Randy's Tank and Learn Thread

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

We had a sebae that my wife loved that was all white with purple tips. Within about 2 months it colored up to a drab brown that she didn't really like as well. So we tend to avoid the whites in corals and anemones since they may be bleached.

Thanks, yes, I know the white part is bleached, probably from transit and being at Petco under dim lights for some unknown length of time. :)

 

[Miami Reef]

I really like Sebae anemones, but I never had long term success with them. They usually arrive whiter than bare calcium carbonate.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I really like Sebae anemones, but I never had long term success with them. They usually arrive whiter than bare calcium carbonate.

I would absolutely love to have one like I did years ago, but I rarely see them available:

 

[rishma]

Inspired by the awesome life in your tank, I got some phytofeast live. I didn’t read the directions carefully and dosed 10x the recommended amount. I wondered by the tank was so cloudy!

I happened to have done a couple nitrate tests lately following my phosphate dose adventure. I tested nitrate this morning and it had dropped from 18 to 8…I guess my phyto was hungry.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’ve never really understood why live phyto lowers nutrients unless much of it is skimmed out. Something eating it will end up releasing a lot of the N and P in it, assuming it acts like other foods.

 

[twentyleagues]

I’ve never really understood why live phyto lowers nutrients unless much of it is skimmed out. Something eating it will end up releasing a lot of the N and P in it, assuming it acts like other foods.

My guess is a lot is skimmed out. Never had any tests done on my skimmate they do that dont they?

 

[rishma]

I think over a long enough period phyto doesn’t lower nutrients unless skimmed out or the nutrients are incorporated into coral tissues. In a short period I imagine the phyto consumes nutrients, then it’s temporarily not available in the water when tested.

 

[Miami Reef]

I would absolutely love to have one like I did years ago, but I rarely see them available:

Stunning. I didn’t know that was a sebae. Very nice!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Stunning. I didn’t know that was a sebae. Very nice!

Sebae seems a name that gets applied to multiple species, but it is an H. Crispa. :)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I think over a long enough period phyto doesn’t lower nutrients unless skimmed out or the nutrients are incorporated into coral tissues. In a short period I imagine the phyto consumes nutrients, then it’s temporarily not available in the water when tested.

I guess I’ve been thinking about nonphotosynthetic organisms (fish, people, etc) where the N and P in foods is way more than the organisms need and they excrete it.

But a photosynthetic coral might have an excess need for N and P, and might use it to grow tissues.

 

[rtparty]

I’ve never believed that phyto actually lowered nutrients in systems. I figured they used it to grow which took it out of the water column (thus levels go “down”) but as soon as they die or are consumed, the nutrients go back into the water or into the thing that consumed them. Those nutrients don’t actually leave the system

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I posted a follow up thread on the LTA asking the anemone experts how large they think it needs to get before it can host a pair of pink skunks without getting too beaten up:

Anemone size for good clown hosting

I have an LTA that is likely too small to host a pair of pink skunk clowns without getting too beaten up by them. But the question is, how large should an LTA be before getting a pair of pink skunks?

www.reef2reef.com

 

[rishma]

I posted a follow up thread on the LTA asking the anemone experts how large they think it needs to get before it can host a pair of pink skunks without getting too beaten up:

Anemone size for good clown hosting

I have an LTA that is likely too small to host a pair of pink skunk clowns without getting too beaten up by them. But the question is, how large should an LTA be before getting a pair of pink skunks?

www.reef2reef.com

My skunks hosted in my LTA when it was fairly small. No issues. Then it grew very big

 

[Reefer1978]

I personally doubt all phyto gets skimmed out, as I dose way more as compared to the waste my skimmer is pulling out. Have to admit I don't have an answer, other than my test results that do show nutrients going down substantially.

 

[rishma]

I personally doubt all phyto gets skimmed out, as I dose way more as compared to the waste my skimmer is pulling out. Have to admit I don't have an answer, other than my test results that do show nutrients going down substantially.

Concentration between your skimmate and dosed phyto is certainly different, right?

I saw a drop in nutrients over 24 hours when I dosed yesterday. So it went somewhere. Removed? Probably not. Consumed and sequestered in the phyto is more likely in my mind.

 

[Reefer1978]

Concentration between your skimmate and dosed phyto is certainly different, right?

I saw a drop in nutrients over 24 hours when I dosed yesterday. So it went somewhere. Removed? Probably not. Consumed and sequestered in the phyto is more likely in my mind.

I am dosing 16oz of concentrated phyto daily over the last 6 months. Skimmer cup is cleaned every 3 weeks. Nitrates went down from 8ppm to 2.9ppm over the last 2 months.

 

[rishma]

I am dosing 16oz of concentrated phyto daily over the last 6 months. Skimmer cup is cleaned every 3 weeks. Nitrates went down from 8ppm to 2.9ppm over the last 2 months.

My tank regularly varies between 5 and 15 ppm over periods of months without phyto. I don’t really know why, maybe carbon dosing. In the last 24 hours after dosing phyto my nitrates went from 18 to 8. I assumed it was my big dose of phyto but who knows.

 

[Reefer1978]

My tank regularly varies between 5 and 15 ppm over periods of months without phyto. I don’t really know why, maybe carbon dosing. In the last 24 hours after dosing phyto my nitrates went from 18 to 8. I assumed it was my big dose of phyto but who knows.

I don't think they would work that quickly. Not question you, but I would question the test kit.

 

[rishma]

My tank regularly varies between 5 and 15 ppm over periods of months without phyto. I don’t really know why, maybe carbon dosing. In the last 24 hours after dosing phyto my nitrates went from 18 to 8. I assumed it was my big dose of phyto but who knows.

I don't think they would work that quickly. Not question you, but I would question the test kit.

Sure. Could be the Hanna checker, though it’s been pretty repeatable. I have no idea how fast phyto could work. Does seem fast.

 

[twentyleagues]

Concentration between your skimmate and dosed phyto is certainly different, right?

I saw a drop in nutrients over 24 hours when I dosed yesterday. So it went somewhere. Removed? Probably not. Consumed and sequestered in the phyto is more likely in my mind.

IDK if its just my tank but when I dose phyto I turn the skimmer off for a couple hours just to let the phyto circulate. If I dose and leave the skimmer on the water clears twice as fast usually within an hour if skimmer is on, if off 2-3 hours before the water is mostly clear again. I was dosing quite a lot of phyto little over 10oz doubling the recommended 1 ml/gallon.