Corals won’t fully open

FishKid · Mar 22, 2020

hey guys, I have had my reef tank setup for 3 months. I have a bunch of softies and recently got a new hammer coral along with a toadstool. But it’s been a couple of days and they have not fully opened. It has good lighting and good flow also. All the other corals are doing fine. So I did some testing and a water change and still the same issue. I would love some solutions

PH 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Salinity 1.025
Temp. 78
Using RODI water and dosing reef plus

Spare time · Mar 22, 2020

What is your alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium at? Also, be careful with not dosing reef plus too much as trace elements should only be dosed if needed.

FishKid · Mar 22, 2020

Thank you. I ordered a test kit for those. And I think I got to greedy wanting them to grow

Spare time · Mar 23, 2020

FishKid said:
Thank you. I ordered a test kit for those. And I think I got to greedy wanting them to grow

When you get any coral with a stony skeleton (sps, lps), alkalinity becomes the most important to test frequently as it can drain fast. Calcium is second and magnesium is third. Make sure that if you dose them, alk needs to be dosed into the sump or filter intake as it needs to mixed otherwise it will "burn" the corals

FishKid · Mar 23, 2020

Ok I have a Alk test kit but I’m getting a calcium soon. my alkalinity in ppm is 180 ppm. And could I find calcium and magnesium using GH? If so my GH is also 180 ppm but I’m not sure if that is only for freshwater hardness.

InvaderJim · Mar 23, 2020

Ideal Alkalinity is usually in the 7-11 range. What kit did you use to test your Alk?

Spare time · Mar 23, 2020

FishKid said:
Ok I have a Alk test kit but I’m getting a calcium soon. my alkalinity in ppm is 180 ppm. And could I find calcium and magnesium using GH? If so my GH is also 180 ppm but I’m not sure if that is only for freshwater hardness.

No you need a test kit specific for those

Spare time · Mar 23, 2020

InvaderJim said:
Ideal Alkalinity is usually in the 7-11 range. What kit did you use to test your Alk?

Im guessing he meant ppm CaCO3 which is around 10.3 KH

DeniseAndy · Mar 23, 2020

What do you mean by softies? Specifically what types? Definitely check your alk, ca and mag. Do not just guess and dose. Make sure there is a reason behind dosing. If you have a small tank, you can avoid dosing and do water changes to keep up fine.

FishKid · Mar 23, 2020

I have some Xenia, and zoas and a Kenya tree which are all doing great. I have stopped dosing for now until the tank needs it ( again I got to greedy for them to grow). I just used a API test kit. I know it’s not the most accurate but that’s all I could afford for now. And I have ordered calcium and magnesium test kits.