Full polyp expansion on monti's but not acro's, WHY?

[Acronuts]

Hello all,
I need your help! I need to know why when I place a new acro, the polyps are fully expanded. Then within a few days they retract to where I can only see the tips.
My monti's and pocilliporas are out in full glory.
I am getting growth from all.
My parimeters are all fine:
ph 8.4
ca 460
alk 14 a bit high
mg 1200 to 1400
phos 0 according to test kit
nitrate is around 10-20, drops down with water changes every two weeks at 15%
no
nitrites, ammonia
I do have a flameback pigmy angel but have never seen it peck at the sps's.
Help please or am I just crazy?

 

[stunreefer]

I don't think you're crazy...

Nitrate is too high... SPS get ticked off above 10ppm.

Alk is a a bit high too, but I do know people who run it about this level without issues. Assuming you're not experiencing "Alk burn" (burnt tips), the most important thing regarding Alk is stability.

"SPS = Stability Promotes Success" -G. Carroll

What test kit are you using for Phosphate?

Angels are hit or miss, yours might be picking, might not... when the lights are on in your tank, turn every light off in the room the tank is in (at night too). Sit back and enjoy the show, without moving. Fish act TOTALLY differently when we're around - just like little kids

 

[mcliffy2]

I would bet its the angel picking. Its not a big deal as long as you have growth and the corals are healthy.

Also, I second that your nitrates and alk are too high.

 

[jc5205]

I would lower the Alk.......How's your water movement in the tank ?

 

[subielover]

I would step up to weekly water changes to reduce both alk and nitrates.

 

[Murfman]

I just got rid of a Multibarred Angelfish and in the 3 days that he has been gone, all my SPS are showing much more PE than I have ever had. My trates are around 20 ppm

 

[mevstheworld]

Nitrate is too high... SPS get ticked off above 10ppm.

Alk is a a bit high too, but I do know people who run it about this level without issues. Assuming you're not experiencing "Alk burn" (burnt tips), the most important thing regarding Alk is stability.

"SPS = Stability Promotes Success" -G. Carroll

What test kit are you using for Phosphate?

Angels are hit or miss, yours might be picking, might not... when the lights are on in your tank, turn every light off in the room the tank is in (at night too). Sit back and enjoy the show, without moving. Fish act TOTALLY differently when we're around - just like little kids

I agree, but aren't monti's and pocillipora's SPS?

 

[Acronuts]

Last night I looked at the sps's and saw the polyps fully extended!
All were out except for one milliepora, it sits toward the back and I really could not see full PE only partial.
So now what does this say?

 

[xrayrider]

I was experiencing the exact same things you are describing. I found the problem to be a combination of to high of phosphates, and unstable alkalinity. I was dosing with once a day, so I was experiencing swings in calcium and alkalinity. Once I installed a Calcium Reactor, a few days ago, and began using Rowaphos about a week ago, to lower my Phosphates, I saw immediate results. In just 3 days of calcium reactor use, my Acros are looking much better. How do you maintain calcium and alkalinity? Alkalinity drops very quickly, and is impossible to keep stable, if dosing once a day. I believe that stable alkilinity was just as important, as lowering the phosphates, in my case. Good luck.

 

[Acronuts]

I was experiencing the exact same things you are describing. I found the problem to be a combination of to high of phosphates, and unstable alkalinity. I was dosing with once a day, so I was experiencing swings in calcium and alkalinity. Once I installed a Calcium Reactor, a few days ago, and began using Rowaphos about a week ago, to lower my Phosphates, I saw immediate results. In just 3 days of calcium reactor use, my Acros are looking much better. How do you maintain calcium and alkalinity? Alkalinity drops very quickly, and is impossible to keep stable, if dosing once a day. I believe that stable alkilinity was just as important, as lowering the phosphates, in my case. Good luck.

what is a rowaphos?
and what type of ca reactor are you using? Is there a thread on ca reactors?

Thank you

 

[xrayrider]

Rowaphos is a phosphate (binding) removing media. It is I believe, a granulated feric hydroxide. A form of rust. It works much better, and lasts much longer than some of the other phosphate binding media, like Phosban, etc. It is expensive, but in the long run, it is well worth it, because it lasts 5 times as long. It is actually very different chemically, from the other media offered by other companies. It appears as course black moist granuals, much different from the dry rust colored powders, most of the other companies offer. I just started using a Via Aqua brand Calcium reactor. I picked it up on ebay for $75 brand new in the box, with shipping, and it even came with a pump. There are much better units out there, but for about 6 times the price and up. I couldn't pass up the deal, and the thing actually seams to work pretty well. There is probably an old thread on reactors somewhere, but to get updated information, you should start a new thread.

 

[xrayrider]

One otherthing about rowaphos. It works much better if installed into a fluidized reactor, like a little fishes phosban reactor, or a fluval canister filter. If you put it in a sock in your sump, it won't work very well. You also should turn the flow rate way down for the first day, and gradually turn it up a little each day, until you reach a point where the surface is just starting to move a little. To little flow and the media can bind together, reducing it's effectiveness. To much flow, and it will began to crumble into a fine powder, and end up in your tank. Gradually increasing the flow over a week will keep the phosphates from dropping too fast, which can shock sps, and cause them to bleach, or possibly even RTN.

 

[xrayrider]

I just checked, my calcium reactor is the Via Aqua Aqua-cal AC-30, rated for up to a 200 gallon tank. I am using it on a 125 with a 60 gallon sump that is half full. Probably about 120 gallons of water volume after subtractin displacement from rock and sand. I am pretty happy with it so far, for the price, but I have only had it 1 week, so I don't know how it will last. It is barely dialed in, and seams to be keeping up with calcium and alk.

 

[Acronuts]

thnxs xrayrider!

 

[schminksbro]

I would examine closely for redbugs as well.

 

[xrayrider]

Good point. I haven't had those yet, so I didn't think of that.

jsdancer, do you know what they look like? They are so small, they are very hard to see. You can look to see if the speck moves. They will look like tiny specks, of red, brown, or a golden color, and will move around if you watch long enough.