1. Extreme Makeover: Tank Edition By: Mary Willingham & Katie Smith

2. Soft Corals Soft bodies made up of a large number of polyps connected by fleshy tissue. Lack the limestone skeleton and do not produce calcium carbonate Some contain zooxanthellae and appear brown in color Thrive in depths varying between 15-95 feet Does the amount of force and direction of the power head’s current effect the movement pattern of the soft corals?

3. Hypothesis Original Hypothesis: The increasing and decreasing of the current from the power heads directly effects the movement of the soft corals. The stronger the current, the further the soft coral will move.

4. How we got started? Repositioned the power heads to have the current directed onto the Xenia. Traced the Xenia on the glass. (See Wiki) Set up a bi-weekly schedule to measure the movement of the Xenia. Then we hit a bump in the road.

5. 5 Questions 1. How is the growth of algae effected by the currents of the power heads? 2. How do soft corals adapt based on the different currents of the power heads? 3. What is the difference of algae growth in corners versus high flow areas? 4. When the current of the power heads are directed straight on the Xenia and Nepthea do the corals change positions faster? 5. When the power heads are not directed straight toward the Xenia and Nepthea will they move?

6. Data This was the starting position of the Xenia before it was killed off by the charcoal bag

7. Data This was the tank after the coral had died and had been removed from the tank

8. Dead Coral Unfortunately after we added a new charcoal bag all of the Xenia in our tank died off. (See Wiki) "Along with the removing of unwanted organic and inorganic chemicals, activated carbon also removes essential trace elements vital to the health of marine livestock. The amounts removed are of unknown quantity and significance, but nonetheless a precautionary approach towards offsetting them by performing regular water changes is recommended" (Adam Jenkins).

9. Re-Model Ideas The death of the Xenia in our tank has caused us to think of new project ideas such as: Buy new Xenia and continue with the same project concept Re-design our tank by moving corals around, trading corals, and scrubbing rocks for new organisms to grow.

10. The Make-over Cleaned live rock Mucus net Built a bridge/reconstructed the live rock. Built a Nephthea corner Introduced new corals, purple sea fan, Button coral and Frogspawn coral. Before: After:

11. Adapting New Organisms Shrimp Turbo snails Sea Fan Button Coral Frogspawn

12. Button Coral Family: Zoanthidae There are multiple individual polyps attached to a piece of live rock or coral rubble. They are very easy to maintain in the reef aquarium

13. Frogspawn Coral Family: Caryophylliidae Needs Space to grow because it is a very dominate coral. Tentacles can reach up to 6 inches Native to the indo-pacific Color varies between Green, blue, brown

14. Sea Fan Phylum: Cnidaria A colony can be several feet high and across but only a few inches thick. Usually colorful Purple (ours) Red Yellow

15. Nephthea While cleaning the live rock we decided to isolate the Nephthea to the bottom corner of the tank Allowed for more room to grow and thrive Relies heavily on the products of their zooxanthellae Fast growing coral

16. Conclusion With the new tank set up we observed that the fish have been more active when compared to the daily checks of the tank before the re-model. The added corals have adapted well and we predict that they will continue to thrive in the next several months. Greater flow from power heads with the new design of the tank

17. Bibliography 1- "Aquarium Filter and Fish Tank Filtration." Tropical Fish, Aquarium Fish, Care for Saltwater and Freshwater Fish, Aquarium Setup. Web. 19. Oct. 2011. 2- Davis, Ernst M., and E.F Gloyna. "The Role of Algae." JSTOR. JSTOR, 8 Nov. 1969. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. 3- Jenkins, Adam. "Activated Carbon." Wetwebmedia, Aquarium, Pond, Marine and Freshwater Fish, Reef Tanks, and Aquatics Information. Web. 01 Dec. 2011.

18. Bibliography 4. Kuhlmann, Deltrich H.H. "The Sensitivity of Coral Reefs to enviormental Pollution." JSTOR. JSTOR, 1 Nov. 1988. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. 5. Logan, Lara. "Pulsating Xenia." Home Page. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. 6. Viola, Roberto, and Pi Nyvall. "The Unique Features in Red Algae. "JSTOR. JSTOR. Web. 19 Oct. 2011.

19. Bibliography 7- "Water Movement; Placement of Powerheads." The Reef Tank. Web.18 Oct. 2011 8. McFadden, Catherine S. "Contributions of Sexual and Asexual Reproduction to Population Structure in the Clonal Soft Coral.”