New Deodronephthya sp. study group?

[aninjaatemyshoe]

Claude, thank you for providing a response.

I think there is a bit of a language barrier we are dealing with here, but I will try to readdress some of my points.

1. Here are the instructions as they are written in the Fauna Marin Sponsor Forum:

Originally Posted by AQD_ottawa

Product highlight thread -

Fauna Marin Dendro System

Dosing instructions for Fauna Marin Dendro System

Mix
one Teaspoon -

SEAFAN
CLAM
U Life

Mix in a container and add from this mix 1/2 TS to a water volume of 260 gallons. Add near a filter

add also 10 drops / Ultramin D to 260 gal of water volume

Dosing instructions courtesy of Claude (Fauna Marin)

So, it did say to add it near a filter, which doesn't make sense. You are now saying to add it near a pump, which I find more understandable.

2. I have a better understanding now of how Ultra Min D works, knowing now that there was a labeling error that gave the Ultra Min D bottles the same label as Ultra Min S. I did not know that Ultra Pac was included in the Ultra Min D bottle, and there was no clear indication of that on the product labeling nor any of the information I could gather from the Fauna Marin site or sponsor forum.

Also, I understand that you cannot give away your trade secrets, but that brings me to what I was trying to say in my next comment.

3. The problem with a complex additive with some unknown components, such as Ultra Min D, is that us hobbyists cannot evaluate the scientific merit behind the unknown components. We are instead only able to try your product and see if there are positive results. This is not just a problem of additives from Fauna Marin, but from any company making additives with secret components. I think the only way to get around the conflict between the company's desire to keep its trade secrets and the hobbyists' skepticism about putting unknown things in their tanks is to provide as much evidence of the product's efficacy as possible. My major complaint has been that there has been very little information about the Ultra Min D product to this point. However, I am starting to get a better picture of what it does now.

[ari5736]

Any updates on Chuck's new project? Also have people out there had success with Fauna Marin's dendro products?

[ari5736]

What temperatures are you guys running on your dendro tanks?

[herring_fish]

I noticed that there was a Nudibranch moving over one of my dendros/leminellias. I first saw it at the base of one of the stocks and it moved up to the tip and then went down a branch. From there it moved off onto the rock. I picked it up and moved it to the sump.

I got four of these coral a little over tow weeks ago and they are the most resent additions to the tank. It sames to be full grown so I am surprised that I haven't seen it before.

One of the four corals is deflated so I moved it to a new spot just before I so the Nudibranch. I though for a moment that it might have been eating the yellow coral and moved on when I move it because the Nudibranch was a tan-ish yellow, just about the color of the coral but it moved off of the biggest of the four (purple) looking for something else.

The lights went off just after I moved the slug and I couldn't find him so I added a similar picture. I will try to add a real picture tomorrow.

Should I get rid of it right away?

[billsreef]

Nudi's typically are found on their food, though they can wander sometimes. They also tend to look much like their food. After all, what better camouflage than what you are hanging out on and eating. So, I'd be inclined to remove it.

[Kreeger1]

I've got to agree with billsreef on this. They are cool looking but do massive damage when they can

[herring_fish]

This is a real picture of the critter.

OK I got it out of the system. Thank you

Now, do I need to worry babies?

[ari5736]

Originally Posted by GreshamH

I'm not an phyto expert by any means but I do work with Phycologists and I guess I'm a bit more informed ont he subject then most reefers

aninjaaremyshoe hit it square on the head... a centrifuge is the best way, or a transdential (sp?) flow filter or even some filter media that can filter down to 1 micron. All methods require human hands and can't be automated to feed your aquarium on it's own.

Miracle Grow is no substitute for F/2. It's formulated for terrestrial plants and does not have the vitamins and trace metals that phyto need and what it does have is in the wrong amounts. It will grow phyto but that phyto will by no means live up to it's true potential. Phyto needs F/2 in a certain concentration and that is nothing you'd want to toss in your aquarium as it will no doubt result in negative things

CO2 is widely used for growing phyto in large volumes as it really helps knock down the PH amongst other benefits. Unfortunately it's no substitute for F/2 or amount of F/2.

This is why the reactors have always been an oddity for me. Back in 99 I got into phyto feeding and tried every available source. I found only one wouldn't give me huge nuisance algae outbreaks so I looked into why that was. At the time only two removed the F/2 media and of those two one was grown a few cities over from me. I spoke with the owners, got the down low and the rest is history

With the phyto that I have now produced, do you think I should let the phyto settle to the bottom of the jug, spill out the water and just keep the phyto on the bottom as an additive to my tank, or will this still have to much nutrients to make it worth while to add. P.S. I am now using Shellfish diet, but would hate to waste all of that phyto I produced. Maybe as an alternative I can start a roti cultire with the phyto produced? Thanks again.

[billsreef]

Originally Posted by herring_fish

Now, do I need to worry babies?

That is possible, so keep a close eye out for any. Might only be noticed at first as a coral that isn't opening as expected.

Originally Posted by ari5736

With the phyto that I have now produced, do you think I should let the phyto settle to the bottom of the jug, spill out the water and just keep the phyto on the bottom as an additive to my tank, or will this still have to much nutrients to make it worth while to add. P.S. I am now using Shellfish diet, but would hate to waste all of that phyto I produced. Maybe as an alternative I can start a roti cultire with the phyto produced? Thanks again.

Most live phyto isn't going to settle appreciably without being centrifuged. In general, I find simply waiting the culture is at max density is sufficient to avoid excess nutrients if you have a good refugia on your tank.

[herring_fish]

After being attacked by that nudibranch, one mydendros/leminellias is doing great, the second seams to be recovering. The third disintegrated and the fourth was pretty big but it is just hanging straight down. It has not pumped at all in three days.

What should I do with it? Does it have any chance of recovery? should I try to frag it? If so, how. ....or should just pitch it?

[Ermin]

I only manage to read this thread up to page 8 so far....

The thread was started as an attempt to open a new Dendro study group...did it ever happen?

The last post was back in 2010....

[mcox33]

Originally Posted by Ermin

I only manage to read this thread up to page 8 so far....

The thread was started as an attempt to open a new Dendro study group...did it ever happen?

The last post was back in 2010....

I should really read up on the rest of this thread, my house burned 5 years ago and I have not yet replaced it or my tank so I really do not know. I do know however that some of my friends are starting to be able to keep these in their tanks.

[ZephNYC]

Im keeping a few dendronepthyas, doing pretty good but I have a couple of questions. ANyone else currently keeping them ?

[slapshot]

I'm not any longer. The best I did was a little over a year. Actually my best one dropped a baby that lived in the sand bed for over a year then I accidentally dropped some Kalk on it killing aptasia and that was all she wrote. I have gone back to the much easier to keep SPS as I don't have the time for NPS at this moment. Good luck, feed a lot and keep your nitrates and PO4 really really low.

[mcox33]

as I remember I was having really good results and they spawned a couple of times in my tank. However it has been awhile so I will do my best to describe my feeding formula at the time.

I was crushing megaone flake with a mortor and pestle and then adding a little declorinated water and letting this set in the refridgerator for a day or so then strain off the liquid and add some liquid foods (I honestly can't remember the brands right now-but they were popular for coral feeding at the time.) I added a few drops of a couple of different ones to the liquid from the flake and I would then take a syringe and long tube (they use to come with one of the foods- I do not know if they still do or not- It hurts not having a tank so I do not visit pet shops very often- I just have no place to keep a tank right now.) I would carefully cloud feed directly over the dendros.

Hope this is helpful

[slapshot]

If it spawned you have to be talking about Dendrophyla not Dendronepthya. If you got a dendronepthya to spawn you are a hero and need to document it and publish it. The oceanographic world would go crazy. Lol. It is a common mistake. Sorry you had to take your tank down.

[mcox33]

Actually it was dendroneptha and I guess it was spawning something was sure putting little clouds off around them and then I would find new ones sprouting up throughout the tank.

But the tank is long gone in a house fire and I do not know if anyone else still had any of it left or not. No one else was having any luck keeping them at the time.

[calk me Q]

keep this updated. we new comer need your help.

[mcox33]

Originally Posted by slapshot

If it spawned you have to be talking about Dendrophyla not Dendronepthya. If you got a dendronepthya to spawn you are a hero and need to document it and publish it. The oceanographic world would go crazy. Lol. It is a common mistake. Sorry you had to take your tank down.

I did not take my tank down my house burned. It started I outside on my back porch. The person who did it got away with it. As soon as my actual location at the time of the fire were made known along with the statement I have no insurance it suddenly became undeterminable accelerant . Accelerant consumned in early stage of fire from unknown sorce. I have not had a stable location to setup abother saltwater tank since. But maybe someday.

[dingodan87]

So after reading the article this thread is based on http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-02/feature/ I couldn't help but notice the feeding regime is far simpler than most other nps systems. One main thing was it had nothing out of the fauna marin line yet seemed to have at least equal results as other systems that rely heavily on it (mike cao). Thoughts??