Ok so I just retested and now I’m even more confused because the levels look better.
Did you test phos? Also raise the levels SLOWLY. I can’t tell you how fast it would recover, though I assume slowly. And hey, if this coral does die, then you know what to do for the next one!
Ok. Update. I have another question.
I would, at least keep slowly raising your magnesium. It is still so low.
Ok. Thanks for the fast reply. I’ll go ahead and add some tonight. I’m using premixed salt (will consider making my own but that’s a little advanced for me at the moment) so I’ll top it off with a little salt water too.
Basically 1 cup of salt per 2 gallons water. Check salinity. A little high add ro/di water and a little low add a little salt, easy peasy. Gives you complete control of what is going in your tank.
Mag is still low, climbing slowly is good! if both refractometers are reading different, then one is probably not calibrated. also if you raise your salinity, it will also raise your alk cal and mag, and your tank is quite small so it should raise enough.
The FIRST thing to do is verify your salinity. If it's actually 1.021, bringing this up will raise all the other parameters (assuming your salt mixes to higher mag, cal, etc than what's in your tank).
For what it's worth, frogspawn (and hammers, torches, etc) are not the best "starter" corals. They need a relatively stable tank - and a very new 5 gallon aquarium is likely very unstable. I hope this one makes a comeback but if it doesn't, don't give up! Just plan a little better, make sure your water parameters are correct before adding more coral, and make sure you know the parameters of the saltwater you're using. With such a small tank, you risk big swings with water changes if the new sw levels are much different than your tank (and salt used by an LFS could change from week to week, they could accidentally mix it too strong or too weak, etc).
Hi! Thank you for this advice. I see now that you’re correct about Frogspawn not being the best starter corals. I asked the lady at the store and that’s what she referred me to but if you have any suggestions please let me know. I had read somewhere online that Hammers were good.For what it's worth, frogspawn (and hammers, torches, etc) are not the best "starter" corals. They need a relatively stable tank - and a very new 5 gallon aquarium is likely very unstable. I hope this one makes a comeback but if it doesn't, don't give up! Just plan a little better, make sure your water parameters are correct before adding more coral, and make sure you know the parameters of the saltwater you're using. With such a small tank, you risk big swings with water changes if the new sw levels are much different than your tank (and salt used by an LFS could change from week to week, they could accidentally mix it too strong or too weak, etc).
Good luck
Thoughts -
So, I would keep phos at .1-.2, nitrate at 10-15 as this is required for the coral, and low nitrate and phos and lead to Dinos, and that sucks. You can keep your salinity at 1.025, but 1.026 is better. Also mag isn’t as important but still is, and as long as you can get it around 1300+ you should be good. What are you feeding him? It isn’t necessary to feed him once a day, just once a week. Also for starter corals, definitely some softies, also just wait a bit for some coral until you feel ready to take on some more. Definitely mushrooms are a very good starter coral, along with GSP and zoas. If you want LPS, then I would recommend candy canes.Hi! Thank you for this advice. I see now that you’re correct about Frogspawn not being the best starter corals. I asked the lady at the store and that’s what she referred me to but if you have any suggestions please let me know. I had read somewhere online that Hammers were good.
Other ones I noted were green star polyps, mushrooms and zooanthids.
Anyways I have great news! I think my frog spawn is making a comeback. He did have a lot of recession but my tank is finally at good levels and he’s puffing out way more and looking much happier now. He came back slowly. He still isn’t where he is when I got him but I’m hoping he can get back to that.
My parameters from this morning 11/29:
pH = 8
Ammonia = 0
NH3 = between 0-5 probably like 1-2
NO2 = 0
Calcium = 450-460 ppm
Mag = 1200-1230 ppm
Alk = 9.3 dkh
Phos = 0-0.25 ppm
PAR = 120 ish with LED
Salinity = 1.024 with hydrometer
I was able to raise my parameters by supplementation and adding salt. I know the salt could still be higher. I’m having a hard time raising it. I also don’t want it too high and I don’t want the calcium to keep increasing.
Overall, I have become way more efficient at doing/reading the tests and I think how the coral looks means these levels are fairly accurate.
I was thinking I would supplement with a little bit more mag to get the levels in the 1300s and maybe add a little more salt.
I also haven’t done a water change in like 3 weeks (the water from the store wasn’t at the correct salinity and nutrition so I have been working to improve that and then topping it off with this and RODI). I don’t feel like a water change is really necessary at this point because the tank looks much better and only has my 1 coral and live rock.
I do have more algae growth but I figured this was ok, considering how new the tank is and is easily cleanable with my magnet.
I’m feeding him once a day.
Thoughts?
