Science Experiment Quest

[Noah's Shark]

Good evening everyone,
As we are all aware, the saltwater community is a rapidly evolving realm, and this is made possible by the research and commitment of individuals. I share all of your passions for this fantastic hobby, and would like to conduct a lab-grade test in my domicile. I am open to any and all ideas and no proposal is too small or too large. Can anyone think of a problem that has to be solved in this hobby (even in the oceans for a larger scale) or a species that needs to be observed better... something along those lines. I look forward to your responses.
Thank you and have a wonderful day.

 

[Copingwithpods]

I'd love to see some microscope shots and cultures of the popular bacterial additives out there. Would love to know if I am paying for actual bacteria or just carbon dosing my tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Good evening everyone,
As we are all aware, the saltwater community is a rapidly evolving realm, and this is made possible by the research and commitment of individuals. I share all of your passions for this fantastic hobby, and would like to conduct a lab-grade test in my domicile. I am open to any and all ideas and no proposal is too small or too large. Can anyone think of a problem that has to be solved in this hobby (even in the oceans for a larger scale) or a species that needs to be observed better... something along those lines. I look forward to your responses.
Thank you and have a wonderful day.

There are a number of chemistry related questions that would be very interesting to know, but to adequately evaluate them requires multiple aquaria with identical setups and organisms in them, then vary one chemical and determine if there is any effect. They generally are not well done in a single aquarium since such an experiment lacks a control (a tank can be its own control, but that is not the best method).

Over the years there have been either discoveries or myths (depending on whether they are true or not) that hobbyists claim but that professional scientists have not studied or not recognized as true.

Supplemental iodine and strontium for mist corals fit this description, and there have been decades of debate by reefers over the merits.

 

[Noah's Shark]

Supplemental iodine and strontium for mist corals fit this description, and there have been decades of debate by reefers over the merits.

I like the supplemental iodine or strontium idea. I am going to set up two identical tanks in a controlled environment and see how it goes from there. Any recommendations for the size of tank I should use? I'm thinking nothing smaller than a 75 gallon.

 

[Noah's Shark]

I'd love to see some microscope shots and cultures of the popular bacterial additives out there. Would love to know if I am paying for actual bacteria or just carbon dosing my tank.

I can definitely do that. I'll see if I can get some funding from a local store or group and purchase high quality equipment. If not, I have a decent microscope and can take photographs with it. Any particular requests for a brand/product that you'd like to see?

 

[Mr Fishface]

I like the supplemental iodine or strontium idea. I am going to set up two identical tanks in a controlled environment and see how it goes from there. Any recommendations for the size of tank I should use? I'm thinking nothing smaller than a 75 gallon.

I think whatever you can fit! Larger tanks means less tanks overall but would have more water to let you control your dosage more concise. Smaller tanks would mean more possible tanks overall and let you do more than 1 experiment at a time!

 

[ScottR]

I’m always interested in the role of bacteria in a reef tank. Although, this is currently being studied. @AquaBiomics is doing a great job in this area. But more specifically, why does a dry rock reef have a harder time than an actual-live rock reef with SPS?

 

[Mr Fishface]

Here is my input for an idea too. When it comes to algae people love to blame caulerpa for going sexual in the tank. And the reasons for deploying spores are all over the place. Some think it can't happen under 24/7 light, some think it takes reduced lights to happen or no nutrients available or if you never prune it it'll release spores. This would take many, smaller tanks to do though but I'd love to see a control compared to low lighting hours, low wattage light, no nutes added and never pruning it ever to see which is more likely to cause this event to occur.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Here is my input for an idea too. When it comes to algae people love to blame caulerpa for going sexual in the tank. And the reasons for deploying spores are all over the place. Some think it can't happen under 24/7 light, some think it takes reduced lights to happen or no nutrients available or if you never prune it it'll release spores. This would take many, smaller tanks to do though but I'd love to see a control compared to low lighting hours, low wattage light, no nutes added and never pruning it ever to see which is more likely to cause this event to occur.

I’ve followed that “myth” for many years and I’ve never heard of anyone who had an actual problem from sporulation. I’ve had it happen in my tank with certain variants of caulerpa racemosa (and not others), but never did it cause a problem.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I like the supplemental iodine or strontium idea. I am going to set up two identical tanks in a controlled environment and see how it goes from there. Any recommendations for the size of tank I should use? I'm thinking nothing smaller than a 75 gallon.

A 75 would be fine

 

[Han]

I’d like to know why some fish are so sensitive, particularly scorpionfish like rhinopias etc. I think understanding them better could help people keep them more successfully, I tried one but he died mysteriously after a few months. He did not starve and had a varied diet. Some people think that medications used in the supply chain’s holding tanks cause organ failure later on, or that they don’t get the proper vitamins in aquariums. I’d really like to see some research into this, all the information on the subject we have now is basically speculation and observations by hobbyists. I love these fish and wish we could identify why they have such a high mortality rate, so that more people could keep them successfully. This is the stuff that keeps me up at night, I know I can’t be the only one frustrated by our lack of understanding and general success with these fish.

 

[Noah's Shark]

I think whatever you can fit! Larger tanks means less tanks overall but would have more water to let you control your dosage more concise. Smaller tanks would mean more possible tanks overall and let you do more than 1 experiment at a time!

At this point, it would come down to what I can get funding for and what my electrical can handle! Some of the proposed idea's can be done in smaller tanks while others need larger ones. Thank you for the input.

I’d like to know why some fish are so sensitive, particularly scorpionfish like rhinopias etc. I think understanding them better could help people keep them more successfully, I tried one but he died mysteriously after a few months. He did not starve and had a varied diet. Some people think that medications used in the supply chain’s holding tanks cause organ failure later on, or that they don’t get the proper vitamins in aquariums. I’d really like to see some research into this, all the information on the subject we have now is basically speculation and observations by hobbyists. I love these fish and wish we could identify why they have such a high mortality rate, so that more people could keep them successfully. This is the stuff that keeps me up at night, I know I can’t be the only one frustrated by our lack of understanding and general success with these fish.

I think this is a doable project. The benefits produced by this project could mean greater availability of scorpion fish in fish stores, and an increased understanding of their required care. Thank you for your input as well.

 

[AquaBiomics]

I’m always interested in the role of bacteria in a reef tank. Although, this is currently being studied. @AquaBiomics is doing a great job in this area. But more specifically, why does a dry rock reef have a harder time than an actual-live rock reef with SPS?

Thanks for bringing this thread to my attention. I guess it goes without saying at this point, but to me, the most interesting unresolved questions in aquariums have to do with the microbial community. There are so many unknowns left in this area.

Including your suggestion about dry vs live rock. I did some work on this but that was a starting point rather than closing the book.

IMO the highest priority questions are about the functional effects of microbial communities on the rest of the aquarium. Your suggestions about SPS in dry rock vs live rock tanks fit the bill. It'd be great to have experimental data testing this widespread observation.

 

[Cory]

Here is my input for an idea too. When it comes to algae people love to blame caulerpa for going sexual in the tank. And the reasons for deploying spores are all over the place. Some think it can't happen under 24/7 light, some think it takes reduced lights to happen or no nutrients available or if you never prune it it'll release spores. This would take many, smaller tanks to do though but I'd love to see a control compared to low lighting hours, low wattage light, no nutes added and never pruning it ever to see which is more likely to cause this event to occur.

Imo caulerpa would go sexual durring events that threaten survival so it could continue its species, things like massive pruning, bacterial infection, low nutrients etcetera.