My Bubble tip look like S#!% Plz Help

[ChromeVyper]

About a week ago me and my wife picked up a rose bubble tip Nem because it something weve had our eye on for a while. I know I'll probably get some flak for this but my tank is onky 3 months old and when it was cycling I used starter bacteria instead of the typical long method to jumpstart the process. I have coraline algae starting to pop up and all my levels are pristine says my LFS. 

 

It keeps going in shaded spots, inflates then deflates and then sometimes looks straight up dead.

 

What do you guys think is up based on these photos????

 

 

 

 

[KMitch]

Can you tell us more -- size of tank, type of lights, how much flow? Do you know your water parameters, and can you share them? 

[ChromeVyper]

3 minutes ago, KMitch said:

Can you tell us more -- size of tank, type of lights, how much flow? Do you know your water parameters, and can you share them? 

36 gallon bow front tank, about 25-30 inches deep.

 

I have viparspectra 165w LED light suspended about 12" from the tank. Keep my blues at 30 and whites at 10.

 

Water parameters are: 0 nitrite, 2.0 nitrate, 8.3 ph, 0 ammonia. (My LFS tested my water and just said everything was great so I dont have the exact stats for everything)

 

 

[KMitch]

Ok, I don't know much about that light, but is the 30 and 10 for your blues and whites referring to the color or the intensity output?

 

There's a lot more to water quality than just those parameters, so if you don't have test kits yourself, I would recommend investing in some. After the tank is cycled, Nitrite is sort of a useless thing to test because it shouldn't spike again. Nitrate is one to keep an eye on, but it seems you're in a fine range. 

 

What else is in the tank? Fish, corals, etc? When was the last time you did a water change? What's your salinity at? What filter media do you use?

[ChromeVyper]

13 minutes ago, KMitch said:

Ok, I don't know much about that light, but is the 30 and 10 for your blues and whites referring to the color or the intensity output?

 

There's a lot more to water quality than just those parameters, so if you don't have test kits yourself, I would recommend investing in some. After the tank is cycled, Nitrite is sort of a useless thing to test because it shouldn't spike again. Nitrate is one to keep an eye on, but it seems you're in a fine range. 

 

What else is in the tank? Fish, corals, etc? When was the last time you did a water change? What's your salinity at? What filter media do you use?

I have a banded shrimp, 2 horseshoe crabs, like 10-15 hermits and 2 clownfish. I have a large wall hammer, a medium sized torch coral, one rockflower Nem, duncan coral frag and then the RBTA. 

 

For filter media I have just the standard seachem media that came with my tidal 55. Its probably coming up on the time for me to get better media also. 

 

As for the values on my light, yes those are the intensities.

[ChromeVyper]

I have the API saltwater test kit but let's be honest, we all know how reliable that one is...

[Tired]

Get rid of your horseshoe crabs. They grow to the size of dinner plates, and will quickly starve in all but the most massive of aquariums. 

 

What did it look like when you got it? 

[KMitch]

So not related to the anemone per say, but at some point the horseshoe crabs will pose a problem for that size tank. They get pretty big, and they also like water a little cooler than the typical reef tank is kept. 

 

Back to the anemone - what did you base those light intensities on? Considering how high you have the light mounted off the water and the depth of the tank, I wouldn't be surprised if very little meaningful light is getting down to the sand bed. BTAs like a good amount of light.

 

It looks from the pictures like the anemone has been floating around the tank and hasn't taken hold anywhere. Is that right? That's usually a sign that it's not finding a place where it's happy.

 

How's the flow in the tank? Salinity? Water change?

[ChromeVyper]

So for my lights if I have white set any higher than 10 algae breaks out like crazy. It's a new light so I ddnt want to start it out on my tank with maxed values. Figured I would ramp both intensities up over the course of a few months.

 

As for the height from the tank I actually have a mangrove in there that is kind of tall but I can end up dropping the light lower if I need to. Last water change was a 25% water change about 5 days ago and the salinity is a tad high. I can check the exact value when I get home.

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

2 hours ago, ChromeVyper said:

36 gallon bow front tank, about 25-30 inches deep.

 

I have viparspectra 165w LED light suspended about 12" from the tank. Keep my blues at 30 and whites at 10.

 

Water parameters are: 0 nitrite, 2.0 nitrate, 8.3 ph, 0 ammonia. (My LFS tested my water and just said everything was great so I dont have the exact stats for everything)

 

 

I have the same light. One problem may be that it’s not getting enough light. I keep my blues on 60, while my whites on 20. 

[ChromeVyper]

2 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

I have the same light. One problem may be that it’s not getting enough light. I keep my blues on 60, while my whites on 20. 

Do you think I should raise my value to match urs and drop my light closer to the tank?

[ChromeVyper]

Just came back home after a couple hours but this thing hasnt moved an inch. It's still deflated and honestly looks dead. Idk heres another photo (tank lights are off for th night) what do you guys think?: 

 

 

[KMitch]

It doesn't look dead (yet), but I think it's probably starved of light. I would try either raising it up in the tank (you could punch a bunch of holes in something like a glad Tupperware and prop that high on the rocks to see if being closer to the light helps) or increasing the intensity on the light. 

 

You should be able to strike a balance between having the intensity of the light turned high enough to provide sufficient PAR levels across the tank while also not having algae outbreaks. If you instantly get lots of algae the second the light turns up, that is a sign of a problem elsewhere -- possibly phosphates or something else you aren't testing for.

 

Are you using RO water?

[ChromeVyper]

I get saltwater from my LFS, but when I top off my tank I use RO water

[ChromeVyper]

1 hour ago, KMitch said:

It doesn't look dead (yet), but I think it's probably starved of light. I would try either raising it up in the tank (you could punch a bunch of holes in something like a glad Tupperware and prop that high on the rocks to see if being closer to the light helps) or increasing the intensity on the light. 

 

You should be able to strike a balance between having the intensity of the light turned high enough to provide sufficient PAR levels across the tank while also not having algae outbreaks. If you instantly get lots of algae the second the light turns up, that is a sign of a problem elsewhere -- possibly phosphates or something else you aren't testing for.

 

Are you using RO water?

Only as top off. I get salt water from my LFS

[Clown79]

Its not happy. And it may have nothing to do with your tank necessarily. How long has it been in the tank?

 

I would raise the blue intensity slightly every week. I wouldn't go up all at once because that will negatively effect your other corals.

[ChromeVyper]

Just now, Clown79 said:

Its not happy. And it may have nothing to do with your tank necessarily. How long has it been in the tank?

 

I would raise the blue intensity slightly every week. I wouldn't go up all at once because that will negatively effect your other corals.

I've had it for 6 days now. It also hasnt found a spot in the tank yet. I'm sure that's only adding to its stress. My biggest worry now is that it doesn't make it.

2 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Its not happy. And it may have nothing to do with your tank necessarily. How long has it been in the tank?

 

I would raise the blue intensity slightly every week. I wouldn't go up all at once because that will negatively effect your other corals.

Also if I raise my blues, should I raise my whites as well?

[KMitch]

Unfortunately this is the problem with lights like this — there’s not a lot of scientific data on them or measurements of how they perform at different intensities. I would be totally making up numbers if I gave you a recommendation for how to set the settings on that light. But I assume it’s too low in the settings just based on the depth of the tank and height above the water. 

Like clown said, usually you don’t want to just crank the light way up because it can be really harsh to the coral. But I think you need more light getting to the BTA, as it is a photosynthetic animal. 
 

Did you ever determine your salinity?
 

As a general comment, I would recommend you do a little more research on stuff before you buy it. The LFS store employees can sometimes be spotty in knowledge and they always want to sell something. If they sold you things like horseshoe crabs for that tank, then I would be pretty skeptical of their recommendations going forward. Doing things like using Dr Tims to cycle the tank is fine — many of us do the same thing. But I get the impression that the LFS store is saying “yep that’ll work for your tank” more often than they should. BTAs need a good amount of light, and you should know that you are capable of supplying that before putting it in the tank. 
 

It’s also possible the BTA keeps getting bumped by the horseshoe crabs, which could be making it irritated. 
 

I am not trying to be a jerk —- we have all had this phase in our journey where we bought something we shouldn’t have or weren’t using a piece of equipment correctly. So recognize this is where your at and try to navigate out. 
 

Is there a local reef club in your area? A club or even a LFS might be able to rent you a thing called a PAR meter. Using that, you can figure out the correct settings for your light and take out the guesswork. 

[ChromeVyper]

As for my salinity, yeah it's a little high. A solid 1.030... yeesh

 

And, Yeah I'm part of a couple groups on Facebook for my area.

 

The flow in my tank is about moderate to high. I tried moving it around to make the flow a little less but it's not really working. I read from a couple sources that it should be fine, when it settles down it just wont have the iconic bubbles u usually see on a BTA.

 

Also I chose the horshoe crabs well aware of the size they get. It takes years for them to reach maturity, typically around 8 years before they're about a foot wide. I bought them as part of a clean up crew and I did a lot of research before adding them to my tank. I dont intend on them living in there forever as I'm in an apartment currently and should be buying a house this year or next year. Once I move, I can supply them with a larger tank.

[Tired]

Your salinity is very likely your problem. 

 

How big of a tank are you planning to get? As far as I'm aware, horseshoe crabs need tanks the size of a small bathroom to do well. Frankly, I don't think they should be in the trade at all. 

[Clown79]

Your light is more than plenty for the bta. They like moderate to high lighting.

 

The viparspectra and mars aqua are used by many hobbyists even with sps tanks.

 

You don't have to raise the whites. Many run low white settings.

 

It may not even be the lighting that's the issue.

 

The parameters in your tank(relying on lfs testing and not doing your own tests is not really recommended) it could have a damaged foot, it could be sick....

 

You need to slowly get that salinity to 1.025 or 1.026 and keep it stable.

 

Alk, ca, mag, nitrate, and phos test kits should be a staple stock in your home with weekly testing on a new tank.

 

Without knowing your parameters, any fluctuations of parameters, it will be difficult to determine any issue you may run into with corals/system

 

Unfortunately the horseshoe crabs will likely not make it. They are not recommended for home aquariums and nano tanks simply don't provide them with enough food to survive, even small ones.

6 minutes ago, Tired said:

Your salinity is very likely your problem. 

 

How big of a tank are you planning to get? As far as I'm aware, horseshoe crabs need tanks the size of a small bathroom to do well. Frankly, I don't think they should be in the trade at all. 

Yup, they need huge systems like public aquariums have.

[ChromeVyper]

Alright, thank you guys for your opinions 😃 I'll look into getting those test kits. Are there any you guys would recommend specifically? Ik the API ones suck.

[dling]

How the bta doing ? Any new updates or photos ?

Hope it's doing good. Clown and brs together is a very cool thing.