Monday, June 21, 2010

Ephyra Problem

I added a new page up there ^Jellykeeping Basics^
Check it out!

I have a little problem. I put an aerator in the ephyra dish. I thought it would circulate the water enough to keep them off the bottom along with the food. Then they would be more able to catch the food. When I came home that evening, all the ephyra were very small and barely pulsing. I gave up on them and poured them back into the tank. As the water from the dish entered the tank, I saw the fresh water mixing with the saltwater (if you own a saltwater aquarium, you should know what I'm talking about). But that seemed pretty weird because I meant for the ephyra to be in saltwater. I'm guessing that the brine shrimp I'm feeding them had some extra fresh water and that diluted the salt. So, I believe that the fast current and low salinity worked together to kill the little jellies. I turned up the temp and the next day had 5 more ephyra (works like magic doesn't it?). They were forming for a while before but I'm guessing the heat sped them up. So, that's what's going on in my tank.
Also, I'm still trying to fix the ephyra section of the tank to not suck them up in the screen. I emailed Jim Stime (Jelliquarium.com owner). I told him all the specs of my tank and he said my flow was too strong. I will turn it down with the valve I have. I will also get a smaller screen.

The screen I have now is:
Nylon Mesh 60 Micron Opening 47 Micron Thread Diameter 35 Percent Open Area
The screen I'm looking at is:
Polypropylene Mesh 1000 Micron Opening 500 Micron Thread Diameter 44.5 Percent Open Area

So, things I conclude from this are:
Ephyra need little flow.
Put as little brackish water from brine shrimp as you can in the tank.
There still may be a chance in fixing my tank!

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