Newly purchased Corals

[Chrisc0930]

I recently purchased some new corals, they came in the mail from live aquaria last week Tuesday. My concern is they still haven't opened up. I got two Duncans and one Gorgonian ill show pictures below. The gorgonian two nights ago had one polyp bloom and the next day the polyp retracted and one different one bloomed. Today, none are bloomed. The two duncans seem to come out VERY little then retract again. In one of the pictures below you will see one of my Duncans has a second branch which is blooming, but the main is still hidden. My question is, how long will it take for them to acclimate, do they take longer when they are shipped vs picking them up at the LFS? I have a 14 day guarantee in which love aquaria already mentioned they would take them back if they didn't bloom by the 14th day but I'm hoping to avoid shipping them back if I can. They don't look sick to me, what indicators should I be looking for if they are getting sick?

 

[Wendy8184]

How did you acclimate them? What are water parameters? Gorgonia are hard to keep. I had one of those long ago and it didnt live very long. The duncans dont look very good though... those are much easier. If acclimated properly and water is good i would think they would be open more. What lighting do you have them under? Flow? More info would be helpful.

 

[Chrisc0930]

How did you acclimate them? What are water parameters? Gorgonia are hard to keep. I had one of those long ago and it didnt live very long. The duncans dont look very good though... those are much easier. If acclimated properly and water is good i would think they would be open more. What lighting do you have them under? Flow? More info would be helpful.

My parameters are great ive tested them daily from the day i introduced them. Ive had a gorgonian before it did well before an algae attack i had. Water flow is pretty good everything else moves wonderfully. They used to be open in the light ive since moved them to more shade and have been getting better results. From what i understand duncans "stems" will deteriorate no signs of that infact they are a radiant green. I acclimated using a drip method. When they were delivered though they were delivered to the wrong house, took me hours to pick them up but the guy who got them kept them in doors for me. Thats why im feeling a lil iffy.

 

[kwandrsn]

Some corals take a long time to adjust. I've never ordered thru the mail but I have a green candy cane that looks fine but isn't extending its feeders at night yet.

 

[Chrisc0930]

Some corals take a long time to adjust. I've never ordered thru the mail but I have a green candy cane that looks fine but isn't extending its feeders at night yet.

Its been a week today

 

[kwandrsn]

Are they bleaching out? my Duncan took about a week to adjust and that is with it coming from my lfs. I say give it a few more days then maybe giving live aquaria a call of there is only a 14 day guarantee

 

[kwandrsn]

What are your parameters? Lighting, filtration ect

 

[Chrisc0930]

Are they bleaching out? my Duncan took about a week to adjust and that is with it coming from my lfs. I say give it a few more days then maybe giving live aquaria a call of there is only a 14 day guarantee

Not from what i see. They are already aware of my concern they said it wouldnt be a problem to return. I just hope i dont have to.

 

[Chrisc0930]

What are your parameters? Lighting, filtration ect

My parameters are great, I've tested every single day since they were introduced, there no fluctuation anywhere. Like I said before when I first introduced them they were in direct light, since I moved them to more shaded areas I've seen some improvement, not much though. Just a peak here and there but not a full bloom, they do peak out every day, they just don't fully blossom.

 

[kwandrsn]

Ok well if you tell us what your parameters actually are and what type of lighting and what not it would be useful. But yeah they may just not have made the trip and maybe they can get you some more. I'm a little leery of ordering coral online but I will have to to be able to get some of the stuff I want

My Duncan and my gargonian love medium to high light and medium high flow

 

[kwandrsn]

If they are trying to come out they are probably just getting used to your tank imo

 

[Chrisc0930]

Ok well if you tell us what your parameters actually are and what type of lighting and what not it would be useful. But yeah they may just not have made the trip and maybe they can get you some more. I'm a little leery of ordering coral online but I will have to to be able to get some of the stuff I want

Nitrate and nitrite 0 ppm, ammonia 0 ppm, sg 1.023, temp 78, pH 8.2 I added a calcium and iodine supplement but very little because I don't like adding chems to my tank. Haven't gotten to test their levels yet, I'll test those at the LFS tomorrow. I have a marine land reef capable LED. I know it works well because I had a carpet anemone that did really well in there. I got rid of it because it kept eating my fish.

 

[kwandrsn]

Ok well test your calcium, kh, and phosphates

Phosphates should be 0
And I try to keep my calcium at 420 and kh at 10

I wouldn't dose calcium our anything without having it tested.

Yeah the leds are probably ok. You will get several opinions. I run dual PCs and I get told I can't grow much coral but my tank is deep and I have mushrooms, soft corals,lps and sps and have not ran into any problems yet

 

[Chrisc0930]

Ok well test your calcium, kh, and phosphates

Phosphates should be 0
And I try to keep my calcium at 420 and kh at 10

I wouldn't dose calcium our anything without having it tested.

Yeah the leds are probably ok. You will get several opinions. I run dual PCs and I get told I can't grow much coral but my tank is deep and I have mushrooms, soft corals,lps and sps and have not ran into any problems yet

Ill be sure to get the phosphates tested tomorrow as well. We'll see if everything checks out

 

[kwandrsn]

Keep us updated

 

[Chrisc0930]

Keep us updated

One small update, I turned on my blue light for night viewing and the bigger Duncan I have actually peeked out more than it ever has, not fully blossomed. Looks like it was looking to just very slowly, but then one of my hermit crabs crawled on it and it retracted again :\ stupid hermit crab! Ph and if it helps, I completely forgot but I have a phosphate sponge to keep my levels in check

 

[kwandrsn]

The phosphate pads help a little. Just have to keep them changed out regularly. I used deep blue I think the brand is. I used their nitrate pad and the phosphate pad.

Not sure if they work I know the nitrate one doesn't lol . And my phosphates were 0.5 and I stopped running carbon and added pad and now the are 0

 

[Chrisc0930]

The phosphate pads help a little. Just have to keep them changed out regularly. I used deep blue I think the brand is. I used their nitrate pad and the phosphate pad.

Not sure if they work I know the nitrate one doesn't lol . And my phosphates were 0.5 and I stopped running carbon and added pad and now the are 0

Are you suggesting that I move my carbon filter? Will that cause my tank to cycle again?

 

[Chrisc0930]

Are you suggesting that I move my carbon filter? Will that cause my tank to cycle again?

Remove*

 

[kwandrsn]

Well I would not use it... You want your beneficial bacteria to form on the rocks not the filter. Its different than freshwater tanks. I, would buy some polyfloss out something similar to run as a filter and maybe put it in with the carbon for a little while then remove carbon if your worried about it. it may cause a bacterial bloom and your water may be,a tiny bit cloudy but I think you would be ok to remove it