extreme makeover: tank edition by: mary willingham & katie smith
TRANSCRIPT
Soft Corals Soft bodies made up of a large number of polyps
connected by fleshy tissue.
Lack the limestone skeleton and do not produce calcium carbonate
Some contain zooxanthellae and appear brown in color
Thrive in depths varying between 15-95 feet
Does the amount of force and direction of the power head’s current effect the movement pattern of the soft corals?
HypothesisOriginal Hypothesis: The
increasing and decreasing of the current from the power heads directly effects the movement of the soft corals. The stronger the current, the further the soft coral will move.
How we got started?Repositioned the power heads to have the
current directed onto the Xenia.
Traced the Xenia on the glass. (See Wiki)
Set up a bi-weekly schedule to measure the movement of the Xenia.
Then we hit a bump in the road.
5 Questions1. How is the growth of algae effected by the currents of
the power heads?
2. How do soft corals adapt based on the different currents of the power heads?
3. What is the difference of algae growth in corners versus high flow areas?
4. When the current of the power heads are directed straight on the Xenia and Nepthea do the corals change positions faster?
5. When the power heads are not directed straight toward the Xenia and Nepthea will they move?
Dead CoralUnfortunately after we added a new charcoal
bag all of the Xenia in our tank died off. (See Wiki)
"Along with the removing of unwanted organic and inorganic chemicals, activated carbon also removes essential trace elements vital to the health of marine livestock. The amounts removed are of unknown quantity and significance, but nonetheless a precautionary approach towards offsetting them by performing regular water changes is recommended" (Adam Jenkins).
Re-Model IdeasThe death of the Xenia in our tank has caused us
to think of new project ideas such as:
Buy new Xenia and continue with the same project concept
Re-design our tank by moving corals around, trading corals, and scrubbing rocks for new organisms to grow.
The Make-overCleaned live rock
Mucus net
Built a bridge/reconstructed the live rock.
Built a Nephthea corner
Introduced new corals, purple sea fan, Button coral and Frogspawn coral. Before:
After:
Button CoralFamily: Zoanthidae
There are multiple individual polyps attached to a piece of live rock or coral rubble.
They are very easy to
maintain in the reef
aquarium
Frogspawn Coral Family: Caryophylliidae
Needs Space to grow because it is a very dominate coral. Tentacles can reach up to 6 inches
Native to the indo-pacific
Color varies between
Green, blue, brown
Sea FanPhylum: Cnidaria
A colony can be several feet high and across but only a few inches thick.
Usually colorfulPurple (ours)RedYellow
Nephthea While cleaning the live rock we decided to
isolate the Nephthea to the bottom corner of the tankAllowed for more room to grow and thrive
Relies heavily on the products of their zooxanthellae
Fast growing coral
ConclusionWith the new tank set up we observed that the
fish have been more active when compared to the daily checks of the tank before the re-model.
The added corals have adapted well and we predict that they will continue to thrive in the next several months.
Greater flow from power heads with the new design of the tank
Bibliography1- "Aquarium Filter and Fish Tank Filtration." Tropical Fish,
Aquarium Fish, Care for Saltwater and Freshwater Fish,
Aquarium Setup. Web. 19. Oct. 2011.
2- Davis, Ernst M., and E.F Gloyna. "The Role of Algae." JSTOR.
JSTOR, 8 Nov. 1969. Web. 19 Oct. 2011.
3- Jenkins, Adam. "Activated Carbon." Wetwebmedia, Aquarium, Pond, Marine and Freshwater Fish,
Reef Tanks, and Aquatics Information. Web. 01 Dec. 2011.
Bibliography4. Kuhlmann, Deltrich H.H. "The Sensitivity of Coral Reefs to
enviormental Pollution." JSTOR. JSTOR, 1 Nov. 1988.
Web. 17 Oct. 2011.
5. Logan, Lara. "Pulsating Xenia." Home Page. Web. 05 Dec. 2011.
6. Viola, Roberto, and Pi Nyvall. "The Unique Features in Red
Algae. "JSTOR. JSTOR. Web. 19 Oct. 2011.