Timfish

Looks like both are cyanobacteria to me also. If you use chemiclean I have had better results doing a large water change first and syphoning off as much of the cyano first then treating. make sure you do a folow up water change also.

Can you post a picture(s) How old is your tank? The first 8 - 12 months a tank is running the olny thing I will do for unsightly algae is physical removal with a syphon and or toothbrush.

I wouldn't say this is a success yet but this I've finally got some color in this birdsnest (middle of picture). The tank has an Orphek PR 152 which puts out a lot of light but only is using CW and RB leds. I've had problems losing color with a plating monti's, green slimmer and birdsnest even though the PAR levels were similar to the tanks the colonies came from. After adding some red leds I'm getting some success. (Sorry the color is washed out some, photo was taken with my smartphone.)

Very good question and I don't have an answer except for "maybe". Here's a link to a two tone Birdsnest that's caused by lighting conditions I posted a couple of months back3. What intrigues my about this acro is there is very good research showing coloration is influenced by light intensity and pigmentation is increased as protection against too much light.1, 2 The light distribution on this colony clearly demonstrates the issue is more complex as the distribution of the green pigmentation is clearly influenced by water flow as well as light intensity (if the colony was under less intense lighting the green pigmentation would be less). What I do not know and don't have the resources to easliy determine is what the is distribution of the symbiotic Sympodinium spp dinoflagellates. Is the brown coloration indicative of higher concentrations of these algae, is there actually a variation in the distribution of the algae through out the colony? Is it indicative of different species being used in the same colony or is it indicative of different feeding mechanisms? 1 http://www.int-res.c...oa/m364p097.pdf 2 http://jeb.biologist...13/21/3644.full 3 http://www.austinree...-12-inch-makes/

Thought I 'd post this picture of an acro colony that has both different colors and different growth form and polyp extension influenced by the water flow over it. The left side is pretty much completely green with a tight dense growth form. The photo's don't show it very well (smart phone is still smarter than me ) but right side is mostly brown with just green tips, a more open growth form and very good polyp extension.

Well, not that I don't think my cannon design is brilliant but if you look at buildmyled stuff there's an argument for going with their fixtures. The cannon are going to run you $160 for parts then you have to assemble them and even without lenses the LED are fairly conentrated. With 3 cannons you will have areas you can grow SPS but I think you are going to have dark areas also. The 3' buildmyled fixture is almost the same wattage, 57 watts, $229 is $70 more than the cannon but this does not seem a huge difference to me1, has green and red LEDs, has a lower profile and does not itself need fans so no moving parts (although I'd be inclined to put a box/muffin fan in the hood). I think three of the 3' fixtures would give a more even coverage than three of the cannons and using two 2' in a triangle configuration with a 3' seems like it would work too (then you could put one of my cannons in the center ) 1 Compare to the Kessel A150 which is $225 & 32 watts - $7.03 per watt the Ophek DIF-30 which is $399 & 30 watts - 13.3 per watt or the Radion XR30 which is $599 & 126 watts - $4.75 per watt (but it is a nice fully programable fixture) By contrast the buildmyled 3' fixture would be $230 and 57 watts - $3.85 per watt and 3 DIY cannons would be $160 and 60 watts - $2.67 per watt (not including labor)

I got a marineland LED fixture that was hyped as acceptable for reefs and was very dissappointed, a couple of ecoxotic stingers or Current USA strips with similar wattage would be a better choice. The radion mentioned above is a really nice fixture and has a combination of colors. What I would avoid is any fixture that only used 2 or 3 colors and you definitely want something that includes some reds. Like Bio mentioned Builmyled.com is a sponser and they have some very nice fixtures. What size tank are you wanting to light up and what type of animals are you wanting to get? Does anybody know if Aquadome has a tank with buildmyled fixtures yet?

Unlike Jestep I do not see any harm in using them on display tanks outside of the heat issues. Choosing between have a UV and not having a UV i would not have a UV but I have run reef systems a year or more without any noticable adverse affect on the system. Considering potentially very long life cycle of ich once it's in a display tank the only long term effective remedy is a UV sterilizer. Many aquarists report success with food additives only and I mayself have seen ich cured spontaineiously in a healthy established reef tank, PRESUMABLY the corals feeding and have healthy fish is what allowed this to happen but it is not something I would rely on happening. Keep in mind the Regal Tang, Paracanthurus heptatus, when stressed out develops what superficially looks like ich but in my experience is not however if you did not observe it and it's tank mates closely through quarintine you have to assume it is. Here's a good research paper outlining it's life cycle: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa164

I would setup a 15-25 watt sterilizer with a pump that pulls water from the bottom of your display tank and dumps back into you display tank. The pump and sterilizer should be sized so it maintains a proper kill rate with a turnover of one or two times per hour. I have run sterilizers between the return pump and display tank with inconsistant results, partly because the higher flow rate of a return pump does not allow for a long enough exposure rate to kill the larva immediately putting them back in the tank with the fish. I also suspect since larval are hatching out from substrate a pump in the bottom on the tank will pull in more larva than waiting for the larva to get sucked over the overflow. Do not trust the marketing hype on the packaging, look at the flow rates needed to maintain a high kill rate for external parasites, often the max flow rates and tank sizes given on the outside of the packaging or the initial teaser line on a webpage are for removing algae blooms from water (green water) which has a much lower exposure rate. One disadvantage is UV are also heaters so watch you temp.

Bacteria found in human waste linked to white pox disease in Elkhorn corals: http://www.earthtimes.org/pollution/link-floridas-toilets-coral-killing-white-pox-disease-proved/1264/

If you set up another tank you are doing a lot of people a favor by taking the corals they have fighting for space.

There's always room for another system.

Excellent! More aquarist need to document their successes and problems this way.

We've got a lot of new memebers and this is a great thread so I thought I'd get it back to the top of the list.

There ae 11 species of Turbinaria and they are usually labeled LPS by hobbyests but keep in mind there is no scientific validity to the terms SPS and LPS nor is it a valid indicator of how a coral should be maintaned in captivity. I found it quite interesting to read about vermatid snails irritating corals. I have them literally in every tank and have never seen any of my corals irritated by them. Unless there is very obvious reaction by a coral specifically to the slime strings I would not bother with them.

This has certainly been a fascinating thread, how big is the mantis now? I guess the next question is what would have happened if you kept adding more snails or hermits. And why hasn't it taken out the mithrax?

Here's some links on testing, The one by Dr. Tim is pretty interesting but doesn't actually deal with a specific brand per se: http://dfwmas.org/files/TestKitAnalysis.pdf Aquarium Chemistry: An attempt to test test kits http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/6/chemistry Dr. Tim's Test review /www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPiDRid_Km8

I use API for pH, calcium and alkalinity. Elos for phosphates. (I don't bother much with ammonia, nitrite or nitrate.) The different articles I've seen comparing the different brands/manufacturers typically show most of the colormetric type tests are realatively reliable but also open to interpretation depending on the perceptions of the tester. It is important to store any reagents properly and don't use old stuff, I usually by new kits yearly.

Some lightbulb stores (American Light on Powell) will take bulk dead florescent bulbs but wiil charge (I don't know how much).

Very nice fixture! And being able to custom build one and see what kind of light output you'll get is fantastic! A real asset for aquarists!

Not to be fasetious but just feed your fish more.

Thank You! The lighting on the tank are 2 250 watt DE HQI MH in Lumenmax Elite reflectors. Here's the PAR readings:

These are pictures of an Birdsnest I've had in one of my tanks for quite awhile. It has an interesting variation in coloration based on lighting and I thought I'd post it. The demarkation in the color is directly under the edge of the MH fixuture above it.

Pat are you showing off agian!

One of the nicest anemoines I've ever seen was in a 75 gallon with a penguin 400 biowheel and a two bulb shop light. It was a beautiful rich brown with a bright white stripe running down each tenticle onto the oral disc and looked like it was close to 20 - 22 inches across.