Who bought the blue gorgonian?

N0okie · 10/15/2007, 06:54 PM

Who bought the blue gorgonian from Todd at Reef Systems??? That thing was amazing looking, and I took some of my friends to show it to them and it was gone!! Just wondering who got this beauty, and how it was doing???

Did anyone else see it?

Bcollins111900 · 10/15/2007, 07:01 PM

check the cleveland forum. a guy is fragging up a blueberry gorgonian that he got over the weekend.

hollback · 10/15/2007, 08:16 PM

IMO/IME the blueberry gorgonian is not a smart purchase. They don't tend to last long in captivity. The longest I've heard of anyone keeping one is only a few months.

N0okie · 10/15/2007, 08:25 PM

Yea

that's why I wanted them to see what it looked like. Todd seemed pretty surprised with how well it was doing after shipping.

itZme · 10/15/2007, 10:33 PM

It is Erik (Kreeger1 on rc)
He bought it for his non-photosynthetic tank where I'm sure he can keep it alive easily since he feeds massive quantities of zooplankton to keep those corals happy.
He bought it with intentions of putting it into his tank and when he got it home it was too large to go where he planned. He cut off what he needed to make it fit right and is selling those pcs. He did not buy it to frag up.
It will be interesting to see if it thrives for him.

porky · 10/16/2007, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by hollback
IMO/IME the blueberry gorgonian is not a smart purchase. They don't tend to last long in captivity. The longest I've heard of anyone keeping one is only a few months.

I agree that for most of us this coral is a poor choice. It has a poor track record in captivity and is not really suited for the high light, low nutriet environment we all strive for in a coral reef tank.
However, I am insterested to see how it fairs in a tank dedicated to keeping non-photosynthetic corals. Remember it was not too long ago that it was thought impossible to keep Acros alive in captivity well we all know now not only do folks keep them alive but they are growing out of some peeps tanks. So it is up to folks like Erik to be the Pioneers of our hobby, to push the envelope, on what we think is possible. It's that type of innovation that will keep out hobby growing and thriving.

funkyman · 10/16/2007, 07:25 AM

You go Erik !!!!!

Kreeger1 · 10/16/2007, 08:06 AM

I fragged it as it was to big for the location in the tank and it needed it. The polyps and branches were so dense getting flow through the coral in a tank is almost impossible. The growth it had reflects were it was in the wild, A very very strong flow area. I purchased another magnet last night to add more flow directly to it. I wouldn't of bought the coral if I didn't think I had a god chance with it

Remember when People said that stuff about acroporas..... I kept sps corals back in 92-93 when everyone said the same things about them. there were no calcium reactors back then, no needle wheels, Were toying around with ideas now on drip feeders and phyto reactors. It's time for something new, take a look at chucks tank and tell me it can't be done.
http://www.quillworker.com/dendrotank.htm

If anyone would like to stop over and see the tank there more then welcome too, Just pm me..

porky · 10/16/2007, 08:12 AM

Erik, what type of lighting, if any, do you have on your tank?
Any recent pics?

Kreeger1 · 10/16/2007, 08:19 AM

I have 2 t5 uri blues, not uri but the company they changed into. and one 250 watt double ended 14k ushio bulb.

The mh is on for 3 hours a day, due to I have a mix in the tank. 75% non photo 25% lps such as Challice, candycane, and goniporas.

I'm doing grow rate pics to, my dendro frag is growing pretty good, and thats pretty unheard of.

Heres a few pics most are new within 2 months

Kreeger1 · 10/16/2007, 08:21 AM

I'll post some new pics on here tonight, I'll show how I thinned out some of the dense growth of the blue berr to allow for better flow in the tank too.

Chucks tank is almost at the 1 year mark with non photo stuff so I'm guessing its really going to be able to be done.

My bet now, in 1 year dendros will be the next in coral.

Erik

porky · 10/16/2007, 08:25 AM

WOW LPS thriving too... very impressive!

Quote:

Originally posted by Kreeger1
I'm doing grow rate pics to, my dendro frag is growing pretty good, and thats pretty unheard of.

Agreed! Lord knows I've killed a couple...
What about nutrient export/control? I would think that you have to dump a lot of food in there, how do you balance water quality w/the needs of your non-photosynthetic guys?
I'd love to see this tank

Kreeger1 · 10/16/2007, 08:40 AM

Actually the Phyto I dump in 3 times a day out competes any other algae in the tank so I don't have algae growing anywhere. In 3 months I've cleaned the front of the tank maybe 3 or 4 times.

There have been no real issues with nitrates or phosphates in the tank. Phosphates due show but nothing real major.

As for water changes.... I slack on them. I've done 1 in the past 3 months. But I never was a big believer in water changes.
I feel that if you need to do a water change weekly to get your tank back inline theres something not right with the system. I add calcium and iodine and other trace elements to that tank so really the point of a water change is what for me? Not sure, thats why I did them only a couple times a year when I had a sps system and all was better then good for the most part.

My skimmer is a asm g4x, its over rated for my 54 gal tank plus 50 ish gal sump. But the thing is It really doesn't need dumping but once every 2 weeks or so. Im not certain as to why with all the food, but I thing its got something to do with the phyto.

I'm not feeding DT's phyto either, I use Reef Nutrition by Reed Mariculture I also feed nutramin prawn eggs. good stuff.

Erik

hollback · 10/16/2007, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kreeger1
It's time for something new, take a look at chucks tank and tell me it can't be done.
http://www.quillworker.com/dendrotank.htm

I don't see a blueberry gorgonian in Chuck's tank.

I'm not saying non-photosynthetic corals can't be kept. I am saying I haven't heard of anyone keeping this specific species long term. I DO hope you are able to keep this coral alive but I just haven't been able to find anyone who has.

I hope you prove me wrong.

Kreeger1 · 10/16/2007, 09:11 AM

Theres one in there, he actually frag his large one up into 10 pieces, and found only a few places where it did thrive. In massive water movement.

Theres harder things to keep that are being kept then this specific coral. It has large polyps on the coral which make it easier to see it eat.

Im not to worried about keeping it alive and it growing and doing well. This coral basically has been figured out already, theres others that haven't yet but they will be

Kreeger1 · 10/16/2007, 09:15 AM

I looked through amy's pics, didn't see it in there either but he does have it in his tank.

porky · 10/16/2007, 09:38 AM

So Erik, what are the keys to success with this coral?
High flow, lots of food and little light... what else?

Kreeger1 · 10/16/2007, 09:45 AM

50-300 micron food and lots of flow, chuck has tunze on it 8 inches away on a pulse 100 to 30 percent

Im going to have a maxijet 1200 on if with 50% of the tip cut of to widen the flow on a timer on 5 minutes off 5 minutes through my rk2.

the prawn eggs have a ton of protein thats gonna be there main food source in my tank. Plus Im making a blender type food that they will also eat.

itZme · 10/16/2007, 09:54 AM

I don't think it's a matter of keeping non photosynthetic corals away from light it's just that they don't use the light for growth. Sort of like keeping your dog under MH will not make him grow

porky · 10/16/2007, 10:31 AM

IME, the non-photosynthetic corals tend to grow algae on them when exposed to light, probably too much light, but it sounds like from Erik maybe they were not getting enough flow...

And Kev, if you don't think MH's will make your K-9 grow, you should see my Rottie

Kreeger1 · 10/16/2007, 11:58 AM

Could be not enough flow, could be that the phyto I feed is out competing hair algae for nutrients not sure. I also think the corals need to get adjusted to the light, they might not open well until there used to it? Not sure. But I do know that my non light liking corals are open with the mh on such as the sun coral and the black sun coral. Im gonna take some pics tonight and do some 2 months growth pics. I know that the red with blue tip goni is really on a growth spurt and the Suncorals have some new babies
Erik

Kreeger1 · 11/08/2007, 01:11 PM

Updated blueberry pictures. Its been close to a month, all the cuts from thinning it out are healed and new polyps are growing there. All is good with the coral.

I got alot of frags off it and its still a massive coral. I don't think it would be doing as well as it is if I didn't thin it out. I just couldn't reproduce that kind of flow in my tank to hit all the dense polyps.

porky · 11/08/2007, 02:56 PM

That AWESOME!
Thanks for keeping us updated

GSMguy · 11/09/2007, 10:35 AM

looking Great Eric, I miss mine, I was doing really well with it until i went on vacation.

only tip i can give for getting it to eat and grow, mine did both, hatch some live Baby Brine shrimp...

Kreeger1 · 11/11/2007, 01:10 PM

Yep, small 50-300 micron food is the key.
Erik

10/15/2007, 06:54 PM	#1
N0okie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 71	Who bought the blue gorgonian? Who bought the blue gorgonian from Todd at Reef Systems??? That thing was amazing looking, and I took some of my friends to show it to them and it was gone!! Just wondering who got this beauty, and how it was doing??? Did anyone else see it?

10/15/2007, 07:01 PM	#2
Bcollins111900 Registered Member. Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gahanna Ohio Posts: 3,853	check the cleveland forum. a guy is fragging up a blueberry gorgonian that he got over the weekend. __________________ I have some LE Super RARE Whisker Sunburst Brown Aptasia FS!!! Give me a flipping break people... Corals now days need to come with a birth cert. with a name on it... Current Tank Info: 285 Gal Display 500 gallons total, Reeflo Orca 250 Pro, GEO 624 Calc. Reactor, Dual GEO Reactors, Dual 400W Halides, LPS/Zoa Dominated

10/15/2007, 08:16 PM	#3
hollback Team RC Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 3,586	IMO/IME the blueberry gorgonian is not a smart purchase. They don't tend to last long in captivity. The longest I've heard of anyone keeping one is only a few months. __________________ Jason Μολὼν λαβέ "Dressed up like plankton, sucked in by baleen." Current Tank Info: 40,000 Tablespoons

10/16/2007, 07:25 AM	#7
funkyman Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Lorain, Ohio Posts: 1,811	You go Erik !!!!! __________________ 150 gallon mixed reef, Kessil x 3, Gyre x 2, IceCap 48XL sump, Reef Octopus Regal 200-INT skimmer.

10/16/2007, 08:06 AM	#8
Kreeger1 KING LEAR Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Cleveland Ohio area Posts: 7,428	I fragged it as it was to big for the location in the tank and it needed it. The polyps and branches were so dense getting flow through the coral in a tank is almost impossible. The growth it had reflects were it was in the wild, A very very strong flow area. I purchased another magnet last night to add more flow directly to it. I wouldn't of bought the coral if I didn't think I had a god chance with it Remember when People said that stuff about acroporas..... I kept sps corals back in 92-93 when everyone said the same things about them. there were no calcium reactors back then, no needle wheels, Were toying around with ideas now on drip feeders and phyto reactors. It's time for something new, take a look at chucks tank and tell me it can't be done. http://www.quillworker.com/dendrotank.htm If anyone would like to stop over and see the tank there more then welcome too, Just pm me.. __________________ Coming up on 25 years in this hobby...That's a lot of skimmate Current Tank Info: Dsa 135

10/15/2007, 08:25 PM	#4
N0okie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 71	Yea that's why I wanted them to see what it looked like. Todd seemed pretty surprised with how well it was doing after shipping.

10/15/2007, 10:33 PM	#5
itZme Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: High Springs, FL Posts: 2,944	It is Erik (Kreeger1 on rc) He bought it for his non-photosynthetic tank where I'm sure he can keep it alive easily since he feeds massive quantities of zooplankton to keep those corals happy. He bought it with intentions of putting it into his tank and when he got it home it was too large to go where he planned. He cut off what he needed to make it fit right and is selling those pcs. He did not buy it to frag up. It will be interesting to see if it thrives for him.

10/16/2007, 08:12 AM	#9
porky CORA President Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Columbus, "Oh-H!" "Eye-Oh!" Posts: 3,733	Erik, what type of lighting, if any, do you have on your tank? Any recent pics? __________________ One of the hardest parts about being a SuperHero is remembering which telephone booth you left your clothes in! Current Tank Info: 125 AGA, Large Polyp Stonies dominate! Followed by soft corals and clams.

10/16/2007, 08:19 AM	#10
Kreeger1 KING LEAR Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Cleveland Ohio area Posts: 7,428	I have 2 t5 uri blues, not uri but the company they changed into. and one 250 watt double ended 14k ushio bulb. The mh is on for 3 hours a day, due to I have a mix in the tank. 75% non photo 25% lps such as Challice, candycane, and goniporas. I'm doing grow rate pics to, my dendro frag is growing pretty good, and thats pretty unheard of. Heres a few pics most are new within 2 months __________________ Coming up on 25 years in this hobby...That's a lot of skimmate Current Tank Info: Dsa 135

10/16/2007, 08:21 AM	#11
Kreeger1 KING LEAR Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Cleveland Ohio area Posts: 7,428	I'll post some new pics on here tonight, I'll show how I thinned out some of the dense growth of the blue berr to allow for better flow in the tank too. Chucks tank is almost at the 1 year mark with non photo stuff so I'm guessing its really going to be able to be done. My bet now, in 1 year dendros will be the next in coral. Erik __________________ Coming up on 25 years in this hobby...That's a lot of skimmate Current Tank Info: Dsa 135

10/16/2007, 08:40 AM	#13
Kreeger1 KING LEAR Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Cleveland Ohio area Posts: 7,428	Actually the Phyto I dump in 3 times a day out competes any other algae in the tank so I don't have algae growing anywhere. In 3 months I've cleaned the front of the tank maybe 3 or 4 times. There have been no real issues with nitrates or phosphates in the tank. Phosphates due show but nothing real major. As for water changes.... I slack on them. I've done 1 in the past 3 months. But I never was a big believer in water changes. I feel that if you need to do a water change weekly to get your tank back inline theres something not right with the system. I add calcium and iodine and other trace elements to that tank so really the point of a water change is what for me? Not sure, thats why I did them only a couple times a year when I had a sps system and all was better then good for the most part. My skimmer is a asm g4x, its over rated for my 54 gal tank plus 50 ish gal sump. But the thing is It really doesn't need dumping but once every 2 weeks or so. Im not certain as to why with all the food, but I thing its got something to do with the phyto. I'm not feeding DT's phyto either, I use Reef Nutrition by Reed Mariculture I also feed nutramin prawn eggs. good stuff. Erik __________________ Coming up on 25 years in this hobby...That's a lot of skimmate Current Tank Info: Dsa 135

10/16/2007, 09:11 AM	#15
Kreeger1 KING LEAR Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Cleveland Ohio area Posts: 7,428	Theres one in there, he actually frag his large one up into 10 pieces, and found only a few places where it did thrive. In massive water movement. Theres harder things to keep that are being kept then this specific coral. It has large polyps on the coral which make it easier to see it eat. Im not to worried about keeping it alive and it growing and doing well. This coral basically has been figured out already, theres others that haven't yet but they will be __________________ Coming up on 25 years in this hobby...That's a lot of skimmate Current Tank Info: Dsa 135

10/16/2007, 09:15 AM	#16
Kreeger1 KING LEAR Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Cleveland Ohio area Posts: 7,428	I looked through amy's pics, didn't see it in there either but he does have it in his tank. __________________ Coming up on 25 years in this hobby...That's a lot of skimmate Current Tank Info: Dsa 135

10/16/2007, 09:38 AM	#17
porky CORA President Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Columbus, "Oh-H!" "Eye-Oh!" Posts: 3,733	So Erik, what are the keys to success with this coral? High flow, lots of food and little light... what else? __________________ One of the hardest parts about being a SuperHero is remembering which telephone booth you left your clothes in! Current Tank Info: 125 AGA, Large Polyp Stonies dominate! Followed by soft corals and clams.

10/16/2007, 09:45 AM	#18
Kreeger1 KING LEAR Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Cleveland Ohio area Posts: 7,428	50-300 micron food and lots of flow, chuck has tunze on it 8 inches away on a pulse 100 to 30 percent Im going to have a maxijet 1200 on if with 50% of the tip cut of to widen the flow on a timer on 5 minutes off 5 minutes through my rk2. the prawn eggs have a ton of protein thats gonna be there main food source in my tank. Plus Im making a blender type food that they will also eat. __________________ Coming up on 25 years in this hobby...That's a lot of skimmate Current Tank Info: Dsa 135

10/16/2007, 09:54 AM	#19
itZme Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: High Springs, FL Posts: 2,944	I don't think it's a matter of keeping non photosynthetic corals away from light it's just that they don't use the light for growth. Sort of like keeping your dog under MH will not make him grow

10/16/2007, 10:31 AM	#20
porky CORA President Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Columbus, "Oh-H!" "Eye-Oh!" Posts: 3,733	IME, the non-photosynthetic corals tend to grow algae on them when exposed to light, probably too much light, but it sounds like from Erik maybe they were not getting enough flow... And Kev, if you don't think MH's will make your K-9 grow, you should see my Rottie __________________ One of the hardest parts about being a SuperHero is remembering which telephone booth you left your clothes in! Current Tank Info: 125 AGA, Large Polyp Stonies dominate! Followed by soft corals and clams.

10/16/2007, 11:58 AM	#21
Kreeger1 KING LEAR Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Cleveland Ohio area Posts: 7,428	Could be not enough flow, could be that the phyto I feed is out competing hair algae for nutrients not sure. I also think the corals need to get adjusted to the light, they might not open well until there used to it? Not sure. But I do know that my non light liking corals are open with the mh on such as the sun coral and the black sun coral. Im gonna take some pics tonight and do some 2 months growth pics. I know that the red with blue tip goni is really on a growth spurt and the Suncorals have some new babies Erik __________________ Coming up on 25 years in this hobby...That's a lot of skimmate Current Tank Info: Dsa 135

11/08/2007, 01:11 PM	#22
Kreeger1 KING LEAR Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Cleveland Ohio area Posts: 7,428	Updated blueberry pictures. Its been close to a month, all the cuts from thinning it out are healed and new polyps are growing there. All is good with the coral. I got alot of frags off it and its still a massive coral. I don't think it would be doing as well as it is if I didn't thin it out. I just couldn't reproduce that kind of flow in my tank to hit all the dense polyps. __________________ Coming up on 25 years in this hobby...That's a lot of skimmate Current Tank Info: Dsa 135

11/08/2007, 02:56 PM	#23
porky CORA President Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Columbus, "Oh-H!" "Eye-Oh!" Posts: 3,733	That AWESOME! Thanks for keeping us updated __________________ One of the hardest parts about being a SuperHero is remembering which telephone booth you left your clothes in! Current Tank Info: 125 AGA, Large Polyp Stonies dominate! Followed by soft corals and clams.

11/09/2007, 10:35 AM	#24
GSMguy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northern New Mexico Posts: 17,420	looking Great Eric, I miss mine, I was doing really well with it until i went on vacation. only tip i can give for getting it to eat and grow, mine did both, hatch some live Baby Brine shrimp... __________________ Nick. Conehead. Shallow Reef club. Current Tank Info: 48"x27"x14" Envision Acrylic rimless, 6x39w ATi Sunpower, Custom ATB Deluxe Skimmer, 4x tunze nano stream,ATB flowstar 1500, ACJR, Tunze osmolator.

11/11/2007, 01:10 PM	#25
Kreeger1 KING LEAR Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Cleveland Ohio area Posts: 7,428	Yep, small 50-300 micron food is the key. Erik __________________ Coming up on 25 years in this hobby...That's a lot of skimmate Current Tank Info: Dsa 135