Considering my budget, free time (both in shortsupply understatement), I am often amazed at the success I have with acropora corals in terms of growth and especially colouration.
I have spent considerable time pondering the reasons for my success:
Lots of advice, patience and late nights in the company of Liaquat, aka obi wan.........
All the SA reefers who have helped me learn from their experiences (and mistakes).......
With regards to the basics, I have them all in place, but nothing in the line of TUNZE, Powermoduls, bubblekings, chillers, profilux, Chillers, etc...........
I am not running zeovit, prodibio or dosing vodka, using, het even my light are just 150 watters in fittings without reflectors..........
How do I do it? The question most often asked when people see my tank for the first time....
The same question I have spent quite some time pondering and researching lately....
Thanks to Anthony for pointing out something which seemed insignificant, but the more i researched it, the more I came to understand how significant the practice of exposing corals to air could make a significant contribution to improved colouration in corals.
Now please, don't get me wrong, I am not punting a new cure all, magic pill, new method in reefkeeping. I am just analising seemingly insignificant practises, which could possibly have a synergistic effect on health of corals.........
Nor am I telling reefers to start lifting their corals out the water for a breath of fresh air, in fact, do not try the below, unless you fully understand the principles behind it................and even then.............proceed with caution...........
Enough blah blah blah, time to get to the point............
Lets look at the science:
Corals produce pigments to shade them from UV light, a well known fact......
In nutrient poor conditions, more light reaches corals, therefor more intense colour in lower nutrient levels, a well known fact......
Reef crest corals are often exposed to low air at low tides, especially during very low tides, a well know fact........
So waht happens when corals are exposed to air?
They poruce mucus, lots of it:
I have spent considerable time pondering the reasons for my success:
Lots of advice, patience and late nights in the company of Liaquat, aka obi wan.........
All the SA reefers who have helped me learn from their experiences (and mistakes).......
With regards to the basics, I have them all in place, but nothing in the line of TUNZE, Powermoduls, bubblekings, chillers, profilux, Chillers, etc...........
I am not running zeovit, prodibio or dosing vodka, using, het even my light are just 150 watters in fittings without reflectors..........
How do I do it? The question most often asked when people see my tank for the first time....
The same question I have spent quite some time pondering and researching lately....
Thanks to Anthony for pointing out something which seemed insignificant, but the more i researched it, the more I came to understand how significant the practice of exposing corals to air could make a significant contribution to improved colouration in corals.
Now please, don't get me wrong, I am not punting a new cure all, magic pill, new method in reefkeeping. I am just analising seemingly insignificant practises, which could possibly have a synergistic effect on health of corals.........
Nor am I telling reefers to start lifting their corals out the water for a breath of fresh air, in fact, do not try the below, unless you fully understand the principles behind it................and even then.............proceed with caution...........
Enough blah blah blah, time to get to the point............
Lets look at the science:
Corals produce pigments to shade them from UV light, a well known fact......
In nutrient poor conditions, more light reaches corals, therefor more intense colour in lower nutrient levels, a well known fact......
Reef crest corals are often exposed to low air at low tides, especially during very low tides, a well know fact........
So waht happens when corals are exposed to air?
They poruce mucus, lots of it:
Submerged
Acropora released 1.7 l of mucus per m2 of reef area per day,
as opposed to:
after air exposure, a regular event caused by extreme low tides
indicated that reef rim Acropora can release 4.8 l of mucus per m2 of reef area per day.
Coral mucus functions as an energy carrier and particle trap in the reef ecosystem
Christian Wild
1, Markus Huettel2, Anke Klueter3, Stephan G. Kremb4, Mohammed Y. M. Rasheed5 & Bo B. Jørgensen1
Furthermore:
More than half (56–80%) of the released coral mucus immediately dissolves in the sea water, and this dissolved fraction provides afood source for planktonic bacteria....
This corresponds to 10–21 mmol of particulate organic carbon (POC), 1.5–1.8 mmol of nitrogen and 0.08– 0.18 mmol of phosphorus
.
Coral mucus functions as an energy carrier and particle trap in the reef ecosystem
Christian Wild
Christian Wild
1, Markus Huettel2, Anke Klueter3, Stephan G. Kremb4, Mohammed Y. M. Rasheed5 & Bo B. Jørgensen1
Interesting................especially considering addition of carbon sources to tanks to feed bacteria, promoted as a nutrient way to reduce nutrients..............
My hunch is that even without adding sugars that the high density of fish and corals and inverts constantly releasing mucus in a closed water volume already has our carbon (as sugars) way far from normal, and this might be a case in point for skimming since so far it looks like skimmers are doing a good job of removing mucus as particulates.
Eric Borneman
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