Episode 57 pt1, The Coral Frag Farmer, LA Fishguys

[319PurpleHaze]

hello jim ,

please let me know abt coralline algae..... do they respond to more of light or calcium??? because i have noticed in my reef tank the rocks under direct light have this thin film of green alage and the rocks near the side of my tank is producing nice pink coralline alage . im using kent calcium and purple up . so i was thinkin to turn off all the lights for 2 to 3 days to get rid of this green alage , is this right???and about corals i have only 3 soft corals .

[lafishguy]

hey 3, i would do some more research as some calcerous algaes are green, so I would not turn down the lights until you determined if what green algae you have is good or bad.

[badvegan]

really awesome i wish you had your own tv show

[seanyroche]

Hi this is probably a stupid question: here goes, will high light soft coral grow under a lower light source if they are placed higher up in the tank or in a shallow tank say 8 inches?

[lafishguy]

hey S, without knowing what the strength of the light source is you can only compensate for not enough light to a certain point.

[seanyroche]

@lafishguy Hi i made the light using 3 CFL GU10 6500K bulbs that are 9w each giving an output of 50w each over a 15 litre pico reef vase. the rock I bought was used by another fish keeper and there are some mushrooms, some star polyps and a few button polyps on it. i just want to know if this type of light unit will be ok till i can afford to upgrade. thanks sean

[lafishguy]

hey S, I dont do small SW tanks so I am not the best person to ask, besides if this all you can do... then do it. learn from it. BTW, how does 3 x 9 watts equal 50 watts?

[seanyroche]

@lafishguy ok thanks anyway, they are energy efficiant bulbs ment to each give out 50w but use 9w each so they would produce 150w total. im sure someone on here will no doubt correct me. thanks for you help

[ikelleners]

@lafishguy Hey you! Have you never asked, if the farmer might switch to LED light? Or maybe not so good for him, I would like to know!!!

[lafishguy]

hey I, why not call up Danny at Wet Thumb Frags and ask him that question?

[ikelleners]

@lafishguy Good idea :D But I thought you would have asked :P I think this is your coolest video, I love when you make `visits` sort of. ,they very educational. I make a new reef tank myself soon. KEEP MOVING FORWARD :)))

[GrotesqueSteve]

Is there any specific spot to frag the coral so you don't end up killing it?

[lafishguy]

hey G, yes there is. since I am not a frag-farmer it would be best if you contacted someone who is fragging corals, such as Wet Thumb Frags ( .net )

[thegoodsoflife]

Are bristle worms dangerous to the hand?

[lafishguy]

T, yes they are.

[thegoodsoflife]

@thegoodsoflife what do they do????

[thegoodsoflife]

whats trt??

[thegoodsoflife]

whats trt??

and how do bristle worms affect hand?

[FarRightFred]

@thegoodsoflife bristles in hand = pain.

[snip84]

@thegoodsoflife

nope

[thegoodsoflife]

if i frag a coral(acropora),in how much time will it grow

[lafishguy]

hey T, it depends on the coral, the amount of light and available calcium. sometimes its noticeable in a couple of weeks, sometimes its takes much longer.

[telmo200]

I like this farm a lot...

[Arteolike]

Everyone keeps asking "What kind of glue is that, or what can i substitute it with" Normal Super glues might have acid, and it will kill the living organisms on the cut end of the coral, therefore they may die.

The glue used in this video is called _ BSI IC Coral Frag Gel Glue _ Costs around $10/Shipped for 20 Grams (size he has) you can buy it on eBay.

Never use regular super glue, some aren't even waterproof, some may contaminate the water and kill every thing. Including any fish

[snip84]

@Arteolike

i use normal super glue not even in gel form and nothing's wrong with anything in my tank.

[Arteolike]

@snip84 i said some MAY have contaminates, not necessarily do. I just think its a gamble to risk such expensive live stock over a $10 tube of glue.

[snip84]

@Arteolike

yes, that sure is.

[camaro723]

are u a trt member?

[lafishguy]

hey C, considering i have no idea what a ' trt ' member is I would say no i am not.

[08wallic]

Hey Jim, Would a tank require more maintenance if there we no fish or invertebrates working about the corals? What is you opinion on Walstad setups?

[lafishguy]

hey 08, why would you cheat yourself out of fish and inverts just to devrease maintenance? the fish and inverts do provide some benifit to the corals. I am not familiar with Walstad.

[08wallic]

@lafishguy The idea I had in mind was almost a completely self sufficient tank and I figured the fish would make this near impossible. But thank you for answering my question.

[johnnysreef9]

do you have to use specific coral fragging glue or i heard you can just use crazy glue........

[lafishguy]

hey J, does Crazy Glue work underwater? if not then buy the Coral Glue.

[dylandabomb230]

@johnnysreef9 super glue gel works good

[johnnysreef9]

do you have to use specific coral fragging glue or i heard you can just use crazy glue........

[Degitalxxxde3trgfXXX]

This series needs to be on TV O.O!

[M0Etivation]

hello i have noticed that my water temp swings every day due to my lights from 78 to 80 most days sometimes 78 to 82.is this too stressfull for my fish.

[lafishguy]

hey M, you should consider a chiller unit. even though its only four degrees it can cause stress... which causes other problems.

[FlyingVmetall]

hey jim im setting up a sps frag tank the metal halides will be 2 in from the water the tank is only 15 in deep should i get 2x250w mh or 2x150w mh i dont wont to bleach anything but i do wont enough light thanks

[lafishguy]

hey F, i would do the 250 MH's but watch out for splashing at only 2 inches.

[jurisdiction1]

Hey jim, i really appreciate your time getting back to me. I just bought these lights for my 65 gallon, but most deffetnetly i will get MH for my next tank. I've been following your reef biograph y and you are the BEST!!!

[brett35540]

but if i keep them higher up on the rocks they would still live right. all i have is some montoporia elk horn and i think one acropora.

[brett35540]

hey jim i just got my new T5 HO lighting and i was wondering if i can still keep my sps from my other tank witch had MH on it but it wont fit my 40 gallon breeder that im setting up thanks. brett

[lafishguy]

hey B, i would expect your corals to be unhappy under flourescent, at the least have a hard time adjusting.

[jurisdiction1]

its a 36" 6bulb 234w nova extreme pro

[lafishguy]

hey J, i suggested using MH, but since you are appearantly determined to use flourescent then I would suggest contacting a company who grows SPS and ask them.

[jurisdiction1]

Hi, i just suscribed to your guys channel! I wanted to ask you, would i do well doing SPS on a 6bulb Nova Extreme Pro?

[lafishguy]

hey J, sorry but I have no idea what the wattage is on the system you described, but IMO if you want to grow SPS then use metal halide lamps.

[jurisdiction1]

Its 234 watts

[jurisdiction1]

@lafishguy so its a 36" 6bulb 234 w and my tank is only 24 inches deep

[dylandabomb230]

where do you get the eggcrate stuff? i looked in my local ACE hardware and there wasnt any in there, where else would i find it

[lafishguy]

try Home Depot

[SJ77SEB]

U make our knowledge in reefing became what is desireable to have for keeping quality tanks and u don't now how much I appreciated u!

I'M ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!!!

maybe one day, I'll be the lucky owner of a beatifull reeftank and, ...maybe...once a frag farmer! because I'll never forget:

ALWAYS KEEP MOVE FORWARD!!!!!

best regards,

Sebastian Ardelean

[arneybear30]

cool thank you jim

[arneybear30]

hey where can u pick up that grid or egg crate as u called it?

[lafishguy]

hey A, check out Home Depot in the ceiling light section

[AquaticReefer]

WOW thats a lot of frags

[tvshowuploader3]

this is the best episode of LA fishguys corals keeping and much more thanks for posting it jim.

[morgan0661]

Tina is the best! And her and Dan's frags are top of the line. Thank you for letting me see where all beautiful pieces come from!!!

[dasadler123]

Hey Jim, I know there are probably a million of them but could you at least name a couple of hard corals that would be good for a beginner. I have a bunch of soft corals but would like to try some hard.

[lafishguy]

hey D, try the branching Hammer Corals. under the right conditions they definately can increase, as for SPS i dont have enogh experience to make suggestions.

[dasadler123]

@lafishguy Isn't that the coral that you had to move out of the way of your rose anemone? If that's the one your talking about, it's beautiful and i'll definantly give that a shot. Thanks

[lafishguy]

hey D, yes, thats Hammer Coral

[TheMinardo]

Anybody knows how to fragging Crocea Clams ? or can u give me the link ?

[lafishguy]

hey T, i dont think you can frag clams.

[dasadler123]

Hey jim, new to the wonderful world of saltwater. Don't have the option for natural seawater where i'm at. What saltmix would you recommend in lieu of actual sea water?

[lafishguy]

hey D, Instant Ocean is a popular brand. also consider Red Sea saltmix.

[dasadler123]

@lafishguy Thanks Jim! your videos are chocked full of usual information. Thank you for taking the time to make and post them!

[nicthekiller14]

l.a fish guy ur the man when it comes to fish add my channel on youtube so i can talk to u and ask u for some pointers and advice plz and ty

[sevak67]

nu thats not wat im saying, i was jst saying that the corals in the middle of the tank would get more light then the corals on the sides because the sides of the tank are only lit half the time as the middle.

[sevak67]

hey with the light moving like that across the tank wouldn't the middle of the tank get more light then the sides. because the light oly stays to each side half the time then it does with the middle of the tank because the light passses the middle of the tank twice.

[lafishguy]

hey S, OK, so whats your point? dont you think running one bulb back and forth uses less electricity than having two stationary bulbs?

[FallensReef]

hey jim is lace rock reef safe.

[lafishguy]

hey F, the Lace Rock I am familiar with would work in FW, SW and Reef.

[FallensReef]

thanks just macking sure.

[sevak67]

hey how large does the acropora have to get after fragging it on the plug to bve able to sell it and how long will it take to grow to the ideal size in optimum conditions

[lafishguy]

hey S, i've seen frags that just barely started to encrust the plug and were only one inch tall, i've also seen 3 inch tall versions. some corals grow fast and other are slow.

[stanakanats]

Too bad we can not have Coral's in our tanks here in Hawaii:(

[coooooollllle]

those little pieces he cuts off the bottom he could also put on disks and they would grow... some on at my local club has done it

[pirut1]

Hi Jim--thanks for the good quality video. I have a couple of questions. I'm new to the frag thing. Do the plugs go straight into your home aquarium or do you need to remove them? Secondly, could you make a good quality frag video for other kinds of softer coral or polyps?

[lafishguy]

hey P, it would be best to direct those questions directly to Dan @wet thumb frags. i am sure there will be another frag video sometime :)

[TheFishMan101]

Do you know how often i would have to replace a DE MH 20,000k bulb?

[lafishguy]

hey Fish, in general every other year for MH. I would alter replacing them and avoid changing both at the same time.

[lafishguy]

hey L, no hable espanol. try using Yahoo Babel to translate.

[lacarretadelamuerte]

lafishguy  spick spanish

[DCG1286]

Great video Jim (as all of them are)! I know you primarily focus on the Fish only set ups ... but I was wondering how many reef tanks do you care for? What types of reef tanks at that ... SPS ... LPS ... Soft Corals?

Keep the videos coming!

[hando7183]

wow that was really informative, thank you

[22svk22]

wish i had that set up. thx Dan for the inside peek @ wet thumbs,hope to see ya at another show.

[wetthumbfrags]

thank you 22svk22.

we go to most shows in CA.

[ShadowsDecember]

ok, ok, Ive got another question!

when attaching the new frags to the plugs, is there a special type of super glue for this purpose? or could you just use any good old super glue?

[lafishguy]

hey S, contact Dan at Wet Thumb Frags

[YeahBudday]

You want to use super glue gel, not liquid.

Hope this helps!

[wetthumbfrags]

reg super blue is not recommended. We have tried before. Use coral glue that you will find at many coral sites.

[MrKaya837]

Another great video, can't wait for the rest of them to come back up.

[MrBenoit113]

a lot of information in this video... u can really go far making videos like this good job

[reptilyenmaster]

This was posted all ready wasn't it? Also, what happened to your other videos?

As all ways, great video 5 Stars

[323FireFly323]

watch the 61th episode and you will find out.

[JUNAID187]

awsome !thanks for the great video man