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Terrible Advice Tuesdays (T.A.Tues): Mushroom Eradication Is EASY!
Terrible Advice Tuesdays (T.A.Tues): Eradicating mushroom corals requires simply cutting the top of the coral off. With the top removed, the base will die. The rest of the story: Whoever said must have fantastic luck or be completely delusional. The only way I’ve ever successfully eradicated mushroom corals from a tank is by cutting the top off, then completely covering the base with epoxy. If the smallest amount of the base is left uncovered, it will regrow a new top and the coral will start growing again. I’ll also add enough epoxy such that I cover an extra inch (1″) of the rock around the base of the coral to make sure it doesn’t somehow find light and start growing again. Other mushroom eradication methods I’ve tried include supergluing over the base, which doesn’t work as the coral will slime. The slime makes the glue not stick and fall off. Kalk slurry bombs also are ineffective as the slurry won’t stay in place long enough to kill the coral. Injecting the coral with a kalk slurry takes skill and luck as the coral usually retracts quicker than you can inject the kalk slurry. Finally, while you can completely remove the rock the mushroom coral is on, but sometimes that rock is a central part of your aquascaping and can’t be removed. Clearly simply cutting the top off the mushroom coral won’t get the job done. Update: Several readers informed me they’ve had luck with the aiptasia/majano wand for mushroom removal. MORE: Terrible Advice Tuesdays (T.A.Tues): Mushroom Eradication Is EASY!… More:
Posted in Corals, Equipment, Fish, Tanks, Uncategorized
Tagged advice, around-the-base, fish, fragging-coral, mushroom-coral, posttagged, reef enthusiast, rock
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SpectraPure Introduces Their Own Dual Chamber Media Reactor
Aquarium hobbyists have long known the benefits of activated carbon and granular ferric oxide (GFO) as major parts of the filtration system, and for the most part, the two have been used conjunction with with each other. While one took up dissolved organic material, the other absorbed photphate and silcates, both polishing and cleaning the water in the process. The immense benefit of both of these filter media products of course prompted aquarists to use multiple reactors, oftentimes with multiple pumps. Thankfully, the aquarium industry responded to the demand with dual stage reactors from the likes of Bulk Reef Supply, and now the other water filtration specialists at SpectraPure have their own version as well. While the SpectraPure Dual Chamber Media Reactor may appear remarkably similar to the BRS model, it differs in one very distinctive way. Where the BRS model has two chambers plumbed inline, the SpectraPure version has them plumbed up separately. Instead of flowing from one chamber to the next, the water line feeding the reactor splits off to independently feed both chambers simultaneously. While keeping the two separate in this manner may or may not be important isn’t even the point. What’s important here are the valves that can be used to regulate the flow rates through each chamber. GFO requires low flow speeds, as it is not desirable to tumble this media. If the grains do tumble, they could break apart and find their way back into the aquarium. Carbon, on the other hand, can have high or low flow rates, it really doesn’t matter much. Lower flow rates improve contact time, while higher rates move more water through the media. Getting back on track, another benefit to this layout is the fact that you could take one of the canisters offline, with the other still filtering water. This is ideal if say the GFO is exhausted before the carbon, or if there is some other issue. The retail price for the SpectraPure Dual Chamber Media reactor is set at $74.99, though it is currently on sale for $69.99. This is about $10 more than the BRS version, but given the fact that you can independently control the flow of each chamber, it’s well worth the extra green. MORE: SpectraPure Introduces Their Own Dual Chamber Media Reactor… More:
Posted in Industry, Uncategorized
Tagged aquarium equipment, immense benefit, industry, media reactor, spectrapure
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French Angelfish, Pomacanthus paru, Angelfishes
Good morning from a tiny island in the Caribbean called Curacao. While I was underwater shooting the submersible yesterday I was joined by a very curious French Angelfish who was pretty much begging to have his or her picture taken. I encounter these magnificent fish on just about every dive and it’s always the same circumstance. For instance, I will be shooting something else and these fish will swim directly in front of me and my camera as if to say “look at how beautiful I am, take my photo instead!” Then once they pass they always come back and usually do circles around me until I give them some attention. I remember once in Bonaire a dive master from Buddy Dive had two pet French Angelfish at a dive site on Klein Bonaire, the minute we jumped in they swam directly to him and waited by the boat until we returned. In this case he was feeding them fruit of some kind and they loved it, kind of strange considering their main diet is sponges. For you photographers, the slower and more quietly you dive the closer you will get to these fish, they tend to react differently to new or bad divers and usually will just swim away. I finally got into the deep-water labs yesterday and was able to photograph the beautiful assortment of slit-shells we currently have, will send that out to you tomorrow. I will be heading to Mexico in July to meet and work with the crew from the CATLIN project in Australia and help them photograph the reefs there, stay tuned for more. Well, we have two sub dives today, one will go to 1000 feet the other to around 550 so I need to get ready to submerge. Have a wonderful day, Barry MORE: French Angelfish, Pomacanthus paru, Angelfishes… More:
Posted in Conservation, Corals, Fish, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged angelfish, circles, magnificent fish, pomacanthus paru, shells
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Arrested by the Tang Police: I Refuse to Confess!
The Poster Child of the Tang Police: Paracanthurus hepatus is actually very site-specific and not range as widely over the reef as do other tang species.
Most marine aquarists who frequent online message boards have heard the term “Tang Police” (abbreviated here as TP). Some are even members of this group themselves, while a few other unlucky souls have been “arrested” by them. Conversely, there are also a few people willing to challenge their assertions regarding the swimming space requirements of Acanthurids (surgeonfishes and tangs). For those who haven’t heard the term, it will help to define the phrase “Tang Police.” The best way to identify an officer in this force is by hearing him LOUDLY express his opinions regarding the amount of swimming space required by tangs (or other species). MORE: Arrested by the Tang Police: I Refuse to Confess!… More:
Posted in Corals, Fish, Opinion, Science, Tanks, Uncategorized
Tagged author, corals, dry, hippo tang, officer, paracanthurus hepatus, physics, police, policy, science, tanks
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ORA Baby Clams
For those that don’t follow ORA’s blog or Facebook status, you’re missing out on some crazy photo updates from their various efforts to raise new and unusual animals. Pictured here are Hybrid Squamosa x Maxima baby clams, they were born in 2012 and are around 8 months old in this picture.… More:
Ocean Corals Shows Off Giant “King” Turbo Snail
Anyone who has been around the hobby long enough knows that marine snails, specifically turbo snails, can get pretty big. Mexican turbo snails are typically the largest we see, with certain individuals growing to be just a tad smaller than a baseball. But a recent import of ultra large Trochus snails (Trochus niloticus) by UK based Ocean Corals has us rethinking just how big and beefy marine snails can get. They recently shared images of what they’re calling King Turbo Snails on their Facebook page, which show these mega Trochus snails to be near 4-5″ in diameter and several inches tall. These snails are almost too large to fit in your hand! The going rate for these ginormous snails is £30 each, or just a shade under $50 at current exchange rates. A total of four were imported, but two have been sold as of yesterday. As far as information about this species goes, Gerald Heslinga of Indo-Pacific Sea Farms has a viewable paper on them HERE. MORE: Ocean Corals Shows Off Giant “King” Turbo Snail… More:
Posted in Corals, Uncategorized
Tagged aquarium invertebrates, aquarium livestock, corals, king turbo snail, trochus snail
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Deep Sea Crab, Deep Water Crabs, Spider Crabs
Good morning all, here’s a new crab they found yesterday at 767 feet buried in the sand out in front of the Substation. Talk about a face only a mother could love??!! He is currently doing very well in my giant cold-water aquarium equipped with all the comforts of home including deep sand, rocks and caves and things to crawl on. This lucky crab is being returned to were we found him sometime next week because we have no reason to keep him, we just wanted to take his picture. I will contact my friends at the Smithsonian today and get you his or her name and update the post immediately, it’s really a super cool creature! I am off to go take some photos of horses believe it or not, will be nice to be away from the H2O for a bit!! Talk more later, Barry MORE: Deep Sea Crab, Deep Water Crabs, Spider Crabs… More:
Posted in Conservation, Corals, Fish, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged comforts of home, deep-water, smithsonian, spider crabs, water aquarium
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Reef Threads Podcast #136
It’s Regular Guy Week #2! This week we welcome John Davis, who is not an aquarium hobbyist. He recently was exposed to the hobby while making an aquarium-pickup trip with Christine. Hear how this hobby appears to an “outsider.” Also, be sure to consider attending the Marine Breeders Initiative workshop, July 13. Download the podcast here, or subscribe to our podcasts at iTunes. Also, follow us on Twitter at reefthreads.—Christine and Gary Marine Breeders Initiative Workshop
This is an excellent event. Make every effort to attend. Click here to visit the website.… More:
The Unique Corals Supernova Scolymia is Absolutely Out of This World
To say that we have an obsession with those big, beautiful Scolymia australis corals is a bit of an understatement. We just can’t get enough of them, whether its watching videos of them inhaling various food items or just gazing at vivid pictures. In our constant perusal of Scoly web content, we always randomly find one or two that put all of the others to shame, but this latest beauty from Unique Corals has really raised the bar for this coral species altogether. Appropriately dubbed the Supernova Scolymia, this amazing piece has out of this world coloration. In fact, it is the best coloration of any Scoly that we’ve laid eyes on, even surpassing the beauty of those legendary ‘Master Scolys’. The 2.5″ WYSIWYG specimen is currently listed at $498, but we don’t expect it to stay on the Unique Corals site much longer, assuming it is still there when this article publishes. MORE: The Unique Corals Supernova Scolymia is Absolutely Out of This World… More:
Posted in Corals, Uncategorized
Tagged aquarium livestock, coloration, corals, scolymia, unique corals
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Unusual Documentary Expands upon Work of 19th Century Naturalists
Just about everyone wants to save the whales. Sharks get a whole week to themselves. The simple fact is, concerning the marine environment, it is the megafauna that gets all of the attention. Not to say that the attention is unwarranted; they are often amazing creatures, and they tend to be the most threatened by stresses like climate change and habitat degradation. All the same, the general public remains utterly unaware of the staggering diversity of strange life forms that inhabit the world’s vast oceans. Marine biologist C. Drew Harvell and filmmaker David O. Brown would like to help change that. The two have teamed up to produce a documentary entitled “Fragile Legacy.” The film focuses on delicate and bizarre marine invertebrates. The concept for the project comes from their shared fascination with the art of a father-and-son team of glass sculptors. Naturalist Leopold Blaschka (1822-95) was inspired to work with marine subject matter after encountering bioluminescent siphonophore jellyfish during a ship voyage to the U.S. His first work, based upon Philip Henry Gosse’s “British Sea-Anemones and Corals,” was a collection of glass anemones for the Dresden Natural History Museum. His son Rudolf (1857-1939), who was an avid aquarist, joined him in building what eventually became an enormous body of work. Purchased directly from the Blaschkas by Cornell University in 1885, the collection can be viewed at several galleries and the Johnson Museum of Art on campus. Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka are now remembered and admired for their impressive skill at modeling the distinct anatomical details of their subjects.… More:
Mr. Saltwater Tank TV Friday AM Quick Tip #128: It’s Getting Hot In Here, So Take Out All Your…
There’s some equipment on a saltwater tank that I love. There is other equipment that I hate, but is necessary. The good news is certain times of the year I can take out equipment that I don’t like and make my tank a little safer at the same time. MORE: Mr. Saltwater Tank TV Friday AM Quick Tip #128: It’s Getting Hot In Here, So Take Out All Your…… More:
Posted in Corals, Equipment, Fish, Uncategorized
Tagged callahan, dabbler, Equipment, facebookshare, fish, redditshare, reef junkie, saltwater-tank, stumblerstumblr
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Kessil Teases New Top Secret Panel Light Fixture
When it comes to aquarium illumination, the guys at Kessil seem to have the Midas touch. Since starting their foray into the aquarium realm back in 1Q 2011, at least in the eye of the public, each of their entries onto the market have been extremely well received. Their first product, the A150 and its variations, debuted with a huge splash, and that’s probably an understatement. Since then, the A350 and A360 have racking up even more fans to the brand, impressing us greatly along the way. To date, each of the Kessil products designed for aquarium use have come in the form of LED pendants, and it would appear that the lighting specialists are toying with the idea of branching out, at least where form factors are concerned. They recently teased all of us aquarium nerds with a couple of digital renderings of a potential Kessil LED panel light fixture over on their Facebook page. And from the looks of it, they’re on the right track. Pendant style lighting is sleek and stylish, but not everyone is a fan, choosing to stick with long fixtures instead. Each style has its pros and cons, and if you polled forum users, we know you would get a thousand different opinions. Regardless, there is a real market out there for light fixtures, so it’s no surprise that companies like Kessil are thinking about adding them to their offering. So, what sort of gear is Kessil looking at? Well, their latest digitally conceptualized fixture, which is just being called a “secret” Kessil panel light, is around two feet long and draws approximately 100w. The renderings show off a sleek, low profile light that can obviously be suspended over an aquarium. The hanging brackets that are attached to the fixture look remarkably like on-tank mounting legs, but again this is all a digital drawing board at this point. A handful of buttons grace the front of the fixture, a large top mounted fan provides activine cooling, and there might be some sort of antenna located on the right hand side of the light, though it’s hard to tell. We’re sure that the fixture, if it ever comes to fruition, will play nice with the Neptune Systems Aquacontroller, and going off Kessil’s track record, we know we won’t be disappointed. We honestly like the look of this fixture, and it’s a huge step up from the first concepts that were being rolled out (see below).… More:
Posted in Opinion, Uncategorized
Tagged aquarium equipment, aquarium lighting, Kessil, led lighting, Opinion
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