Reefkeeping South Africa » Marine Aquariums of South Africa

Marine Aquariums of South Africa

Shooting video with DSLR

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 11:08pm CDT by SteveZi

Hi All,

I have a Nikon D5000 and have been using it to shoot some video.
I'm pretty satisfied with the results, considering the limitations and frustrations, like the dreaded jello (rolling shutter) effect...

I was wondering if some of you guys/girls use your DSLR cameras to shoot video on a regular basis and how you feel about the results?
also sharing some tips for better results :)

thanks in advance

Best Feeding mechanism

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 8:58pm CDT by mytank

I didn't want to hijack @2time thread but I think its important for him too so I started a new thread along the lines of feeding. This is the best place I could find to put this. His original thread here,

So the debate is amount of feeding and also the type of food affecting the nutrient and phosphate levels in the tank.

If came from algae and cyano build up and I was refereing to how I changed my feeding for ten small fish from:

Morning: One cube of Marine Mix or Pure Mix and half a cube of Mysis.
Evening : same as morning.

With that as a result twice or three times a week I was feeding cyclo-pleeze as well.

So what I was saying is I know this was affecting my phosphates and causing the blooms etc. and changed the feeding habits to:

Morning: Flakes
During the day (while I am at work) I left Noori on the window which by the time I got home was gone.
Evening: One cube of Marine Mix or Pure Mix and half a cube of Mysis.

@JsPLAYn gave some good advice about straining food (which I do right now as well) and also some suggestions around why different types of food etc see the quote below. So we are asking the experienced reefers @dallasg @leslie hempel @Tony @459b @RiaanP and @Reef Maniac and many others just got tired of copy and pasting ;)

to comment on some of our thoughts:

Quote:

@mytank .... U have a point, but remember, meaty foods is what helps them grow an colour up nicely, its healthier than the flake version,an they eat up faster than flakes aswell, though flakes has way less nutrients, but mainly coz we feed frozen food incorectly, we suppose to soak the frozen food in tank water till defrosted,then strain I completely b4 feeding, the liquad the mysis an brine etc is frozen in is the main carriers of high nutrients..... So by doin it correctly, we can actually feed as much as we want. However,we don't; so then try minimising the food to a half block per eve instead, even if each fish jus get 1 mysid etc, its enough,

Also on the nori part, u do knw u not allowed to leave nori in the tank more than a ±half hour as it releases phosphates . So feed what they will consume withing the half ±hour.... And remove excess nori,untill next feeding

Flake food has less nutients but results in more waste,hence buildups over time causing nitrates/phosphates .....

So Imo no its not the amnts,nor the type of food but more the methods of feedin that cures buildups leading to high nutrients ....

More experienced reefers feel free to add on or correct any mistakes I may have quoted

Sieraaj

Plerogyra sinuosa aka Bubble Coral

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 6:59pm CDT by oceanseeker

Hi Guys

Here are some pics of the many different faces of my Bubble Coral. Its been doing fantastic from day one and doing even better in my new tank since moving him from my Nano.

INFO FROM FRESHMARINE.COM

Bubble Coral is a sought out member of a marine aquarium. Good to look at and easy to keep, Bubble Coral is a valid choice for a reef aquarium. The article relates few interesting aspects of Bubble Coral that affect its maintenance in a marine aquarium.

Taxonomy: Bubble Coral belongs to the Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Cnidaria, Class Anthozoa, Order Scleractinia, Family Caryophylliidae and Genus Plerogyra.

Other names: The scientific name of Bubble Coral is Plerogyra species. Some specific scientific names of Bubble Coral are Plerogyra sinuosa, Plerogyra flexuosa, Plerogyra lichtensteini and Plerogyra simplex. The other common names of Bubble Coral are, Grape Bubble Coral, Bladder Coral, Octobubble Coral, Pearl Coral and Grape Coral.

Coral Type: Bubble Coral is a Large Polyp Stony (LPS) Coral.

Origin or natural range: The Plerogyra species is found in the Western Pacific region, the Indo-Pacific region, the Red Sea, Fiji and Australia.

Color: Bubble Coral occurs in brown, yellow, cream, white and green colors.

Morphology: The Plerogyra species is very hardy. The skeleton of Bubble Coral has bubble shaped polyps that are filled with water and are therefore quite delicate. These bubbles expand during the day for photosynthesis while, the tentacles of Bubble Coral expand at night. The polyps of Plerogyra species have small sweeper tentacles. The appearance of Bubble Coral may vary owing to the factors such as the intensity of light available to the coral, its surroundings, water movement in its habitat, etc.

Compatibility: Bubble Coral is aggressive against the other marine invertebrates.

Habit & Habitat: The Plerogyra species is found in vertical position in the shady regions of the marine water bodies such as lower reef slopes, cave walls and under overhangs, where the water movement is low.

Breeding: Bubble Coral breeds easily and rapidly if it gets favorable environment in your marine aquarium.

Growth environment in your marine aquarium:
Temperature: Seventy-five to seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit.
Specific gravity: 1.023 to 1.025.
pH: 8.10 to 8.40.

Illumination: Bubble Coral requires low to moderate lighting in the marine aquarium it inhabits. In case you use Metal Halide lighting for your reef tank, place Bubble Coral at the bottom of the tank or in some shady area.
Water flow in the aquarium: Maintain low water current in your marine aquarium hosting Bubble Coral.

Marine aquarium habit & habitat: The Plerogyra species requires a marine aquarium of the capacity of fifty Gallons and above. Keep the Bubble Coral away from the other corals in your reef tank as the Plerogyra species may sting them if the other corals come in its way.

Feeding & Nutrition: Bubble Coral derives its nutrition mainly through Photosynthesis which is being performed by zooxanthellae, a photosynthetic alga living symbiotically within the bubbles of Bubble Coral. The Plerogyra species is also Carnivorous and filter feeds a few times per week when food lands on it. Bubble Coral eats meaty bits of silverside and raw shrimp, phytoplankton and zooplankton. Add Calcium, Strontium and trace elements in the water as dietary supplements for the Plerogyra species. Maintain the Calcium level in the water at 400 ppm.

Care:
Bubble Coral is easy to maintain.
Hermit Crabs may disturb the Plerogyra species therefore; avoid keeping the crab and the coral in the same marine aquarium.

Caution:
Keep Bubble Coral away from the other corals in the marine aquarium as it needs to expand itself and if the other corals come in the Bubble Corals way, it stings them.
COMPLETE TANK AND LIVE STOCK FOR SALE for sale: Alberton

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 6:52pm CDT by GWA

Full system sales or multiple items for sale.Thread title:
COMPLETE TANK AND LIVE STOCK FOR SALE
Location:
Alberton
Shipping or Collection only:
Collection will help to move
Photo's and description/list of items for sale:
Complete 6ft tank and live stock as I have listed on my previous thread.Pics are available in my album R15K :(:(:(:(This is a serious bargain R15K
Notes:
-
DSB

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 5:03pm CDT by Rossreefer

Once you have your sand in your DSB, what else must be added. Ive read that there should be no Cheato or critters?

Whars best?
Michael B Tank on RC Tank Feature

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 4:23pm CDT by dallasg

our own @Michael B on Reef Central Feature Thread
Reef Central Online Community - View Single Post - Best tanks from around the world.

and we all know why, very cool, and keep it reefin'
Check out this nudi

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 2:27pm CDT by Tobes

I got this nudi in my mantis tank, the little guy piggy backs on hermits and even the cucumber. Was funny how he tried to get off as the hermit wasn't standing still - took him a while - sorry for pics, tank is round and phone is flat :P

Hmmm...I need to get up there

if this damn thing will just go a bit closer...

Gotcha!

at last....

and here he is riding on the cucumber
Coral banded shrimp for sale: paulshof

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 2:25pm CDT by flamming angel

All other livestockCommon Name:
Coral banded shrimp
Scientific Name:
-
Size
5cm approx
How long have you had it?
2 months
Shipping or Collection only:
collection
Your location.
paulshof
Price:
R90
Photo's:
Shrimp up for sale as he was in my buddies tank and is currently in my sump.

Notes:
-
Reef octa DNW 150 skimmer for sale: paulshof

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 2:19pm CDT by flamming angel

Hardware for saleThread title:
Reef octa DNW 150 skimmer
Location:
paulshof
Shipping or Collection only:
collection
Photo's and description/list of items for sale:
Hi all

Got the above skimmer for sale. can be used in sump or external depending. Comes with otp 2000 pump for recirculation. Pump is about 4 months old.

Here is a link to the specs:
Reef Octopus DNW 150 Recirculating Protein Skimmer - AquaCave

R1500

Notes:
-
Jebo r338 pump

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 1:38pm CDT by Norries

Looking for a Jebo R338 pump for my laaitie's tank, anyone got a spare lying around, new price of R172, is a bit much!
Advice for buying a protein skimmer

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 1:04pm CDT by Ginger

hey guys , i wanted to get a protein skimmer for my marine tank, its 1.2m and im not running a sump since theres no space in my room. the lady at my lfs said i must put 2 Resun SK‑05 Aquarium protein skimmers in my tank. in this correct? sounds wrong to me. shouldnt i just get a stronger one, so i dont have to run 2 protein skimmers?
Thanks :)
update time....

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 11:48am CDT by Boyu TL 550
My peppermint shrimps are blind

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 11:14am CDT by mytank

I know I know many different views about how they eat if they eat etc so this is just an observation ...

Having a look late last night after the lights went out I noticed the following:

1. The peppermint shrimps doing their rounds and then shock horror :eek::eek::eek: the peppermin's sitting on some apistaitas, not eating them or anything just parking on them...

2. The one thought he was clever and started going towards the bubble. How he got out of the bubble's grasp is beyond me as the bubble started to close..... dumb a$$!!!

I did some research around peppermint and bubbles and found that they are known to nip at the bubbles... well luckily for this bubble he gave him a PK ;) :yeahdude::yeahdude:
hovercraft boxfish

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 11:14am CDT by Boegie

Done a search on MASA for a hovercraft boxfish with no result. So, let me fix that.

I paid for one at the LFS, R250 and picking it up after work.

Do you think it's a good buy?

Poison is a concern but my tank is about 400 litre. Is this big enough to diluite the posion if the fish die?

Naso tang is quite bossy but mirror should sort him out.

Should I cover my powerheads incase the fish get pulled in when he sleeps?

Got no feather dusters in the tank. Is there any other lifestock it will peck on? Maybe tube anenome?
Grotech Phytobreeder2 (Phytoplankton reactor)

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 10:49am CDT by schaun

I started this thread because there dose not seem to be any detailed info on Phyto breeder2 on the Internet and the manual just isn't cutting it for me.
I will keep you up to date on what I'm trying and what works.
The thing is with treads these days is that you have to read through endless pages to get to some useful information, so please try to stay on topic.

So please post about what you have tried and what your results was.

Hopefully this thread will clear all questions on Phyto breeding and about the Phyto breeder2 system .
Plumbing reactors

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 10:42am CDT by mytank

Hi there,

I am looking at adding a Phosphate and Carbon reactor to my setup and need some advice on how to plumb these guys.

I don't have anymore space in my sump so I am looking at running these guys EXTERNAL.

So my questions:

1. Are they safe to run external?
2. Where do you plumb it into:

2.1 Do I go overflow -> Carbon reactor inlet -> Carbon reactor outlet into -> Phosphate reactor inlet -> Phosphate reactor outlet -> Sump

or

2.2 Halea pump in the sump after the skimmer -> Carbon reactor inlet -> Carbon reactor outlet into -> Phosphate reactor inlet -> Phosphate reactor outlet -> back into the return chamber of the sump

or

2.3 Individual pumps for each of the reactors after the skimmer and both outlets back into the return pump chamber?

Thanks for the advise
Will they sting each other

Posted: August 31st, 2011, 10:09am CDT by mytank

Just want to check something if you have frog spawn a hammer and a torch all in close proximity will they sting each other or since they are of the same species will they tolerate each other?

I like all three got an awesome froggie thanks @gMAN. In my one side of the tank I have all my softies and want to add either a hammer or torch.