chain
Member
Xenia, as many of you are well aware, is a terrific nutrient exporter. To be exact its around 500% more effective then macroalgae at removing nutrients from your aquarium.
Alot of people don't keep xenia strictly because it can quickly reproduce and overgrow a tank and other corals. Especially in a tank with large amounts of DOCs xenia can quickly get out of hand on your rock work and pose issues for your tank. You can prune it just like you would a macroalgae, however this can get troublesome as every little head which sneaks away via the water column and finds a nice little nook will sprout itself into a new tree.
From personal Exp and conversations with friends, Ive found a nifty way to grow xenia safely in your aquarium without worrying about pruning or dealing with real estate issues in and on your rock work while all the time enjoying the nutrient exporting ability of this nifty coral.
My father, (at one point and time), actually plumbed a main reef display into a secondary 30 gallon reef which was completely a xenia forest. The nutrient exporting capabilites was outstanding. The main issue being the large amount of food which was having to be fed to supply enough food to maintain both the coral in the main display + the entire secondary tank of xenia. This became an issue which had more risks then rewards and my dad quickly went back to a fuge.
Rather then growing your Xenia on your rock, why not grow it on your glass? Its out of the way of other corals, cannot block light, cannot take up real estate, and still serves the purpose to export excess nutrients from the water column. Its not difficult in any way, all it requires is a little scrubbing with a toothbrush every other day. Xenia usually attaches fairly quickly to whatever object its placed next to, if you have a frag available and can suspend it horizontally against the glass safely without it falling for an extended period, then eventually it will attach itself to the glass and voila, you are good to go. Simply seek out any little xenia sprouts and scrub them off the rock with a clean toothbrush every now and again when you see them sprouting up and you are good to go.
If you already have Xenia in your tank and simply wish to know how to get it to grow on your glass so you can completely remove it from your rock, then this is how. I personally left at least 2 healthy trees on my rocks at all times without any pruning being done during the glass growing process. The other trees I cut, pruned, and scrubbed with a toothbrush until only a small amount of the trees remained on the rock. Eventually a spore you scrub off will attach to the glass and begin to grow. When you think it is of adequate size and definitely going to survive, then you can simply completely remove the rest of the trees on your rock. Congratulations, you now have a small forest growing on your glass which is pretty and serves a purpose.
Just an idea to throw out there for everyone.
Alot of people don't keep xenia strictly because it can quickly reproduce and overgrow a tank and other corals. Especially in a tank with large amounts of DOCs xenia can quickly get out of hand on your rock work and pose issues for your tank. You can prune it just like you would a macroalgae, however this can get troublesome as every little head which sneaks away via the water column and finds a nice little nook will sprout itself into a new tree.
From personal Exp and conversations with friends, Ive found a nifty way to grow xenia safely in your aquarium without worrying about pruning or dealing with real estate issues in and on your rock work while all the time enjoying the nutrient exporting ability of this nifty coral.
My father, (at one point and time), actually plumbed a main reef display into a secondary 30 gallon reef which was completely a xenia forest. The nutrient exporting capabilites was outstanding. The main issue being the large amount of food which was having to be fed to supply enough food to maintain both the coral in the main display + the entire secondary tank of xenia. This became an issue which had more risks then rewards and my dad quickly went back to a fuge.
Rather then growing your Xenia on your rock, why not grow it on your glass? Its out of the way of other corals, cannot block light, cannot take up real estate, and still serves the purpose to export excess nutrients from the water column. Its not difficult in any way, all it requires is a little scrubbing with a toothbrush every other day. Xenia usually attaches fairly quickly to whatever object its placed next to, if you have a frag available and can suspend it horizontally against the glass safely without it falling for an extended period, then eventually it will attach itself to the glass and voila, you are good to go. Simply seek out any little xenia sprouts and scrub them off the rock with a clean toothbrush every now and again when you see them sprouting up and you are good to go.
If you already have Xenia in your tank and simply wish to know how to get it to grow on your glass so you can completely remove it from your rock, then this is how. I personally left at least 2 healthy trees on my rocks at all times without any pruning being done during the glass growing process. The other trees I cut, pruned, and scrubbed with a toothbrush until only a small amount of the trees remained on the rock. Eventually a spore you scrub off will attach to the glass and begin to grow. When you think it is of adequate size and definitely going to survive, then you can simply completely remove the rest of the trees on your rock. Congratulations, you now have a small forest growing on your glass which is pretty and serves a purpose.
Just an idea to throw out there for everyone.