for those of you who are very successful with xenia

[marinerules]

what do you keep your water tempeture?
what do you keep your salinity level at ?

and is there any secrets or specific things that you add to yoru tank such as chemiclas that you think contributes to your xenia growth




i have some of this thats died off and its growing back pretty well but IM wanting to help it along,

so if there are anything speicfic for adding for xenia other than basic trace elements please post

[Equalizer]

I keep my salinity at 1.026, temp 82 deg., do water changes with IO weekly or bi-weekly and add b-ionic. I also think using an ATO makes all the diffrence in the world.

[marinerules]

ATO?

iom not good with abbreviations.


ive had another recommendation for this bionic as well

the link the guy gave me was www.aquatictech.com , is it necissary to get both one and 2 types?


also how do you know your not adding too much ?

[NanoTX]

ATO - Automatic Top Off ???

[clord]

I'm a newbie but mine has been growing like weeds. My salinity at 1.025 and 79-80 deg. I do a water change bi-weekly I been adding purple up to get some colors on my rock.

[marinerules]

how big is your tnak and how much purple up have you added?

just curious as that stuff has calcium to

maybe the reason ive had trouble keeping it to stay alive is cause my tank is around 71 degress,

maybe thats too cold for it


its growing back , but i had to go through several frags to get it that way

[Equalizer]

ATO = auto top off :). The b-ionic is for calcium, you can test to make sure this is in check. You do need to use both part 1 and part 2, part 2 is a buffer.

I hope that made sense

[marinerules]

ok , so where are the test kits to test the calcium and buffer,

i dont want to make things worse by adding to much of this stuff.

well i have calcium test kits, anything else i need to test for the bionic


oh , im getting a heater, how big of a heater do i need for a 240 gallon tank

[BLKTANG]

Sheesh,i cant throw it away fast enough.
1.025-+/- .5 Temp=81-81.5 =xenia outta control its even started to grow on the side of my blue max clam.How u ask,i have no idea.

[marinerules]

lol

how often do you do water changes expedition
im startying to think i need to definatly get my water warmer may be a big part of it .

im looking at petsolutions and it says the average rule is 5 watts per gallon , so im thinking about gettin ga titanium heater from them, the 800 watt one

[mbbuna]

71deg is way to low. i dont add anything to my tank but Ca and Alk. temp 79 tp 80

http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/8310/img12874du.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Saltz Creep]

Xenia likes nutrients. I've noticed as my water parameters have improved (hair algae dying off) my xenia doesn't grow nearly as fast.

[mbbuna]

Originally posted by Saltz Creep
Xenia likes nutrients. I've noticed as my water parameters have improved (hair algae dying off) my xenia doesn't grow nearly as fast.


Bingo!!!!! :)

[Equalizer]

mbbuna, that is awesome.

[BLKTANG]

Originally posted by marinerules
lol

how often do you do water changes expedition
im startying to think i need to definatly get my water warmer may be a big part of it .

im looking at petsolutions and it says the average rule is 5 watts per gallon , so im thinking about gettin ga titanium heater from them, the 800 watt one


20% wc weekly.Saltz Creep is right on,ever since i started keeping sps it has slowed down alot.

[marinerules]

oh my gosh mbbuna


how big of a tank do you have and how long did it take for your xenia to grow

im getting that heater I specified in my earlier post.

I have calicum and a calcium test kit

however though I have seen people talk about alk , Im not quite sure what it is

I hope I dont get flamed by asking htis

but what is alk ? and where can I get it and where can I get a test kit to test for it

I know it plays in part with calcium


man that is tons of xenia mbbuna

[Saltz Creep]

I used to sell xenia every week or two (not as much as mbuna) until my water parameters improved and it slowed growing. Oh, well, I'd rather have no hair algae than credit at the fish store anyhow. ;)

[sherm71tank]

I use to grow and sell it a few years back. One thing I notived in particular was that it really liked the ph to be high 8.3 - 8.5 . I could tell when my ph was dropping from the pulse rate of the xenia. It pulsed slower with lower ph.

[mbbuna]

my whole system is about 500g. the xenia are in a 50g tub. when they are growing fast i can sell half of that tub and it will be full again in another month.

Alk. is Alkalinty, get a test kit where you get your Ca. test kit.

and read this.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-04/rhf/feature/index.php

[wrott]

I've bought "thick stem Anthelia sp." from F&S only to see it melt away and by leaving all fragments in the tank it came back any where and every where that there was strong light and flow--no need for chemicals, they are coreccect about nutrient richness.

[mbbuna]

Originally posted by Saltz Creep
I used to sell xenia every week or two (not as much as mbuna) until my water parameters improved and it slowed growing. Oh, well, I'd rather have no hair algae than credit at the fish store anyhow. ;)


i use it to help keep my water clean. just converted my DD skimmer to duel beckett so things are slowing down quite a bit.

just cleaned that tub today, man that stuff stinks:D

i cant wait till i have just one frag that grows slow:p

[Victoly]

80 deg. 1.025 SG never H2O changes, just tap water top offs everyday. Stuff multiplies like crazy. I also use Coralvite and Phytoplankton as additives for other corals.

[marinerules]

mbbuna have you ever shipped this stuff?

[gwaco]

kirtis , xenia does'nt care about calcium levels . i don't want you to think that you have to have a certain level of it for it to grow . your temp is what i see as the big problem ! if you have fish you feed everyday you are probally adding enough nutrients without adding any suppliments . but be careful for what you wish for ! as it can quickly take over a tank , just as green star polyps will .

[marinerules]

thanks gwaco for posting

well , ill admit that ive had star polyps for 4 months now and they are the same size as they were the day I bought them


maybe my TEMPETURE IS THE PROBLEM.

i hope so , i just bought a 800 watt titanium heater from pet solutions.

[mbbuna]

Originally posted by marinerules
thanks gwaco for posting

well , ill admit that ive had star polyps for 4 months now and they are the same size as they were the day I bought them


maybe my TEMPETURE IS THE PROBLEM.

i hope so , i just bought a 800 watt titanium heater from pet solutions.

move the Temp. up very slowly,take like a week or two

[gwaco]

kirtis , if i may ask , what are you using for lighting , as that may also be a factor . but get your temp straightened out first .

[marinerules]

i have a 240 gallon long and on each end of the tank i have a 250 watt 20 k metal halide bulb ,

and my rock work is high , and i have my corals about a foot from the bottom of the tank

[tatedelo]

Okay, this brings me to a good question, if I turn my skimmers off for a couple of days and let things begin to get a little grungy in the tank is my Xenia likely going to start taking over? I skim very heavily right now and I haven't been able to get my xenia to really take off yet.

[mbbuna]

Originally posted by marinerules
mbbuna have you ever shipped this stuff?


sorry missed this earlier.
it doesnt ship well. it can be dry shipped. but it is very common and if you really want some go to the 4/S/trade forum and I'm sure that you can find some right next door.

[marinerules]

lol , trust me , i have found only one other person that has this within 1 hour from me

lol , im in northeast arkanas lol


I have a guy selling me six stalks as soon as I get my heater in

[Gundo5000]

mbunna that xenia is awesome, I wish i could get it locally. I live in Lawrence Kansas-Kansas city area if anyone is around here and selling

[sherm71tank]

Originally posted by marinerules
lol , trust me , i have found only one other person that has this within 1 hour from me

lol , im in northeast arkanas lol


I have a guy selling me six stalks as soon as I get my heater in


You mean they have electricity in Arkansas now? What will they do next?


( J/K I have family in Arkansas - Batesville, Cave City and Strawberry! ) I always love visiting there. The people are so nice and life is just a more simple family oriented way.

[clkwrk]

i]Originally posted by marinerules [/i]
what do you keep your water tempeture? 78-85
what do you keep your salinity level at ? 1.021-1.028

and is there any secrets or specific things that you add to yoru tank such as chemiclas that you think contributes to your xenia growth

Nutrient rich tank! Mine started at the bottom of the tank and made its way to the top right under a 150w de 10k ushio

[clkwrk]

BTW there is tons of xenia here in Arizona . So much we give it away.

[MiddletonMark]

I've grown it quite successfully in my softie tank, where I w/c every 3-4 weeks, don't suppliment, and really don't give it much attention.

Grows like a weed, esp when nutrients are a little elevated.

1.026, 78-80 degrees.

nothing like mbuna, though [nice field!]

[1package]

Marinerules - I would buy two smaller heaters as opposed to one big one, in case of mechanical failure.

And something else does not seem right........are there Igloos in Arkansas? I was thinking South and warm.

I can not imagine how your temperature is 71, with any circulation pumps and those MHs.......unless the room is like 65 all the time or perhaps you have a thermometer issue.

My heaters kick on at something like 76.8 and I do not know if they have ever come on. The room is always around 73/4 day, 70 at night. Temperature swings from 77.5 - 80.5.

I have 3 types of pulsing xenia - 1. a light tan taller version, 2. a short thicker stalk light pink and 3. a dark pink (supposedly Red Sea) version.

The first two grow very quickly, the third grows at a rate of about 1/10 the first two. Perhaps yours is also the slower growing variety?

And unless that room temp. is way low, I would check my temp. measuring device.

Good luck

[LOTUS50GOD]

I keep my tank at 77 degrees (1/3 hp chiller).
Never do water changes
Add 2 part kent additive
Plenty of light.... Xenia wont grow in the dark...

I have it everywhere.. in the fuge... in the tank... if anyone in AZ wants some... come and get it... I can spare a few stalks...

[PrangeWay]

1.025, temp 78-80

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c244/PrangeWay/10gal/Xenia11-09-05.jpg

Temperature is definetly way to low. My heater got unplugged 2 days ago, just as a cold snap hit and my tank dropped to 70. All the Xenia sortof shrunk and close up, looked VERY unhappy.

I'd also agree on the slightly higher nutrient thing. I don't have hair or cynao or any algae problems (outside of corraline) but there is no protein skimmer on the nano which means the doc are probably higher.


PW

[marinerules]

i bought another stalk today at the petstore as it was cheap and i drip acclimated for 5 hours.

Is it suppossed to open up just as good looking as it was at the store


because it is not , however the stalk is standing erect and the polyps have opened from where they were shrunk from being in the fish bag with no light , howver the polyps are not extended all the way and it still looks a littly dragy


however its standing up , which the last one didnt, (the one i didnt acclimate as long)

[clkwrk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6119524#post6119524 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LOTUS50GOD
I keep my tank at 77 degrees (1/3 hp chiller).
Never do water changes
Add 2 part kent additive
Plenty of light.... Xenia wont grow in the dark...

I have it everywhere.. in the fuge... in the tank... if anyone in AZ wants some... come and get it... I can spare a few stalks...

Sorry but I just read in one of your other posts to someone eles that you said you won't and can't keep acros with no waterchanges?

You say above you never do waterchanges yet you have sps and want a PM?