Aquatopia Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 I had an interesting conversation with a fellow reefer the other day regarding moonphase and its affect on coral reproduction (sexual). Several lighting manufacturers as well as aquarium controller manufacturers incorporate moonphase technology into their products. Initially I thought - "great, get a light or controller with this function and your corals will be going for gold". The conversation steered towards studies that had been carried out which indicated that its not JUST the moonphase lighting condition that influences sexual reproduction in corals, but could well be the gravitational pull as well. Having seen the BBC's "The Blue Planet" again tonight, it seems not only is it moonphase and gravity but also the lower tidal flow associated with spring tides. All interesting stuff and you probably (most of you) know all this already. What i wondered is if any of you, with your sophisticated systems, had tried or would consider trying to replicate a combination of these. Of course we cant replicate gravity, but matching the moonphase of the lighting system to the ACTUAL moonphase, along with setting the aquarium flow to match seasonal tidal variations may just do it. Now that would be the mutz nutz if it worked huh. Maybe its just pie in the sky stuff, but interesting all the same. Your comments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 Nice as it might seem to get your corals to spawn and as happy as they might be at the time, unless your filter system is designed for a tank about 10 times its actual size it won't cope if they really get going. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted May 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 Really? Thats a b****r. OK, change the idea to a controlled environment, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 Of course we cant replicate gravity soooo, your tank is not subjected to forces of gravity right now? you know your tank moves when the world rotates huh? :lol: only difficult thing it tidal change. i really dont think corals would be influenced that much between the ocean and your tank (so long as most other factors are taken care of - excluding perfect water chemistry) i have a moonlight that comes on after the actinics go off all night - you can almost see the dirty little buggers going for it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted May 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 soooo, your tank is not subjected to forces of gravity right now? you know your tank moves when the world rotates huh? :lol: Yeah Chim - I know that - what i was meaning is that we cannot affect gravity by physical intervention in the context of a hobby aquarium. Of course its still subject to ACTUAL gravity 8) What sort of moonlight do you have? is it phased or just on-off? Im thinking of having one. Saw an article in Marine World about one that MarcWeiss in the States had developed.. Used 1 watt of power ! Reviewed by Bob Goemans. It never made the UK market in 240v format because it didnt meet their standards so i guess its a no-go !! Shame - looked smart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 eah Chim - I know that - what i was meaning is that we cannot affect gravity by physical intervention in the context of a hobby aquarium. Solution? Time everything to go with the real moon's phases. I think the tides thing could be done with some fairly straightforward adjustments using a wavemaker. The important thing would be getting some kind of numbers from the wild to replicate. On X date the current is this much and the moonlight is this strong, the next day it's this and this, next day and so on. THen you just have the moonlight and current tweaked slightly automatically to match it. Ok, conceptually it's easy, implimenting it would probably require it to be run by a PC and getting the current right... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 id prefer my fish to live and just frag the corals rather than have cloudy water and dead fish idealy the right environment should be there to encourage natural behaviour but that is one thing i dont think id like to see on that note though my wife saw my purple fungia releasing some eggs/sperm, i only saw the litte specs floating around the tank after it happened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 id prefer my fish to live and just frag the corals rather than have cloudy water and dead fish idealy the right environment should be there to encourage natural behaviour but that is one thing i dont think id like to see on that note though my wife saw my purple fungia releasing some eggs/sperm, i only saw the litte specs floating around the tank after it happened Im sure we would all prefer our fish to live Brianemone. I dont think anyone, especially me, is advocating doing anything that would endanger them or be unmanageable by our filtration. Thats why I changed the drift from the notion of an in-existing-reef tank experiment to something more scientific. You wouldnt like to see corals reproducing sexually? I have seen it and it is fascinating. Sounds like regardless of what you would like to see your fungia is already doing it though, lol :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 You wouldnt like to see corals reproducing sexually? might get into trouble for looking at that on my work computer :oops: should have made my statement a little clearer, i would love to see that happening but not at the cost of the other animals in my tank. the occasionall release like my fungia or other various things imo are benifitial to the tank, but a mass release of acros would kill my tank. ie not good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Brianemone. I can tell you which files to delete on the work computer if you dont wanna get caught, lol. No, for sure, none of us would want that to happen on such a grand scale and have a tank wipeout. Would love to do it on a scientific experimentation basis as suggested though. Its a good sign for your water parameters for your fungia to be at it though. Did the skimmer go haywire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 unfortunatly yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Brianemone - well thats bad news in a way, but if it didnt cause any ill affect thats good. I think its proof of the pudding that skimmers are an essential element myself. I know some purists say they are no longer necessary but they cover a range of eventualities and i personally feel the downsides nowhere near match the benefits they offer. Get some snaps next time dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 If you could learn to trigger the spawning reliably maybe you could do something similar to with fish. Throw them in a seperate breeding tank, and get them to spawn in there. I don't know what the rest of coral's life cycle is like, but if it's not too difficult you could get them in insane numbers.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Ira - thats food for though. I dont really know much about the corals lifecycle after spwawning either, other than some corals are male and release sperm and others are female and release eggs. This happens at the same time. I believe that they then float around and eventually find somewhere to attach. Cell division takes place and the first polyps begin to grow. Quite what the feeding requirements would be i dont know - planktonic i guess. A fascinating area for sure. Anyone want to sponsor me doing a marine biology degree? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Pomereef Have you read the manual I gave you. It has seasonal lighting, currents tides and moon cycle. Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Once you understand the theory sufficiently to be able to predict, based on the moon/current cycles you have set up to match the naturally occuring gravity at your house, more or less when your corals are likely to spawn, then you could introduce some mechanical filtration to the tank outlet and then monitor every evening after lights out (or whenever they do the business) over that period. If they did spawn, you should then be able to use the mechanial filter to quickly remove from the system 90+% of what was produced before it did too much damage. In theory anyway. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Steve, yes in theory. Also, the fluid released must have a chemical marker of some sort. Ultimately it could be possible to make a probe that detects this marker and sounds an alarm - or even activates a solenoid controlled valve which diverts the tank water through a separate filter system. I guess that would be beyond any but the most enthusiastic and wealthy (or daft) reefer. Its all food for thought though. Im sure there must be commercial studies being done along these lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted May 11, 2005 Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 I think for my next/first experiment I will set up a small, well insulated, satelite tank outside to see if I can grow corals under natural Wellington sunlight. Might start with one of those Montipora weeds. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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