Im thinking of starting corals and such...easy to moderate ones though. i have 440 watts of VHO lighting in a 2 year old tank. Have about 150 lbs of LR and 90 lbs of Sand as substrate. Im thinking of doing xenia...have heard these are easy. Any special advice other than the obvious - good water levels? I monitor the essentials (trites, trates, etc) and sometime AK and CA. Anything else? I just want to prepare myself before I jump into this. I think I will then venture out into polyps as well.
Xenia
- Thread starter fishman
- Start date
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lando
Aquarium Advice Addict
I do not know if I would consider xenia an easy coral. It does not ship well and it takes some care in acclimenting. However, once you get it and acclimate it, it tends to grow very well in most tanks. Keep in mind that is still some what of a mystery coral. It can do great in one tank and terrible in another similar tank. Getting captive-raised xeinia will help the survival. they tend to do better then wild caught. Some think that iodine is very importat for xenia. You must be very careful so you do not over-dose this. I did notice a huge increase in my xenia growth while a I was dosing the Reef Pack from SeaChem. It seemed to do wonders. Good Luck...Lando
Nate C
Aquarium Advice Activist
My Xenia grows quite fast. I suspect that some strains are much heartier than others. If you can find some locally from someone where they are doing well then you will have a better chance than mail order and/or the LFS.
I'm running 360 watts VHO on my 90 gal (3' bulbs I found used - I'm planning to upgrade to 4' bulbs for xmas). The tank is 48x18x24. Running for 4months.
My frag was roughly 3" tall by 4" diameter when they were cut for me. In 3 weeks it has doubled in size. I don't spot feed them at all - they only get what the fish and hermits don't eat.
I dose 1/10 the recommended amount of iodine and 1/4 the recommended amount of calc.
hth -
Nate C
I'm running 360 watts VHO on my 90 gal (3' bulbs I found used - I'm planning to upgrade to 4' bulbs for xmas). The tank is 48x18x24. Running for 4months.
My frag was roughly 3" tall by 4" diameter when they were cut for me. In 3 weeks it has doubled in size. I don't spot feed them at all - they only get what the fish and hermits don't eat.
I dose 1/10 the recommended amount of iodine and 1/4 the recommended amount of calc.
hth -
Nate C
SaltwaterTeen
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I have a pink pom pom xenia in my tank. I have 440watts of VHO and 110watts of PC. My xenia is about 1" diameter, and I have had it for about 4 weeks now, It does grow quite quick, but it takes time. I keep my xenian in ph of 8.4, alk of 4 meq/l and calcium of about 450. They do have mood swings quite often, like one day they are pumping like crazy, and the next they hardly pump at all. I dont feed nothing to mine, they get their food out of nutrients in the water. They like tanks with some nitrate, because they are sometimes found by the sewer entry pipes in the ocean 
HTH
HTHMy Xenia elongata (or so I think anyway) is doing just great in my 55gal with 220W of PC lighting. My Ca is on the low side (400), Ph of 8.3, no nitrates (or I need a better test kit ), 10dKH. I'm working on raising the Ca, since I used IO salt to start with. I've had it for about 3 weeks now, and its already started splitting off one of its sub colonies.
I also had a hermit which rested in the colony at some point, but apparently the xenia thought his shell was a rock, so it attached its self as it was slowly splitting. I was wondering why that hermit hadn't moved for about a week 8O
My Xenia was the first coral I kept. I have since added some green centered tan button polyps, which seem to like the tank as well.
), 10dKH. I'm working on raising the Ca, since I used IO salt to start with. I've had it for about 3 weeks now, and its already started splitting off one of its sub colonies.I also had a hermit which rested in the colony at some point, but apparently the xenia thought his shell was a rock, so it attached its self as it was slowly splitting. I was wondering why that hermit hadn't moved for about a week 8O
My Xenia was the first coral I kept. I have since added some green centered tan button polyps, which seem to like the tank as well.
Well all of this helps me for sure. Im just leary of jumping out there and doing this (my first coral). Im a little concerned about the leve of CA and AK in my tank as my calcium doesnt seem to want to get above 380 and AK at 2.5-3...dont want to put a coral in there to have it die.
Nate C
Aquarium Advice Activist
My calc varies from day to day from 350 to 400 and the xenia and the rest of my corals (a few montipora, and several mushrooms) are growing nicely.
Personaly (I'm still new at this) I don't think it is necessary to stack your calc levels much over the 400 mark.
Re Alkalinity, my test measures on the dKH scale - so not sure what the equivalent to your test is - however mine stays between 10 and 12 dKH. I do not dose anything at all to buffer or raise Alk, or PH.
I have 140lbs LS, adn 170lbs LR fwiw.
Hope this helps.
Personaly (I'm still new at this) I don't think it is necessary to stack your calc levels much over the 400 mark.
Re Alkalinity, my test measures on the dKH scale - so not sure what the equivalent to your test is - however mine stays between 10 and 12 dKH. I do not dose anything at all to buffer or raise Alk, or PH.
I have 140lbs LS, adn 170lbs LR fwiw.
Hope this helps.
I guess one main reason Im nervous about adding anything like corals to my tank is (if you will look back at some of my prev posts) I had to switch from a 125 to a 100 gallon tank due to a leak. Since that time, (2.5 months ago) my LR has been fading and have had phophates at .5. I guess I see this as an instability. I did when switching go from 6 month old VHO bulbs to new ones AND the new lights are about 2 inches from the water and closer to the rock...I assume the new lights have bleached the water....wish I were still using my 125 tank and I would add corals in a heartbeat
Nate C
Aquarium Advice Activist
If you have concerns about your lighting then holding off is a good idea.
Phos could be from dieoff, source water, or food / fish wastes - the LR shouldn't be fading under VHOs, but if you suspect that, then try reducing your photoperiod down to 10 or even 8 hrs per day.
Any other phos signs (hair algae, cyano?)
Phos could be from dieoff, source water, or food / fish wastes - the LR shouldn't be fading under VHOs, but if you suspect that, then try reducing your photoperiod down to 10 or even 8 hrs per day.
Any other phos signs (hair algae, cyano?)
I dont doubt my lighting at all...what I do have a concern about is a couple of things. 1) I have heard that when you expose LR to air (from changing tanks), it takes a while for the colors to start up again. Wonder if this is what it is in my case?
2) I dont have hair algea that I know of. However on the back wall of the tank, I do have a "film" of white stuff is the only way I know to describe it. It flows or moves with the water flow from the pumps.
My rocks that were beeming with purples and pinks are now white almost. However the feather dusters and such on the rock are really looking good. All of my water parameters (trates trites and such) are perfect. PH is 8.0-8.2 and temp is usually around 80. Whats weird is the portion of rock that still looks good, is towards the bottom of the tank and on the underside of the rock...in other words not exposed to the light...why would that be?
Also the base rock that I put in there when I changed tanks has like "grey" spots all over it...never seen this before. The only thing I have done differently when I changed tanks is put calupera in the sump/fuge which is slowing growing..
2) I dont have hair algea that I know of. However on the back wall of the tank, I do have a "film" of white stuff is the only way I know to describe it. It flows or moves with the water flow from the pumps.
My rocks that were beeming with purples and pinks are now white almost. However the feather dusters and such on the rock are really looking good. All of my water parameters (trates trites and such) are perfect. PH is 8.0-8.2 and temp is usually around 80. Whats weird is the portion of rock that still looks good, is towards the bottom of the tank and on the underside of the rock...in other words not exposed to the light...why would that be?
Also the base rock that I put in there when I changed tanks has like "grey" spots all over it...never seen this before. The only thing I have done differently when I changed tanks is put calupera in the sump/fuge which is slowing growing..
Nate C
Aquarium Advice Activist
Interesting...
The white stuff at least doesn't sound like hair algae to me.
I don't think that exposing LR to air for a super-short period of time would bleach it out - mine gets exposed when I do a big water change. Maybe the transition from the old tank to new tank could 'zap' it a little, if so it should come back in time. How long since the move?
Not sure what the grey spots are - also don't know why the underside of your rock would retain more color than the top - that is odd.
If you are able to post a pic there are lots of others on the board who may be able to id.
If your dusters are looking good that is for sure a good sign.
The white stuff at least doesn't sound like hair algae to me.
I don't think that exposing LR to air for a super-short period of time would bleach it out - mine gets exposed when I do a big water change. Maybe the transition from the old tank to new tank could 'zap' it a little, if so it should come back in time. How long since the move?
Not sure what the grey spots are - also don't know why the underside of your rock would retain more color than the top - that is odd.
If you are able to post a pic there are lots of others on the board who may be able to id.
If your dusters are looking good that is for sure a good sign.
Well I have talked to many people at LFS that say exposing LR to air shocks it like you said. When I changed from one tank to another, I lost about 40 gallons of water and had to use new RO water...dont know if this was a contributing factor either. I changed tanks about 2-2.5 months ago.
I cant seem to post a pic as when I upload them I get the message to resize them and i do this but it still doesnt allow me to upload. Wish I could post a pic.
The grey spots are on one of the older peices of rock and all of the new ones.
I have more feather dusters now that I did before the move for sure. i dont understand it either. Im hoping its not because the lights are so close to the water/rock...I wouldnt think so...otherwise why would the theory of more lighting hold up???
I cant seem to post a pic as when I upload them I get the message to resize them and i do this but it still doesnt allow me to upload. Wish I could post a pic.
The grey spots are on one of the older peices of rock and all of the new ones.
I have more feather dusters now that I did before the move for sure. i dont understand it either. Im hoping its not because the lights are so close to the water/rock...I wouldnt think so...otherwise why would the theory of more lighting hold up???
Nate C
Aquarium Advice Activist
How long ago did you move to the new tank? Sorry if you've already mentioned that... When you added the new RO water did you have a chance to pre-mix it?
Lastly, I will pm you my email address - if I can I will try to post the pic for you.
Nate
Lastly, I will pm you my email address - if I can I will try to post the pic for you.
Nate
austinsdad
Aquarium Advice Addict
Put it in a high place. If it does well it will spread to anything it touches. Mine has increased 20 fold in the 10 months I've had it and I've only got 4x65w PCs in a 75gtank.
Nate-thanks for the PM...I will get a pic.
I move the tank 2.5 months ago. And yes I mixed the RO water for about 1 week.
Austin-are you saying put the rock in a high place? The best pieces of rock with the pink still on it IS at the top... Also I have 5 PH in the tank for water movement...I have a lot of water circulation... I do see from time to time small spots of red here and there on the base rock as well as the PH but that is it...
I move the tank 2.5 months ago. And yes I mixed the RO water for about 1 week.
Austin-are you saying put the rock in a high place? The best pieces of rock with the pink still on it IS at the top... Also I have 5 PH in the tank for water movement...I have a lot of water circulation... I do see from time to time small spots of red here and there on the base rock as well as the PH but that is it...
austinsdad
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yeah, only because mine spreads so fast and will likely grow towards the light. I keep all mine in the top 3rd of my tank as much as possible. Some in heavy water flow, others in moderate to mild. All doing well.
Yeah I wish this was the answer. At this point I can only hope that the reason the rock is losing its color is because I exposed it to air. I have new lights, good water parameters, etc...and still have issues with this. Im thinking of doing Kalkwasser next. Plus Im going to change my RO filters too this weekend. I dont make a lot of water but a contributing factor could be the RO filters are done.. I have been using them for about a year....Its a Kent 65 gpd.
indy
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I've been looking for xenia forever. None of my lfs ever have it. Well, I found one that had 1 piece the size of a q-tip they wanted $35 for. But that's what I get for living in the midwest. As for the rock, I can't see exposing it to air for a few minutes causing that kind of die-off. My rocks and even soft corals are exposed for longer than that during water changes and they don't seem to suffer any ill effects. Moving from tank to tank with slightly different water will likely cause some die-off tho'. It should come back in time tho'.
Clown Monarch
Aquarium Advice FINatic
fishman said:
Good luck on that one.
