therman's 12 year old SPS system...top down shot, starting to enjoy this tank again

[flockaveli]

You seem to have quite the BC collection. Do you happen to have the BC Morning Star? I asked Adam about it and he said he lost his colony. I've always been curious what a colony of that might look like

 

[justingraham]

I'll try to take a pic of mine. Mine is a pretty vibrant green with purple tips, but that's mainly it though.

Yea what I see in this coral is hard to explain and no photo I have taken has done it justice
Also I wouldn’t and I’m sure Tim wouldn’t either Say it has every color in the rainbow but I have four to six different shades of colors that really make this one hard to take your eyes off of

 

[SeaDweller]

Yea what I see in this coral is hard to explain and no photo I have taken has done it justice
Also I wouldn’t and I’m sure Tim wouldn’t either Say it has every color in the rainbow but I have four to six different shades of colors that really make this one hard to take your eyes off of

well, it looks like I'm doing something wrong. Mine is only two colors, that I've tried to see... now you have me curious, Justin....

 

[justingraham]

well, it looks like I'm doing something wrong. Mine is only two colors, that I've tried to see... now you have me curious, Justin....

Let it be
let it be
yeah let it be
Let it be
right around 250
Let it be
Let it be

 

[biecacka]

Tim I look forward to meeting you at the CORA swap finally. Might even grab a frag or 2 from ya

corey

 

[therman]

Tim I look forward to meeting you at the CORA swap finally. Might even grab a frag or 2 from ya

corey

Let me know if there is anything in particular you are looking for that I should bring. I’ve been super busy getting a backup system up and running and have been jam packed in the old system so I didn’t get the opportunity to cut much specifically for the swap.

 

[therman]

You seem to have quite the BC collection. Do you happen to have the BC Morning Star? I asked Adam about it and he said he lost his colony. I've always been curious what a colony of that might look like

Not that I know of....never heard of that one.

 

[therman]

Tim, you have an incredible collection of corals! This is such a gorgeous thread to be watching. Thanks for sharing!

Do you have any fish in that system to control the flatworms? They don't appear to be a nuisance, but I imagine that it makes people reconsider purchasing frags from your system since everything seems to be considered a pest these days. Do you face challenges when selling corals? It would be difficult for me to pass on your corals because they look incredible and healthy. In fact, I purchased some from you back in March at the Ohio Reef Marine Expo in Perrysburg.

I'm excited to see your table at the CORA swap this weekend!

Honestly I think the flatworm obsession is paranoia based on ignorance and inability to identify different varieties of flatworms. Unfortunately this hobby (and everything) has trended away from education and observation towards "rules" and blanket generalizations. The brown photosynthetic flatworms in my photos have never caused any problems that I can discern in 20+ years keeping reef tanks. If nothing else they are a helpful indicator of low flow spots with detritus buildup that might need attention. I have had a few people comment on them over the years and I just laugh it off. Maybe people avoid my corals because of it, but if so they never told me. I have had a couple of incidents of uninformed hobbyists purchasing corals and freaking out over "bugs" on the plug...which really makes me shake my head. I do my best to shake/blow off every plug in front of a gyre now before I ship just to keep my life simpler

The most trouble free (and cheapest) fish to keep them in check are Sapphire damsels, Chrysiptera springeri. Though I dont think I've ever seen one eat them, they nearly all disappear over a few months after adding one. They stay small, pretty, and very peaceful and I have 2-4 in most of my tanks now. I actually just picked up another pair today to add to the tank with the offending photo above. I do have a melanurus wrasse in one tank that also seems to eat them, but they get kind of large and tear up your other microfauna too. I've heard psychedelic mandarins eat them too, but I dont feel like I have enough microfauna to keep them happy, since most of my tanks are bare bottom now.

 

[nickkohrn]

Honestly I think the flatworm obsession is paranoia based on ignorance and inability to identify different varieties of flatworms. Unfortunately this hobby (and everything) has trended away from education and observation towards "rules" and blanket generalizations. The brown photosynthetic flatworms in my photos have never caused any problems that I can discern in 20+ years keeping reef tanks. If nothing else they are a helpful indicator of low flow spots with detritus buildup that might need attention. I have had a few people comment on them over the years and I just laugh it off. Maybe people avoid my corals because of it, but if so they never told me. I have had a couple of incidents of uninformed hobbyists purchasing corals and freaking out over "bugs" on the plug...which really makes me shake my head. I do my best to shake/blow off every plug in front of a gyre now before I ship just to keep my life simpler

The most trouble free (and cheapest) fish to keep them in check are Sapphire damsels, Chrysiptera springeri. Though I dont think I've ever seen one eat them, they nearly all disappear over a few months after adding one. They stay small, pretty, and very peaceful and I have 2-4 in most of my tanks now. I actually just picked up another pair today to add to the tank with the offending photo above. I do have a melanurus wrasse in one tank that also seems to eat them, but they get kind of large and tear up your other microfauna too. I've heard psychedelic mandarins eat them too, but I dont feel like I have enough microfauna to keep them happy, since most of my tanks are bare bottom now.

I appreciate your honesty and insight.

I agree that blanket generalizations have become prominent, and there is a lot of ignorance and paranoia in the hobby. I think that it should be clear to others that the flatworms in your photos aren’t an issue. Otherwise, your corals wouldn’t look incredibly healthy and colorful.

It’s funny that you say that you’ve never seen a damsel eat them. I have had Acoel flatworms, and I never saw my Blue Sapphire touch them.

 

[therman]

It’s funny that you say that you’ve never seen a damsel eat them. I have had Acoel flatworms, and I never saw my Blue Sapphire never touch them.

HA! I'd think it was a myth, but my three tanks with Sapphire damsels now had thousands in the past and now it takes real effort to find one. Maybe they produce flatworm killing secretions lol

 

[SeaDweller]

Let it be
let it be
yeah let it be
Let it be
right around 250
Let it be
Let it be

So here's the best I can do with pics...

 

[Bugsy_Barboza]

Sorry to veer a bit but I just saw a commercial for milk saying how there dairy cows or able to graze instead of kept in a pin. And to verify they put fitbits on the cows and you can see for yourself how many steps they took to confirm they are allowed to graze. Not a knock to anyone in this thread but made me think of the paranoia spoke about in this thread. I think it ventures farther than this hobby.... just interesting but for the record I have never seen any pest on frags from Tim. I did get some chaeto and it had a apatasia in it but that’s been taken care of months ago and not a concern. If I wanted pest free I could’ve order thru someone else..... o yeah and the chaeto was free!

 

[therman]

Yeah in my opinion there are some constants in this hobby:
Aiptasia
Photosynthetic flatworms
Bryopsis
Valonia
Asterina

It is virtually impossible to run a healthy reef tank for many years straight without them popping up here and there, but all can be easily controlled so long as things are stable and healthy.

 

[bubbaque]

Oh man don’t mention the ”B” word. Now I’m gonna have nightmares. Haha

 

[therman]

Took some photos of a few more Acropora that I've had for many many years but have evaded the camera for ages. These next three have survived some very low lows in my system, kind of shocking they are still thriving.

CC Voodoo Majick

This one morphs into so many colors. When people ask what color it is, I really have almost no answer for them. It can get purple and green undertones, and bright pink highlights that you don't see in this photo, of this colony, at this moment. Plenty of golds, yellows, oranges, and copper colors. And of course gets even more complicated under blues.

 

[therman]

Voodoo Majick's purple and green sibling, every bit as shaggy

CC Dreamcatcher

 

[therman]

And I've had this one at least 10 years, and probably longer I think. It was around long before the RR Vinh, Grape Juice, and BC pieces, when purple polyps were really something to brag about

It is a slower grower in my tank, but has such a nice simple golden tan base with deep purple polyps and never gets out of control. Can get a nice yellow green sheen in lower light too. The brighter polyps in the tips really pop.

Mantis' Purple-polyp aculeus

 

[bubbaque]

And I've had this one at least 10 years, and probably longer I think. It was around long before the RR Vinh, Grape Juice, and BC pieces, when purple polyps were really something to brag about

It is a slower grower in my tank, but has such a nice simple golden tan base with deep purple polyps and never gets out of control. Can get a nice yellow green sheen in lower light too. The brighter polyps in the tips really pop.

Mantis' Purple-polyp aculeus

The polyp color is something special.

 

[therman]

One more.

I've been a skeptic of this coral for a long time, mainly due to all the heavily saturated/modified photos of it posted alongside virtually every sale I have seen of it. To call anything on this coral orange requires orange filters or orange glasses if you ask me.

However as it has hit colony size and finally gotten the light and flow it deserves, it has turned into a pretty nice coral. Same clan as Pink Floyd, Inland Cyclops, Pikachu, etc., but with yellow reduced to the corallite tips and some really thick deep red polyps.

RMF Tiger's Blood

 

[therman]

Oh man don’t mention the ”B” word. Now I’m gonna have nightmares. Haha

Bryopsis? I have never had an issue with it anywhere a Mexican Turbo snail could crawl to.