About Had IT With Corals

[Dan_K1309]

I cant find the picture showing where what type is use regularly, I believe the northeast uses chloramines, From Michigan over and Florida has high TDS because of it sitting on a coral reef among other things. Their are other states that have high TDS, I live in Georgia and we mostly have low TDS and don't regularly use Chloramines in our treated water. If you can I would get a 5 stage as it isn't much more. BRS regularly have them on sale, but you can get them anywhere and it will work fine.

What reef salt would you recommend?

 

[Billldg]

What reef salt would you recommend?

I really won't recommend any salt just because for the most part they are all good, just depends on what parameters you are looking for. I know a bunch of people use and love reef crystals, a lot of people like red sea. I haven't used either which is why I will not speculate but know they are both good to use. I use HW Marine as I like the parameters when mixed to 1.026, 8.5 Alk, 1380 Mag, and 1480 Cal. All I have to do after is maintain those parameters, but it can be a little hard to get as I have yet to see a LFS carry it. Most carry Reef Crystals, I have to order from BRS.

 

[Dan_K1309]

I really won't recommend any salt just because for the most part they are all good, just depends on what parameters you are looking for. I know a bunch of people use and love reef crystals, a lot of people like red sea. I haven't used either which is why I will not speculate but know they are both good to use. I use HW Marine as I like the parameters when mixed to 1.026, 8.5 Alk, 1380 Mag, and 1480 Cal. All I have to do after is maintain those parameters, but it can be a little hard to get as I have yet to see a LFS carry it. Most carry Reef Crystals, I have to order from BRS.

Thanks

 

[albano]

Well it did I lost an condi nem last week and I can’t find my bubble tip. I’m not stopping I’m jut not buying anymore nems.

IME a condi nem when 'not happy' can move around the tank and will sting/kill other corals...

 

[Dan_K1309]

Thanks

I appreciate your honesty. We ordered a 4 stage that is easy on our pocket book as we are retired. Ordered Red Sea Pro Salt Mix. My wife came into tell me the Acan is really a bright orange now, went and looked, wow. Can’t wait to get the rodi system to make our own water.
Thanks Dan

 

[Dan_K1309]

IME a condi nem when 'not happy' can move around the tank and will sting/kill other corals...

I didn’t know they could do that? Dang

 

[freshy&salty]

just gunna throw my 2 cents in just because i feel like its getting way to system crazy in here.
I think its way less complicated then suggestions are staring to go.

Sure, you can replumb your house, go to the local water supply, testing their supply lines and export lines, extract helium 3 from the moon using it to refine the purest base water you can create while balancing your tank on the back of a chair at an exact 37 degree angle with a hot pad in 1 hand as the other paddles the water precisely every 28 seconds, and blah blah blah.

But i think that all, while not bad, are a waste of your time.

I thought most your water params were close enough to acceptable and your equipment sounds great. Cal, n03, and KH all sounded a little lower then i keep, but each tank differs anyway so i dont really have anything to suggest.

Imo youll see other signs in the tank (algae, diatoms, etc) that your water is the issue, and it wouldnt only effect the corals.

As for your light, I really cant comment because I have an AIO biocube and the stock lighting has always worked for me. The only coral light related advice i could give is start low. I place a coral on bottom and work it upto the light until its happy. Better to have not enough light and be able to add then to scorch and lower.

When i first started I swear I almost killed a Xenia. I had heard light was really all it needed and it "was unkillable". It started great and for a couple weeks everything seemed fine. After about a month though it started to turn white and started to "melt" (droopy and sad, open but stagnant) and my GSP started to seem frozen, not growing or shrinking. At the time that was all I had cause they were cheap, "indestructible", and I was learning.
When I looked for advise, here, the lfs, FB forums/clubs etc, all i heard was "xenia cant die" , "gsp is pretty hearty itll be fine", "your params seem ok, do you add/dose/test....", "water, RODI, solids, etc" , "add this, change that, spend more $".

Stop! Back to basics.

If tests 1 - 8 were good, logic says the water and equipment wasnt the issue.
So i started surprise nighttime inspections hoping to catch a culprit but after a week or so of no sleep and dragging work shifts, I found a big fat nothing.

This started me thinking a little more logically.
How do coral live normally? What do they eat? How do they catch the food? How do they eat (chew, swallow, absorb)the food?

no coral lives purely by photosynthesis. They do have "mouths" and they do "eat" physical foods (proteins, fat, fiber, etc). Coral ingest food by "breathing" for lack of a better term and the micro particles are trapped in its throat where they are chemically broke down and distributed through the body.
Coral require about 10 - 15 mins of "slack water", no flow, to properly ingest food. So even the lowest flow can keep coral from capturing a "bite". Think trying to eat a slice of pizza thats swinging back and forth on a string. Maybe once and awhile you may get a bite but those few and far between bites wouldnt be enough to sustain longterm.
When testing water, its possible to see the numbers you want in the water but that doesnt mean thats the number the corals are getting. the "swinging pizza" is always hanging there but you still only get an occasional bite.

After reading that i went and bought coral food (kent marine microvert), just the basic sold at the petco down the way. I started target feeding once a day, twice a week with all the powerheads and pumps turned off for 10mins. Literally overnight the 1st night time I noticed a very visible positive reaction. Not long after I found reef roids and now, i cant keep the corals from growing. My clowny almost never leaves his Xenia now.

So to sum up my incredibly and needlessly long story, to me it sounds like theyre simply starving slowly.

* I apologize if feeding was already covered. I might have missed it reading through the all the comments. Its been a long day.

 

[aquariumworks]

Hang in there, it will definitely be worth while...
I didn’t read anything about duration of how long the Aquarium has been established, forgive me if I missed it...
Could you give us photos that maybe a seasoned eye could see something?
Are you using manmade, dryrock, or live rock?
Sometimes systems take a little maturing before they thrive...
As billldg mentioned, you maybe a little too clean, especially for the LPS corals you’re desiring to keep. Brains are my personal favorite LPS, the Acan is very versital IMO, I’ve kept them in clean SPS dominated systems as well as semi high nutrient soft coral dominated system. As for the open brains, euphyllia‘s, and blasto’s go, in nature they are found in turbid back reefs and lagoons where lots of nutrients and sediment is present. This is partially why they are known for being a hardier type of Stoney coral to keep. If you ever have seen these corals freshly imported, you will notice the skeleton below the polyps is generally bleached white or covered in sponges. This is because of the skeleton beings void of light, either because of polyp extension or being buried in sediment.

I hope this gives you a bit of encouragement, in that you may be doing everything right, just need to research a bit more about the animals that you’re intending to keep. It’s great that you seem to have found LFS you have put some confidence in, that’s sometimes half the battle in this hobby. I know it’s so confusing out there, especially online. I encourage you to pick up some print books as a kind of field guide. I’ve been in the aquarium hobby for almost 40 years and the Marine side for 30 years, and I find myself still learning.

Good luck and stick with it...

 

[Dan_K1309]

just gunna throw my 2 cents in just because i feel like its getting way to system crazy in here.
I think its way less complicated then suggestions are staring to go.

Sure, you can replumb your house, go to the local water supply, testing their supply lines and export lines, extract helium 3 from the moon using it to refine the purest base water you can create while balancing your tank on the back of a chair at an exact 37 degree angle with a hot pad in 1 hand as the other paddles the water precisely every 28 seconds, and blah blah blah.

But i think that all, while not bad, are a waste of your time.

I thought most your water params were close enough to acceptable and your equipment sounds great. Cal, n03, and KH all sounded a little lower then i keep, but each tank differs anyway so i dont really have anything to suggest.

Imo youll see other signs in the tank (algae, diatoms, etc) that your water is the issue, and it wouldnt only effect the corals.

As for your light, I really cant comment because I have an AIO biocube and the stock lighting has always worked for me. The only coral light related advice i could give is start low. I place a coral on bottom and work it upto the light until its happy. Better to have not enough light and be able to add then to scorch and lower.

When i first started I swear I almost killed a Xenia. I had heard light was really all it needed and it "was unkillable". It started great and for a couple weeks everything seemed fine. After about a month though it started to turn white and started to "melt" (droopy and sad, open but stagnant) and my GSP started to seem frozen, not growing or shrinking. At the time that was all I had cause they were cheap, "indestructible", and I was learning.
When I looked for advise, here, the lfs, FB forums/clubs etc, all i heard was "xenia cant die" , "gsp is pretty hearty itll be fine", "your params seem ok, do you add/dose/test....", "water, RODI, solids, etc" , "add this, change that, spend more $".

Stop! Back to basics.

If tests 1 - 8 were good, logic says the water and equipment wasnt the issue.
So i started surprise nighttime inspections hoping to catch a culprit but after a week or so of no sleep and dragging work shifts, I found a big fat nothing.

This started me thinking a little more logically.
How do coral live normally? What do they eat? How do they catch the food? How do they eat (chew, swallow, absorb)the food?

no coral lives purely by photosynthesis. They do have "mouths" and they do "eat" physical foods (proteins, fat, fiber, etc). Coral ingest food by "breathing" for lack of a better term and the micro particles are trapped in its throat where they are chemically broke down and distributed through the body.
Coral require about 10 - 15 mins of "slack water", no flow, to properly ingest food. So even the lowest flow can keep coral from capturing a "bite". Think trying to eat a slice of pizza thats swinging back and forth on a string. Maybe once and awhile you may get a bite but those few and far between bites wouldnt be enough to sustain longterm.
When testing water, its possible to see the numbers you want in the water but that doesnt mean thats the number the corals are getting. the "swinging pizza" is always hanging there but you still only get an occasional bite.

After reading that i went and bought coral food (kent marine microvert), just the basic sold at the petco down the way. I started target feeding once a day, twice a week with all the powerheads and pumps turned off for 10mins. Literally overnight the 1st night time I noticed a very visible positive reaction. Not long after I found reef roids and now, i cant keep the corals from growing. My clowny almost never leaves his Xenia now.

So to sum up my incredibly and needlessly long story, to me it sounds like theyre simply starving slowly.

* I apologize if feeding was already covered. I might have missed it reading through the all the comments. Its been a long day.

A lot to digest. Sorry just now getting back to you. We do appreciate everyone’s advice. Take a little from you and others and combine it to work better. I feed our coral; fuel,reef roids and Rod’s. I also dose phytoplankton and zoo plankton. We put Aquamaxx all in one in the reactor,we have a skimmer and use continuum in the canister filter. Our acan has 2 new heads growing, so,it’s not a complete disaster in my opinion.

Thanks Dan

 

[Dan_K1309]

Thank you, you’re a real big help. I will try not to bug you too much. My wife and I are retired and forget that some
people still working. Like I said, we don’t quit at anything.

Ou Acan was looking good last night and this morning had the brown jelly on it. Guess it spread from the Hammer to the Acan. Pulled the acan. Waiting for rodi system

 

[wesman42]

Hammer, Orange Acan (he is doing great) , Candy cane, Capt. America and a very small zoa frag from Tidal Gardens Never again from them. We got our acan from lfs and doing great. Thanks for your help we are still newbies

They're like an overpriced Walmart

 

[Dan_K1309]

I really won't recommend any salt just because for the most part they are all good, just depends on what parameters you are looking for. I know a bunch of people use and love reef crystals, a lot of people like red sea. I haven't used either which is why I will not speculate but know they are both good to use. I use HW Marine as I like the parameters when mixed to 1.026, 8.5 Alk, 1380 Mag, and 1480 Cal. All I have to do after is maintain those parameters, but it can be a little hard to get as I have yet to see a LFS carry it. Most carry Reef Crystals, I have to order from BRS.

After major water change with good water, tank is clear and more active. We now make our own water,have new refractor,new TDS Checker and waiting in Res Sea Test Kit. Water parameters are looking better. Will keep everyone posted. Will get a couple of frags of the soft coral type a d start fresh. Dan

 

[Dan_K1309]

After major water change with good water, tank is clear and more active. We now make our own water,have new refractor,new TDS Checker and waiting in Res Sea Test Kit. Water parameters are looking better. Will keep everyone posted. Will get a couple of frags of the soft coral type a d start fresh. Dan

Just a follow-up, Our RODI System was installed Friday and making first batch of salt with Red Sea Coral Pro Salt. TDS is 0. Will be using the new Red Sea Test kit on this first batch of salt water.

 

[sbazain]

It happens to all of us but I agree maybe is to clean what kind of corals die

 

[Crimsonphoenix]

Water parameters;Ph 8.4,Ca 440,dkh 9,temp 79, am 0, Nitrates 0, Ph <.25,nItrites 0 etc. 36” acrlyic 50 gal. Maxspec RSX led 150,hydor 350,skimmer,Reactor. Agamai kpm and a icecap I k gurr

What is your magnesium level?

 

[Amado]

What helped me a lot was I build a frag tank. That allowed me to put new coral in that tank and slowly acclimate them to my tank. I was able to move the frag for better lighting or flow. I was also able to look at the frag and see if we have any hitchhikers.
I also realized I have better luck with coral from local fish store.

 

[Rolrod39]

Patience is what helps in this hobby. I have been in it for 3 years now. I have a refugium in my sump with macro. Protein skimmer, biopellet, gfo/carbon reactors. Jebeo doser, reef breeders led light, 2 aquatop circulating pumps in a 90 gallon and only do 3 to 4 watet changes a year. It is a very rewarding hobby when you see growth in your coral. How long has your tank been running?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I appreciate your honesty. We ordered a 4 stage that is easy on our pocket book as we are retired. Ordered Red Sea Pro Salt Mix. My wife came into tell me the Acan is really a bright orange now, went and looked, wow. Can’t wait to get the rodi system to make our own water.
Thanks Dan

I use red sea pro and no regrets

 

[JCTReefer]

Looks like everyone has covered mostly everything. So far as feeding goes. Billy Pipes has a great video on feeding Reef Roids the "RIGHT WAY" This is a great YouTube video to watch!
Lots of people have gotten great results using this method with Reef Roids. Thought I would just throw this in, as I see it's one of the foods you're using.

 

[Vin's Reef]

We were looking at war
coral,blasto or open brain coral. Not to keen on soft corals

Ok. All three of those going to not like high par. I found my blastos do best with low nutrients, frequent feeding, and out of the dang light!! Now that open brain. He's gonna want to be on the floor of course but then he'll have sand all over him. What I did was prop mine in the front corner on a piece of pvc pipe. Usually the front corners of your tank will have the lowest par ratings. So him too..out of the dang light! War coral very similar to your favia brain coral. Low light, low flow. I put mine under a ledge in the shade. His colors look brilliant. These are all easy to care for. Just try not to care too hard. Peace. Vince