photo taken by OCREEFMASTER on Reef2Reef

Actinic shot or not, this orange psychedelic beauty is something to marvel at. Yumas are known to be finicky while acclimating to your tank’s conditions, but once happy, they will start to build their own little colony of yuma babies.

See ya all tomorrow for another crazy coral !

Offered by UniuqueCorals.com, this is a similarily blended Hornet, except for the smokey centers. How much would you pay for this crazy zoa? UC says 59.99 for 2-3 polyps. Ouch. Its like wasabi, you love to eat it until it goes up your nose.

photo by ReefRunner on Reef2Reef.com

As this hobby evolves over time, we are subjected to many different test projects to enhance the color and life of our inhabitants. Sometimes through sheer random thought we can stumble upon coral saving products (see Interceptor, for Red Bugs). Or, through some real science via Randy Holmes-Farley (see 2 Part Solution). Or, some home-brewed science (see Algae Turf Scrubber). The Magic Eraser, ditto.

We should expect almost anything at this point, including this topic of choice: improving coral and fish immunity to disease through dosing Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid.

My first thought on this was, ”great, whats next.. copper to fight bubble algae?”, but as I let my mind wonder a bit, so was my understanding of this topic. First I had to look at what vitamin C did in our bodies:

Vitamin C is required for the synthesis of collagen, an important structural component of blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, and bone.

Vitamin C is also a highly effective antioxidant. Even in small amounts vitamin C can protect indispensable molecules in the body, such as proteins, lipids (fats), carbohydrates, and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) from damage by free radicals and reactive oxygen species that can be generated during normal metabolism as well as through exposure to toxins and pollutants (e.g. smoking). Vitamin C may also be able to regenerate other antioxidants such as vitamin E.

(source Oregon University’s Linus Pauling Institute)

So it anti-oxidizes, and gives you the ability to produce energy. A win, win. But how does this relate to corals and fish?

Early reef experimentation with Vitamin C has been quite positive. There have been reports that fish and corals are able to recover from injuries (stinging) faster than normal. Zoanthid corals, in particular, were able to shed themselves of algal film that plagued a lot of reefers. According to these zoa-nutty reefers, the coral closes up and develops a film that cannot shed. In time, they shrink and die. Consequently, many claim during the dosing treatment, these zoas will slowly open up.

Here are some snippets of people’s success with respect to dosing VC:

My SPS & LPS have tripled in size since dosing. So have my zoas–the colonies are much larger & the polyps are bigger & brighter. Keep in mind, this isn’t an instant thing. It took 3 weeks of dosing 2x/day to heal my sick ones & see any difference in my healthy ones. As far as the colony sizes , that took about 3 months but they were growing very slowly, previously to that.  (pufferpunk on Reef2Reef)

I don’t dose it directly to the tank, but I do soak Nori in it for my herbivores. I assume a lot of it goes into solution. I haven’t noticed any phenomenal growth in corals, but my fish are as healthy as can be! BTW, noting growth spurts and tying it to the addition of anything is anecdotal without the science to back it up. (dentoid on ReefSanctuary)

I’m convinced it has nothing to do with the vitamin C itself, but with the oxidation it does to the water and it breaks something down in the water allowing your skimmer to remove it. I think my system is efficient enough that I can make these claims whereas the majority of the zoanthid people run dirtier tanks, all they noticed was some slight improvement in their polyps, I noticed some change to my water chemistry itself and am dosing a sps dominated system, with polyps on all the fringes. Keep in mind that the vitamin C and associated oxidation is dead within 8 hours of dosing (maybe less)so the benefits are very short term. I first started using it a few weeks ago, incidentally on the tail end of a massive reaquascape in which I pulled lots of rocks out and abused them by leaving them out for extended periods of time and drilling the crap out of them. The first day I started dosing it changed the smell of my skimmate….made it reek. Didn’t change the color or amount of what I was pulling out…..just the smell. this only lasted a couple days, as the die off only lasted a couple of days. (Fly Guy at TheReefTank)

More on the actual dosing of ascorbic acid in the next post.. yes I will leave you hanging.

Well last month was our inaugural Coral Trend feature that showcased what is HOT in the world of corals. Lets take a look if things have changed since then..

CANADA:

Symphyllia wilsoni

Its been a weird month for us in Canada. The trends are still to bring in Aussie corals as much as possible, such as acanthastreas, favidaes, echinophyllias, etc. Recently I stumbled upon this ‘hot’ coral: Symphyllia wilsoni. I think I  smell a spicy coral in the pot. Lets see if everyone else likes them. (photos courtesy of Zach R. and ReefBuilders.com, respectively.)

United States:

Echinophyllia (Chalice Coral)

Well, you thought that the craze would subside.. wrong! Its alive and well. The frags cannot come smaller, and demand is at all time high. I have seen frags go for 80-100$ for tiny specimens. Don’t get me wrong, they are nice, but they do take a long time to grow out. Could this be sustained next month? Stay tuned! (photos courtesy of er1c.the.reefer and Saltysteele at Reef2Reef.com)

Well this may be one of those moments where all proud acrylic tank owners can take an deserving exhale because it seems that someone might have found the perfect cleaner for your delicate tank. Ladipyg on Reef 2 Reef forums, has used an unconventional tool to help her clean her tank: the Magic Eraser.

What is that you say? Well the Magic Eraser is a Proctor and Gamble product that manages to ‘magically’ erase or wipe out any blemishes on most surfaces. It has been recently marketed as the best cleaning sponge ever to be used at home.

So when Ladipyg used this scrubber on the inside of her tank, she found amazing results. Not only did it help clean the acrylic, but it prohibited the algae to return in faster numbers.

So what is this ‘Magic Eraser”? It is a melamine foam scrubber.  Sound worried? According to the wiki article, melamine foam is safe for our reefs:

Melamine foam is a foam-like material consisting of a formaldehyde-melamine-sodium bisulfite copolymer.

The foam is manufactured in Germany by BASF under the name “Basotect”. It has been used for over 20 years as insulation for pipes and ductwork, and has a long history as a soundproofing material for studios, sounds stages, auditoriums, and the like. The low smoke and flame properties of melamine foam prevent it from being a fire hazard^{[citation needed]}.

In the early 21st century it was discovered that melamine foam was an effective abrasive cleaner. The open cell foam is microporous and its polymeric substance is extremely hard, so that when used for cleaning it works like extremely fine sandpaper, getting into tiny grooves and pits in the object being cleaned. On a larger scale the material feels soft. Because the bubbles interconnect, its structure is more like a maze of fibreglass strands than like the array of separate bubbles in, for example, styrofoam.

The most important thing is it doesn’t have any harmful chemicals that would react under water.

So, I am tracking this thread for us acrylic owners. Because if this proves to be THE cleaner of choice for the immediate future, you will be the first to be aware. In fact, I will be trying this method out very soon and will post some results. But if you are already out the door, make sure you buy the PLAIN ones. Not the scented or anything else.
Now where is my nearest supermarket?