Star shaped moving critter

[bumblebee1976]

Thank you Thincat - I have no nitrates/nitrites or ammonia in the tank and wanted to wait before doing any water changes, to allow things to settle. The biorb filter cartridge contains resins which buffer and stabilise the water for a time but I am now ready for a water/filter change. My pH seems to have risen but I'm not sure over what period of time and why. Either way, it is now at a more suitable level for marines but it's the change which concerns me. Could it be uneaten food etc which has pushed it up? It is quite a hard one to read but I think it is 8.2 roughly, but was originally 8.0. The RO water I have has been standing and the temperature is fairly high at the moment with the hot weather, so do I need to heat it before adding it to the tank? I thought it would be as warm as the tank water but it is cooler, and I've read that the salinity will be different in cooler water. If I mix the salt as per instructions for a given quantity of water then surely it will be correct once it is warmed by the heater in the tank and mixed with the existing water? Or will this be an unacceptable change for my fish/inverts? I do have a heater in my garage but am loathed to use it because it is from my old tropical tank and I had problems with water quality in that tank. Reef One advised to rinse it in tapwater, so the chlorine kills off any harmful organisms. They thought that out of water, anything left on it from the other tank will have been destroyed anyway. I thought secondhand equipment alway's needed thorough cleaning before reuse. Please advise on how to do this water change smoothly. Thanks so much for your help.

[roka64]

Keep in mind, you pH will drop after lights out and rise after lights on, so make sure you are reading it around the same time every day. Plus, if your tank is still new, it will fluctuate as well. Stable pH is good, small swings are not bad and should not effect your tank.

[thincat]

uneaten food would lower your PH. Measure the temp. of your new water and see how close it is to your tank temp. One or two degrees is not much to worry about. anymore then that and a heat would be needed. Just wash the heater with a mild chlorine solution and flush it under water and air dry and it will be good to go. 8-8.2 is good PH. Don't worry to much about it. PWC will take care of it for now....

[bumblebee1976]

Thanks all. I can't say if the change was a swift one because I last tested a week or so before. I did do the test quite late in the evening so maybe that's why. I will check it during the day tomorrow, but all the inhabitants are fine so hopefully it was a slow change. The pH has risen not fallen.
How do I get a mild chlorine solution? Won't the chlorine in the tap water take care of the heater? I'm also guessing that being dried out will mean that any organisms will have died off. It took 24 hours to heat the water in my tank up to 24 degrees, when I set it up. The heater I can use for water changes is bigger though so will it be quicker, being a smaller volume of water? So, I can use the thermometer from the tank to check the temperature of the new RO water? Mind you, the sun is hot enough, maybe I should put it outside for a while to heat up tomorrow!! Would you recommend leaving the mixed salt for a few hours/overnight to allow the salt to be safely (fully) mixed? I don't want to shock the fish - I will use a funnel to add the new water to the tank to save disturbing them too much. Will they like the slightly cooler water, i.e. being that temperatures fluctuate in the sea? Just a few degrees though, I get it.
Thanks for all the help. Sorry to ask so many questions, I just want to get it right, since everything else has gone according to plan.

[Yellow Eye Tang]

The posts were really long here so forgive me if I'm repeating something all ready said. I just wanted to throw out there that any corals AND mushrooms will grow to all the rock in time connecting some of them together. Moving your rock to maintian your filter could over time eventually risk tearing the mushrooms or other coral you put in.

[bumblebee1976]

Thanks yellow eye tang - the mushrooms are on the top of what is actually an artificial 'live' rock, which covers the bubble tube and is only for display. Moving them will not break them because of where they are. What did you mean by connecting them together? The rock? Also, are they likely to reproduce by themselves if attached with resin to the rock? I have no choice but to move the rocks because if I don't I can't maintain my tank! I have noticed one of the mushrooms (a large one) lifting up on one side and exposing a stringy, fleshy base. Is it getting stung by the small anemone which has decided to make its home underneath do you think?

[Yellow Eye Tang]

The mushrooms have a foot like an anemone. Under the right circumstances the foot will split making two mushrooms and continue until you have tons of them. With mushrooms I dont know if Foot is the correct term for what it is but it will sometimes attach between two rocks forming them together. Anemones will move around using there foot. If it is near the mushroom it will not prefer to stay underneath as it needs light and minerals and food to survive. I bought 1 mushroom of each type. Here you can see a red one, purple one, and several ricordea.... they spread like crazy sometimes.

[bumblebee1976]

Thanks - what a fantastic picture! The reason I was asking about the mushroom is not because I am concerned with what the anemone is doing! I am wondering why the mushroom appears to be lifting up rather than remaining flat. I attached some of mine with marine epoxy (from the stalk that the mushroom came attached to). Will they still be able to reproduce with epoxy gluing them down?!

[thincat]

Originally Posted by roka64

sounds like asternia stars and sponges, but without a pic, it is just a guess.

+1...............

[bumblebee1976]

Just wondering what is +1.........?!
Thanks