Rappin' With ReefBum: Guest Chris Meckley, ACI Aquaculture

[@amoore311]

Thank you Keith for continuing with the streak of guests we actually want to listen to. Not instagram influencers who can take good pictures.

[@kayakcarol]

Long live streams are my favorite, so much information! Thanks Keith and Chris 🎉

[@PhotographyInFlight4183]

Good stuff Keith, as always, thanks for your time and putting out these interviews.

[@insanity4224]

@aciaquaculture Hi Chris, at 1:13:31 you talked about the spawn catching design I sent you. I didn’t think you were interested as I never heard back but understand you are busy. Very happy to hear you have some interest in it 🍻🇦🇺

[@o_9211]

Many thanks from UK

[@danielf9052]

Yep, now I have to worry about when I buy any frag because they were likely grown under dim LEDs. I miss the days when I didn’t even think twice about a frag doing well because everybody used quality light (metal halide) and there was no acclimation period. The frag immediately took off growing like crazy.

[@o_9211]

Please discuss the use of low voltage electric current, apparently indo farmers do that often . I saw cables connected from shore into the racks growing coral colonies

[@aciaquaculture]

The low voltage was used in Dubai the first time I heard about it. It was used on steel structures to grow artificial reefs off the breakwater built around the palm Islands. The low voltage caused a very quick build up of calcium carbonate on the structure allowing coral larva to settle and colonize making a beautiful artificial reef in a fraction of the time it would normally take. I haven’t heard of this being used in Mariculture farms in Indonesia

[@o_9211]

@@aciaquaculture that was in Lombok. Went diving there and seen with my own eyes. Locals explained it helped corals grow faster, not larva...

[@jerrodbuffington4929]

On lighting vs nutrients. What are the guidelines? What steps can I take to find the happy place. My nutrients have recently increased.

[@aciaquaculture]

Every system is different, you need to adjust lighting, only if you notice darker colored corals.

[@johngraves2185]

Great show! Although, I find elevated nutrients and low light creates brown and green acropora, but high light and elevated nutrients creates colorful acropora. I don’t think nitrate levels matter too much, as long as you have a measurement. PO4 levels play a more important role in my systems than NO3 in regards to coloration. But nutrients are only one part of the coloration component. Cheers!

[@aciaquaculture]

Not sure how it’s possible , if corals have redly available nutrients and high light the coral allows more Zooxanthellae to populate their tissue causing the coral to turn brown, when the light is low and high nutrients, balance is achieved and the corals become more colorful. Low light and low nutrients cause balance and less Zooxanthellae is needed to feed the coral. Been doing this for almost 30 years and when I had my first SPS tank, I over fed the fish and the NO3 and PO4 were elevated and the corals all turned brown until I got them both reduced to almost 0, then they got their vibrancy back.🤷‍♂️

[@cvicente12]

Carbon dosing is safe if you do it through a batch denitrator.

[@insanity4224]

Do you mind elaborating on this? I’ve been in the hobby 20 years and never heard of a batch denitrator. I do use a sulphur denitrator.

[@RichardGraff-o3f]

I wonder if the difference that Chris and Sanjay are experiencing with ammonia dosing has to do with the density of nitrate reducing organisms?

[@aciaquaculture]

Very possible, but I have been known to keep my systems packed WALL to WALL and even the sumps are full of coral. Goes back to what I always say, “every system is different”

[@insanity4224]

@@aciaquaculturedo you have sand? A live sand bed would mow through ammonia. I assume Sanjay has a big sand bed in his 500gal.

[@aciaquaculture]

@@insanity4224great point, no sand in any of my systems.

[@insanity4224]

@@aciaquaculture glad you like the coral spawn design I sent you Chris, I’d love to talk with you more about it I have a number of ideas to improve success rates and battle algae.

[@aciaquaculture]

I need to get one built ASAP. The season is creeping up fast 😅

[@ozzman31982]

Reefapolooza is coming up. I wish Chris or one of his vendors sold there. He could come on here and preview what's going to be available...... NM, I'm trying to budget 😂

[@aciaquaculture]

I wish all the vendors I sold to actually used our lineage names. The ones that do, sell a ton of our farmed corals.

[@reef-management-LLC]

We at reef management llc carry aci corals hit us up! Thanks chris!

[@ProducerReef]

The Nyos product I hear is really good for acro eating flatworms.

[@wojtekdrozd3062]

Which product is this?

[@shankybrar]

Ocean of knowledge

[@ReefingwithO]

Metal halide is not coming back. And all of Chris’s customers are using LEDs so what happens to the corals when they are sold?

[@aciaquaculture]

Corals adapt down in quality, better than up in quality. Just like wild corals, they eventually adapt to aquariums. Just like I mentioned in the stream, when I get corals grown under LED’s they take a minimum of 1 1/2 years to start growing because the light has more natural wave lengths with less gaps in the spectrum. Going from LEDs to MH the corals adapt quickly.

[@ReefingwithO]

@@aciaquacultureMetal Halides is not coming back. Period. We can wish all we want. The bulbs are hardly being produced, they waste a lot of energy and they run hot. Even if it’s x better, it’s not worth dealing with the other stuff

[@danielf9052]

They do not waste a ton of energy when everything is taken into account. That’s BS marketing and parroting by new reefers

[@Will40th]

Why is it in one tank acropora wont puddle they just grow out

[@floweringreefs206]

LED’s may not be “full spectrum” but corals do not need every part of the spectrum depending on where they grow… I would love to get in and talk about LED vs Metal Halides as a mechanical engineer and hobbyist of 10yrs I’d love to learn more… also LED’s do save money and offer more lumens/watt

[@aciaquaculture]

What about the ecosystem itself? Nobody talks about the microbiome not present because of the poor spectrum. Then again it doesn’t matter because the average hobbyist is in and out in 1 1/2 years, Why?

[@floweringreefs206]

@@aciaquaculture that is a very valid point so the theory or your experience is there’s a lack of microorganisms because of reduced spectrum? Regarding the hobbyists it’s very unfortunate, I used to work at Topshelf a couple years ago I have seen people come and go it’s sad to see…. I definitely need to somehow get on a podcast or call with you sometime soon your knowledge and experience is astounding

[@insanity4224]

@@floweringreefs206I think corals that come from different depths can utilise or require varying wavelengths of light. If you go down deeper then it is more blue dominant with almost no yellow or red light BUT still a much broader and fuller spectrum from violet to green. LEDs only have a few peeks even in this limited spectrum. Shallow water corals receive a a spectrum that goes into both UV and IR and everything in between. Even halides are limited compared to the spectrum of sunlight and we don’t understand the full effect of spectrum on corals or their zooxanthellae.

[@danielf9052]

Stop with the nonsense. Corals and the entire reef ecosystem have evolved to use the entirety of the suns spectrum. Blue LED windex lighting is the equivalent of a human eating nothing but Cheetos. Sure you might be able to survive on it but it’s not healthy.

[@danielf9052]

But what can you expect, the hobbies gone down hill in terms of its general understanding of ecology.

[@KCYT2010]

'Your science' ? Isn't there just one science for all of us ?

[@aciaquaculture]

I see it like this, there is real science and science motivated by $. Take it as you like.

[@m4a1JAY]

Metal halide making a comeback? lol nah. Leave that stuff to the coral farms. The light bill was insane when I ran MH 15 years ago and my room was like a sauna. Seen many successful SPS tanks under LED.

[@aciaquaculture]

I’ve seen many successful LED lit SPS tanks. All of them run more than double the amount of watts I do using MH. I never understood the savings, 6 radions on a 6’ tank or 3x 250w MH and some LED bars is actually 1/2 the power for the same results, better from my experience. The heat, is only because of the infrared light and if you think that isn’t important then let’s block out the sun and see how long we smart humans survive or the rest of the planet. I get it, everyone says corals don’t need it, but the ecosystem does whether you want to believe it or not. I see it this way, you will spend the money one way ir the other. Pick your poison

[@m4a1JAY]

@@aciaquaculture I see your points, maybe the industry will keep improving upon the LED systems. Also people buy multiple LED fixtures not to maximize the wattage but for coverage, I’m sure you know the Acros pale out on the undersides that get no light. Don’t get me wrong if MH wasn’t so damn hot and a fire hazard I would love to run them. T5’s were a decent alternative but didn’t provide the shimmering effect of a MH/LED light.

[@aciaquaculture]

That’s my point 3x250w with VHO actinic was perfect and way less power than all the LEDs need now days🤷‍♂️

[@jordanm2984]

Lol, ooooh boy, that poor cat is probably being played with a little too roughly.

[@aciaquaculture]

No she is a talker when playing…LOL

[@dcobbler8897]

Chris says brick and mortar are important.. well at the prices their selling at, their gonna close as they have been steadily!!!! So who u gonna sell to chris??😂😂😂 At that point itll goto a 25 frag minimum… then that wont pay the bills. Then ull sell to anyone 😂😂😂 Just like big box stores for other goods, the net us where its at. And u cant knock someone to not pay rent and use their garage as a storage facility. Amazon pays rent and sends a van, they dont place a storefront on every corner. Get with the times, or ull bust

[@aciaquaculture]

They are closing because everyone on line is an expert and more than half the new reefers leave the hobby in 1 1/2 years. Take away the B&M and the hobby dies slowly m, with the possibility of revival. You can’t compare livestock to a widget business like Amazon, it like apples and oranges.