Atlantic Hard Coral Reef Tank Display (Permit #FKNMS-2014-181)

[billsreef]

As some here know, I work for a university Marine Science Program. Among other things, it gives me an opportunity to work with some marine life that is not available in the hobby. When I was asked to set up some display tanks, the opportunity to work with tropical Atlantic hard corals came along. The reason for the display tanks, when our building was built, the wet labs were build with nice round "port hole" windows that look in from the hallway. My boss (also an old time fish guy) thought it would be good to set some display tanks up in these windows. Not something I was going to argue with Naturally being a Florida University, have to go with Florida habitats.

One of our grad students was working with Acropora cervicornis (Staghorn coral) that were donated by the Coral Reef Restoration Foundation. He finished his work, but had some left over frags that were now in need of a home. This required two things, permission from CRF and permitting from the NOAA people at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Thus the project of setting up a Tropical Atlantic Hard Coral display tank began. Along with the A. cervicornis from the CRF, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary also offered me additional hard corals from their nursery program (run by Mote). The permit itself is not difficult to obtain, but it does require one to have legitimate research or educational use. BTW, please note my permit # in the thread title, posting it is one of the permit requirements for making such posts The FKNMS nursery corals are all rescues, salvaged from seawalls before construction or from dredge sites before the dredging begins. These corals are then used for restoration projects, research, and educational uses.

Now, we all know reefing requires patience, combine it with a job for which such activities are a minor part, it's been a slow road to getting this tank up and stocked. The corals from the FKNMS I got back in March. It wasn't much later that received 100 lbs of aquacultered (in Florida) live base rock donated by our friend Richard of Tampa Bay Saltwater, those that know Richard and his reputation know that he is one of the best in the industry...especially when you factor in his willingness to donate LR to such educational endeavors.

To start with a few pictures from back in March:



Mote Marine Lab's outdoor nursery tanks. They are on canal a short hop from the ocean side of Summerland Key. Growing under 70% shade cloth.



A grow tank of one of the Montastraea species. They start these from from only a polyp or two microfrags. Very high success rate utilizing flow through sea water and natural sunlight.

[billsreef]

Back at my lab:



Bit of overview of a small section of our holding tank. It's a 6 foot by 2 foot shallow tank with two carlson surge devices and a closed loop for additional circulation. The Acro frags are in the middle, and have grown a good bit over the last few months.



Dichocoenia stokesi




Diploria clivosa



Montastrea cavernosa

[billsreef]

Orbicella faveolata



Porites astreoides



Stephanocoenia intercepts



Occulina diffusa

This last one, Occulina diffusa, I have been told is likely to be the biggest challenge. Folks trying to culture have found it very difficult, yet it thrives in silty and murky estuaries. So far it has been doing well for me, though not showing much growth.

[billsreef]

Now to the recent pictures of the last few weeks.



The view from the hallway, before adding coral.



The backside, from inside the wet lab. The lights are a pair of Hamilton's Cayman Sun 250 Watt 14K HQI's.



Live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater.



Sump, SCWD, Protein Skimmer and Ozone/Redox Controller. The SCWD is on it's own pump and feeds two eductors, and the primary pump from the sump also returns via an eductor. Makes for some very nice current. Water changes are easy, as an overflow in the sump feeds straight to our floor drains. All I need to do is drag over my fill hose, turn it on, and walk away for awhile The water is from our NSW wells, which are nice and high in Ca and Mg, making supplementation unnecessary.




Acropora cervicornis - note, all those little particulates are new hatched baby brine shrimp....got to feed the corals

[billsreef]

[billsreef]

The Fighting Conch I collect at my doorstep

[GilliganReef]

Billsreef sorry to say no pictures are showing up. Either on my phone or on computer.

[joshky]

Originally Posted by GilliganReef

Billsreef sorry to say no pictures are showing up. Either on my phone or on computer.

+1 fix it!!!

[billsreef]

Unfortunately I need to leave for bit, I'll try and fix the rest of the pictures later.

[Misled]

I see them!! Very nice Bill!!!

[Sugar Magnolia]

All pictures are showing for me as well. This is such a wonderful project!

[liverock]

Nice job Bill.....and great project...I wondered what happened to all that live rock LOL

Now maybe add some totally man made Walt smith 2.1 cultured live rock and you will have the whole "Eco-sensitive" project, cultured corals and real live rock cultured with no impact to the environment other than good.....fed ex ground works great for that....hint....

Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com

[billsreef]

Pics should be working for everyone now Keep in mind, they were all taken with my cell phone, and for the front view of the display two panes of glass with a 6" gap between them...talk about the challenge of reflections and distortion

Richard,

I just might have to talk to you about that 2.1 rock when I figure out the next display. Thinking some larger reef fish like Angels and the invasive Lionfish. Have some 220's to work with, but need to figure rearranging some stuff in the lab to make that fit.

[gone fishin]

Really nice Bill.

[alton]

Very nice Bill, thanks for posting both the pictures and information.

[tkeracer619]

Very cool! I'd love access to flow through NSW. It looks like they are shaded a bit (typical), do you know what type of par they see through the day?

[ace_92101]

Wow! Amazing. Thanks for sharing.

[KafudaFish]

Thank you Bill and best of luck.

[billsreef]

Richard (Tampa Bay Saltwater) sent me some of that new 2.1 LR of his today. Some really nice stuff.

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

Very cool! I'd love access to flow through NSW. It looks like they are shaded a bit (typical), do you know what type of par they see through the day?

I assume your talking about the Mote tanks up top. Not sure what the PAR is, I'll try and remember to ask next time I talk to them. They are using shade cloth, typically used for growing plants that need some protection from direct sunlight.

[knukles55]

Nice job bill

[ReefWreak]

Great looking build with a great story. I can't wait to follow this and see where it goes.

Maybe if I do move back to FL I'll drop everything and go back to school for a few degrees in marine biology/conservation...hmmm... Great thread for motivating the next generation of reefers to take the next steps to become researchers/educators!

[n0rk]

Cool project, Bill! It's always nice to see education facility tanks. Hopefully you guys find good success.

[nuxx]

Great job!