Fishgirl2393 Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 OK, so my skimmer is still working (I'm still going to have to upgrade soon). I have a few questions though. My lights are two 12,000K T5HO (Wavepoint), one actinic (Wavepoint), and one "Reef Wave" super violet 03 actinic 420. So, do I need more "blue" or is it OK? Most people have been saying it looks white (which it does) but I don't know what needs to be done. Next question... my GSP have never looked green. I have never found that my phosphates are high, but I have SMALL amounts of hair algae here and there, so what should I do? I want my tank to look good and I'm tired of it looking bad. So, any tips would be nice. Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 You don't NEED anything other than just light. Use whatever looks best to you, but I would highly recommend using ATI or Giesemann bulbs. Two ATI Coral Plus and two Blue Plus, or two Aquablue Coral and two Actinic Blue, respectively. And on skimmers, you're going to get what you pay for. You've got a shitty skimmer because you bought whatever was cheap. Buy quality and you will not have the same issues. Reef Octopus makes good quality HOB skimmers. Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 You don't NEED anything other than just light. Use whatever looks best to you, but I would highly recommend using ATI or Giesemann bulbs. Two ATI Coral Plus and two Blue Plus, or two Aquablue Coral and two Actinic Blue, respectively. And on skimmers, you're going to get what you pay for. You've got a shitty skimmer because you bought whatever was cheap. Buy quality and you will not have the same issues. Reef Octopus makes good quality HOB skimmers. What about the water problems. I know that many people run tanks without skimmers so what is going on there? Is it the reason my hairy mushrooms have been bleaching periodically (the shrooms bleaching has never made sense since I don't change the lights or anything and it seems really random so if you could help with that, I'd appreciate it)? Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 What about the water problems. I know that many people run tanks without skimmers so what is going on there? Is it the reason my hairy mushrooms have been bleaching periodically (the shrooms bleaching has never made sense since I don't change the lights or anything and it seems really random so if you could help with that, I'd appreciate it)? Easy fix for that, run better chemical filtration or do large (50%+) water changes. I recommend using ROX 0.8 carbon in small amounts, change it every couple of weeks. A better skimmer would also make a difference in nutrient export. The particular mushrooms bleaching could be any number of things, down to even just being those mushrooms. If you aren't sure, do a few large (50%+) water changes to 'reset' your water quality, increase your chemical filtration, and get a better skimmer. 2 Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 Should I switch to GFO instead of PhosGuard? I know some people are NOT happy with phosguard. Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Should I switch to GFO instead of PhosGuard? I know some people are NOT happy with phosguard. Did they have valid complaints? I don't know of any that have any qualitative data other than when Randy Holmes-Farley did his test. Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 Did they have valid complaints? I don't know of any that have any qualitative data other than when Randy Holmes-Farley did his test. I don't know for sure. Kat said not long ago that it wasn't working well for her and I've seen similar complaints. I guess I just need to test and find out if it is the problem or not... But I figure it HAS to be high because of the algae growth. Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 I don't know for sure. Kat said not long ago that it wasn't working well for her and I've seen similar complaints. I guess I just need to test and find out if it is the problem or not... But I figure it HAS to be high because of the algae growth. Phosguard has measurable adsorption. It tells on the website how much volume is needed to remove 1ppm phosphate in a set volume of water, follow that guide and it won't steer you wrong. Unless you've got a reactor, GFO is almost useless, as it clumps up when wet. 2 Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 OK, thanks! I'm going to do a water change ASAP (hopefully tonight) and get the phosphate tested soon too. I still have more PhosGuard so I can always add more if I need to. My clove polyps have grown in the past few weeks (more polyps) and I think my zoas are growing too but I'm not sure. Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Just did a 6-gallon water change (with AquaVitro Salinity sea salt and distilled water). Corals are for the most part still open and happy after it (kenya trees always get a little upset but soon perk back up). Hopefully my tank will start to look better with my larger water changes that I've been doing lately. Quote Link to comment
CronicReefer Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I would highly recommend Seachem Seagel to remove phosphates and for carbon filtration. It lasts about 3 months and has worked extremely well for me. Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 I used Seagel before but opted for each component individually because carbon exhausts before the Phosguard. I'm currently using Phosguard and carbon though because it seems to be a good combination. Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 I don't know what is going on. My new orange ric melted/turned to mush. It was on the bottom of the tank next to the green ric. Help! Quote Link to comment
afyounie Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 What kind of ricordia? Florida or Yuma? Yuma's tend to be more finiky than Florida's, but still are pretty resilient in my experience. Sounds like the new ric was shocked. Did you acclimate it well? I like to "drip" acclimate my corals. Mainly I put the new coral in a bowl with it's water then pour a little bit of my water into the bowl every few min until its full. Did you turn down your lights and acclimate it to the new lights? This is my problem with all my stoney corals at the moment. I don't acclimate them to the light and they start to fade a couple days after I introduce them. Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 I didn't light acclimate it. It is a florida. It has been in there for a couple of weeks now. Do you think it is light or something else? There is still a piece left but not much... Oh and my lights are odyssea t5HO and the LFS I got the ric at uses the Fluval Sea led fixture over that particular tank. Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 My orange ricordias are dicks... LOL that is... I bought a blue, a green, and an orange and the orange melted but the rest are going strong. I just have 1 tiny baby orange left now. Quote Link to comment
afyounie Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I have an orange and a blue Florida ric. The blue has split about 3-4 times since I bought it. The orange hasn't split yet, but keeps getting bigger. It sounds like you might have shocked it with the light. Going from LED to T5 was probably a decently large change in what it was used to, causing it to melt. All you can do is live and learn. To keep coral, you gotta keep consistency and that applies to water quality, light, flow, and so on. This is why I only run a skimmer and have a refugium. Simple and easy. Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 Would others agree? I don't have any PAR readings from my fixture but many say it is a "weak" T5HO so I never thought I'd have issues like too much light for shrooms. Quote Link to comment
CronicReefer Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Do you dose iodine at all? This can sometimes cause ricordea to melt as they can be sensitive to high iodine levels. They also do better in stronger lighting than most mushroom coral so I highly doubt your lighting being to strong is an issue (I personally use 46W of LED on my 29g and have a ricordia yuma). Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 I do not dose iodine (or anything else). I have a ricordea right next to the one that is melting that looks amazing (and I've had it since late May). Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 So, now today (and last night) two other mushroom corals are closed up (the red one which is a regular mushroom and the green ricordea). What is going on!!!??? I thought it was POSSIBLE that there was some sort of contamination from the external air for the skimmer, so I added carbon last night, but I would also think that the other corals would be closed up as well if it were contamination. It's just the shrooms. I need this figured out ASAP because I don't want to lose these corals. Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Just tested my water (every test I own) and here are the results (brands listed also)... Ammonia (API): 0ppm Nitrite (API and Seachem): 0ppm Nitrate (Seachem): 3-4ppm pH (API): 8.0-8.1 Alk (API): 8dKH Calcium (Salifert): 465 Specific Gravity (Instant Ocean hydrometer): 1.025 Temp (glass thermometer): 78F So, what's going on? Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 OK, so I'm leaning towards some type of predator (any ideas as to what?) but I'm not ruling out bacterial infection (though it seems odd since they are not freshly fragged or anything) or disease (what kind do you think?) because I got home after only a couple of hours of being gone and one mushroom that was UNAFFECTED or BARELY affected when I left was half gone when I got back! That is scary fast if it is a disease or bacteria. I haven't introduced ANYTHING since the orange ricordea. Any ideas? I have the shrooms separated in a breeder net in the tank (if it is a predator, I figure that would work) right now. Quote Link to comment
CronicReefer Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Found this while reading an article on ricordea. "If the coral gets cut, it becomes more susceptible to bacterial infections which are known to melt Ricordea overnight." Maybe something unknown in your sandbed or a member of your cuc put a cut into the one that melted overnight. Quote Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted October 7, 2014 Author Share Posted October 7, 2014 I don't think it is that because it is several from different areas of the tank. I am still leaning towards some type of predator (I haven't seen my peppermint shrimp in a LONG time but I also haven't found it dead so it might have decided that coral tastes good for all I know). Quote Link to comment
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