FarmerTy

I would say to simplify, and I am by no means an expert, but if they share any type of flesh (coenechyme) then some sharing of nutrients may be occurring. We are talking a myriad of types of corals and different growth patterns here, even differentiations within species, so I'd imagine it would be hard to give a generic answer other than... if they share flesh, they're probably sharing nutrients too. I have witnessed the same colony of euphyllia have flesh connected throughout the whole colony (during periods of apparent good health) and not connected (during periods of poorer health). The interesting thing is that once the flesh is separated, during times of greater health, I have seen the flesh regrow between stalks. It would be an interesting experiment for someone to totally encapsulate a connected stalk of euphyllia to prevent it from getting any light and feed adjacent stalks that are still connected with flesh to see if it continues to thrive in a completely dark environment. I would imagine it would be clear from the death of all the photosynthetic zooxanthellae that resides within it but if the polyps are still fleshy and healthy looking, then it would seem that the nutrients shared through the flesh is sustaining it. The hard part would be to figure out a way to isolate the stalk in total darkness without depriving it of the benefits of water motion to be able to supply it with oxygen, remove wastes, and supply nutrients. -Ty

+1 Thanks for having the courage to put it out there. I would agree, it seems like a waste of everyone's time and attention.

Oh jeez, this forum is going to make me go broke. Phamily, I PM'em you. Any chance of a Phamily discount? Sorry, I had to say that, it was too perfect. -Ty

PM'ed again reefgazer. Let me know if the link doesn't work for you. Thanks.

I got some pretty sweet duncans. I'd be happy to frag one for the trade. Check out the link. http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj111/tybota/Macro%20Shots/duncan.jpg Ty

Start fishing... those lil' mushrooms usually play some wicked chemical warfare and more often then not, I've had them win out against most of my coral. I like to keep all mushrooms on isolated rocks and trim when it gets too crowded, before they decide to float off on me. My 2 cents. -Ty

Don, They are the little red one's. I don't have any acropora so the dreaded AEFW may not make it in my tank. :-) I've seen the little red one's take over a tank before so I gonna hit them, and hit them hard before they get any more populated than they are.

Hmmm, borrow with an intent to use it all may go against the definition of "borrowing" itself. I may not have anything left in that bottle for you to have back. If you are done with it, how about I give you a freshly dipped frag instead for it? I'll send you a link of some of my stuff. Thanks for the offer Eckreef! -Ty

My plan is to actually remove all of my coral (since most are still just frags because they were all transported from my nanocube), dip them individually, then put them in my new 125-gallon tank for quarantine. Then, bomb the old flatworm infested 60-gallon tank, skim wet, add carbon, and do large water changes like Eckreef suggested. A week later, bomb it again just in case some of those buggers or their larvae survived. Repeat process and then reintroduce all my corals again after a few weeks. I guess it helps to luckily have a 125gallon tank nearby that I can use for quarantine. I one day would like to start selling frags in the Austin community and I would feel quite irresponsible if I could not guarantee that my frags were pest free in every form of the word. I would go the organic route (6-lines and mandarins) but they would only limit the numbers, not eradicate them. Though I guess there is never a 100% guarantee but... I appreciate everyone's input on the flatworms. I'd give everyone +1 on karma points if I could. -Ty

Well, The flatworms finally caught me after avoiding them for 5 years now. Guess I was stocking my tank a little too quickly with all the lil' frags I was getting from everyone and I must have not dipped a frag properly and now they are introduced to my system. I wanted to see if anybody knew of a local source of Flatworm Exit or if I should go ahead and order one online. Thanks and wish me luck. -Ty

Thanks Mike for the awesome coral. Your tank is still one of the best looking tanks I've seen, always a joy. I forgot what the name of one of the pieces you sold me was! It's in the last picture of your first post, to the right of your green welso. Is it a neon green favite?

I'll take both Cindy. Pm'ed. -Ty

I target feed mine but different species take it and different one's will not accept the food. They have not split once for me but I solved that by putting a really sharp blade right down the middle of them. That'll show you who's boss! -Ty

Dendros and sun polyps, but you'll have to feed them. My blasto merlettis don't care for too much light either, though they still need some.

PM'ed

Pm'ed for the koralia. Thanks.

Thanks Mike for sharing your personal experience. I keep going back and forth but the amount of amps required for the 400 watts combined with the heat has me concerned. I am not planning to run a chiller so that definetely gives me serious problems with maintaining a proper temperature. Add to the fact that I have an older home with an older electrical box and that pretty much pushes it out of the question. I think I will go with everyone's suggestions of 3 250W lamps over the 125 gallon tank and in that case, may go for a cheaper e-ballast than the lumateks since I have no plans to run 400-watt bulbs. Thanks again for everyone's input. I want to do this tank right the first time through since I have had 2 other times to get it right and have come so close. -Ty

Hydro, I may run with your idea. I was contemplating the 250 watt 10k reeflux bulb just because of the higher par value for growth. Mainly because I run the 12k reeflux bulb in my show tank and it's a gorgeous color, but it is a lot dimmer than the 10k and I don't think that the dimmer bulb would really be as useful for growth in a grow-out tank. So, moving everything to a 400-watt in the 12k would make sense... dimmer bulb... add more wattage... bam, nice growth and still nice color. I will probably still go with three Lumatek e-ballasts to run the 400-watt 12k bulbs just in case I decide to switch to 250-watt instead, at least I still have the option without having to purchase additional ballasts. Daniel, to keep the whole thing cool, I was planning on mounting very large fans to blow across the bulbs and the surface of the water and to have a large repository of RO water and an ATO system for all the ensuing evaporation. That is how the previous owner of the tank kept his temperatures in his tank to a tolerable level. If it ends up being more cost effective to run a chiller, I may go that route as well. Thanks for all the input everyone! I learn so much from this forum everyday! -Ty

Thanks Lou, the tank is awesome!

I'm running the coralvue e-ballast as well, though mine is not dimmable. I'm thinking of just using the 10k bulb I bought in the frag tank I am setting up since it is geared for growth and not aesthetics anyways. If it starts coloring up a little better down the line a switch may be in order in the display tank. Thanks for the headsup. I have an 8hr metal halide photoperiod and a total 12hr actinic schedule.

I ordered and tried the 10k reeflux for 2 days. Yellow really isn't my color since I'm a fan of the blue so I'm sticking with the 12k. I could imagine though longer term that you would get great growth with that bulb. -Ty

Wow! PBNJ, you hit the nail on the head with that one. Guess I know what I'm saving for! Lumatek, here I come! Let me know how they work out for you PBJN when you get them. Thanks NonSequitur for the confirmation of the sockets. That'll save me a little money. -Ty

So, was curious as to everyone's opinion of a lighting setup. I was thinking of going with a 3- 250 watt metal halide setup with electronic ballasts. Kind of using this as a fragging tank and the ultimate goal is propagation. Think I should just do 400 watts instead? Any suggestions on e-ballast brands? Good growth bulb brands (not necessarily concerned with coloration, just growth- i.e. 10ks)? Will 400 watt bulbs fit in a regular 250 watt pendant and socket? Should I be worried about wires for the socket not rated for 400watts? I have 2- 250 watt sockets connected to reflectors, was wondering if I could use it for the 400 watt assemblies. Was thinking mixed tank of higher light corals at top, medium in the middle, and low at the bottom. Let me know what you think! Thanks in advance for all your expertise! -Ty

Hmmm, that's interesting Mike. I may have to look into the 20k's as well if they have a better PAR value than the 12k's. I'm just as curious if that is true and how it could be true.