Reef Ramblings

Hints ‘n’ Tips on Using Reef Scientific, Reef Gel.

This information sheet contains a few brief tips, aimed mostly at beginners, on how to use Reef Scientific Reef Gel for coral propagation.

Reef Gel is a very useful, simple tool for attaching corals to rock when propagating corals. It’s worth pointing out that whenever we attach corals we’re not really permanently gluing them in position, we’re merely holding the coral fragment in position until the coral grows onto the rock. Reef Gel is not suitable for attaching all corals. It’ll give best results when gluing “stone to stone” i.e. when working with stony corals. Good results are possible with Gorgonia and Stolonifera, and will sometimes work well with soft corals composed of large/coarse sclerites.

Why use Reef Gel?

We spent a long time testing and researching cyanoacrylate adhesives before coming up with Reef Gel. It’s a thixotropic (very thick) cyanoacrylate used in industry and has by far the best characteristics for coral retention of any adhesive in its class. Although we don’t state it on the packaging it will attach under water.

The added bonus of this product over others is that it comes with a disposable applicator tip – commonly, when using standard tubes of super glue gel, you only get a couple of uses out of the tube before it goes solid because of contamination. With the contamination issue out of the way the 20 g and 50 g bottles last until you’ve drained every drop from the bottle.

Basic Method of Using Reef Gel for Coral Attachment.

To get fragging you’ll need the following items:

• A bottle of Reef Gel.
• Reef Gel applicator tip.
• Two food safe containers, such as ice cream tubs (it’s best to eat the ice cream first),
• A suitable work surface (I use an old plastic kitchen chopping board).
• Paper towels or old terry towel.
• Suitable small pieces of live rock or frag plugs.

Stony Corals.

Prepare by choosing the frags you wish to attach and the pieces of rock you wish to attach them to, hold these in one of your containers filled with water from their tank of origin. Select your first victim and its new home, putting them down on your work surface, don’t worry over much about the time out of water and try not to hurry the process, if you do you’re more likely make a mess/mess it up. Using paper towel/terry towel dab dry your chosen point of attachment on the rock and dab dry the surface of the coral you wish to attach. You may have to repeat the last step depending on the moisture retaining characteristics of the rock or the propensity of the coral to produce mucous. When you’re satisfied the surfaces are as dry as can be reasonably expected apply one drop of Reef Gel to the coral, gently push the frag against the rock while rotating it a quarter turn, and hold for 10 to 15 seconds. Transfer the mounted frag to a second holding tank to rest, then go on to victim number two.

When the second frag’s been transferred to the holding tank return your attention to the first frag you did. Now it’s time to clean off any excess glue, this will show up as a white film which you can just peel off being careful not to dislodge the frag, and rinse off any excess mucous with a quick swish about in the holding tank prior to returning it to its parent tank.

Gorgonia.

The best way of preparing a gorgonian is to treat the frag you want to attach as though it was a piece of wire that you were stripping the insulation from. Just strip off 1 to 2 cms of “flesh” to expose the skeleton, find a bit of rock with a hole of suitable diameter and depth, dry the hole and exposed skeleton, apply drop of Reef Gel to the end of the frag, insert into the hole with a slight twisting motion, then return to the holding tank to rest.

N.B. with gorgonians it’s probably best to insert fairly deeply into your rock ‘cos the animal is going to need to be positioned in a high flow area of your tank, the deeper it’s anchored the less chance of it detaching.

Stolonifera.

With animals such as Briarium species, Star Polyps, that form a mat, it’s easy to just glue direct to rock, it’s worthwhile nicking the edge of the mat, with a knife or scissors, in between polyps as this seems to encourage new growth.

Clavularia – Clove polyps, the creeping stolon of this animal glues well, you can economically attach a small number of individual polyps evenly around a rock and find that it soon spreads to fill in the gaps.

Soft Corals.

The best candidate for attaching using Reef Gel is probably Sinularia dura; I’ve glued this coral successfully many times. Don’t bother trying to glue slimy corals, only those that have a rough texture and plenty of spiculite (fused sclerites) around the base.

Additionally, soft corals that have attached themselves to sand can be glued. This can come in very handy for corallimorpharia, mushroom corals, and for polyps. Just take a little more care drying off the sand and take care to minimise contact between the coral and the adhesive.

These are just a few ideas for using Reef Gel, if you have success with any corals that I haven’t mentioned, or come up with different ways of using the glue please get in touch so they can be added to this info sheet.

Caution:

Reef Gel contains cyanoacrylate. Bonds skin and eyes in seconds. Mild irritant. Use in well ventilated conditions. Do not breathe vapour. Keep out of the reach of children. In case of eye contact or in case of allergic reaction, contact a doctor immediately. Never store near valuables in case of spillage. Always store below 10°c.

Check out www.reeframblings.co.uk for more information about reef aquaria,the natural reef environment, reef aquarium articles, products, and news.

Tim Hayes.

Midland Reefs.

©2009 – 2012

SAIA – Quarantine Procedures Draft 1

Note: This document outlines quarantine procedures SAIA recognizes and recommends as best practices in line with the Code of Best Practices.

Hobbyists: see notes at end of article.

Purpose of Quarantine:

The principal reason for quarantine is the isolation of new arriving livestock from stock in your holding systems. Quarantine can be seen as a kind of insurance, preventing disease breakouts and parasite infestation among previously held stock and in your main systems.

During this resting period the organisms can acclimate and recover from the stressful transport.
Stress can be defined as a state of reduced fitness. Stress producing factors and also the resulting stress responses can sum up and then overexert the strength of the fish, although the single influences were only weak. Thus the risk lies not only in stressed, new arriving organisms carry disease but also weakened new arriving organisms being especially susceptible to existing pathogens in the main system.

The new arrivals shall be closely monitored during quarantine and treated when necessary.

Organisms in quarantine shall not be offered for sale.

In the end a proper quarantine will save you and your customers money and help avoiding disappointment.

Quarantine Procedures

What it needs:

Quarantine tanks shall be separated from water circulation of all other systems in your facility and placed away from the public eye wherever possible (as display and shopping customers can be additional stress to your tank mates).

Thus a proper quarantine requires in most cases the set up of an additional system. Depending on turnover and/or size of your facility the acclimation tanks can also be used as quarantine system as well as empty parts of your holding system that can be cut off from the water circulation of other holding tanks with previously held stock.

In any case the set up of a quarantine tanks is similar to a ‘normal’ tank, besides only simple equipment is necessary.

It needs:

• a filtration system,
• pumps to ensure water flow,
• UV or Ozone sterilisation
• temperature regulation,
• lighting,
• skimmer
• maybe air stones.

Hiding grounds shall be provided when necessary, but should be simple to not interfere with daily
observation and sanitation.
Water parameters shall be kept similar to the water quality in the general holding system. Water quality shall be regularly monitored and corrective action taken when parameters are found out of tolerance.

Supplies (e.g. nets) to handle the organisms in the quarantine period shall be dedicated to those tanks only and regularly disinfected after use.
In general the system shall be easy to clean after the quarantine cycle of one shipment.

Quarantine Process

1. Depending on if you use the acclimation tanks for quarantine, all organisms shall be transferred after acclimation to quarantine tanks.
2. New arrivals from different suppliers shall be separated into different quarantine systems.
3. Incompatible organisms shall be separated to prevent fighting and stress.
4. During quarantine the condition and behaviour of the organisms shall be closely monitored. When organisms show signs of disease and/or distress they shall be isolated for treatment in hospitalization tanks. A thorough diagnose will help to determine the most effective treatment*.
5. All organisms shall be fed at least daily, depending on their dietary needs.
6. The system and tanks shall be maintained hygienic and clean with appropriate water quality.

Duration of Quarantine

New arrivals shall be rested for a minimum of 48 hours or until normal behaviour and feeding patterns resume. Only organisms free from signs of disease and distress shall be transferred to the holding/display tanks and offered for sale.

As many disease-causing parasites need several weeks to complete their life cycle, signs of disease might not be visible for several days. Therefore an extended quarantine period allowing the monitoring the condition and behaviour of the organisms is recommendable, but will depend on the turnover rate and economical viability.

SAIA members shall give instructions to their customers on quarantine procedures and their benefits.

Public Aquariums shall quarantine new arrivals at the minimum for three weeks.

After one quarantine cycle and between uses the tanks shall be drained off, carefully cleaned and
disinfected. A mild chlorine bleach solution can be used. All detergent and disinfectant residue need to be rinsed off thoroughly before re-use. If possible the tanks shall be dried.

* See SAIA Technical Document 4: Dealing with and Treating Disease

A Few Notes in Respect of the SAIA – Quarantine Procedures Draft 1

Although these quarantine procedures are aimed at retailers, wholesalers, and importers they offer hobbyists both an important insight into the the reasons for quarantine, along with a practical description of how quarantine should be carried out.

It should also be noted that very few retailers, wholesalers, or importers actually carry out true quarantine procedures, i.e. holding organisms for the longer period needed to guarantee no disease organisms are present. At best a 48 hour resting period is all that usually occurs – for this reason it is strongly in the interest of the hobbyists to carry out out a proper quarantine procedure themselves.

Just remember how difficult it is to extract a fish from a reef or safely medicate a reef, and hopefully you’ll understand the importance of quarantine.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

SAIA – Acclimation Procedures Draft 1

This document outlines acclimation procedures SAIA recognizes and recommends as best practices in line with the SAIA Code of Best Practices.

Hobbyists: see notes at the bottom of the article.

Purpose of Acclimation:

There is one simple reason for acclimation: the transport water the organisms are arriving in has different temperature, pH, and salinity parameters than your aquarium system water. Fish, and especially invertebrates (including corals), are very sensitive to even minor changes in these parameters, so proper acclimation is the key to ensuring their successful relocation and animal health.

Moreover in the transport bags water is polluted by faeces and exhaled carbon dioxide, so the pH drops to unnatural levels over long time; a high concentration of ammonium can be found. At higher pH ammonium is converted to highly toxic ammonia. Therefore it is extremely important to bring the fish from the polluted water in the transport bags to ammonium free water with a low pH, best with a pH similar to the one in the bags and rise the pH then slowly.

There are different ways to achieve successful acclimation. The method of preference will depend on:

• the difference in water parameters between transport and system water
• species to acclimate
• size/volume of shipment.

Acclimation Procedures.

Whichever acclimation procedure you choose:

1. Avoid further delays in unpacking the shipment on arrival. Transport time was long enough!
2. Organize what you need and prepare acclimation process.
3. Do not rush, but don’t dawdle!
4. Ensure low stress environment (e.g. separate room and acclimation tanks, away from public eye)
5. Dim the lights in the room where the shipping box will be opened. Never open the box in bright light – severe stress or trauma may result from sudden exposure to bright light.
6. Avoid touching organisms with bare hands and excessive exposure to air.
7. Separate incompatible organisms during acclimation.
8. Separate new arrivals from previously held stock.

Acclimation Methods.

A) pH controlled Carbon Dioxide (CO2) system

Acclimation is done with the help of a pH controlled carbon dioxide system, where the pH in the tanks is lowered by adding carbon dioxide until a value of 6.75- 6.85 (depending on pH in transport water, but not lower than 6.75) and then increased slowly over at least three hours by evaporation of carbon dioxide through oxidation to a level of 8.1-8.4 (normal pH in your system).

Recommended for large shipments of fish (importer level), and/or where transport and system water differ significantly in pH and high Ammonium concentrations can be expected.

Needed are functioning acclimation tanks separated from general water circulation, carbon dioxide, tubing, and equipment to test pH, salinity and temperature.

1. Turn off ozonizer, air pumps, aquarium lighting and skimmer.
2. Introduce Carbon Dioxide with tubing into acclimation system water.
3. Open boxes and bags.
4. Transfer organisms from bags into buckets together with the transport water.
5. Test pH, temperature and salinity in transport water.
6. Continuously test pH in acclimation system until parameter is similar to transport water (but not lower than 6.75)
7. Turn off Carbon Dioxide.
8. Add system water to the buckets (approximately one third of water volume in bucket).
9. Repeat step 8 two times, every 5 minutes. (to allow adaptation to differences in salinity and temperature).
10. Net organisms from bucket and release them into acclimation tank.
11. Observe organisms’ condition to take corrective action when needed (e.g. re-bagging).
12. Allow pH to slowly increase over at least three hours by evaporation of CO2. After three hours you can turn on air pumps at minimum power. It is recommended to allow the pH to slowly rise overnight (8-12h).
    13) Control organism’s condition. Transfer them to quarantine (if applicable) or treatment tanks after successful acclimation.

Note: Acclimation is tied to quarantine procedures for new arrivals (see SAIA quarantine procedures). If you use the same tanks for acclimation and quarantine, turn on skimmer, ozonizer etc after 12 hours at the latest.

B) Drip Method

Acclimation is done by slowly trickling system water into buckets with transport water and new arriving organisms thus allowing a slow adaptation of water parameters. Faster than method A.

Recommended for small to medium sized shipments, and/or where transport and system water parameters differences are minor. This method is especially suitable for sensitive species.
Needed are acclimation buckets (or other easy to clean containers), airline tubing, aeration, equipment to test pH, salinity and temperature.

1. Install a siphon drip line from the aquarium system to each bucket by using airline tubing (one separate airline tubing for each bucket). Either tie several loose knots in the airline tubing, or use an airline control valve to regulate flow from the aquarium.
2. Open boxes and bags.
3. Transfer organisms from bags into buckets together with the transport water. Organisms should be fully covered by water, thus when emptying the first bags the bucket might need to be tilted.
4. Test pH, temperature and salinity in transport water to roughly determine the trickling speed.
5. Start the trickling process by sucking on the end of the airline tubing to be placed into the bucket. Then adjust the trickling speed (by tightening one of the knots or adjusting the control valve) to a rate of about 2-4 drips per second (depending on differences in water parameters).
6. Add system water until the bucket is nearly full. Ensure aeration of water in the bucket (air stone etc.) to avoid oxygen depletion. Always observe the organisms’ condition.
7. Close valve or tighten knots.
8. Discard half of the water in the bucket.
9. Start trickling again.
10. When bucket filled up a second time or third time (depending on pH difference), net or scoop the organisms to transfer them into quarantine or treatment (when applicable) tanks.

C) Floating Method

Acclimation is done by floating the transport bags in the receiving system water to allow temperature adaptation. Through repeated adding of system water to the bag the water parameters in the bag will equal to the system water parameters.

Recommended for small sized shipments, and/or where transport and system water parameters differences are minor. This method is suitable for hardy species.
Equipment required: jug, pH, salinity, and temperature test equipment.

1. Open boxes and take out sealed bag.
2. Float the sealed bag in the aquarium for 10-15 minutes (depending on temperature difference).
3. Open bag, but avoid release of transport water into the tank.
4. Test water parameters in bag.
5. Add system water to the bag (approximately one third of water volume in bag).
6. Repeat step 5 every five minutes until bag is full.
7. Discard half of the bag water (not into tank!).
8. Repeat step 5 and 6.
9. Observe organisms’ condition and test water parameters again.
10. When water parameters in bag are similar to tank water, net or scoop organisms from the bag and introduce them to the quarantine tank.

A Few Notes in Respect of the SAIA – Acclimation Procedures Draft 1

Although these acclimation procedures are aimed at retailers, wholesalers, and importers they offer hobbyists both an important insight into the the reasons for acclimation, along with a practical description of how acclimation should be carried out.

For hobby use ignore method A and concentrate your attention on B and C – the Drip Method and Floating Method.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

Midland Reefs is proud to announce the latest new product in the Reef Scientific range.

The Reef Scientific Ozoniser, in keeping with our philosophy of producing products as much as possible within the UK, is our first high-tech electronic product, it offers excellent value for money with a high level of technology and build quality.

This a UK made, high specification unit, that uses cold plate discharge technology. The output is between o and 100 mg; because of the greater efficiency over corona discharge ozonisers this is comparable in output to that of a 200mg Sanders unit when used without an expensive air dryer.

The Reef Scientific Ozoniser features a built in 365 day digital timer  so that it can be run for timed periods over the course of the day as an alternative to the more expensive, and often inaccurate, method of using a redox controller.

This is very versatile product, it can be run on mains power all over the world as it will operate from 85 – 260 volts AC 50 – 60 Hz. As well as units with UK plugs we have units with  European plugs available. US and other countries will follow in due course. Unlike cheaper quality units adapted to different mains supplies there’s no transformer to go fail.

For sales enquiries please call Midland Reefs on +44 01543 685599 or email: sales@midlandreefs.co.uk

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2009