HARD TIME KEEPING LEATHERS :(

vetteguy53081 · Oct 22, 2019

Leathers can be picky and do best in moderate lighting and flow. Reduce whites a little bit and verify salinity as they seldom thrive well in salinity below 1024.
Try squirting at the mushroom with turkey baster and direct water flow towards them, not directly at them.
What are your other parameters?

Katrina71 · Oct 22, 2019

Jrain904 said:
People will probably kill me for this but I believe that using dry/liferock will slow down the maturation of a tank. While these rocks will certainly develop the beneficial bacteria needed for the ammonia cycle they do not introduce all the critters our ecosystems (IMO) need such as varieties of pods, sponges, algaes, worms, cuc critters, tunicates, and bacteria strains from the ocean. I think all these critters help in creating a natural balance in the tank.

If the leathers are not taking give it another couple of months for the tank to mature and try again. Good luck!

+1

motortrendz · Oct 22, 2019

vetteguy53081 said:
Leathers can be picky and do best in moderate lighting and flow. Reduce whites a little bit and verify salinity as they seldom thrive well in salinity below 1024.
Try squirting at the mushroom with turkey baster and direct water flow towards them, not directly at them.
What are your other parameters?

I was gonna say just about all this as well, other than the salinity part. I have a full mixed reef, leathers to acros and of course a few torches. So balance is the key on my part, my toadstools love light and flow. But not too much. So mud was up and out fo direct flow but enough you can see the polyps sway.. (Someone used this analogy the other day and I love it bc it's so fitting) like wheat in a field on a breezy day.. my sinulara are more of a lower flow out of direct light ...

But as said above use a Turkey baster and blow off the cap and bodies. When they dont open for a few days they can get an algae film over them which will not allow them to open up. I have to do that once in a while even in my tank.

Katrina71 · Oct 22, 2019

I have several leathers. I find the cabbage sheds the most. I do use a turkey baster to replicate what happens in the ocean to help him shed.

mta_morrow · Oct 22, 2019

Jakelester97 said:
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Right I’m very new to this, still learning as I go! It’s hard to decipher what’s correct and what’s not

FWIW, nitrates 12-16, PO4-.06-.12. All corals happy for a long time, especially leathers. Moderate flow, lighting is 180-200 par

Katrina71 · Oct 22, 2019

My nitrates are 10. I think they may thrive in "dirtier" water.

vetteguy53081 · Oct 22, 2019

Katrina71 said:
My nitrates are 10. I think they may thrive in "dirtier" water.

In general dirty water is acceptable for many leather, kenyii and xenia UNTIL you get to the mixed reef whereas conditions change and You have balance it with SPS and those numbers have to more optimum especially with leather that releases toxins

Katrina71 · Oct 22, 2019

vetteguy53081 said:
In general dirty water is acceptable for many leather, kenyii and xenia UNTIL you get to the mixed reef whereas conditions change and You have balance it with SPS and those numbers have to more optimum especially with leather that releases toxins

I'm sure you are correct. My son's tank is mixed and his nitrates are the same. So far, no issues. I'm actually interested in how that will play out.

vetteguy53081 · Oct 22, 2019

Katrina71 said:
I'm sure you are correct. My son's tank is mixed and his nitrates are the same. So far, no issues. I'm actually interested in how that will play out.

Have him run ChemiPure Blue and he may never encounter this

Katrina71 · Oct 22, 2019

vetteguy53081 said:
Have him run ChemiPure Blue and he may never encounter this

We do.

mta_morrow · Oct 22, 2019

So for my reactor experiment where I converted it to be a scrubber, yesterday was day 50 after starting it up with a few smudges of GHA. Can’t believe how fast it grew! Cleaned it all out and put it back in the sump!