Coral woes.. Help a newbie.. You once were one!

[carriej]

Ok - admittedly I came into this relatively confident. I thought a lot of my freshwater high tech planted skills would cross over into the coral realm.

WOMP.

Not true.

The second I put corals in my tank I knew this was the case. I had a "Oh my god. What have I done" moment.

Ok... I have several issues.

Acans - what do they need. I killed the big one (cut it in half... on accident of course), but luckily there is a itty bitty baby beside it! I feel much better. I don't want to kill it. I'm not sure why it isn't happy, or what it's beef is. It's all flat and not puffed up like I see in pictures.

Pink hairy mushrooms -Are now white. Yep. Bleached. I had them in a shadowed area and they didn't seem to be expanding so I put them on the sand bed and now they are white. I fed them some bits of oyster today and they ate that. What should I do? I put them back in the shaded place.

WHAT IS THIS? People tell me candycane. But it does not look or eat like my green candycane unless this is normal. It eats like an open brain and the purple outside part comes all the way over. It's also got this weird lump in it's purple thing that looks like a bubble. Seems to come and go.


There are little sadistic creatures running amok on my zoas! I don't know what they are. Some type of pod. They have legs, antennae and are clearish like all the rest - I can't get a picture. I tried. They are longish and skinny. They aren't eating the zoas.. But irritating them enough that most stay only half open.

My torch coral doesn't seem to want to extend really at all. This is the most I can get it to extend. It gets all puffy sometimes too... Sometimes it randomly just shrinks right up to nothing. Then 30 minutes later it's not.



Any advice would be appreciated.

[monkE]

im a total noob to reef too... but i think that listing your water parameters would help. How long has the tank been established?

[ScubaSteve]

Yup, what they said. Give us a few more details and we'll happily help.

[kien]

Yes, tank parameters, set up, maintenance schedule, etc will help us help you :-)

[carriej]

WHOOPS. Knew I was forgetting something.

Tank is a 125 gal 6 foot with approx 30 gals in sump. Bubble magus skimmer, lighting is an ATI sunpower 6 bulb 60" t5ho.

I do about 15 gals water change weekly, livestock is a pair of clowns, and a chromis. Some snails and two hermits. A cleaner shrimp named Francois (lol).

Tank has been running since Oct. Just added corals not quite two weeks ago. Have a few other things that are doing well (frogspawn, Duncan, etc)

My levels are as follows:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Phosphate - 0
Calc - 400
Alk - 8
Temp - 78
Ph - 8.2
Salinity - 1.025

I am using two 1400gph powerheads and a 900gph return pump.

Thanks in advance!

[jagermaier]

Your parameters are good, what kind of lighting are you using?

Also it looks like your candycane is about to split...so thats a good thing! Soon you will have many heads of them.

[The Grizz]

How old are your T5 bulbs & what is your light time cycle?

[gregzz4]

The crawly critters, if they're quick-ish, could be isopods
I had multiple hundreds, until I added my starry blenny and PJ cardinals
Now they've virtually been wiped out
Their numbers will change as your tank matures and your fish find them

Isopod

[carriej]

Those look like the critters!

The bulbs are brand new 80 watt t5ho ATI bulbs. Well - brand new about a month or so ago. I have 3 blue plus, 1 purple plus and 2 coral plus (if that helps!)

I have my lights on timers. Right now I have dusk/dawn lights on from 11am-11pm. My full lights are in from 12pm-9pm.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by carriej

WHOOPS. Knew I was forgetting something.

Tank is a 125 gal 6 foot with approx 30 gals in sump. Bubble magus skimmer, lighting is an ATI sunpower 6 bulb 60" t5ho.

I do about 15 gals water change weekly, livestock is a pair of clowns, and a chromis. Some snails and two hermits. A cleaner shrimp named Francois (lol).

Tank has been running since Oct. Just added corals not quite two weeks ago. Have a few other things that are doing well (frogspawn, Duncan, etc)

My levels are as follows:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Phosphate - 0
Calc - 400
Alk - 8
Temp - 78
Ph - 8.2
Salinity - 1.025

I am using two 1400gph powerheads and a 900gph return pump.

Thanks in advance!

not saying this is your issue but a bit of extra flow couldnt hurt in a six ft tank , two koralias 1400's arent all that much.

live rock or dry rock?