Building A Zero Impact Marine Aquarium
Part 4
The tank is now 1 year and 4 months old and home to 27 varieties of corals, 6 fish and a clean up crew of snails, hermits, starfish and shrimps. The corals have grown steadily and in some cases, so quickly that regular pruning has been required. Not only has this provided me with more colonies to further fill the tank, but has also generated a little income to offset the running costs of the tank.
In this update I will focus on how the tank is maintained on a day to day basis and the approaches I have had success with in propagating corals.
Maintenance
When the tank was originally set up, being a complete novice, I followed the GARF guidelines on everything. This of course included the dosing regime for additives. However over the course of time I have experimented with other products and routines until finally settling on my current approach (which I have now been following for 6 months).
It is simplicity itself and proving very successful:
- A weekly or fortnightly 5 gal water change (Instant Ocean)
- A daily scoop of Tropic Marin Bio Calcium
- A daily addition of top-up water
Apart from food nothing else is added to the tank. There has been a lot of debate recently as to the pros and cons of performing water changes on reef tanks, but I for one am very much in favour of small regular water changes. Not only do they help, in a small way, to export some of the pollutants but also have a role in helping to restore some of the ionic imbalances that can result from regular dosing of the tank.
Gorgonian
I have a Purple Sea Plume (Pseudopterogorgia bipinnata) which is a photosynthetic variety. I have propagated this several times now by using the following approach:
First a host rock is prepared by drilling a 2mm hole 5mm deep. Next a suitable branch is cut. This does not need to be branching, although the resulting cutting looks better if it is. It is cut off using sharp scissors and placed in a bowl of tank water, now comes the fiddly bit. The gorgonian is made up of a central skeleton (a bit like hard rubber) on which there is a covering of living skin and polyps. If you can imagine electrical wiring then it is very similar. What I do is strip about 10mm of the outer coating without cutting through the inner skeleton. If you are wondering why, its because it is this part that gets stuck with superglue into the hole drilled earlier. It is longer than depth of hole so as to ensure no superglue gets onto the living tissue as it irritates it and can cause it to recede. Incidentally, the glue I have had most success with is Loctite Superglue Gel. I find that within a week or two the skin begins to grow down and onto the rock securing the cutting permanently.
Colt Coral (Cladiella sp.)
This is such an easy coral to propagate largely because I find it attaches so easily and quickly to its host rock. I have used various approaches including using a rubber band to hold the cutting in place, using superglue gel or just simply wedging the cutting into a suitable crack.
When using superglue gel, dry off a small area of the host rock with kitchen towel and apply a generous blob of glue. Then take a cutting using sharp scissors. Lift it out of the water, dab the base dry and simply press it down onto the glue. I prefer this method to using rubber bands as I find it less fiddly. Having said that, all the methods have worked equally well. A more detailed article on Colt Coral propagation can be found on the Reefs UK site under Coral Propagation.
Once again, I have found these all very easy corals to propagate. I just take a scalpel blade and slice off a polyp as close to the rock as possible. Dabbing on some kitchen roll then dries the base of this. I then apply a blob of Superglue gel, press it down onto the host rock and that is all there is to it. I have found that it makes little difference if the host rock is in or out of the water, the gel still attaches the coral.
Ricordia
I have a very pretty light blue Ricordia that I had read can be quite tricky to propagate. My attempt to make a cutting from this was as a result of a silly accident. While rearranging some rocks I carelessly pulled a bit of it off!! So with nothing further to lose, I tried the gravel bowl technique. This involves putting the cutting onto a bed of coral gravel in a small bowl or cup. I find those little plastic cups you get offered taste samples in supermarkets perfect for this. After a week or so it had attached to a piece of gravel and I was able to superglue it to a host rock. The cut Ricordia recovered very quickly from its wound and the cutting has grown well. There is a downside. I have found it to be a very slow growing coral.
Conclusion
One thing I have learned through my attempts at propagating corals is just how tough and resilient they are to cutting, handling and sticking. I think the skilled reefkeeper is very mindful of the importance of maintaining tank parameters within a very narrow range. For example, the effects of an elevated temperature or an increased nitrate level are very quickly reflected in the general state of health of corals in a tank. As a result of this we think of corals as being very delicate creatures. Yet providing they are kept in an environment that meets their needs, they suffer little ill effect from being cut and fragged. I make these points as I am convinced the biggest barrier stopping people from propagating their corals is the fear of killing them. Believe me you will not! Coral propagation is not strictly the domain of the experienced reefkeeper, nor do you have to be blessed with any special gift. It is a really easy thing to do.
If that does not convince you, then consider some of these points:
- Every coral you propagate is one less that will need to be harvested from the wild.
- Propagating your current stock is a great way to fill out your reef for free.
- Propagating and swapping with others on the Reefs UK database increases your collection of corals at no extra cost to you or the environment.
- Trading propagated corals with your LFS helps to offset the costs involved in the hobby.
So, what are you waiting for? Get fragging! Oh and do not forget to share the news of your success with Reefs UK