.025 Preparing for SPS The ultimate practice for these corals is mastering water parameter stability. Don’t chase specific numbers, but if you can keep parameters in the required ranges and stable with very little variance and spikes, you can keep practically any coral. The only other specifics to each coral are placement, which impacts lighting; flow requirements; and whether they need to be fed. These are primarily photosynthetic corals, but additions of amino acids and other elements may help with coloration and growth
