Volunteering At The Coral Restoration Foundation (pics & video!)

BIG_KAHUNA · 03/25/2013, 09:18 AM

{Admin, not sure if this is the right place for this thread but I want as many people as possible to hear about this foundation and this forum seems to be the most popular on RC. And it is about reefs and all lol}

So it wasn't a huge hit on my facebook page but I know you guys will really appreciate these videos. I recently went down to the Florida Keys to help out at the Coral Restoration Foundation. In case you haven't heard, these guys (Ken Nedimyer and a handful of permanent staff along with interns and volunteers) are trying to help repopulate reefs out in the keys with native acros (staghorn and elkhorn). They do this by using PVC "christmas trees" to suspend the frags and grow them out to sizable colonies to plant back out on the reef. They do this exactly how we do in our tanks! Using industrial buckets of putty cement and ice picks though lol. Below are a bunch of pictures and video I took on my trip!

A brief tour of the nursery. It's tough to see but the trees go on for rows and rows. I swear the visibility was way better in person. Here you can also see the original trees used which were a concern for sea life getting caught in the "clothes line" style grow outs. The the closeup of a tree has at first elkhorn (square looking) and the the staghorns.

So the first day (two dives) consisted of learning the layout of the nursery. This place is a little over an acre of underwater coral grow out heaven! The first dive we toured the place revealing a live rock aquaculture section (which is what started the whole project) elkhorn grow outs, staghorn grow outs, experimental grow outs, etc. Picture below shows the layout of the nursery. The second dive we cut the colonies ready to be planted from the trees and retied mono filament with metal crimps to the acros to hold them in one place for a quick pickup the following day.

Hand selecting colonies to be planted on the reef.

Layout of the nursery.

The next day we picked up the coral selected the day before and headed straight for the reef. Pickle's Reef. We immediately dropped down and got to work. We used the axe to get down to the base rock, peeling away all the algae that cover the rock so that the putty can get a solid grip. This is actually the main issue facing the decline of the hard corals in the keys. The algae prevents the offspring of coral from settling onto the rock and regrowing. This is due to excess nutrients in the water, mostly from the "war on water" where we ingeniously rerouted water from the everglades straight to the ocean for development in those areas.

Just like removing your refugium and chemical filtration from your tank, it had the same effect on our reefs. The other main issue the reefs face has to do with the local diadema sea urchin population. Disastrous decline in the population has not helped with the excess algae problem, as many know just like keeping them in a tank the love to destroy algae (and coraline for that matter). My instructor mentioned that at one point they were so plentiful that you couldn't even touch the reef without getting stabbed by one. This also helped keep divers off the reef and away from the coral. They also decided to replant these corals (different genotypes) close together in patches along the reef to try and get them to spawn, again no good unless the sea urchin population starts to rise significantly. Mote's Marine Lab in the Keys is currently aqua culturing the sea urchins and releasing them on the reefs in an attempt to get that population up again.

Me working the reefs, trying to find a good spot for planting. They wanted three points of contact on the rock to make sure the colony had a good grip. Coolest thing I have EVER done.

Look at all that new coral!

This is a quick video showing how the coral is mounted to the rock, again just like in our tanks. And the man power possible with just volunteers, even if they're not the best diver in the world.

Just goes to show how important these corals are to the fish. They flock from everywhere looking for 3D structures for protection. (They really like all the algae and worms we stirred up too lol)

BIG_KAHUNA · 03/25/2013, 09:19 AM

Love that new mask. Needed that red filter on the camera though!

BIG_KAHUNA · 03/25/2013, 09:24 AM

The education center

Presentation before volunteering, is that a tank behind the screen???

What the trees look like out of water. Younger frags at the top and older on the bottom.

Horrible picture but yup, those are ecotechs. Ecotech is a major contributor to the foundation, so don't feel soooo bad when dropping all that cash on Radions, some of it is going toward coral restoration!

Mini trees in the tank. early in the AM so the lights weren't on =/

Good growth!

Sorry this part is not ok~dc

Shaun v · 03/25/2013, 09:32 AM

Great job! We as aquarists should do what we can to help the reefs around the world so we can continue to enjoy our hobby. I did click on the videos in your second post but those don't link to anything. The first posting of videos work fine. Keep up the great work.

BIG_KAHUNA · 03/25/2013, 09:43 AM

roger that. fixed it I think.

cakemanPA · 03/26/2013, 08:25 AM

Looks like I will have a project for my next trip to the Keys. Very cool project

ArmanS · 03/26/2013, 08:41 AM

Very cool. Excellent job and great organization.

Shaun v · 03/26/2013, 08:47 AM

I told my girlfriend bout this last night. We had already been planning a dive trip to the Keys for June and we have now added helping out with this organization to our schedule. Thanks for sharing!

BIG_KAHUNA · 03/26/2013, 12:29 PM

Glad to hear it Shaun, you guys wont regret it either. They really seem to like the reef tankers working with them as well. We have a leg up on most people as far as whats going on.

nanomania · 03/27/2013, 10:04 AM

nice...

BIG_KAHUNA · 04/01/2013, 01:21 PM

A bump for anyone who missed it

dc · 04/02/2013, 06:01 AM

I need to draw attention that we have strict policies on asking for donations. This thread is on the edge here and several posts have been remove.

treetopflyn · 04/02/2013, 04:05 PM

Stopped by last week with the family. Cool place and cool project. I'll be getting in on some dives (volunteering) this summer when the water warms up.

BIG_KAHUNA · 04/02/2013, 04:51 PM

Forgive me for hitting the accept button w/o reading the rules of the forum some two years ago before signing up. Perhaps I could get you, dc, to send me the part you clipped out of my thread so it doesn't happen in the future. I don't remember specifically asking for donations, especially since I have no affiliation with this organization, other than volunteering (which I suppose is a type of donation). Either way, my intentions were harmless. Just trying to inform the people who love ours reefs that these organizations do exist and need help to sustain our beloved hobby. And really any amount given to the foundation will return a BC tag, t-shirt, coral "adoption", etc., so I would think that's more like a sale but I'm guessing there's rules on that too. just lmk.

03/25/2013, 09:18 AM	#1
BIG_KAHUNA Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: 4.815 S 162.342 E Posts: 478	Volunteering At The Coral Restoration Foundation (pics & video!) {Admin, not sure if this is the right place for this thread but I want as many people as possible to hear about this foundation and this forum seems to be the most popular on RC. And it is about reefs and all lol} So it wasn't a huge hit on my facebook page but I know you guys will really appreciate these videos. I recently went down to the Florida Keys to help out at the Coral Restoration Foundation. In case you haven't heard, these guys (Ken Nedimyer and a handful of permanent staff along with interns and volunteers) are trying to help repopulate reefs out in the keys with native acros (staghorn and elkhorn). They do this by using PVC "christmas trees" to suspend the frags and grow them out to sizable colonies to plant back out on the reef. They do this exactly how we do in our tanks! Using industrial buckets of putty cement and ice picks though lol. Below are a bunch of pictures and video I took on my trip! A brief tour of the nursery. It's tough to see but the trees go on for rows and rows. I swear the visibility was way better in person. Here you can also see the original trees used which were a concern for sea life getting caught in the "clothes line" style grow outs. The the closeup of a tree has at first elkhorn (square looking) and the the staghorns. So the first day (two dives) consisted of learning the layout of the nursery. This place is a little over an acre of underwater coral grow out heaven! The first dive we toured the place revealing a live rock aquaculture section (which is what started the whole project) elkhorn grow outs, staghorn grow outs, experimental grow outs, etc. Picture below shows the layout of the nursery. The second dive we cut the colonies ready to be planted from the trees and retied mono filament with metal crimps to the acros to hold them in one place for a quick pickup the following day. Hand selecting colonies to be planted on the reef. Layout of the nursery. The next day we picked up the coral selected the day before and headed straight for the reef. Pickle's Reef. We immediately dropped down and got to work. We used the axe to get down to the base rock, peeling away all the algae that cover the rock so that the putty can get a solid grip. This is actually the main issue facing the decline of the hard corals in the keys. The algae prevents the offspring of coral from settling onto the rock and regrowing. This is due to excess nutrients in the water, mostly from the "war on water" where we ingeniously rerouted water from the everglades straight to the ocean for development in those areas. Just like removing your refugium and chemical filtration from your tank, it had the same effect on our reefs. The other main issue the reefs face has to do with the local diadema sea urchin population. Disastrous decline in the population has not helped with the excess algae problem, as many know just like keeping them in a tank the love to destroy algae (and coraline for that matter). My instructor mentioned that at one point they were so plentiful that you couldn't even touch the reef without getting stabbed by one. This also helped keep divers off the reef and away from the coral. They also decided to replant these corals (different genotypes) close together in patches along the reef to try and get them to spawn, again no good unless the sea urchin population starts to rise significantly. Mote's Marine Lab in the Keys is currently aqua culturing the sea urchins and releasing them on the reefs in an attempt to get that population up again. Me working the reefs, trying to find a good spot for planting. They wanted three points of contact on the rock to make sure the colony had a good grip. Coolest thing I have EVER done. Look at all that new coral! This is a quick video showing how the coral is mounted to the rock, again just like in our tanks. And the man power possible with just volunteers, even if they're not the best diver in the world. Just goes to show how important these corals are to the fish. They flock from everywhere looking for 3D structures for protection. (They really like all the algae and worms we stirred up too lol) __________________ Scott Last edited by BIG_KAHUNA; 03/25/2013 at 09:50 AM.

03/25/2013, 09:19 AM	#2
BIG_KAHUNA Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: 4.815 S 162.342 E Posts: 478	Love that new mask. Needed that red filter on the camera though! __________________ Scott Last edited by BIG_KAHUNA; 03/25/2013 at 09:29 AM.

03/25/2013, 09:24 AM	#3
BIG_KAHUNA Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: 4.815 S 162.342 E Posts: 478	The education center Presentation before volunteering, is that a tank behind the screen??? What the trees look like out of water. Younger frags at the top and older on the bottom. Horrible picture but yup, those are ecotechs. Ecotech is a major contributor to the foundation, so don't feel soooo bad when dropping all that cash on Radions, some of it is going toward coral restoration! Mini trees in the tank. early in the AM so the lights weren't on =/ Good growth! Sorry this part is not ok~dc __________________ Scott Last edited by dc; 04/02/2013 at 05:42 AM.

03/25/2013, 09:43 AM	#5
BIG_KAHUNA Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: 4.815 S 162.342 E Posts: 478	roger that. fixed it I think. __________________ Scott

03/26/2013, 08:41 AM	#7
ArmanS Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: 90713 Posts: 1,391	Very cool. Excellent job and great organization. __________________ 120" x 34" x 30" 540g Build Starting Soon! Royal Exclusiv Dream Box Sump, 2 x 60" ATI LED/T5, DaStaCo CARx, Apex, Genesis, BK SM 250, 3 x RD 3 230w, UV, ATS, & Arid Reactor! Will have build thread so

03/25/2013, 09:32 AM	#4
Shaun v Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Bailey, Colorado Posts: 207	Great job! We as aquarists should do what we can to help the reefs around the world so we can continue to enjoy our hobby. I did click on the videos in your second post but those don't link to anything. The first posting of videos work fine. Keep up the great work.

03/26/2013, 08:25 AM	#6
cakemanPA Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hummelstown, PA Posts: 2,353	Looks like I will have a project for my next trip to the Keys. Very cool project

03/26/2013, 08:47 AM	#8
Shaun v Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Bailey, Colorado Posts: 207	I told my girlfriend bout this last night. We had already been planning a dive trip to the Keys for June and we have now added helping out with this organization to our schedule. Thanks for sharing!

03/26/2013, 12:29 PM	#9
BIG_KAHUNA Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: 4.815 S 162.342 E Posts: 478	Glad to hear it Shaun, you guys wont regret it either. They really seem to like the reef tankers working with them as well. We have a leg up on most people as far as whats going on. __________________ Scott

03/27/2013, 10:04 AM	#10
nanomania Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: mumbai, india Posts: 1,101	nice... __________________ TRY BUYING CAPTIVE BRED ANIMALS/FISHES/INVERTS... DONT BUY A DOG, ADOPT THEM..... SAVE NATURE..... JUNGLES AND OCEANS RULE.....

04/01/2013, 01:21 PM	#11
BIG_KAHUNA Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: 4.815 S 162.342 E Posts: 478	A bump for anyone who missed it __________________ Scott

04/02/2013, 06:01 AM	#12
dc Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Wyoming Posts: 44,684	I need to draw attention that we have strict policies on asking for donations. This thread is on the edge here and several posts have been remove. __________________ Debi ~60 Cube~ Why? Because I said so of course. -Sent via Tapatalk Smoke Signals-

04/02/2013, 04:05 PM	#13
treetopflyn Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 1,580	Stopped by last week with the family. Cool place and cool project. I'll be getting in on some dives (volunteering) this summer when the water warms up. __________________ 105 Gallon Reef Savvy (48"x 24"X 21") Glass Holes overflow, 29G sump, Mag 12 return, Reef Octopus 150, 2- Jebo WP-25s, Phosoban reactor, 2 Ai Sol Blue's controlled by Reef Angle Controller.

04/02/2013, 04:51 PM	#14
BIG_KAHUNA Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: 4.815 S 162.342 E Posts: 478	Forgive me for hitting the accept button w/o reading the rules of the forum some two years ago before signing up. Perhaps I could get you, dc, to send me the part you clipped out of my thread so it doesn't happen in the future. I don't remember specifically asking for donations, especially since I have no affiliation with this organization, other than volunteering (which I suppose is a type of donation). Either way, my intentions were harmless. Just trying to inform the people who love ours reefs that these organizations do exist and need help to sustain our beloved hobby. And really any amount given to the foundation will return a BC tag, t-shirt, coral "adoption", etc., so I would think that's more like a sale but I'm guessing there's rules on that too. just lmk. __________________ Scott