Birdsnest vs Surface Water experiment
 

Enough reefers wanted to see what will happen when my Green Birdsnest touches the surface
So here we go :smile:

I want to keep the pictures kinda consistent, so (as a reminder to myself) I'm going to use my iPhone, set on HDR directly against the glass, and take the pictures with only the actinics on
Once it hits the surface, I'll be taking some top-downs as well

Sept 19/13
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps68ae79cf.jpg

It stops growing at the surface. The tips flatten out a bit....but that is about all that happens.

Mine has also done this. Looks cool tho :)

I haven't blinked since this experiment started !!! When's the next update..:biggrin:

Better get yourself some eyedrops and hope it grows fast then

You could just raise it to the water line and let the mayhem begin.... People need answers.

God my eyes are dry.

OK, just give me a few minutes
I'll go cut the teeth lower on the overflow

BRB ...

Atta boy, that's some gud thin'in. *keep eyes open, don't want to miss this*

:pop2:

You better watch the butter
You're going to lose your girlish figure :wink:

I'm having troubles with the dremel
Water is flying everywhere, and plastic is floating around the tank

Can you come by tomorrow and give me a hand ?

I always go butterless :-)

My car is out of gas. I would suggest ripping out the overflow box, cut and reinstall. That way the splashing is kept to a minimum, at least your shirt won't get wet. Maybe wear rubber boots thou.

That's just crazy talk.

Hmm, maybe I don't even need the overflow box ...

I could drill the back and run a coast to coast
I've always liked the idea of running a bean system
I'm sure by the time I'm finished installing it the coral will be ready for another pic, and you'll have some build pics to look at to boot :smile:

Or it'll spawn another crashed tank thread - whatever

Good thing the OP isn't here to complain about hijacking :surprise:

You're right, back to the experiment....and dry eyes. :laluot_23:

You might as well go do your laundry as this may take awhile
And you can blink now 'cause it will be a few hours before I update the pics

I had this happen to an A. Convexa in my old tank. The tips just grew flatter and flatter. It would definitely be interesting to see it happen to such a large multi branched Birdsnest though.

Time for an update
First some growth shots

Sept 19/13 just actinics
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps68ae79cf.jpg

Oct 18/13 actinics and coral next gens
2 tips are touching the surface
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...pse6f02484.jpg

Dec 21/13 all 8 bulbs
I can't get it all in the frame to match the previous shots. It's now 9" x 9" x 6" tall
Numerous tips are now touching the surface
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps5c73a951.jpg

The surface tips are flattening out and starting to grow sideways, but haven't become thicker
And the whole coral is coloring up more now that's it's reached the top

It's never out of the water like in the pic
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps1d78e1ef.jpg

Very cool!

As it is growing are you finding you need to provide additional flow or pruning to keep the centermost portions, those most shielded from flow and or light, alive? Your colony looks very healthy in the center. Does this colony have any commensal crabs, fish, etc.?

Thank you !
I'm really happy with this one. It was a small twig 18 months ago and didn't grow much for over a year as my tank was too clean
It's recovered from a mild bleaching - whole thing was light green and white back in Aug

Funny thing is that, about the flow and lighting, I haven't had to change anything as it's gotten bigger

Flow behind it is clockwise from a return across the surface, and flow in front is from an MP10 at it's base height
Nothing is blowing directly on it
Aside from the odd hermit or emerald crawling around, there are no critters inside. Not even our neon or redhead gobies go inside that I've seen

There is 1 branch in the very bottom and centered that is bleached, but it hasn't changed in months so no concerns there
And I'm afraid to remove said branch as I could topple the whole thing :surprise:
I'm amazed at how little base this critter has for it's size

End of experiment :smile:

So I'll do a last photo spread

This is when it hit the surface and then moved down Feb 2014
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psa2dbe0eb.jpg


This is a couple months after it was dropped down April 2014
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps21becee3.jpg

It was fun while it lasted :-)

It took months to happen, then it got boring really fast ....

When I look at your pictures of your birdsnest, I think that's big. But when you see it in person it's like damm that mother is huge! I think Greg might be feeds his birdsnest steroids. If this keeps up your gonna need a biger boat.

I think you're right :smile:

http://www.viralread.com/wp-content/...igger-boat.jpg

This was almost 3 months ago, and it's not slowing down ....

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psbe730584.jpg

Maybe I could market Birdsnest Additives as it appears it's the only SPS I can get to grow quickly

In all honesty, I'm considering taking the whole colony into J&L and starting over with a small piece
It's getting out of control and crowding my more favorite pieces

I have to break pieces off of it weekly to access glass cleaning space, and it's inches away from other corals

Wow I have to admit that is one of the biggest birdsnest I've seen with no die off lol. When ever mine reaches a certain size it seems to hit like a critical mass and start imploding from the inside :lol:

I've been lucky so far as the light is able to penetrate quite deeply