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02/24/2012, 09:04 PM | #3526 |
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from NOAA - and you will note Mesenterial filiments are not sweeper tentacles although a lot of people jump to that conclusion.
Aggressive Methods To survive and thrive in a space-limited environment, some corals have developed several specialized mechanisms for direct interaction for self-preservation and competition with other corals and other organisms for space in an ecosystem. The most common aggressive mechanisms include sweeper tentacles (detect and damage adjacent coral colonies), mesenterial filaments (enabling external digestion of neighboring colonies), and terpenoid compounds (coral chemical warfare). [d] These methods are not necessarily mutually exclusive as some species of corals employ each of these mechanisms in concert to prevent losing their space on the reef. [e] It has been estimated that, on the reef, between 22 and 38 percent of all coral colonies are engaged in battle or are within range to engage. [f] Sweeper Tentacles Sweeper tentacles are the most common defense mechanisms in the hard corals, and also occur in some soft corals. Specialized stinging cells called nematocysts are present in these tentacles and can attack a competing coral and literally burn it to the point of either killing it or severely damaging it. The length of these sweeper tentacles is not correlated to the length of the normal coral polyp and may, in fact, be many times longer. [e] Sweeper tentacles are also utilized by some species to detect adjacent coral colonies that are encroaching on it. Mesenterial Filaments In addition to sweeper tentacles, several hard coral species can produce mesenterial filaments from their stomachs (corals of the genera Favia, Favites, Scolymia, Pavona, and Cynarina all have this capacity). [g] These filaments can kill or devour other coral polyps through a process similar to digestion. Some corals even have the capacity to produce both sweeper tentacles and mesenterial filaments, enabling them to fight a battle on several fronts. [e]
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A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner Current Tank Info: 110g Mixed Reef, LED's & T5's |
02/26/2012, 11:03 AM | #3527 |
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Very interesting information Pete, thank you. I agree, probably the mesenterial filiments from the carbon dust. Strange my Tri-Colors were the only corals showing this response though. Maybe they are just more sensitive than the other corals when something like this happens...?
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02/27/2012, 12:03 PM | #3528 |
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So I added a couple filter socks to the sump last night and they are making my skimmer go nutso and overflow. I washed the socks in hot water with some vinegar and made sure they were dry before using them. I thought it would have settled down by now but 12 hours later it's still foaming and overflowing. I opened the drain plug and connected some tubing to drain back into the sump overnight just in case... didn't want any floods. Any ideas why it's taking so long for them to break the skimmer in?
If it doesn't stop by tonight when I get home I'm going to take the skimmer pump apart and make sure nothing weird is going on with it.
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02/27/2012, 12:15 PM | #3529 |
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Filter Socks are notorious for making skimmers go nuts. Most will sock in RO water overnight before adding. I typically just rinse w/ water & let drip dry for an hr before adding. I don't seem to have any more issues. The issues seem worse too when the sock are newer.
Your skimmer should be fine by now, but if not just clean it up and you will be fine.
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02/27/2012, 12:21 PM | #3530 |
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Every time I put a brand new filter sock on my skimmer goes bananas... I've yet to try any of the pre-rinsing/soaking methods, but you're not alone in that...
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02/27/2012, 02:33 PM | #3531 |
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never had a problem with filter socks but I also bleach them in the washing machine then air dry them.
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80 gallon Blue Line rimless tank, 40 gallon breeder sump, DIY ATS, SWC 160 cone skimmer, ocean revive LED. Current Tank Info: 80 gallon blue line rimless tank |
02/27/2012, 02:47 PM | #3532 | |||
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Quote:
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02/27/2012, 09:29 PM | #3533 |
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UPDATE:
Now that the skimmer has stopped overflowing I plugged the drain back up and it's kicking some serious soap bubbles. Here's a pic of the bubble madness. As I said earlier I picked up a couple 4" socks at the LFS this weekend. The small tab inside the plastic ring seats perfectly against the threaded end of the two bulkheads in the sump, so they almost "clip" into place. I have a couple 4" and 7" mesh socks on the way but these two were a trial run to see how difficult mounting them would be. I'll have to play with the 7" socks a bit to get them to work but I'll update when they come in. Here you can see how nicely the 4" socks lock right onto the threaded end of the bulkhead. I also got a new TLF Micro Valve for my Kalk drip which you can see in the foreground of the pic. Here's the two socks installed. I also added a 4x8" mini mesh sock to the skimmer to cut down on the excess bubbles. So far it's working perfectly. Absolutely no bubbles in the drain or skimmer section. I just seated it right on the output TEE. Whole left side of the sump. I've also been running some BRS GFO alongside the TLF Bioplastics. Since I added the second round of pellets I'm running approximately 600ml in the reactor. The bubbles in the pic are some stray foam that left the skimmer when I took the tubing off the drain and plugged it back up. Normally the return section is free of bubbles. Notice my "high tech" probe holder (still working on that).
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-Brett 180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system Last edited by Misled; 04/08/2018 at 08:21 PM. |
02/27/2012, 10:15 PM | #3534 |
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hey - hi tech or not - it works
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A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner Current Tank Info: 110g Mixed Reef, LED's & T5's |
02/28/2012, 10:50 AM | #3535 |
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02/28/2012, 12:36 PM | #3536 |
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As always, nice job keeping everything nice and clean looking.
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Brett Current Tank Info: Leemar 60x36x24, 8x80 T5/LED Sfiligoi GENESIS Alpha 300 skimmer |
02/28/2012, 01:20 PM | #3537 |
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Thank you Brett.
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02/29/2012, 02:06 PM | #3538 |
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which skimmer is that again, brett? And I agree, everything always looks really clean. too clean.
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-Chris- You don't win friends with salad. "Look! They're trying to learn for free!" ... "Use your phony guns as clubs!" Current Tank Info: rectangluar? wet? |
02/29/2012, 02:13 PM | #3539 |
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That probe holder is brilliant, its always at the right height! I just might steal that idea for my own tank.
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02/29/2012, 09:26 PM | #3540 | ||
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Quote:
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02/29/2012, 11:45 PM | #3541 |
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Thanks for the great idea of the mesh sock over the skimmer output. I'll be ordering one! Perhaps I'll put one at the bottom of the drain pipe as well, as it seems like they'd be easier to clean than the felt socks.
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02/29/2012, 11:57 PM | #3542 | |
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03/01/2012, 12:01 AM | #3543 |
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looking good
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A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner Current Tank Info: 110g Mixed Reef, LED's & T5's |
03/01/2012, 12:10 AM | #3544 |
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03/01/2012, 12:29 AM | #3545 |
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UPDATE:
Back at work tonight... As you may know, I didn't originally design my sump to accommodate filter socks. I've been thinking about a way to mount 7" socks securely for a long time and finally came up with a solution. Here goes... Here's what I started with... This is one of the two 1.5" drain bulkheads that terminate into the drain section of the sump. There is a small piece of 1.5" pvc that is friction fit into the bulkhead that extends about 1" under water. The water level in these pics is high because I turned off the return pump and skimmer to photograph this project. Operating water level is ~1.5" below what is shown. So after a year of research it hit me... If I turn a 2" Uniseal bulkhead upside down, it would create the perfect ledge for the tabs on a 7" filter sock to rest. The I.D. of a 2" Uniseal is ~60mm in diameter, slightly smaller than the O.D. of my 1.5" bulkheads. I needed to machine the inside of the Uniseal to allow it to adapt to the threaded side of the bulkheads in the sump. So using a coarse sanding drum on the drill press I sanded down the rubber enlarging the I.D. to roughly the O.D. of the threads on the bulkhead. Once I was done sanding I cleaned up the Uniseals and pushed them onto the bulkheads. Again, the operating level of the sump is roughly 1.5" lower than the water level shown in the pic below. With the filter sock installed you can see how the tabs on the 7" sock clip nicely above the uniseal's rimmed edge. Makes for a secure fit that allows for quick and easy sock changes. I can easily remove the dirty socks and replace them with clean socks without disturbing the new Uniseal sock mount. So it took me a year to think of, but only 30 minutes to complete the project. But what I like most, the filter socks are securely fastened to the sump but can be easily removed for cleaning. Also, no permanent changes to the sump were necessary. And for about 4 bucks a piece for the Uniseals, now that's reefing on a budget.
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-Brett 180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system Last edited by Misled; 04/08/2018 at 08:23 PM. |
03/01/2012, 12:57 PM | #3546 |
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Nice! As iwishtofish mentioned earlier I do use mesh socks as opposed to felt socks on my drain lines because I do find them so much easier to clean. That being said, I'm still lazy and have a disgusting pile of uncleaned ones sitting in my fish room.
I also use drawstring bags and just hold the drawstring to my sumps euro-brace with a heavy piece of tungsten I happened to have laying around. Your setup looks much easier to maintain, and much more professional, but it really proves you don't always have to break the bank in this hobby. In unrelated news: I'm following you and Pete very closely on the biopellet issue. My experience was much more similar to Pete's, but there were so many confounding factors I decided not to blame the biopellets. Once he gets the skimmer volute mod and the recirculating reactor mod I'll see if things improve for him, but in the meantime how are your corals and nitrates reacting to you putting biopellets back on?
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03/01/2012, 02:49 PM | #3547 |
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That is a sweet sock setup!
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03/02/2012, 09:19 AM | #3548 |
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I like the sock design very nice
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03/02/2012, 10:42 AM | #3549 | |
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Thanks 110g!! Seems to be working nicely so far. Thank you dthelen!
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03/02/2012, 12:49 PM | #3550 |
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Just got off the phone with Jeremy at PA, new sand ordered and on it's way!
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