Milli wont cheer up...??

[mjstover]

I have had the fragg now for about 2 weeks it has not lost any tissue but the polyips will not extend any suggestions? there is a decent ammount of flow, Not a tone but enough. All acro's and montis and happy just not the Milli. any Help??

[CUNAReefer]

You may want to check your Alk levels. Low alk has caused less polyp extension IME

[Jester]

what is considered too low..?? Thanks..

[CUNAReefer]

IME, anything below 7dkh is too low. However, that does not mean that you cannot keep a thriving tank with a low alkalinity. Over the past 8 years, I have done many things that were considered "less than optimal" and have been very successful with growing coral. I would test your Alk, Mag, and Ca.

How is the polyp extention on the acro and the monti?

[Jester]

CUNAReefer, Thanks for the reply...

mjstover, maybe the Milli is just stressed... did it get shipped to you or did you buy it at a LFS..?? I bought one locally and it took it close to 2 or 3 days to fully extend the polyps... and I did a very detailed acclimation for this frag... Can you provide any pics..??

Jester

[twon8]

could also be a fish nipping at it

[CUNAReefer]

Another very good point. Any angels or clown gobies in the tank?

[aquarius77]

I had the same thing happen to me, i bought an ora mille at the lfs and brought it home and it lost all polyp extension for over a month, then i realized it was infested in redbugs, might want to take a look at it very close.

[jjmcat]

I also agree with the low alk.I just went threw this same problem and it took allmost 2 months for my millies to get good PE again.

[mjstover]

Hey guys thanks for all the reply... I bet it could be the Alk.. I only have one fish and it is a little clown goby. He does sit on it but not very often. there is really no PE at all It has been in the tank now for about 3 weeks. It does not have any red bugs however I thought they only infest Acro's. Umm I dont really have the means to get a pic but I will test the Alk tom. and see what it is at. I didnt really think about that becasue I do a weekly water change of 3 gal and it is a 16 gal so I thought my levels would be fine untill the frag's got a little larger.

[mjstover]

Oh yeah and PE is good on all Monti, Digi, and, most acro. I did get a really hairy acro and its polyps do not extend also, But I have 3 Stags and they do fine

[aquarius77]

Millepora is an Acropora. I thought the same thing thats why i didnt dip it and now im going to have to treat the whole tank.

[jjmcat]

Do they look like this?

[mjstover]

yeah kinda but without all the sweepers or whatever the white things are on yours

[twon8]

Originally posted by twon8
could also be a fish nipping at it

Originally posted by CUNAReefer
Another very good point. Any angels or clown gobies in the tank?

Originally posted by mjstover
I only have one fish and it is a little clown goby.

i'd say 90% it's the fish. just because you don't see something doesnt' mean it's not happening. clown gobies can eat sps but seem to have an affinity for hairy ones.

[mjstover]

I hope it is not my fish I really like him

[mjstover]

My Alk was around 7.8 So I will bring that up over this next week to see if that helps.. and if nothing then Maybe I will think about the fish

[twon8]

7.8 is fine, that is around where i am when i test, i bump it up a bit but i get below 7 sometimes with no ill effects.

[Jester]

how does everyone up there alk..?? whats the best route to go with this..??

[CUNAReefer]

Well I use a Ca Reactor and add Kalk when I need to raise my Alk. I also use Ca Chloride if I only want to raise Ca.

[CUNAReefer]

Hey jjmcat,

What type of skimmer are you using, and do you use Ozone? This is a old picture of some of my corals. I noticed a huge improvement in Polyp Extension shortly after adding ozone.

[twon8]

Originally posted by CUNAReefer
Well I use a Ca Reactor and add Kalk when I need to raise my Alk. I also use Ca Chloride if I only want to raise Ca.

this is poor advice, kalk shouldn't be used to raise alkalinity, use baking soda. kalk has both calcium and alkalinity, so adding it won't raise just alk.

[CUNAReefer]

No, not really... Like it says "I use a Ca reactor" Do you use a Ca reactor Twon? If I want to raise my alk AND Ca I use Kalk, if I just want to rais Ca, I use Calcium Chloride. There are several differences between Calcium Hydroxide and Calcium Chloride. Kalk can raise Ph, Ca, and Alk. Calcium Choloride raises Calcium without raising alk or your Ph.

Of course my post says "I USE ... I never said "You should use." The question was also "what does EVERYONE use to raise your Alk?"

[CUNAReefer]

Some light reading

http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=2999

Calcium reactor and kalkwasser combination

One of the latest advances is to use both a calcium reactor and a kalkwasser reactoron a tank that consumes a large amount of calcium. This combination maintains both calcium and alkalinity levels even better than using a single reactor and also results in a reduction in phosphate levels and stable pH. In my opinion, this may be the optimum way of maintaining calcium levels in a large SPS tank. However, it should be noted, as with most aspects of reefkeeping, there are always numerous ways to achieve the desired result, so the experimentation within the hobby will continue. This is how the hobby has progressed to the point it is at now, where SPS corals are commonplace, and their growth rates in some tanks can exceed the rates seen in the wild. Understanding and implementing proper calcium supplementation and alkalinity may seem difficult at first, however, over time, with proper testing and patience, keeping these compounds at their proper levels is actually quite simple.

[mjstover]

Back to the Clown Goby... I now have seen him rubbing all my frags and also nipping some of them. This is enough to make corals always upset with no PE?