Closed up Palythoa

[Siguun]

Hey guys had a couple questions regarding a palythoa I just got, but first here is a bit of information about the tank.

Salinity - 35 ppm or 1.025
PH ~8.4
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate ~20 ppm
dKH ~ 12
Magnesium - 1320
Calcium - 420
Phosphate - 0
Temp - 68
Age of tank - Little over a month. (BC 29)
Inhabitants - 2 Hermits, 1 Domino Damsel, and 1 Palythoa. (Had a mexican turbo but jerk hermit murdered him =\)
Lights - Hydra 26 HD (about 8 in above water surface, UV 118%, V 116%, RY 79%, B 80%, G 4%, DR 4%, CW 19%, Currently the lights are on an acclimation mode down to 30% of their output.)
Filtration - Filterfloss (top), Purigen (middle), Chemi-pure elite (bottem)

Whew, okay now that the data is out of the way (I think), I just got a Palythoa frag yesterday from the LFS and did a Revive dip. Put the little guy in my tank (bottom of the tank in the center on a rock). He was opened up for about 30 min and then closed up. I am not too worried about him being closed up because as I am sure the difference between the LFS tank and mine is probably what is making him close up. From what I understand it is best to leave him alone because the more you mess with them the longer they stay closed up. The real question is how long is too long for him to be staying closed up. Should I wait a week? a month? I just wanted to be ahead of the game before anything goes wrong and it dies.

 

[DLHDesign]

Temp - 68

That seems pretty low; generally you see reef tanks in the 78-80F range. Is there a specific reason you're using that temp?

 

[Siguun]

That seems pretty low; generally you see reef tanks in the 78-80F range. Is there a specific reason you're using that temp?

Ooo that was a typo lol temp is 78

 

[DLHDesign]

Oh good. ;-)

I usually give new corals a few days to adjust to new conditions. Most corals I've had show some signs of improvement by then. Not looking for "back to total health" mind you - just not as bad or worse. If I don't see that, I'll try moving the coral into a lower or higher flow, or else more/less light (both depending upon the coral in question).

 

[Siguun]

I think that is my biggest worry is the light. I have a hydra 26 hd and it is set to "acclimation mode" and if i turn it off the lights do get a bit brighter but not by much.. at least to the naked eye, which doesn't say much. But I have the paly dead center of the tank at the bottom. I am kinda worried it is getting too much light? At the same time as you said I don't want to move him around and cause unnecessary stress. So I guess the real question is how do I know if it is getting too much light?

 

[DLHDesign]

Best answer is to get a PAR meter and measure the light at the coral.
Failing that, you could use a smartphone to get a general idea of your surface light levels.

Once you know your approximate light level, you can compare that to what the coral generally likes to have. A general answer of "about 320 PAR" is commonly tossed about, but that's really an over-simplification of a very complicated question and answer...
The coral in question (Palythoa) are actually pretty forgiving. They are generally placed in moderate light conditions (around 100-150 PAR?), but can adapt to suit a pretty broad range above and below that given enough time and a stable environment.

 

[Siguun]

Sweet god par meters are expensive... I am probably just going to have try and find some one with a similar set up as myself and see how they are running it.

 

[Siguun]

So I guess I am color blind. When I did a phosphate test on the salifirt test kit I thought the water was clear. Well I got my Phosphorus ULR hanna checker today and the read out was blinking 200. So at a MINIMUM my phosphate is .6, which from my understanding is way to high. Just did a 10% water change and will continue weekly till I get this under control. I just hope the paly can hold out til then =\

 

[Coralreefer1]

If your Palythoas remain closed, try moving them to a different location. Try placing it in an area where the lighting and flow are different from where they are now. Your water parameters seem fine!