Coral tips Thanks Anthony, I should peg my temp at 82 for SPS etc.? are there any other supplements you recommend for propagating? <there's no one best temp for corals. 76-82 is a comfortable range. I suggested 82 because of heat by pumps and light to make it easier for you to maintain stability. Indeed... stability in a safe range is more important than a specific number. The warmer temp will help growth of corals too but is harder on fishes (less O2). Aerate and skim aggressively. Water changes are the best mineral replacement for growing corals IMO. I use Kalkwasser, bicarb and iodine as well. Calcium reactors once tuned nicely are indispensable and can spare manual buffer doses and some Kalk. Best regards, Anthony>

Carbon Dioxide Infusion (Marine) Hi Bob, I read some books which strongly recommend the use of carbon dioxide infusion system for reef system so as to provide enough CO2 for coral growth. What is your opinion? <Hmm, a very useful adjunct. We ran such on our coral farm, and have seen other facilities, "serious" hobbyist culture systems with the same around the world... for photosynthetic species. Don't have an article on CO2 for marine use per se on our site (www.WetWebMedia.com), but you can use the Google Search Feature there to find bits, FAQs on the topic. Bob Fenner> Regards, David Chow

Coral propagation  Hello Bob,  I'm an aquarist from England who's just discovered your website 'WetWebMedia'.  I'm heavily involved in new projects in coral propagation and hopefully breeding marines commercially soon.  <Ah, very good. Are you familiar with the company, Tropical Marine Centre in the UK? They could use input from you...> I'm helping to set up a coral propagation working group here in Britain and we're trying to compile scientific reports and suitable papers published on propagation in captivity. However, published work in Europe is quite few and far between (apart from magazine articles), so we are trying to tap into work carried out in the US, Australia and Asia.  <Yes, what little scientific and anecdotal writing is hard to access. Do you have the works of Sven Fossa and Alf Nilsen ("The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium"?), anyone on staff who can read German (as there are many worthwhile works only in this language)?> Could you help me with this atoll?? Do you know of the right person to talk to or an accessible CD-Rom I could search etc..??  <Will send your note, request off to friends/associates in the interest who will refer you further> I've got another question too. In a small article on Genicanthus angels you said something about having a fully established 'Refugium' sump to provide food.....what is this?? <Ah, a refugium is a specialty sort of sump tied in with a main/display system that has as central features some sort of substrate (typically "live rock") lighting, probably live macro-algae and a dearth of predators... to facilitate the growth, reproduction of live food organisms particularly... more about this under the term "refugium" on the www.wetwebmedia.com site> I've never heard the refugium term before, and how does it provide food?  <Mostly by not having eaters of same there> I hope you'll be able to help me on these things, especially in my search  for papers and contacts in the US.  Thanks and the website is fantastic!  Best regards, Dave Nettleton ( London )  <Be chatting further my friend. Bob Fenner>