Feather star diary...

[Gweeds1980]

I agree with what's been said above regarding crinoids losing limbs or tips of limbs due to stress of import and shipping or acclimation. But, what you're seeing under it are actually the "legs" which are the arms it uses to hang onto rocks, there should be 5 of them. Notice how they're curled onto the rock it's on. Unfortunately it isn't growing new limbs (at least not yet) it takes much longer than a week or so to regenerate. Also the arms would grow right alongside the others and would look just like them but smaller. Sorry to be that guy, but that's the answer.

Thanks, but I wasn't referring to the 'holding' legs... if you look at the pic, just to the left of the big arm which is curling away to the left, you can see two smaller arms, much smaller than the rest, complete with the feeding 'feathers'.

 

[Gweeds1980]

Thanks, but I wasn't referring to the 'holding' legs... if you look at the pic, just to the left of the big arm which is curling away to the left, you can see two smaller arms, much smaller than the rest, complete with the feeding 'feathers'.

A better pic, the two smaller arms are dead centre...

 

[AcroNem]

A better pic, the two smaller arms are dead centre...

Ah I see what you're referring to. It's possible it dropped arms and it went unnoticed, they look like they end very abruptly. They can't be newly grown since you've had it though.

 

[Gweeds1980]

Ah I see what you're referring to. It's possible it dropped arms and it went unnoticed, they look like they end very abruptly. They can't be newly grown since you've had it though.

Thanks for that, I've no idea what growth rate is like or even the mechanisms for growth, so wasn't sure what I was looking at!

 

[AcroNem]

Of course we want to see new growth that would be fantastic, and It would be growing right alongside the others if it as growth. Any regeneration of lost tips that we've seen has taken quite some time to do though. I assume their growth rate is fairly slow.

 

[mort]

Thanks for the clear picture of the shorter arms. I didn't think they were that long when I wrote my last reply. Based on what I've seen with other echinoderms any regrowth that long would take months and perhaps with these that might be even longer.

It's a great picture showing the extension.

 

[Gweeds1980]

Day 6 update... turns out no new growth by the looks of things

However, extension and feeding response still excellent. I have ordered 50 micron golden pearls and 10-50 micron Microbe-Lift sps food... still awaiting a response from my email.

I have today ordered a doser too. I needed one anyway, so this has given me a kick up the backside. It's a jebao 4 head doser (not the best quality I know, but budget dictates... I've spent all my money on food lol)... my intention is to put a mix of all the foods I'm using into a container and dose that evenly over 24 hours. Then rinse and repeat.

Can anyone see any problems with mixing the above foods together? What's the shelf life of these foods once opened? Could I do 48 hours worth... a weeks? Maybe I'm overthinking it!

On a separate note, we had friends over last night and a few beers were consumed... one of our friends was obsessed with the tank and decided he wanted his own... I thought it was the beer talking but he called me this morning from the LFS asking if I thought the ea reef pro or red sea deluxe were the better option! I've pointed him in R2Rs direction for newbie help... otherwise he'll be onto me the whole time not to mention make the same mistakes I have lol.

 

[keddre]

Day 6 update... turns out no new growth by the looks of things

However, extension and feeding response still excellent. I have ordered 50 micron golden pearls and 10-50 micron Microbe-Lift sps food... still awaiting a response from my email.

I have today ordered a doser too. I needed one anyway, so this has given me a kick up the backside. It's a jebao 4 head doser (not the best quality I know, but budget dictates... I've spent all my money on food lol)... my intention is to put a mix of all the foods I'm using into a container and dose that evenly over 24 hours. Then rinse and repeat.

Can anyone see any problems with mixing the above foods together? What's the shelf life of these foods once opened? Could I do 48 hours worth... a weeks? Maybe I'm overthinking it!

On a separate note, we had friends over last night and a few beers were consumed... one of our friends was obsessed with the tank and decided he wanted his own... I thought it was the beer talking but he called me this morning from the LFS asking if I thought the ea reef pro or red sea deluxe were the better option! I've pointed him in R2Rs direction for newbie help... otherwise he'll be onto me the whole time not to mention make the same mistakes I have lol.

Lol. The hobby is addicting and easy to fall into. I was brought in by feather dusters!

Also I don't see a problem mixing the food as non of it is live, but that's my opinion and I'd wait for others.

Also personally, I would do a fresh mix daily as I'm paranoid to decay.

I was also looking at the same doser, let us know how it works

 

[Gweeds1980]

Lol. The hobby is addicting and easy to fall into. I was brought in by feather dusters!

Also I don't see a problem mixing the food as non of it is live, but that's my opinion and I'd wait for others.

Also personally, I would do a fresh mix daily as I'm paranoid to decay.

I was also looking at the same doser, let us know how it works

Yeah, decay was my worry too.

I know a lot of people don't like jebao, but I've honestly never had a problem. I had the dct5000 on my FW set up a few years ago and it did me well for the 4 years the tank was running. I have a dct6000 on this tank and a cp-55 crossflow pump which works well and moves a heck of a lot of water... I'm hoping the doser works as well. Was a bit of a bargain... £65 delivered from eBay... new and boxed but a private sale

 

[AcroNem]

I have the 2 head doser on my filter feeding system, it's worked fine for me and it doses 100ml of food solution every hour on the hour. There's really no problem with mixing your food and having that dosed over a 24 hour period. Personally I clean and refill my container (a small BRS reactor with magnetic stirrer) every morning and evening due to how much I dose it gets diluted after 6 hours or so. Also I'd recommend an air pump or some kind of stirrer to keep your food suspended so it doesn't settle at the bottom. Sorry I'm adding so much, it's just that I've been through all the problems already and hope it helps you not have as many kinks. Again, be ready to deal with keeping up with water quality. It's a fair amount of work, water changes every 2 days on my personal one and 50% weekly on our system at work.

 

[keddre]

I have the 2 head doser on my filter feeding system, it's worked fine for me and it doses 100ml of food solution every hour on the hour. There's really no problem with mixing your food and having that dosed over a 24 hour period. Personally I clean and refill my container (a small BRS reactor with magnetic stirrer) every morning and evening due to how much I dose it gets diluted after 6 hours or so. Also I'd recommend an air pump or some kind of stirrer to keep your food suspended so it doesn't settle at the bottom. Sorry I'm adding so much, it's just that I've been through all the problems already and hope it helps you not have as many kinks. Again, be ready to deal with keeping up with water quality. It's a fair amount of work, water changes every 2 days and all.

Trust me, I don't think anyone is upset with your input. Your helping me out and I don't even have one (...yet).

Side note: probably no Air stone. You don't want to pump small bubbles into saltwater

 

[AcroNem]

Trust me, I don't think anyone is upset with your input. Your helping me out and I don't even have one (...yet).

Side note: probably no Air stone. You don't want to pump small bubbles into saltwater

Thank you, I appreciate that

Oh I agree, no air stone. An air pump with just airline is what I meant. That dosing container would foam up SO fast with an air stone and that amount of particulates.

 

[Gweeds1980]

Thank you, I appreciate that

Oh I agree, no air stone. An air pump with just airline is what I meant. That dosing container would foam up SO fast with an air stone and that amount of particulates.

Lol, with an airstone I might as well pour it straight in the skimmer!

Speaking of which, obviously I've noticed a heck of a lot more skimmate recently... emptying twice daily. I am hoping the doser will allow me to keep skimmer running which will help with keeping nutes down. I've got sps in the tank too and obvs the FS won't tolerate high nutes. I tested last night and no3 is unchanged as is po4. I have doubled the biopellets and changed out the gfo early too.

An interesting sidenote... both my torch (which is right next to the FS) and my acans (which looked on the way out after bleaching with new lights) and alveopora are looking much happier with the particulate food in the tank. My damsels are in second heaven and my copperband is liking the pod explosion

 

[AcroNem]

That's great! Corals always love being fed, even if they're photosynthetic. The people that tell you all corals don't need to be fed have never made their corals happier by feeding them (; glad you're seeing other benefits from the extra food.

 

[keddre]

Lol, with an airstone I might as well pour it straight in the skimmer!

Speaking of which, obviously I've noticed a heck of a lot more skimmate recently... emptying twice daily. I am hoping the doser will allow me to keep skimmer running which will help with keeping nutes down. I've got sps in the tank too and obvs the FS won't tolerate high nutes. I tested last night and no3 is unchanged as is po4. I have doubled the biopellets and changed out the gfo early too.

An interesting sidenote... both my torch (which is right next to the FS) and my acans (which looked on the way out after bleaching with new lights) and alveopora are looking much happier with the particulate food in the tank. My damsels are in second heaven and my copperband is liking the pod explosion

My mushrooms have exploded from it. Even, the one that wound up in a cave

 

[mort]

I've got the jebao doser, or the aquamedic rebranded version, and it's a good bit of kit for the money. When I ran a nps tank I used a doser with an old magnetic stirrer.

I'm also pretty cheap and found freezing a block of RO with food I bedded in it worked well. I just sat it on egg crate on top of the return section of the sump and it slowly melted throughout the day. These popsicles kept the food better for longer and I had to top up anyway.

 

[mort]

Should say it took a bit of practice yto get an even distribution of food in the frozen lumps.

 

[AcroNem]

I've got the jebao doser, or the aquamedic rebranded version, and it's a good bit of kit for the money. When I ran a nps tank I used a doser with an old magnetic stirrer.

I'm also pretty cheap and found freezing a block of RO with food I bedded in it worked well. I just sat it on egg crate on top of the return section of the sump and it slowly melted throughout the day. These popsicles kept the food better for longer and I had to top up anyway.

That's a pretty creative idea. I like it. I imagine it took a lot of playing around before you got the thawing right.

 

[mort]

That's a pretty creative idea. I like it. I imagine it took a lot of playing around before you got the thawing right.

In truth it wasn't that hard because the sump was a pretty constant temperature throughout the year. The real struggle was getting an even spread of food which I solved by making small cube of food and then freezing them in a bigger container, well that and remembering to get the food out before I left home.

 

[Gweeds1980]

Day 7... a week! Hurrah! No arm losses... however, the FS took a wander today. I did change the flow about a bit, which I think triggered the move. Sods law of course, it's gone off to the back of the tank, behind rock and plonked itself right in the middle of the clowns breeding area!

Otherwise, feeding well and looming good

Doser should arrive in the next couple of days, along with the golden pearls.