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#1
12/21/2007, 12:30 PM
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star polyps never open...
star polyps never open...
why don't I ever have luck with this type of coral... I am told its super easy to keep. However, it never opens and they deteriorate in my tank... Why? please help. |
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#2
12/21/2007, 01:40 PM
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Hi brittlestar,
We need some more info -- light, flow, tank size, other inhabitants vertebrate and invertebrate, supplements used... and then I'm sure we can help. |
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#3
12/21/2007, 02:19 PM
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ca 430
alk 8 dkh tank size 75 with 30 gal ref flow with two tunze and two power heads light 1 250 watt MH and 2 175 watt all 15k no supplimentation... cal reactor and natural sea foods only 5 fish 2 zebra damsels, mandrin, yellow mantis, sleeper goby, lots of corals mostly softies and LPS 1 or 2 sps... let me know what you think.... |
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#4
12/21/2007, 02:28 PM
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Two things stand out to me. One: IMO, your tank is way too bright. I've never run this much light, to be honest, but it is overkill for most of the animals you are keeping, and more light is not necessarily better. Are the GSPs in a low light place in the tank? Start them in lower light, and then gradually (months) move them.
Two: "lots of ... softies" will cause a good amount of allopathic (that is, chemical) aggression that GSPs, IME, don't tolerate particularly well. You may simply have a species or mix of species that are exuding competitive toxins that the GSPs can't deal with. Do you run carbon or poly-filter and change regularly? |
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#5
12/21/2007, 03:21 PM
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could be light shock. also they love strong flow. good luck
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#6
12/21/2007, 03:36 PM
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Quote:
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#7
12/21/2007, 05:14 PM
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Lots of things to try here. Mine are in direct flow, but this same colony thrived in another tank with literally 1/10 the flow it is getting now. I don't think that's an issue.
Your water parameters look fine, but check your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/pH just in case. Light shock is possible, try a more shadowed area and see if that helps. I think the allelopathic possibility is the strongest. Try running activated charcoal and see if that helps. Dan |
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#8
12/21/2007, 10:36 PM
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thank you dan... I will try that. My nitrates are around 20-25 amonia 0 nitrite 0 ph is slightly higher than need to be. however, I do have a slight hair algae problem. I am also due for an invert janitor crew. practically no snails or crabs left. I do run carbon and just changed it about a week ago.
It was my imprssion that star polyps need bright light... was I wrong??? |
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#10
12/22/2007, 12:21 PM
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Mine are ok with that lighting, on the sand.
Check your alkalinity v ph. 8.3-9.3 alk and 7.9-8.3 ph. Softies are reactive to alk, particularly. Cal reactor can play hob with ph.
__________________
Sk8r "Make haste slowly." ---Augustus. "If anything CAN go wrong, it will, and at the worst possible moment."---St. Murphy. |
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#11
12/22/2007, 01:37 PM
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Mine usually need to be shaken or blown off because of the detritus buildup on them. As soon as i get all the gunk off, they open right up.
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#12
12/22/2007, 09:42 PM
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Quote:
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#13
12/23/2007, 12:19 AM
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Thanks to all here who are trying to help... I have been hard at work trying to clean up the tank. I do have lots of detritus. Anyone have any idea on how to get rid of it? seems like the more I blow off the rock the more settles back down... Anyeay I'm keeping the star polyp colony clean and lowered it in the tank. Still they don't open. I did find that the pump on my skimmer (the pump that feeds tank water into the unit) came loose. so I think that the tank has not been skimmed for a while. Obviously that could be a problem so I did an aggresive water change today since I found what the potential problem was... I did not know it since my skimmer is in my refugium and the outlets are welow the water level (noise reduction) so there was no way for me to know that the pump came loose from the hose that feeds into the skimmer.
I sure hope that this is the cause and hope to see the star polyps open in a few days. whats the best way to run carbon? Currently I just place it in bags in high flow areas... However I'm not so sure that is the best way to get the most out of thier carbon. Besides I don't think that the carbon actually takes out detritus... just a bit more info to add to the mix. My ozone has never been so low... its at 305 where before I started cleaning the tank it hardly ever turned on and stayed above 360. I'm hoping that is just because I'm kicking all the stuff around the tank. also noticing that my PH droped a bit to 8.2... cal and alk right where it should be (430 and 8 dkh respectively). checked mag. and its 1200. salinity is at 1.026 and temp is at 78 deg F. I would love to hear any other suggestions that anyone has to get my tank back into shape. thanks so much for all of your suggestions to date. |
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#14
12/23/2007, 09:58 PM
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IMO the best way to run carbon is in a tlf phosban reactor. Canister filters work decent as well.
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#15
12/23/2007, 11:32 PM
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Glad to report that the stars are starting to open up... thanks all
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#16
12/24/2007, 12:44 AM
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Cool. Glad to hear the polyps are starting to open.
I'd work on lowering your nitrates though water changes and/or a refugium with a deep sand bed and macroalgae. I have zero nitrates in all of my tanks. I've heard from many places that 10 is the upper bound for reef tanks. I have found that the best way to prevent detritus buildup is to have high flow without dead spots throughout the tank, and to use aggressive mechanical filtration to pick up any goodies that get suspended in the water. You can employ reef-safe detritivores such as brittle stars and (some) cucumbers, although the latter pose a substantial risk to water quality if they suddenly decide to die. Dan |
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#17
12/25/2007, 02:50 PM
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starting to open is all they are doing... still truggling to open.
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#18
12/29/2007, 02:26 AM
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You you to siphon out all that loose detritus. When you do water changes siphon the crap out of your sump. If you have a lot of it piling up in your tank then you need to add some more flow. My star polyps really started growing crazy when I put them in some major flow,the 20-25 nitrates are what is probably keeping them closed. Cut down on feeding and add more flow. All of the detritus adds up and is in no small way contributing to your nitrates. When you initially increase flow try and run some filter floss or a sock before the water enters your sump to try and catch that loose stuff before it gets down in there,but make sure you change it every 3-4 days or it will only make your problems worse. Keep your tank shiney clean and you will avoid a lot of problems.
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#19
01/02/2008, 02:19 AM
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great to hear the good news. and back to one of your questions - IME they do love strong light which enhances their green color and growth. but it takes time for them to acclimate to brighter light initially.
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