120gal mixed predatory reef tank

whatcaneyedo · #1 07-14-2009, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueAbyss

I've read about people doing this while collecting frags... and then they were shipped damp, without water. 100% success rate... but can the frag be grown out while suspended like that? I'm very curious now...

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-11/eb/index.php

I've had really good results with most of the stuff I hang. Corals like seriatopora grow into twisted spiked balls which are pretty neat. I'll try to find some before and after shots to show the growth. I grow a lot of SPS in general on the lines and then most of my LPS sits on the bottom slightly shaded. lol Then the soft coral grow up the sides and back of the tank! By doing this I can really pack a lot of frags into a standard 50gal.

However I do have problems with algae growing on the fishing line or growing on sections of dead coral skeleton. I dont have any swimming herbivores in my frag tank so nothing can eat it off. I also find water flow to be a bit tricky, if I have too much everything blows around and smacks into each other. Currently there is 30x per hour in that tank and I dont know if I could do much more. Also as everything grows larger the coral starts to weigh down the acrylic rods and bow them in.

whatcaneyedo · #2 07-14-2009, 06:28 PM

I couldnt find any decent 'before' shots showing how small these were so you'll just have to take my word for it. All of these frags have been hanging a year or less.

I've had mixed results with hanging some of the acropora, I think a few of them prefer the bottom where the light isnt as intense. Seriatopora, pociliopora, montipora digitata, hydnophora and pavona have all been doing very well on the stings.

This was about 2" and only 3 spikes and now is more like 4" and many more spikes.

The pociliopora was an odd shape 1" frag and is now circular and 2" in diameter. The little acro is still pretty small but nearly double what it was. It seems to be very interested in encrusting the fishing line.

This acro was a single 1" stick on a frag plug that I hung.

The green montipora digi has tripled in size since the winter but I fragged it in half for someone not too long ago so it only looks double in size now. The Acro I got last July, it was under 2" and is now over 4".