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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Marine Reef / November 2006Could my Sg be impacting my Star Polyps?
Hi all, Around 3 weeks ago I bought some green star polyps - looked great in the LFS - got them home and they didn't thrive....some came out but they never fulfilled their potential....tried every position in the tank and every flow option but no go....So I spoke to the LFS today and they agreed to take them back....they checked them out and believe that they look healthy and viable....and exchanged them for another "thriving" colony...now it looks like I'm going through the same thing again - some polyps extended after an hour or two but then retracted and now no action at all.... Water tests out as follows so it does not seem to be a quality issue:- Temp 27C - a little warm I know Sg is 1.026 pH is 8.4 Alk - high end of normal Calcium 500 NO2 is 0 NO3 is 0 Ammonia is 0 PO4 is 0.25 Tank is a 15 gall/60 Litre with LR, a Protein Skimmer and 2 Power Heads (can't remember the exact spec of both but one does 550L/h) - there is plenty of water movement. The lights are maybe not as good as the LFS lights but they didn't seem to think this would be an issue with Star Polyps but suggested I swopped the T8s for T5s at some point - the lighting is currently 3 Watts per gallon with no room for further tubes. The only thing that did come up in conversation with the guy at the LFS is that their Sg is 1.023. I'm wondering if this might be the cause of my problems.....as I'm currently only stocking with stuff I'm buying from them I'm thinking that I should try reducing my Sg to the same as theirs....what does everyone think? Gill Your temp is not the problem. It's probably your lights. How much lighting do you have? Have you tried making a large water change to see if that helps? Have you verified to make sure that your hydrometer is measuring correctly? Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Wayne@WaynesPets.com Gill Passman wrote on 11/16/2006 6:53 PM: > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > Gill > Your temp is not the problem. It's probably your lights. How much > lighting do you have? Have you tried making a large water change to see [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Wayne's Pets > Wayne@WaynesPets.com The capnella, button polyps, mushrooms and xenia are all doing fine under the lighting (although I am sensitive to the need to maximise this) - the LFS do not think that the lights are the issue....certainly a move to T5s can be done easily...there is not sufficient clearance to put in halides - the tank is in the kitchen....I currently have 3 T8 flourescents giving 3W per gall....not the best but from my understanding should be sufficient for the Star Polyps as well as the other soft corals that I have. I deliberately am not purchasing anything with high light requirements - I'll save them until I convert another larger tank and can add the halides. Now, one thing on the lighting is that the Star Polyps in question were kept in the tank with the halides at the LFS - and I have asked over and over if that might be the issue - ie. they are struggling to acclimatize to my lower level of lights and keep getting the answer "no" - right now they swapped the first colony for another (slightly more expensive) colony so I'm not losing but I just don't like not seeing any creature in my care not thriving. The hydrometer is calibrated to 25C so there is some degree of inaccuracy....it's a very basic swingometer type of thing (Red Sea) - I'm thinking maybe I should get something a bit more sophisticated....it tends to stick if left in the water for any length of time and needs a good rinse before I would even start to trust it (I think this was the first lesson I learnt when I originally set up the tank prior to adding anything other than water and salt). I made a 15% water change yesterday morning....it was the lack of any difference with the star polyps that prompted my call to the LFS.... Thanks Gill Going from high light down to a lower but suitable lighting, can take a few days, but only a few. I would suggest doing a larger water change like a 50% water change, and see what happens. And if no change another 50% water change. I would recommend that you get a floating glass hydrometer, as a backup hydrometer for comparison. Sometimes those swing hydrometers can sway. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Wayne@WaynesPets.com Gill Passman wrote on 11/16/2006 7:45 PM: >> Your temp is not the problem. It's probably your lights. How much >> lighting do you have? Have you tried making a large water change to [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > Thanks > Gill How long did you have them before you started moving them around? Sometimes GSP can take a few days to come out at all let alone fully expand. Leave them alone and see what happens. If it's more than a week then move them, but don't panic. How much flow do you have in your tank? GSP likes moderate alternating flow. Your params are OK. There is no need to keep doing water changes. You'll want to reduce the PO4, but water changes are to remove nitrates (which you have 0) and replace trace elements. Do you have a skimmer? > > Your temp is not the problem. It's probably your lights. How much > > lighting do you have? Have you tried making a large water change to see [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > Thanks > Gill > How long did you have them before you started moving them around? I had them approximately 3 weeks and tried 3 different positions - as it is a small tank there aren't that many options - bottom, middle and top. > Sometimes GSP can take a few days to come out at all let alone fully > expand. Leave them alone and see what happens. If it's more than a > week then move them, but don't panic. This makes sense....the position that I put the replacements is where I want them to be (if it suits them of course). > How much flow do you have in your tank? GSP likes moderate alternating > flow. There are 2 Powerheads in there - an Aquaclear 20 and a New-Jet 600 (550 L/h - tank is 60L without any LR)- neither is turned up full - it got way too choppy in there running at full power. > Your params are OK. There is no need to keep doing water > changes. You'll want to reduce the PO4, but water changes are to > remove nitrates (which you have 0) and replace trace elements. I've got some Hagen Green-X which says it is suitable for salt as well as freshwater (I use it in my Malawi tank where phosphate is always an issue) but it is for use in a filter, which I don't have in the Nano tank....Is there anything that you would recommend? > Do you have a skimmer? Yes, I have a Sander Piccolo Skimmer with a wooden airstone. It hangs inside the tank. A very simple design but it works well. Gill ratherbegolfing@gmail.com wrote on 11/16/2006 8:31 PM: > There is no need to keep doing water > changes. You'll want to reduce the PO4, but water changes are to > remove nitrates (which you have 0) and replace trace elements. One should not have to do water changes to remove nitrates. There are other things that water changes remove, like toxic chemicals that some corals release, and for removing other possible unknown problems. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Wayne@WaynesPets.com > ratherbegolfing@gmail.com wrote on 11/16/2006 8:31 PM: > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Wayne's Pets > Wayne@WaynesPets.com My nitrates are fine at 0...along with ammonia and nitrites - plus I have lowered my Sg over the last 4 days to match the LFS levels....so yes, I think it is some toxic chemical in there....and so will be increasing the volume and frequency of my water changes....the GSP that I returned to the LFS is still struggling with their Sg of 1.023 and under halide lights, directly under the powerhead....so it has good light and good water flow....it has to be said it is starting to recover but not as quickly as they thought it would if it was just lights and water flow....my pink star polyps have also given up....I checked my tank diary and I did notice the original GSP did throw out some white liquid into the tank - maybe there was a nasty in there.... So having ruled out the usual water quality parameters, the lighting etc. then the only thing left is something toxic in the water.....I do have some sort of red powdery stuff in there that stings my arms when doing clean ups....maybe this is the cause.....I'm at a loss..... So it is big water changes as per Wayne for me....in the hope that this will make a difference....if it doesn't then I will need to stop keeping Star Polyps as the rest of my corals are doing quite well (Mushrooms, buttons, xenia and capnella)....but I really hate to admit defeat.... Gill |
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