Can xenia keep my nutrients down?

[Perpetual Novice]

I have one tank with lots of xenia growing all over that I have to regularly prune and another tank with no xenia. The tank with the xenia consistently has lower nitrates than the one without. It also seems to require much less maintenance. Is the xenia consuming the nutrients in my tank an they are being removed when I prune it back? Like chato but better?

 

[Joedubyk]

Yeah that is likely the case

 

[Perpetual Novice]

Yeah that is likely the case

Sweet!

 

[DangerDave]

Not just xenia, any corals will absorb nutrients (Although I've read xenia can take a lot up). I have my display, and three frag tanks. I don't have enough fish, I have to dose nitrates now to keep the coral happy. I'm planning on plumbing in a clown harem tank, so when this starts I should be back to exporting nitrates...

 

[Samina]

Agree with above. A lot of folks put Xenia in their refugiums also because of this. All coral uptakes nutrients but some are slower growers and so their uptake is slower. Xenia is a super fast grower and good at uptaking nutrients.

 

[Magellan]

Fast growing softies will all do that to one degree or another. My Kenya leather serves a similar purpose :)

 

[Perpetual Novice]

Ok. Follow up question. How strong does xenia sting other corals? It seems it may be in my interest to keep as much of it as there is space in my tank. Since I do love the look of it as well. But I’m worried about it stinging my sps. In places where xenia has come in contact with other corals before I haven’t seen any signs of warfare. So is xenia an aggressive coral? Besides just it’s growth rate I mean.

 

[DangerDave]

Ok. Follow up question. How strong does xenia sting other corals? It seems it may be in my interest to keep as much of it as there is space in my tank. Since I do love the look of it as well. But I’m worried about it stinging my sps. In places where xenia has come in contact with other corals before I haven’t seen any signs of warfare. So is xenia an aggressive coral? Besides just it’s growth rate I mean.

I'd be afraid to keep them in my display, they just grow to fast. Even the sump, you'll have to take precautions to keep them out of your DT.