Updated coral farm progress.

richard rendos

richard rendos

Active Member
As many of you know, I started a coral farm a while back...I have since added a 1 HP chiller, and changed skimmers. I had a ETSS 800, and upgraded to a ER F-4 (CS 8-3) with dual pumps. Anyway, here are some updated pictures. I have tons of frags that are in the growout stage right now.






 
yosemite sam

yosemite sam

Active Member
Holy cow! That is excellent. Are those capricornis frags on the second level? Those are so big I'm not sure they count as frags any more:D Great work!
 
jonthefb

jonthefb

Active Member
what type of lighting do you have over your frag tanks? and do you have just one or more tanks...are they plumbed/filtered individually or all on one?
good luck
jon
 
richard rendos

richard rendos

Active Member
Thanks for the replies.
A little run down on the system.
I currently have SPS and LPS in a 125 gallon tank with 4 400 watt 20K radium bulbs.
I have a 90 gallon tank with 4 110 watt VHO(2 10K, 2 actinic).
Both tanks are drilled and plumbed to a central 100 gallon sump. In the sump is a 5 gallon bucket modified to be a wet/dry with drip plate and bio-balls, and a Euro-Reef F-4 protein skimmer that runs on 2 modified Sedra 500 pumps.
I have a 1 HP chiller plumbed into this system that runs in a separate room.
I will be adding a 75 gallon tank to this system next weekend.
I will also be adding 2 100 gallon tubs for aquaculturing live rock.
What will I be doing with these? - Selling them hopefully, but not on SWF.
Are those capricornis frags? - Yes...I like to grow my frags out a little before selling them. I hate buying frags from people and getting a little 1/2 inch piece.
Skilos1 - email me
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
Quite impressive Richard !
Looks great - and sounds like more upgrades are on the way.
That's got to be fun to do too ;)
 
richard rendos

richard rendos

Active Member
broomer5 - thanks for the comments.
Kipass4130 - I have both xenia elongata and red sea pumping xenia...both are growing like crazy. I have found that the easiest way to prop xenia is to put a few in a tank, surround them with rubble rock, and just let them spread across the rock on their own.
Coral propagation is a great thing that everyone should do. Even if you can't do it on a large scale. Every coral we propagate means one less needs to be harvested from the oceans. It may not seem to help, but if enough people did it and the demand for wild caught corals decreased, there would be fewer corals harvested each year. Do the ocean a favor and buy Aquacultured corals from now on.
 
salty jeff

salty jeff

Member
Hi Richard,
I'm in the process of starting to frag some of my mushrooms. I tried using rubber bands but they keep sliding out of the bands the next day or so. I think I'll try a piece of mesh netting. Do you have any tips or ideas to help me out?
Thanks for any info. By the way you have a excellent looking frag tank.
Jeff
 
salty jeff

salty jeff

Member
Kip, do you think cheese cloth would work? The stuff I have is 100% cotton and the same mess size as your same photo.
 
attml

attml

Active Member
Richard,
Wow! You sure filled those tanks in a hurry! Everything looks awesome!!! When you start selling frags let me know! You have some very nice looking stuff!
 
richard rendos

richard rendos

Active Member
I have tried all the different ways and personally just use Super Glue Gel.
I take the coral frag and a piece of rubble rock out of the tank...dry the rock and the coral at the point of attachment. Apply the glue to both surfaces. Put the newly glued frag in a small container of water for 5 - 10 minutes to allow the glue to dry. Then I put the frag back in the main tank. This method works 100% for me. I buy my glue from Dr. Mac in huge tubes due to the number of frags I make.
Hope this helps.
attml - yeah, the tanks really did fill up fast. that is why I am adding another 75 gallon tank next weekend. I also have some 20 gallon rubbermaid tubs I am trying to work into the system some way.
wrassecal - thank you...I think tank raised corals always look better and are generally healthier and hardier than wild caught.
 
richard rendos

richard rendos

Active Member
I have great luck with gluing all softies, shrooms, leathers, etc.
I have cold packs and I add oxygen to all the bags. I bought an O2 bottle/regulator/etc. recently. I have a lot of frags right now, but not a huge variety. I am always looking for new things to add my the selection so trades are always welcome.
tangsfornuttin - thanks for the kind words.
 
rabid frog

rabid frog

Active Member
I would ahve to say I am impressed, I think it is an awesome thing you are doing, and you are right if we all could do our part it would have a less of an impact on the ocean. Your grow out tanks look better than most lfs display tanks.
 
richard rendos

richard rendos

Active Member
Things I am looking for:
"Steve Tyree" Purple Monster
Any Tri-Color SPS
Millepora's - green, red, pink, purple
Acropora Yongei
Green Pavona
Pink or Green Bird's Nest (seriatopora)
Acropora Humulis
Acropora Cerealis
Acropora Secale
also looking for zooanthids and clove polyps
Three of the purple's are already prepaid...I should have 2 left after those are gone. Please email me as selling corals would be against SWF.com rules...email me
 
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