gerald Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 :bounce: Hi, Does anyone knows how to aquaculture sea fans. I got a nice one, and a wanna aquaculture. tks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 Basically as it grows, you can divide it by cutting bits off, and attach the new bit to a rock & let it grow. They can be very slow growing though. Some sea fans are easy and some are hard, do you know what kind you have? And how long have you had it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 Buy sea fans i presume you mean gorgonian sp, apposed to seapens and feather stars. Like wasp said just cut a length off, If you are mounting in epoxy (what i do) with a knfie peel back a length of about 5mm of the skin (the same as striping electrical wire) the stick on the inside will be exposed and push this into the epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 with a knfie peel back a length of about 5mm of the skin Owch.... why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 Sea fans generally have an axial rod, which is a flexible skeleton running through the middle, which is covered by the tissue. Like Ben and wasp said you cut a bit off, then strip of some of the lower flesh, like stripping insulation from a wire. The axial rod is easier to glue and holds better than just gluing the flesh. I prefer super-glue instead of epoxy for mounting stuff. Especially SPS, because the epoxy often contains significant amounts of phosphorus which can leach into the skeleton and literally kill them from the inside out. Ever notice when a bit of epoxy falls off a piece of rock you find where the epoxy has been is a bright green colour? That's the phosphate literally wicking into the rock and supporting algae growth. Same thing happens into coral skeletons and can stunt their growth, and in the extreme kill them from the inside out. Also sea fans is a very broad category. Some are photosynthetic, and easy to grow, others are non-photosynthetic, and usually slowly die over time. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 Interesting point Layton, what brand of epoxy are you talking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 Most brands seem to be more or less the same stuff. Phosphorus compound are common in many polymers and plastic products, either as plasticisers or mould release agents. Cyanoacrylate based superglue is my preferred glue. Especially when glueing directly onto coral skeletons. Here are some pics of the results of this phosphorous "wicking": Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 Reason I ask what brand is because I use knead it aqua, which is waterproof, and have not had such a problem. But it does make sense it could happen, just wanted to check which brand. The pics you show, is that what is sometimes referred to as green boring algae? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 i've personally seen it with aqua knead it. Yeah, sometimes people call it green boring algae. But it's nothing particularly special. All it needs is a phosphate pool and light, just like any other problem algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 well there you go, i have used aqua kneed it and had the exact results as per the last pic. thankyou lduncan, very handy to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 My acros always look like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 :lol: I got some green ones too! Wonder where Gerald is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazzard Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Most brands seem to be more or less the same stuff. Phosphorus compound are common in many polymers and plastic products, either as plasticisers or mould release agents. Cyanoacrylate based superglue is my preferred glue. Especially when glueing directly onto coral skeletons. Here are some pics of the results of this phosphorous "wicking": Can i ask why an epoxy product would contain a mould release agent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 It doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.