thanks again !!

[Frogspawn]

hey guys just wanted to give u a update on my 30g reef setup. so many of u guys helped me out setting this thing up. and it has paid off greatly. since its ben up in runing i had added 1 false Clown and 1 pulsing xen. coral. and now my latest is a torch coral that my GF just had to have. so far so good. no problems and the pulsing xen has double in size in the past 2 weeks. let just hope the torch does just as good.
i have taken a water smaple to KOI and my waters testing out at
ammonia 0ppm
alkalinty 8.4
PH 8.0
calicum 400ppm
phosphates 0ppm
nitrates 5ppm
my only question would be the calicum. is 400ppm good or should it be more?
also how do u get hold fast epoxy putty to hold in water LOL i cant seem to get it to hold for nothing.

 

[tecwzrd]

IMO 400 ppm of ca is perfect and leaves little to error. Which brand of epoxy are you using?

 

[Devilishturtles]

Also, we demand an updated full tank shot

 

[Frogspawn]

its just says hold fast epoxy for 10$ so far not so good lol. and i wanted to know how u can tell if a torch coral is doing well. whats the signs of healthy corals. i keep my SG at or as close to 1.025 as much as i can. and also i see my 2 corals i have in there now require moderate water flow. how much is moderate and how could i tell if there getting to much? my pulsing Zenia some times goes into hideing and i think its cause i have him in a high water flow i think? is that possible for him to do that?

 

[melosu58]

my only question would be the calicum. is 400ppm good or should it be more?

400 is great on the calcium. Here is a good Link on where it and other trace elements need to be.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

 

[Frogspawn]

thats cool i was worried about the corals in there. i didnt know if they were going to be ok or not. i guess their in good health. i dont know any signs of stress when it comes to coral. but my clown fish is doing great. i was wondering if he would ever host the torch coral . but fom what i read it might not be such a good idea if he does. it might harm the coral. is this true? or has any ones elses clown hosted a torch? i was thinking of getting a anemone, mabey a carpet . but i think i might wait another month befor doing that. give everthing some more time. i have a 150sunpod hqi light on my 30g would that be more then plenty to get one for later? also what else could i have a far as coral?

 

[Devilishturtles]

Is the epoxy made for underwater use? If not, that is why it isn't holding.

With the torch coral, look for good extension on the polyps and a good overall color. They are a pretty hardy coral, so I wouldn't worry about them. Your xenia does like a relatively lower flow, but can handle more. When the corals stop opening up big, look drab, etc. they that will be an indicator. Generally, you'll know when the corals aren't healthy.

My clowns host my torch coral. It has ups and downs I suppose. They have managed to kill off 4 of the 7 heads that the coral had, but they are still plugging away at the 3 that are left.

Here is a picture:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=11842&cat=500&ppuser=1656

and

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=11723&cat=500&ppuser=1656

About the anemone, I would definitley hold off for now on the anemone. Wait until your tank is upwards of a year old before you add one. As far as more corals, you have a fairly wide selection with your tank. Check out the www.liveaquaria.com pages for some general ideas of corals.

 

[Frogspawn]

yea i was just doing some research on the anemones and i seen where they require a well mature aquarium. wow. i wonder why that is? that could be the reason why all the LFS in my area cant seeem to house them for very long mabey? hmm . i do some more research on it. thats a good question. u said look for good extensions on the polyps. what are the polyps on the coral?

 

[melosu58]

Mine does not host a torch but it does host another LPS coral. A bubble coral.

 

[roka64]

Having a mature tank is helpful, because we have hopefully learned how to take care of it and all the parameters are pretty stable. For instance, it can take a few months just to get your pH stable. This would wreak havoc on an anenmoe.

 

[lando]

I applaud you on your progress Frogswan. the tank is coming together nicely. You can just never predict what clownfish will take something as a host. I have a pair of percs and they "time share" between my BTA, torch coral and hammer coral. They actually began using the torch as a host before the anemone. very unpredictable animals. If an anemone is in your future, I also suggest waiting a few months.

 

[Frogspawn]

thanks. but i think i might have spoke too soon. i dont know alot about corals and how they act or when they sleep? i think there might be something wrong now. i pointed my power heads away from my pulsing xenina and my torch because i though mabey they were getting to much flow. but i still see them both now curl up in a ball. but it dont always happen. only like at night and mabe once in the day. they will come out of it and be fine, one of the torchs heads are still out waving around and looks good the others (2) are in a ball. i dont know if this is the way the sleep or even if they sleep? i just checked my water spec's and every things in check. lights are on for 12hrs a day and off 12 hrs. is this normal if not wat could be wrong?
heres a pic. sorry its a little blurry but i cant seem to get this camera to work right.
i dont know what could be wrong. waters fine and i dont think it could be the hermits bothering it. i only have a few hermits. i really dont think i have any pest shrimp and if so i have never seen him in the past 2 months. could it have to do with him being new to the tank? very frustrated right now.

 

[Ziggy953]

I would cut the lighting back to about 8 hours of daylight. How often are you doing PWCs? I would recomend doing them at leaset every other week. Also does your water temp stay constant or does it go up and down? As little as a 3 degree swing up or down in a 12 hour period can cuase your corals to act like what you are describing.

 

[Frogspawn]

lol now at 1028pm the 2 heads came out and 1 other one that was out in the first place when in to hiding. . i do PWC every week to help keep ntrates low as close to 0 ppms as possible. i i have my temp set about 78 and i will ckeck to see if it swings a little. never though of that. and whats a good light time. i have them coming on at 8am and going off at 8pm. should i have them on at 8 and off at say 4pm? and if so how long do i keep it like this?

 

[Ziggy953]

I have my lights come on at Noon well one MH at noon the other at 12:30 and the they go off at 9:30 and 10:00pm. You don't have a thermometer on your tank? I monitor temp all the time on my tank.

 

[Frogspawn]

yea i have on in there. it kind floats around the tank to get a good temp. right now it reads 78 and i only have 1 light just a 150wtt hqi. and the LEDS that are on it also 4 white and 4 blue

 

[Ziggy953]

Mine is digital with dual probs...one is in the tank overflow and the other is in the return of my sump. They are usually within a degree of each other. I've never used the float type. I would still suggest an 8-9 hour light period. That may help...just reduce it slowly, take an hour off the on time and an hour off the off time. See if that helps and then in a week reduce it an hour on and off again...

 

[MT79]

i i have my temp set about 78 and i will ckeck to see if it swings

IME the settings on the heaters are off. I would not be surprised if you were actually a few degrees higher or lower in reality. A good glass or electronic thermometer is a must. A 12 hour lighting schedule is fine w/ fluorescents, but you will have to replace lamps more frequently since you have coral. Cutting the length of time the lights are on and slowly increasing back to normal over 7-14 days, and/or adding a layer of screen to the top of the tank, when adding new coral is a good idea. They need to be acclimated to lighting as well as water chemistry.

 

[Frogspawn]

hey guys just a update. over the past 36hrs i have been recording my temps about every hr ( even at night) sleeping tuff but i have found that the swing is about 1.4 degrees from when the lights go off and come on i backed my lighting down to 10hrs now and i am thinking that mabey a PH swing could be doin this? could this be the problem?
any other suggestions would be thankful. i am trying to get this problem fixed asap. i dont know over time if this keeps happening could stress out and kill my corals?

 

[roka64]

1.4 degrees is no too drastic. You can set your heater for the highest temp your tank gets, so when the lights go off the heater should keep the temp more stable.
I run my lights from 2PM to 10PM (I don't get home till 7) so that I have some viewing time, after work.