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FREE '24 SPS Growout Contest

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    35
Crazymex408 said:
It's gonna be the last of the Mohicans, by the time the contest is over.
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Don't feel bad. Top Shelf Aquatics had a coral smackdown contest with some of the biggest internet reef influencers. They removed almost all content related of the contest and announced a winner much later. It's suspected that none of the coral survived except for that one. Not a good marketing promotion if their coral survival rate is that low :p
 
I would be interested in a detailed and honest discussion with everyone about their acclimation methods with this coral to see if there's any correlation. I've brought home SPS before and literally not acclimated to it, and it's done fine, but in this case, when were the pieces cut? How long did they have to heal? They sat in cups a long, long time, I'm betting, and probably required much more robust acclimation (drip?)

And again, regardless of the coral, I've never seen one of these where at least 50% doesn't die. :)
 
The colony to begin with came from a system, though healthy, that had been left to its own accord for some time. Despite the best efforts of those involved in the tank take down, there was some manhandling needed/involved in the removal of this (and the other colonies). Due to the size of the colony and the box it was transported in, it was transported upside down with many of the tips rubbing the bottom of the container during the 30-ish minute drive to High Tide. It then had to wait its turn to be dipped and then rinsed and then put into Kenny’s system. There was no real time or resources to maintain stable temperature (let alone parameters) during this process. It was then handled to be fragged that day, and then likely a few times after that (including at the frag workshop ). Finally, bagged up and transported to our respective tanks… where it might have underwent further acclimation.

I’d think that most of the losses are/will likely be due to the fact that the coral was just stressed tf out and never really had a chance to recover. Your success may depend on where in the colony your frag came from. Perhaps letting the entire colony acclimate in a system for a reasonably extended period of time and saving it for perhaps the next grow out woulda lead to better odds.

But good luck to everyone with this grow out!
 
I believe everyone is correct. The corals were stressed. The day that we removed them. Everyone got frags. Out of those frags I only lost a dark brown frag and some blue stag. Every other coral has been fine and growing. As they grow I will frag them and distribute them to our club members. This was the main reason for fragging that day , for the survival of the corals. Keep in mind. We are novice and maybe we fragged it too much. I lost a gmk like that because I kept fragging it and it never recovered. Death by a thousand cuts. I still feel it was the right play. We were just a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of coral.
 
idk I think theres something about my water/lighting that it didn't like and not so much the frag workshop. The frag I picked up looked like it had healed well from the cut. Maybe I'll pick up another one and try again just for the sake of trying?
 
B the Nano Reefer said:
The colony to begin with came from a system, though healthy, that had been left to its own accord for some time. Despite the best efforts of those involved in the tank take down, there was some manhandling needed/involved in the removal of this (and the other colonies). Due to the size of the colony and the box it was transported in, it was transported upside down with many of the tips rubbing the bottom of the container during the 30-ish minute drive to High Tide. It then had to wait its turn to be dipped and then rinsed and then put into Kenny’s system. There was no real time or resources to maintain stable temperature (let alone parameters) during this process. It was then handled to be fragged that day, and then likely a few times after that (including at the frag workshop ). Finally, bagged up and transported to our respective tanks… where it might have underwent further acclimation.

I’d think that most of the losses are/will likely be due to the fact that the coral was just stressed tf out and never really had a chance to recover. Your success may depend on where in the colony your frag came from. Perhaps letting the entire colony acclimate in a system for a reasonably extended period of time and saving it for perhaps the next grow out woulda lead to better odds.

But good luck to everyone with this grow out!
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It's a good learning moment for us all
 
I will try and grab a second picture tomorrow, but mine is doing very well. It's also colored up. My frag tank has been very stable for the past couple months, with many things growing well, but I have had a couple completely unexplainable coral deaths

My process:
* Got to the frag event late, and spent a long time there with my kids. @Darkxerox gave me a frag early into that, and I put it immediately into my cooler. Not sure that's anything special. Felt like it sat around a very long time because of how long I stayed.
* Eventually I left with all my stuff in the cooler, and then I put the cooler in my passenger seat with a bunch of jackets on it, and cranked up the seat warmer to max
* Had a pit stop at a reptile shop. Overall probably an hour from when I left to it floating in my tank
* Floated for quite awhile because I was busy
* Acclimated in a bucket, adding tank water and such over... can't remember how long but usually at least half an hour. Bucket had a fish in it as well that I bought
* Moved it directly into the tank without dipping. I kept it on the same plug. I don't consider that to be very dangerous when buying from high tide

It's out of direct current and off to the side of the light. I'll try to check par as well out of curiosity.

While not a perfect solution, if people have a Costco membership I recommend buying the box of chemical hand warmers. They don't get super warm, but you can grab a couple and toss them into a cooler to help with temp stability. The box is cheap
 
richiev said:
While not a perfect solution, if people have a Costco membership I recommend buying the box of chemical hand warmers. They don't get super warm, but you can grab a couple and toss them into a cooler to help with temp stability. The box is cheap
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For those with USB power banks with 5V - 2A output:

Submersible Aquarium Heater 10W, for 1-2 Gallon Tank, Adjustable for Fish Turtle Tank, with Built-in Digital Display Thermometer, USB 5V 2A Powered Water Heater, Memory Function

 
Mine are doing great, fresh cuts the day of, sat in cups for a couple hours, and got dipped with no acclimation (haven't acclimated corals in years).

Seatak seems to be winning with more encrusting on the light side as well as the shaded side:
PXL_20240308_041452957.jpg
PXL_20240308_041729580.jpg
 
Still a newb but I think it’s looking pretty good.

I was one of the first in line at the swap. Immediately put it in my cooler. Left at 2pm with roughly an hour and a half drive.
Temp acclimated, but didn’t dip or drip.
 

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Does anyone know if there are more frags of this that are for the club? Are the remaining frags at High Tide only for sale?

I'd like to get some consensus from everyone if we should extend the start date. Or leave it as-is and let it ride? My main concern was to ensure everyone had an even starting point for these contests. I'm personally bummed for contestants that are already having to step aside for something that is possibly no fault of their own.

Thoughts?
 
ReyDeFarts said:
Does anyone know if there are more frags of this that are for the club? Are the remaining frags at High Tide only for sale?

I'd like to get some consensus from everyone if we should extend the start date. Or leave it as-is and let it ride? My main concern was to ensure everyone had an even starting point for these contests. I'm personally bummed for contestants that are already having to step aside for something that is possibly no fault of their own.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...


I wouldn't have a problem given time for people to get another frag seeing it was a risk to begin with. And if suitable shifting official start date a head a little bit.

Mine is still alive, haven't got the greens yet that some have shown but looks better than when I first got it. Winning by simply having the last one left alive wouldn't feel like something you earned to me (how the current trend seems to be heading).
 
ReyDeFarts said:
Does anyone know if there are more frags of this that are for the club? Are the remaining frags at High Tide only for sale?

I'd like to get some consensus from everyone if we should extend the start date. Or leave it as-is and let it ride? My main concern was to ensure everyone had an even starting point for these contests. I'm personally bummed for contestants that are already having to step aside for something that is possibly no fault of their own.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I'm just thankful to join in on the fun and have no problem extending the start date.
 
ReyDeFarts said:
Does anyone know if there are more frags of this that are for the club? Are the remaining frags at High Tide only for sale?

I'd like to get some consensus from everyone if we should extend the start date. Or leave it as-is and let it ride? My main concern was to ensure everyone had an even starting point for these contests. I'm personally bummed for contestants that are already having to step aside for something that is possibly no fault of their own.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Kenny likely brought all the frags that we had available, to the swap.

At the time of cutting there were 24 people who had signed up for the contest, and we cut upwards of 40 frags.

The contest is set, frags have been distributed, and now we should let it ride.
 
richiev said:
I will try and grab a second picture tomorrow, but mine is doing very well. It's also colored up. My frag tank has been very stable for the past couple months, with many things growing well, but I have had a couple completely unexplainable coral deaths

My process:
* Got to the frag event late, and spent a long time there with my kids. @Darkxerox gave me a frag early into that, and I put it immediately into my cooler. Not sure that's anything special. Felt like it sat around a very long time because of how long I stayed.
* Eventually I left with all my stuff in the cooler, and then I put the cooler in my passenger seat with a bunch of jackets on it, and cranked up the seat warmer to max
* Had a pit stop at a reptile shop. Overall probably an hour from when I left to it floating in my tank
* Floated for quite awhile because I was busy
* Acclimated in a bucket, adding tank water and such over... can't remember how long but usually at least half an hour. Bucket had a fish in it as well that I bought
* Moved it directly into the tank without dipping. I kept it on the same plug. I don't consider that to be very dangerous when buying from high tide

It's out of direct current and off to the side of the light. I'll try to check par as well out of curiosity.

While not a perfect solution, if people have a Costco membership I recommend buying the box of chemical hand warmers. They don't get super warm, but you can grab a couple and toss them into a cooler to help with temp stability. The box is cheap
Click to expand...
1000004260.jpg



Not nearly as colored up as some others
 
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