RESEARCH AT CORAL HQ

 

 

This is really exciting for us. We've always been fascinated with corals, how coral grows the way it does and we've always believed the hobby will help scientists save the reefs.

Here at Coral HQ, we have 4 research systems running, ranging from observations, to scientific research where a paper will be published in 2022.

Buying from The Coral Centre, helps support coral & Coral reef research. We'd like to thank our customers for your continued support and together we will help to restore coral reefs around the world.

 

System 1: Main Research System

Set up in July 2019 and still maturing, the display system is 5ft x 2ft x 2.5ft. This system has a sump and we run 2 x Red Sea 90 lights.

 

October 2021

 

July 2020 

 

This system is an observation system, we keep mainly soft corals in here, but there are a couple of LPS that love the tank, so we've left them alone. this system houses a rare coral, a True deep water Japanese green toadstool. make sure you look out for it when you pop in to see us.

System 2: 900 x 450 x 450mm System running T5's

Emma has started her research into 'whether the materials corals attach to, affect growth rate'.

June 2021

This system will be running for 7 months whilst Emma conducts her experiments, as part of her dissertation, for her course she's attending at Bournemouth University. 

As part of the research Emma is analysing the fluorescence of symbiotic algae between new and old growth.

 This tank is due to come to an end in December. The results are really interesting and we will publish the findings mid 2022... you'll be shocked!

 

For 2 years now, we have been testing coral growth on to a rock made from coffee and natural cement. This has been conducted with Artecology on the Isle Of Wight. In April 2021, we moved the rock from a small nano cube to the Evo.

 

 

System 4 - 900mm Cube

In the process of being set up, is a very impressive 900mm cube. With the sump it's 1,000 litres of water.

 This is our first collaboration with Artecoloy, who are based on the Isle of Wight and this system will hold a CoralPod™ prototype.

The CoralPod™ focus's on promoting biodiversity on the reef. by encouraging all levels of life to call it home. 

 

There are 4 CoralPods™, that make up our prototype are nesting to allow biodiversity though each layer.

 The CoralPods™ is simple in design, and provides complex habitat for all forms of sea life. Due to this nature, it can also be deployed in native waters here in the UK, to support other forms of life currently under threat.

We will be planting 100 coral fragments on the top Pod, covering a very wide variety of corals. Starting from simple soft corals and working up to the plating Montipora and Acropora SPS corals.

But it's not all about corals, we will be adding various fish and invertebrates to the system to see how they interact and how they support the corals as they grow over the structure.

Opportunities to help coral research here at Coral HQ:

Does you company have an Environmental, Social, and Governance? (ESG) and looking to get into supporting coral research?

We have the following opportunities working with The Coral Centre:

We are looking for companies to sponsor a new project we are due to trial this September. This opportunity will have the potential for your business to become a household name across the whole of the UK.

We are offering one company to sponsor the NEW CoralPod™ research system, here at Coral HQ.

Supporting UK universities we work with, by sponsoring a mother colony that will be used to supply various coral fragments to students over the next few years.

 

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