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CKS

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    40g Long Naturally lit macro-algae tank

    in General Reefkeeping_

    Posted · Edited by CKS

    Status of the tank as of 14-Mar 2016

    The C.Prolifera in the display tank got wipe out again, something is feeding on them and they are not growing fast enough to sustain. However, the Ochtodes and the hitch-hiker brown algae exploded in size. The changes can be quite dramatic. It is also fast becoming aiptasia heaven due to how much i've been feeding. Please let me know if you have peppermint shrimp to let go :)

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    Also new is the rose petal algae acquired from T95 long ago which i've been incubating in the sump. It was just a little red 'leaf' when i gotten it.

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    40g Long Naturally lit macro-algae tank

    in General Reefkeeping_

    Posted

    Are those purple algae? Where did you get those ?

     

    Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk

     

     

    Hi Harlequinmania, I believe those are the Blue Ochtodes. It has been a like riding on a rollarcoaster growing them, there were reduced to just one palm sized a while ago, glad they made it back :) Gotten them from Henry/MarineLife sometimes in mid-2015

    40g Long Naturally lit macro-algae tank

    in General Reefkeeping_

    Posted

    Finally took the time to clean-up the coralline covering the front of the tank and now i've a clearer FTS of the 40g salad platter smile.gif

    160224-201937-02-Edit.thumb.jpg.2e2808de

    The Ochtodes are back! They received the most flow and are attached firmly to the rocks.

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    I've also gone without skimmer for about 3 months. It occupied too much space in the sump, and i prefer to grow more macros with that space. The ATS is on the right side.

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    Powering the sump is 18W 660nm LED. It is typically positioned so that the ATS receives 50% of the energy.

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    • Like 1

    40g Long Naturally lit macro-algae tank

    in General Reefkeeping_

    Posted · Edited by CKS

    Finally having better luck re-planting the Ochtodes and C.Prolifera into the display tank. The C.Prolifera usually got wipe out within 2-3 days, and have been in the DT for over 3 weeks now. A cluster of them in the high-flow zone sitting high up on the rockwork. Thank you Henry (MarineLife) for the seed supply of C.Prolifera :)

    Also shown in this photo is a brown hitch-hiker macroalgae (Lobophora?)

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    Another cluster of the C.Prolifera are on the sandbed protected by eggcrate, they've started to take root too smile.gif

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    Photo of the Ochtodes taken on 10-Jan-2016. They were congesting the overflow :D Half of them were transferred to the display tank now.

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    The FTS to come maybe in a week time when the C.Prolifera are more established. Ending this post with a photo of hitch hiker banded marine worm

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    • Like 2

    40g Long Naturally lit macro-algae tank

    in General Reefkeeping_

    Posted

    Bro thanks for sharing. Where did u buy the additives esp magic iodine n Magnesium? 

    the Iron is from MarineLife and the other 2 is from PolyArt. Iodine is harder to find i think due to lower demand. That seachem product is meant for freshwater planted and im using that to maintain the NO3

    Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

    • Like 1

    40g Long Naturally lit macro-algae tank

    in General Reefkeeping_

    Posted · Edited by CKS

    Hi bro CKS, beautiful tank. May I ask what macroaglae will not be eaten by Tangs? I want to have small macro algae like grass growing on the sandbed. What would be suitable? Thanks

    Thank you Patrick :)

    So far i've had success with Caulerpa Serrulata (razor) which will root itself onto sandbed and my regal tang left it alone so far. Caulerpa Prolifera would look nicer (smoother looking) and look very nice on sandbed. I've tried planting them onto the sand but it got wiped out and i did not managed to witness what ate/destroyed it. They are very suitable for sandbed since they will root well and i'll try again when i've more steady supply of Prolifera. I'm growing them in the sump now.

    Also, these are what i have been dosing weekly

    20151220_160107_resized.jpg

    40g Long Naturally lit macro-algae tank

    in General Reefkeeping_

    Posted · Edited by CKS

    Here are some photos taken today 17-Dec-2015 of new additions, new weeds i've just gotten from MarineLife today.

    The skimmer has been turned off for 2 months already and i've still been dosing KNO3 to maintain NO3 at 10-20ppm. PO4 reads about 0.025 on the low range test kit. I've also started dosing Iodine on-top of Iron as i've read from multiple sources that the brown and red algae requires Iodine.

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    Close up of the new additions.

    Dictoya (i think?)151217-194328-03.thumb.jpg.8efa3e6cea0e4

    Galaxaura

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    Spaghetti Weed - Liagora (i think?)

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    And an update of the back-up strain in the sump

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    The Ochtodes are growing really well in the overflow!

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    I never had luck with the grapes as the regal tang has taken a liking for this algae. However, i've discovered that by planting it where the strong return-pump current is, the tang would leave it alone :D These are one of the fastest growing algae in the sump too, so the tang does get some algae treat from time to time.

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    Lastly, a photo of our little garden where the tank sits

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    Brittle star blood spray

    in General Reefkeeping_

    Posted

    Hi bros, update: My brittle stars are still alive, so it should be good. I also noticed that my favites extended their feeding tentacles a while after the spray incident. So i assume whatever was sprayed is nutritious and not poison... So it should be sperm or eggs right?? Haha

    I just read up that brittle stars will climb up to the highest point to spray their sperm/eggs, which sounds like what happened to mine. Also, a change in temperature can trigger spawning for certain starfish species. So I'm wondering if the acclimatization process actually triggered it accidentally, since my tanks would obviously be a a different temperature from the plastic bag. it didn't happen immediately also... Only 30 minutes later, after i finished acclimatizing them to my water as well. Maybe can experiment with temperature change to see if that's the trigger for brittle star spawning too. 

    Thanks for sharing. Those are good points, i might try to 'stress' them soon to breed more of it :ph34r:

    Brittle star blood spray

    in General Reefkeeping_

    Posted

    Hi bros, thanks for the info... I was wondering if it might be spawning because i know snails spray into the water too. I also went to youtube to check. So far the starfish sperm is usually white. . But this one looks reddish brown and kind of.... creamy? Yuck :P

    I just witnessed another star doing this thing. He just flopped over and started oozing the reddish brown thing, then flopped back and carry on his business. Unless it's actually poop?? But it didn't come from the central mouth, more like from the five slits where the arms join the underside of the body cap. They seem ok though. Super weird.

     

    I have been waiting for that to happen in my main tank but it never did, i even turned off the skimmer anticipating the spawning.. you are lucky!

    • Like 1

    Brittle star blood spray

    in General Reefkeeping_

    Posted

    Hey all, just experienced a scene out of a horror movie. I just acquired some brittle stars from a nice bro and was acclimating them to my main tank. After I put 2 in, they proceeded to explore the tank (light are off) and started climbing up the glass. One climbed up to the outlet of the return pump and was blown to the front of my tank. To my horror, it suddenly started flailing and started spraying what looks like blood into the water. I couldn't really tell since it was dark but it looked felt like at least 3 seconds worth of spraying. To make thing worse, the other star, which was below, suddenly reared up and started spraying "blood" in response. Then they both plopped down and slithered away to hide. I have never seen such a thing before, any experts ever experienced this? It happened so fast that I couldn't take pics. Now I just hope they don't die or something. I checked online but didn't find any ino on this crazy behavior. Super scary emoji31.png

     

    Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

     

     

    wahahhaa those are actually robots designed to infiltrate and destroy unsuspecting owner's tank :ph34r:

    I have witnessed that happened once only and it happened outside the tank under stress i think. Please keep us updated on the status of the stars

    40g Long Naturally lit macro-algae tank

    in General Reefkeeping_

    Posted

    Recently, I experienced massive die-out of the Caulerpa Serrulata. Fortunately, there are still some small healthy strain in the sump. The now emptier space on the sand gives the dragon breath more space to flow freely and grow. Here is the tank on 22 Nov 2015.

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    A small piece of Ochtodes planted itself at the overflow seems to be growing well, maybe it prefers to be semi-submerged with good flow, it gets alot of direct sunlight too.

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    The Caulerpa polifera & the Ochtodes are growing well in the sump, i'm planning to populate the sandbed of the display tank with these polifera.

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    Also replaced the lighting setup with something much easier to replace, just 2 pieces of 5mm acrylic sheets. These are 40W of LED light for viewing at night. It is also much easier to change the lighting pattern now :D

    151122-171337-09.thumb.jpg.6d3f38dea50eb

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