CORAL FARMING METHOD, SYSTEM AND PRODUCT THEREOF

Abstract

The present invention provides a coral farming method, by monitoring the seawater environment in the water tank, providing stable and optimal growth environment and nutrients for small polyp stony corals so as to achieve mass production of small polyp stony corals. The present invention further provides a coral farming system and a coral product. The coral farming system adopts the coral farming method and warrants the stable and good quality of the obtained coral product which is free of heavy metal contaminations.

Claims

1. A coral farming method, comprising: providing a water tank, wherein the water tank contains seawater, and the seawater has calcium ions and magnesium ions; an inoculation step, comprising placing a coral on a base, and the base being placed in the water tank; a cultivating step, comprising maintaining the seawater to have a pH of 7.8 to 8.8, a salinity of 29 parts per thousand (ppt) to 37 ppt, an alkalinity of 7 dKH to 10 dKH, and a temperature of 20° C. to 26° C., a calcium ions concentration of 430 ppm to 500 ppm, and a magnesium ions concentration of 1290 ppm to 1500 ppm; a feeding step, comprising providing food to the coral; an illuminating step, comprising providing light to the coral for at least 6 hours a day; and a decontamination step, comprising removing a floating foam of the seawater and based on the total volume of the seawater in the water tank, filtering the seawater in an amount of at least 2.6 volume percent per minute; wherein the coral is a small polyp stony coral.

2. The coral farming method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coral is selected from the group consisting of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis, Acropora austere, Acropora valenciennesi, Acropora pulchra, Acropora microphtha, Acropora intermedia and Acropora florida.

3. The coral farming method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coral is a coral fragment, and the coral fragment comprises a calcium carbonate fragment and coral polyps; the calcium carbonate fragment has a length of 0.2 cm to 4 cm; and the base comprises a ceramic base plate or a cement plate.

4. The coral farming method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seawater further comprises phosphate, nitrate and nitrite, and the concentration of the phosphate is 0 ppm or more and less than 0.03 ppm, the concentration of the nitrate is 0 ppm or more and less than 0.5 ppm, and the concentration of the nitrite is 0 ppm or more and less than 0.1 ppm.

5. The coral farming method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the food comprises a rotifer, paramecium or a combination thereof.

6. The coral farming method as claimed in claim 1, wherein based on the total volume of the seawater in the water tank, the filtered amount of the seawater is 2.6 volume percent per minute to 8.6 volume percent per minute.

7. A coral farming system, comprising: a seawater, wherein the seawater has calcium ions and magnesium ions, and the seawater has a pH of 7.8 to 8.8, a salinity of 29 parts per thousand (ppt) to 37 ppt, an alkalinity of 7 dKH to 10 dKH, a temperature of 20° C. to 26° C., a calcium ions concentration of 430 ppm to 500 ppm, and a magnesium ions concentration of 1290 ppm to 1500 ppm; a water tank, wherein the water tank is used for containing the seawater, at least one base is provided to the bottom in the water tank, the at least one base is used for placing a coral, and based on the total volume of the seawater in the water tank, the filtered amount of the seawater is at least 2.6 volume percent per minute; a light source module, used for providing light to the coral for at least 6 hours a day; a water cleaning module, used for filtering the seawater; a defoaming module, used for removing a floating foam of the seawater; a pure water supply module, used for supplying a pure water to supplement the seawater and having a water supply outlet; and a water storage tank, having a water inlet and a water outlet, wherein the water inlet and the water outlet each communicate to both the water tank and the water storage tank, and the water supply outlet communicates to both the pure water supply module and the water storage tank.

8. The coral farming system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the storage volume ratio of the water tank and the water storage tank is 4 to 5:1.

9. The coral farming system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the water cleaning module comprises a biochemical cotton, a ceramic ring, a filter cotton, coral bone stones and live rock of coral reefs.

10. A coral product prepared by using a coral obtained from a coral farming method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coral has a bone, and the coral product is obtained by processing the bone.

11. A coral product prepared by using a coral obtained from a coral farming system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the coral has a bone, and the coral product is obtained by processing the bone.

12. A coral product, comprising a calcium ingredient and a magnesium ingredient; and having a plurality of pores; wherein the calcium ingredient comprises calcium, the magnesium ingredient comprises magnesium, and based on the total amount of metal element and nonmetal element comprised in the coral product, the calcium is in an amount of 95 weight percent or more, the magnesium is in an amount of 1 weight percent or less, and the metal element comprises calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and sodium, and the nonmetal element comprises phosphorus; and the coral product is obtained by processing small polyp stony corals.

13. The coral product as claimed in claim 12, wherein the coral product is a geometrical object with a length, width and height of 0.2 cm to 12 cm, respectively.

14. The coral product as claimed in claim 13, wherein the geometrical object is a cube with a length, width and height of 0.2 cm to 3.5 cm, respectively.

15. The coral product as claimed in claim 13, wherein the geometrical object is a cuboid with a length of 0.3 cm to 5 cm, a width of 0.2 cm to 3.5 cm; and a height of 0.2 cm to 3.5 cm.

16. The coral product as claimed in claim 13, wherein the geometrical object is a cylinder with a diameter of 0.2 cm to 3.5 cm, and a height of 0.5 cm to 7 cm.

17. The coral product as claimed in claim 12, wherein the standard deviation of the average distance between the two centers of the respective two pores of the coral product is less than half of the average distance between the two centers of the respective two pores.

18. The coral product as claimed in claim 12, wherein the average compressive strength of the coral product is 50 kgf to 200 kgf;

19. The coral product as claimed in claim 12, wherein the average diameter of the pore of the coral product is 0.5 μm to 1.7 μm; and the average distance between the two centers of the respective two pores of the coral product is 5 μm to 10 μm.

20. The coral product as claimed in claim 12, wherein the crystallinity of the coral product is 79% to 81%, and the amorphous thereof is 19% to 21%.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0090] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the coral farming system.

[0091] FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are the photos of the coral of the present invention.

[0092] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C are the photos of the bone blocks of the coral of the present invention.

[0093] FIG. 4 is the photo of the test sample of the coral bone of the present invention.

[0094] FIG. 5A is the photo of the powders of the coral bone of the present invention; FIG. 5B is the 500× photo of the particle of the coral bone of the present invention; FIG. 5C and FIG. 5D are the 4000× photo of the particle of the coral bone of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0095] The present invention is further explained through the following embodiments. A person having ordinary skill in the art can easily understand the advantages and efficacies achieved by the present invention. The present invention should not be limited to the contents of the embodiments. A person having ordinary skill in the art can make some improvement or modifications which are not departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention to practice or apply the content of the present invention.

Example 1: The Coral Farming Method

[0096] The coral was propagated in a glass culturing tank within a building in a closed system with circulating seawater, which means that the glass culturing tank did not communicate with the open sea to directly draw or discharge seawater. The seawater of the present invention was obtained from natural sea, which required sedimentation and purification first, and then the parameters of the seawater as described later were adjusted within the predetermined range. The coral comprised Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis, Acropora austere, Fimbriaphyllia ancora, Spinal wheat soft coral (Dendronepythya sp.) and Sea crest coral (Dendronepythya sp.), each of which was propagated in separate glass culturing tanks. Fimbriaphyllia ancora, Spinal wheat soft coral (Dendronepythya sp.) and Sea crest coral (Dendronepythya sp.) were not small polyp stony corals and served as a reference for comparison. All the corals in the present invention were obtained by artificial propagation, not wild coral.

[0097] First, a coral fragment in the form of a dot was taken from the propagated parental coral, and the coral fragment in the form of a dot comprised a calcium carbonate particle and coral polyps, and the particle diameter of the calcium carbonate particles was about 0.2 cm to 0.5 cm. The coral fragment in the form of a dot was inoculated and fixed on a cylindrical ceramic base plate or a cement plate to facilitate the growth of the coral fragments, and the density of the coral fragments in the form of a dot was 50 to 60 per square meter. During inoculation, the coral fragments in the form of a dot only left the seawater shortly. Further, the coral polyps comprised symbiotic algae.

[0098] After the inoculation of the coral fragments was completed, rotifers were provided as food and coral feeding was carried out 1 to 3 times a week, and continuous monitoring of the water quality and aquarium water parameters of the circulating seawater was carried out at a frequency of 8 to 12 times a day. Automatic replenishment and a water purification module were set to maintain the circulating seawater with a pH of 7.8 to 8.8, a salinity of 29 ppt to 37 ppt, an alkalinity of 7 dKH to 10 dKH, a temperature of 20° C. to 26° C., a phosphate concentration that was less than 0.03 ppm, a nitrate concentration that was less than 0.1 ppm, a nitrite concentration that was less than 0.1 ppm, a calcium ions concentration of 430 ppm to 500 ppm, and a magnesium ions concentration of 1290 ppm to 1500 ppm.

[0099] A water storage tank was set below the glass culturing tank to store filtered clean seawater and was equipped with a water purification module. The water purification module comprised a biochemical cotton with a pore size of 0.1 mm, a biochemical cotton with a pore size of 0.3 mm, a ceramic ring with a pore size of 0.01 mm to 0.05 mm, a filter cotton with a pore size of 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm, coral bone stones and live rock of coral reefs to quickly process and control the water quality of the circulating seawater. Besides, the floating foam on the surface of the circulating seawater was removed by the protein skimmer to reduce the organic substance such as proteins and amino acids, etc. produced by the coral.

[0100] The light-emitting diodes (LED) comprising a white LED of 2800K to 3800K, a white LED of 5000K to 6500K, a blue LED of 425 nm to 435 nm, and a blue LED of 445 nm to 470 nm were used. The light was provided at intervals, and the illumination time was 12 hours in total per day to facilitate the photosynthesis of symbiotic algae. Finally, the filtered amount of the seawater was 5.56 volume percent based on the total volume of the seawater in the glass culturing tank, which did not include those in the water storage tank and the pipelines.

[0101] Comparative Experiments

[0102] The parameter differences among different coral farming conditions and the corresponding results were elaborated as follows:

[0103] O: indicating that the growth of corals was in good condition.

[0104] X: indicating that coral death or water quality deterioration occurred.

[0105] Δ: indicating that the growth of corals was not good or the growth rate thereof slowed down.

[0106] Experiment 1: pH

[0107] The farming conditions in each group in this experiment were similar to those in Example 1, and the difference was the pH only. The results were shown in Table 1.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 The farming results of different pH 7.7 7.8 8.3 8.8 8.9 Acropora Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ Δ formosa Acropora Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ Δ nobilis Acropora Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ Δ austere Fimbriaphyllia Δ ◯ ◯ X X ancora

[0108] According to Table 1, when the pH was 7.8 to 8.8, it was most suitable for the growth of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere.

[0109] Experiment 2: Salinity

[0110] The farming conditions in each group in this experiment were similar to those in Example 1, and the difference was the salinity only. The results were shown in Table 2.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 The farming results of different salinity 28 ppt 29 ppt 30 ppt 34 ppt 37 ppt 38 ppt Acropora X Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ Δ formosa Acropora X Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ Δ nobilis Acropora X Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ Δ austere Fimbriaphyllia Δ Δ Δ ◯ Δ Δ ancora

[0111] According to Table 2, when the salinity was 29 ppt or 38 ppt, Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere grew slowly. When the salinity was 30 ppt to 37 ppt, it was most suitable for the growth of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere.

[0112] Experiment 3: Alkalinity

[0113] The farming conditions in each group in this experiment were similar to those in Example 1, and the difference was the alkalinity only. The results were shown in Table 3.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 The farming results of different alkalinity 6 dKH 7 dKH 8.5 dKH 10 dKH 11 dKH Acropora X ◯ ◯ ◯ X formosa Acropora X ◯ ◯ ◯ X nobilis Acropora X ◯ ◯ ◯ X austere Fimbriaphyllia X ◯ ◯ X X ancora

[0114] According to Table 3, when the alkalinity was 7 dKH to 10 dKH, it was most suitable for the growth of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere.

[0115] Experiment 4: Temperature

[0116] The farming conditions in each group in this experiment were similar to those in Example 1, and the difference was the temperature only. The results were shown in Table 4.

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 The farming results of different temperatures 19° C. 20° C. 23° C. 26° C. 27° C. Acropora Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ X formosa Acropora Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ X nobilis Acropora Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ X austere Fimbriaphyllia ◯ ◯ ◯ X X ancora

[0117] According to Table 4, when the temperature was 20° C. to 26° C., it was most suitable for the growth of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere.

[0118] Experiment 5: The Concentration of the Magnesium Ions

[0119] The farming conditions in each group in this experiment were similar to those in Example 1, and the difference was the concentration of the magnesium ions only. The results were shown in Table 5.

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 The farming results of different concentration of the magnesium ions 1050 1290 1395 1500 1700 ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm Acropora formosa Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ X Acropora nobilis Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ X Acropora austere Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ X Spinal wheat soft Δ ◯ ◯ Δ X coral

[0120] According to Table 5, when the concentration of the magnesium ions was 1290 ppm to 1500 ppm, it was most suitable for the growth of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere. Besides, when the concentration of the magnesium ions was 1050 ppm, the colors of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere faded.

[0121] Experiment 6: The Concentration of the Calcium Ions

[0122] The farming conditions in each group in this experiment were similar to those in Example 1, and the difference was the concentration of the calcium ions only. The results were shown in Table 6.

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 The farming results of different concentrations of the calcium ions 350 400 430 465 500 560 ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm Acropora formosa X Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ X Acropora nobilis X Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ X Acropora austere X Δ ◯ ◯ ◯ X Spinal wheat soft coral X Δ ◯ ◯ Δ X

[0123] According to Table 6, when the concentration of the calcium ions was 430 ppm to 500 ppm, it was most suitable for the growth of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere; wherein when the concentration of the calcium ions was 400 ppm, the growing rate of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere slowed down.

[0124] Experiment 7: The Filtered Amount of the Seawater

[0125] The farming conditions in each group in this experiment were similar to those in Example 1, and the difference was the filtering rate, which was the filtered amount of the seawater per minute, only. The results were shown in Table 7.

TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 7 The farming results of different filtered amounts of the seawater 2.5% 3% 4% 5.56% Acropora formosa X Δ ◯ ◯ Acropora nobilis X Δ ◯ ◯ Acropora austere X Δ ◯ ◯ Notes: % means the volume percentage of the filtered amount of the seawater per minute based on the total volume of the seawater in the glass culturing tank, which did not include those in the water storage tank and the pipelines.

[0126] According to Table 7, when the filtered amount of the seawater was 4 volume percent to 5.56 volume percent, it was most suitable for the growth of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere.

[0127] Experiment 8: The Concentration of Phosphate, Nitrate and Nitrite

[0128] The farming conditions in each group in this experiment were similar to those in Example 1, and the difference was the concentration of phosphate, nitrate and nitrite only. The results were shown in Table 8.

TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 8 The farming results of different concentrations of phosphate, nitrate and nitrite The concentration The concentration The concentration of phosphate (ppm) of nitrate (ppm) of nitrite (ppm) 0.029 0.031 0.49 0.51 0.090 0.110 Acropora ◯ Δ ◯ Δ ◯ Δ formosa Acropora ◯ Δ ◯ Δ ◯ Δ nobilis Acropora ◯ Δ ◯ Δ ◯ Δ austere

[0129] According to Table 8, when the concentration of phosphate was less than 0.03 ppm, the concentration of nitrate was less than 0.5 ppm, and the concentration of nitrite was less than 0.1 ppm, it was most suitable for the growth of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere.

[0130] Experiment 9: The Water Cleaning Module

[0131] The farming conditions in each group in this experiment were similar to Example 1, and the results were shown in Table 9; wherein the water cleaning module in Group A comprised biochemical cotton, a ceramic ring, a filter cotton, coral bone stones and live rock of coral reefs; the water cleaning module in Group B comprised biochemical cotton, a ceramic ring, a filter cotton, shell sand and live rock of coral reefs.

TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 9 The farming results of different water cleaning modules Group A Group B Acropora formosa ◯ Δ Acropora nobilis ◯ Δ Acropora austere ◯ Δ

[0132] According to Table 9, the filtering effect of Group A was excellent, so the growth of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere was in good condition. The coral bone stones adopted in Group A was replaced with shell sand in Group B. As the filtering effect of Group B was relatively weak, the growth of Acropora formosa, Acropora nobilis and Acropora austere in Group B was not as ideal as that in Group A.

[0133] Experiment 10: Food

[0134] The farming conditions in each group in this experiment were similar to Example 1, and the results were shown in Table 10; wherein the food in Group C was paramecium; the food in Group D was small (S-type) rotifers and super small (SS-type) rotifers; and the food in Group E was Bdelloid rotifers.

TABLE-US-00010 TABLE 10 The farming results of different food Group C Group D Group E Acropora formosa ◯ ◯ Δ Sea crest coral ◯ Δ ◯ Fimbriaphyllia ancora Δ Δ Δ

[0135] According to Table 10, the growth of Acropora formosa in Groups C and D was in good condition, wherein the coral polyps were fat and beautiful and the formed coral bone was thicker and stronger. In comparison, the growth of Acropora formosa and Fimbriaphyllia ancora in Group E was relatively weak; wherein the coral polyps of Acropora formosa were tiny and the formed coral bone had a relatively slim shape. Accordingly, feeding with the food of paramecium, small (S-type) rotifers or super small (SS-type) rotifers facilitates the growth of Acropora formosa.

Example 2: The Coral Farming System

[0136] As shown in FIG. 1, the coral farming system 10, comprising: a seawater 110; a water tank 120, wherein the water tank 120 is used for containing the seawater 110, at least one base 130 is provided to the bottom in the water tank 120, the at least one base 130 is used for placing a coral 20, and based on the total volume of the seawater 110 in the water tank 120, the filtered amount of the seawater 110 is at least 2.6 volume percent per minute; a light source module 140, used for providing light to the coral 20 for at least 6 hours a day; a water cleaning module 150, used for filtering the seawater 110; a defoaming module 160, used for removing a floating foam of the seawater 110; a pure water supply module 170, used for supplying a pure water to supplement the seawater 110 and having a water supply outlet 171; and a water storage tank 180, having a water inlet 181 and a water outlet 182, wherein the water inlet 181 and the water outlet 182 each communicate to both the water tank 120 and the water storage tank 180, and the water supply outlet 171 communicates to both the pure water supply module 170 and the water storage tank 180.

[0137] The light source module 140 is provided above the surface of the seawater 110.

[0138] Preferably, the water storage tank 180 is set below the water tank 120 or the bottom of the water tank 120.

[0139] Preferably, the pure water supply module 170 further has a pure water outlet control module 172, used for opening or closing the water supply outlet 171, and the water supply outlet 171 is near the water outlet 182, and the water cleaning module 150 is contained in the water storage tank 180, and the water cleaning module 150 is near the water inlet 181.

[0140] The seawater flows by means of a water pump (not shown).

Example 3: Corals

[0141] As shown in FIG. 2A, the branch of the corals shows the exoskeleton of the small polyp stony corals and coral polyps. As shown in FIG. 2B, the coral 20 has a main body 21 and branches 22.

Example 4: The Coral Product

[0142] The coral product in this experiment can be a coral bone without chemical modification, and is a coral block of the coral bone. As shown in FIG. 3A, the coral block of the coral bone is a cube with a length, width and height of 1.3 cm, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3B, the coral block of the coral bone is a cuboid with a length of 2.5 cm, a width of 1.2 cm, and a height of 1 cm. As shown in FIG. 3C, the coral block of the coral bone is a cylinder with a height about 3 cm and a diameter of 2 cm.

Example 5: Heavy Metals Test for the Coral Product

[0143] The coral product in this experiment was a coral bone without chemical modification, and was tested by SGS Taiwan Limited according to General Method of Test for Heavy Metals published in Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) Food No. 1031901169, and Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used for analysis. The results were shown in Table 11.

TABLE-US-00011 TABLE 11 Heavy metals test results of the coral product Quantitation/ Test item Test result detection limit Unit Arsenic (As) not detected 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Lead (Pb) not detected 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Cadmium (Cd) not detected 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Mercury (Hg) not detected 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Copper (Cu) not detected 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Calcium (Ca) 297170.8 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Phosphorous (P) 20.9 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Magnesium (Mg) 982.6 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Potassium (K) 83.2 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Zinc (Zn) not detected 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Iron (Fe) 9.6 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Manganese (Mn) not detected 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Selenium (Se) not detected 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Sodium (Na) 3547.4 2.0 ppm(mg/kg)

[0144] According to Table 11, the test items for the coral product of the present invention comprise arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, copper, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron, manganese, selenium and sodium, and based on the total weight of the obtained results for the test items, the calcium was in an amount of 98.46141 weight percent, the phosphorus was in an amount of 0.006925 weight percent, the magnesium was in an amount of 0.325564 weight percent, the potassium was in an amount of 0.027567 weight percent, the iron was in an amount of 0.003181 weight percent, and the sodium was in an amount of 1.175358 weight percent. The arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury and copper were significantly toxic to organism and the amount thereof were all not detected, which indicated that the coral product of the present invention can be safe for humans. Finally, the selenium was also not detected.

Example 6: Ingredient Analysis for the Coral Product

[0145] The coral product in this experiment was a coral bone without chemical modification, and was tested by Ultra Trace & Industrial Safety Hygiene Laboratory of SGS Taiwan Limited according to the certified internal method (TEST-UG-0435), and Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used for analysis. The results were shown in Table 12.

TABLE-US-00012 TABLE 12 The ingredient analysis results of the coral product Quantitation/ Test detection Test item CAS NO. result limit Unit Arsenic (As) 7440-38-2 not 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) detected Lead (Pb) 7439-92-1 not 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) detected Mercury (Hg) 7439-97-6 not 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) detected Cadmium (Cd) 7440-43-9 not 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) detected Magnesium (Mg) 7439-95-4 807 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Phosphorous (P) 7723-14-0 28.8 10.0 ppm(mg/kg) Manganese (Mn) 7439-96-5 not 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) detected Zinc (Zn) 7440-66-6 not 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) detected Copper (Cu) 7440-50-8 not 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) detected Iron (Fe) 7439-89-6 368 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Potassium (K) 7440-09-7 78.1 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Sodium (Na) 7440-23-5 4110 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) Calcium (Ca) 7440-70-2 377000 100 ppm(mg/kg) Selenium (Se) 7782-49-2 not 2.0 ppm(mg/kg) detected Silicon (Si) 7440-21-3 367 10.0 ppm(mg/kg)

[0146] According to Table 12, the test items for the coral product of the present invention gained silicon in comparison with those in Example 5, and based on the total weight of the obtained results for the test items, the calcium was in an amount of 98.49542 weight percent, the phosphorus was in an amount of 0.007524 weight percent, the magnesium was in an amount of 0.210838 weight percent, the potassium was in an amount of 0.020404 weight percent, the iron was in an amount of 0.096144 weight percent, the sodium was in an amount of 1.073783 weight percent, and the silicon was in an amount of 0.095883 weight percent. The arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury and copper were significantly toxic to organism and the amount thereof were all not detected, which indicated that the coral product of the present invention can be safe for humans. Finally, the selenium was also not detected.

[0147] Besides, according to the comparison of Examples 5 and 6, although the test methods in Examples 5 and 6 may not necessarily be the same, the top three amounts of the elements in the coral product of the present invention were calcium, sodium and magnesium sequentially, and the total amount of calcium, sodium and magnesium was more than 99.5 weight percent; wherein calcium served as the main ingredient and was 98.46141 weight percent and 98.49542 weight percent in Examples 5 and 6, respectively. Therefore, the coral product of the present invention was rich in calcium ingredient, which was calcium carbonate and can served as the raw material for artificial bone substitute so as to demonstrate a market potential.

Example 7: Compressive Strength Test

[0148] The coral product in this experiment was a coral bone without chemical modification, and served as the test sample with an average diameter of 10.1 millimeters (mm) and an average height of 15.1 mm as shown in FIG. 4. This test was carried out according to the Charter of 4.6.2.4 in the regulations of ISO 13175-3(2012), wherein the condition adjustments for the test sample comprised: 23±2□, a relative humidity of 50±10%, and a time more than 24 hours. The temperature in the laboratory was 23±2□, and the relative humidity thereof was 50±10%. The test speed was 0.50 millimeter per minute (mm/min). The equipment to test the test sample was MTS Criterion C43 Universal Testing Machine. The steel ball used in the test had a diameter of 12.7 mm. There were 10 test samples in total. The results were shown in Table 13.

TABLE-US-00013 TABLE 13 Maximum compressive load (Unit: kgf) A No. Maximum compressive load (kgf) #1 121 #2 122 #3 211 #4 78.7 #5 120 #6 82.0 #7 70.6 #8 98.4 #9 74.8 #10 36.6 Average 102 S.D. 47

[0149] According to Table 13, the maximum compressive load of the present invention ranged from 36.6 kgf to 211 kgf. The average maximum compressive load was 102 kgf, which was an excellent maximum compressive load, that is, an excellent compressive strength and thereby was suitable for serving as the raw material for artificial bone substitute.

Example 8: Analysis of the Diameter of the Pores

[0150] The coral product in this experiment was a coral bone without chemical modification, and the test sample was in the form of particles and was a white powder with an average diameter of 250 micrometers as shown in FIG. 5A. This test was carried out according to the regulations of ISO 13175-3(2012), and adopted a scanning electron microscope (brand name: Topcon; type: SM-300) to observe the pores and measure the diameter thereof. The 500× photo of a single particle was shown in FIG. 5B, and the site in the circle was magnified to 4000 times with a shooting angle of 0 degree along z-axis as shown in FIG. 5C. Further, 10 adjacent pores were selected at random to measure the diameters thereof as shown in FIG. 5D. The results were shown in Table 14.

TABLE-US-00014 TABLE 14 The diameter of the pores (Unit: micrometers (μm)) No. The diameter of the pores (μm) #1 1.245 #2 0.805 #3 0.815 #4 1.114 #5 1.401 #6 0.761 A #7 0.805 #8 0.660 #9 0.510 #10 1.637 Average 0.975 S.D. 0.359

[0151] According to Table 14, even the coral product of the present invention was ground into fine powders, as shown in the 4000× photo of FIG. 5C, the calcium carbonate secreted by coral polyps was in the form of particles, which connected and were stacked with each other, and formed the pores 23A, 23B as shown in FIG. 5C. The diameter of the pores ranged from 0.510 micrometers to 1.637 micrometers, and the average diameter of the pores was 0.975 micrometers. As the pores can be observed on the surface of the particles after grinding, the coral bone of the present invention without chemical modification indeed has complex inner interconnected channels. Therefore, if the coral bone without chemical modification of the present invention was used in the human body, these inner interconnected channels will facilitate the flow of active substances and nutrients so as to promote bone repairing.

Example 9: Uniformity Deviation of the Pores

[0152] This example followed Example 8, and the distance between two centers of the respective two pores of the 10 pores in the 4000× field of view like those in the Example 8 was measured. The results were shown in Table 15.

TABLE-US-00015 TABLE 15 the distance between two centers of the respective two pores (Unit: micrometers (μm)) The distance between two centers No. of the respective two pores (μm) #1 to #2 5.572 #2 to #3 9.074 #3 to #4 8.242 #4 to #5 7.779 #5 to #6 8.381 #6 to #7 6.93 #7 to #8 6.341 #8 to #9 7.592  #9 to #10 5.142 Average 7.228 S.D. 1.331

[0153] According to Table 15, the average distance between the two centers of the respective two pores of the coral bone without chemical modification of the present invention was 7.228 μm, and the standard deviation thereof was 1.331 μm only, which indicated that the distance between the two centers of the respective two pores of the coral bone without chemical modification of the present invention had low degree of dispersion, that is, the pores of the coral bone without chemical modification of the present invention were distributed evenly, which may result from that the coral farming method of the present invention provided a stable growing environment to the small polyp stony corals to facilitate the stable growth of the coral bone to form an even distributed pores.

Example 10: Phase Purity Analysis

[0154] The coral product in this experiment was a coral bone without chemical modification, and the test samples were the same as those in Example 8, which were powders as well. This test was carried out according to the Charter of 4.2 in ISO 13175-3(2012) for phase purity analysis. The equipment used was Multi Function High Power X-ray Diffractometer (Brand name: Bruker; Type: D8 Discover) and the angle range was 2θ from 20° to 80°.

[0155] The test result of the phase purity is that the crystallinity is 79.9%, and the amorphous is 20.1%. Therefore, the coral bone without chemical modification of the present invention comprised a high proportion of crystals, and such highly regular arrangement area can improve the mechanical strength.

[0156] To sum up, the farming method of the present invention can achieve mass production of small polyp stony corals effectively. As an indoor farming method is adopted, the concerns that small polyp stony corals may be subjected to marine pollution can be removed, and the obtained coral bone without chemical modification has no heavy metals, and has an excellent maximum compressive load, complex inner interconnected channels and low uniformity deviation of the pores, which facilitates the standardization of commodities, and can be applied to the medical field with high standards so as to demonstrate high market potential.

[0157] The examples are provided for the convenience of demonstration, and the embodiments shall not be used to limit the claim scope of the present invention. All alterations, modifications and other changes that do not deviate from the disclosure of the present invention shall be included within the claim scope covered by the present invention.