nemosis
fry
If you're not making mistakes then you're not working hard enough!
Posts: 85
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Leather
Nov 30, 2008 10:49:11 GMT -5
Post by nemosis on Nov 30, 2008 10:49:11 GMT -5
I have a finger leather coral that stays in more than it comes out. My water and lighting is good. I've tried moving it and it does good for a few days and then starts it over again sometimes it will shed what looks like it's skin. I have other soft coral that does just fine. Is their a certain place were I should Put it for flow and lighting???
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Leather
Nov 30, 2008 13:01:51 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN on Nov 30, 2008 13:01:51 GMT -5
Leathers 101
Resist the urge to move corals around, place them in the right spot (away from other coral) and in the proper light and flow zones and leave them be. They will in time start to adjust to the environment. If a coral is moved from the bottom of the tank to the top it undergoes a great deal of stress as it had to adjust it's zooxanthellae to match the new light conditions. If the stress level is high enough it can cause the coral to fail. A typical finger leather can adjust to almost any high light conditions from PC to halide, it will however take time for one to adjust from different environments. Leathers also shed or "sloth" this is a means of expelling dead skin matter with detritus that may have attached to it. If a leather can not fully sloth off the skin without human intervention then it is a sign that the tank does not have enough flow. Also leathers are soft coral and most soft coral especially leathers, sinularia, etc all are allopathic creatures. That means they give off toxins to keep other corals at bay and secure there place on the reef. Make sure that your leather is no where near another coral at least try a 6 inch wall of separation and you may wish to run carbon to help absorb the chemicals from there warfare.
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Leather
Dec 2, 2008 14:11:29 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN2 on Dec 2, 2008 14:11:29 GMT -5
I also think the problem is flow related. How much flow do you have in the tank?
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nemosis
fry
If you're not making mistakes then you're not working hard enough!
Posts: 85
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Post by nemosis on Dec 3, 2008 0:19:40 GMT -5
)I have hydor 3 the .flow rate is 3200 L/H 850 gph and what the return from the sump puts out. 38gall tank. Should I put it in a high flow area
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Leather
Dec 3, 2008 11:10:21 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN on Dec 3, 2008 11:10:21 GMT -5
Have you added any type of phosphate remover by any chance? And are you using RO/DI water, if not there could be an accumulation of TDS that the coral is not liking much. BTW, the flow rate on the Hydors has been shown to be not quite accurate.
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Leather
Dec 3, 2008 18:38:13 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN2 on Dec 3, 2008 18:38:13 GMT -5
How about some good ole GAC (granular activated carbon)? Since leathers and most other soft coral produce numerous chemicals GAC would help to reduce the levels of chemical warefare going on in the tank.
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nemosis
fry
If you're not making mistakes then you're not working hard enough!
Posts: 85
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Leather
Dec 3, 2008 19:35:23 GMT -5
Post by nemosis on Dec 3, 2008 19:35:23 GMT -5
How much carbon should I put in there and will it effect anything negitively.
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nemosis
fry
If you're not making mistakes then you're not working hard enough!
Posts: 85
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Leather
Dec 3, 2008 19:38:30 GMT -5
Post by nemosis on Dec 3, 2008 19:38:30 GMT -5
BTW I have not added anything but calcuim and 8.4.
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Leather
Dec 3, 2008 19:53:18 GMT -5
Post by coralreefer on Dec 3, 2008 19:53:18 GMT -5
BTW I have not added anything but calcuim and 8.4. What is 8.4? Do you know your alk? Don't ever dose anything to "maintain" ph. They are all buffers that can/do raise your alkalinity but provide only transient effect on your ph. Carbon never hurts...an old rule is when in doubt toss in some carbon and do a good water change. I usually use about a TBL/10 gallons but there are no hard and fast rules.
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Leather
Dec 3, 2008 21:17:15 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN on Dec 3, 2008 21:17:15 GMT -5
8.4 is the Aquavitro line of Alk supplement, it's good stuff as long as it is used in conjunction with calcification, I do not know why they call it 8.4 though (stupid name) . BTW I had a customer this week tell me that he was told by another LFS not to dose calcium, just Alkalinity. Don't fall for that guys, you have to dose both parts, it is a chemical balance and must be maintained. I'll let my old Alchemy teacher fill in the blanks if he likes LOL. Anyway I test alk and Ca on the tank in question about every weekend or so. Unless it's changed it was pretty much in balance.
As for the carbon Amy is right on that I have dosed little to extreme amounts with no noticeable problems.
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Leather
Dec 3, 2008 21:25:48 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN2 on Dec 3, 2008 21:25:48 GMT -5
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nemosis
fry
If you're not making mistakes then you're not working hard enough!
Posts: 85
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Leather
Dec 3, 2008 21:26:10 GMT -5
Post by nemosis on Dec 3, 2008 21:26:10 GMT -5
Ron and barry (at jomars) urged me to use calcium and 8.4 (additives) and it seems to keep everything in good shape. They have never steered me wrong before . BTW I use RODI,
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Leather
Dec 4, 2008 13:18:37 GMT -5
Post by coralreefer on Dec 4, 2008 13:18:37 GMT -5
yea Ron it is a stupid name for an alk product. Suppose it makes to much sense to call it something like oh I dunno.... Alkalinity Supplement. ;D
I remember you showing me some of the Aquavitro products last spring but I haven't heard/read much about them.
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Leather
Dec 4, 2008 23:11:46 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN on Dec 4, 2008 23:11:46 GMT -5
Yep stupid name but so far a really good line of products, far superior IMO to say Kent who I have 0 respect for and that was from a first hand experience with them at the past trade show. They actually told me that they redesigned there product packaging, which is colorful and looks great by the way, to "Dumb it down for the consumer" It's apparently so dumbed down that when I asked them (the 4 reps at the booth) to explain to me one of there products and how it worked they had no clue. I had asked them about a new product on there list called "Liquid Ca Reactor" which no one there knew anything about, but I did get a nice description of what a Co2 reactor is LOL. After they asked another person at there booth, that made 5 total. I said. "So this acts like a Calcium reactor then, only in a liquid form, or do you put it in a reactor?" The fifth one said with a deer caught in a headlight stare. "Well I'm not sure, but yeh that must be it."
To that we thanked them kindly and we walked away laughing and shaking our heads in amazement. We could use with more teaching rather than "dumbing down" the hobbyists IMO. I had to share that.
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Leather
Dec 6, 2008 18:08:12 GMT -5
Post by coralreefer on Dec 6, 2008 18:08:12 GMT -5
So sad yet so funny. Kent does have one product that's essential for any reef.
I'm sure they don't know how it works either.
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Leather
Dec 7, 2008 12:47:53 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN on Dec 7, 2008 12:47:53 GMT -5
That is so funny yet so true LOL! ;D
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Leather
Dec 7, 2008 23:17:59 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN2 on Dec 7, 2008 23:17:59 GMT -5
I would bet the liquid calcium reactor crap is just two part calcium or something like purple up which does not work for the long haul.
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Leather
Feb 3, 2009 19:25:43 GMT -5
Post by daviddelp09 on Feb 3, 2009 19:25:43 GMT -5
so i bought a colt coral when i had my tank set up for a while and it was doing great. here lately it hadnt been doing so well and it is constantly dropping frags off for no apparent reason. i have got like 11 frags from mt colt. anybody have any ideas why it might be doing this is it dieing? is this normal?
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Leather
Feb 3, 2009 20:39:09 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN2 on Feb 3, 2009 20:39:09 GMT -5
If you can post a pic I will be able to give you better information. It is normal for colts to drop frags when they get larger. However, a picture would help me to assess its state of health.
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Post by ADMIN on Feb 4, 2009 2:14:52 GMT -5
You have koralia power heads, I suggest you test your tank for voltage if you can as those pumps have been pr oven to leak dangerous levels of voltage into tanks at times. You will notice we have discontinued selling these powerheads especially after one of the company reps told one of my customers that. "fish are immune to voltage." I suggest seios instead. I suggest this as a possibility because I have personally seen this on more than a dozen occasions.
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Leather
Feb 5, 2009 17:54:06 GMT -5
Post by daviddelp09 on Feb 5, 2009 17:54:06 GMT -5
i will def try to get a picture of my colt posted as soon as possible. like some days it looks pretty good with all things set a side seeing as how it dont have many branches now. and then others it just seems tottally out of wack. I also have what the store told me was daisey polyps. they look like pipe organ coral to me but i was wondering how to frag them? Do you know an effective way to get ride of the nuicense brown algae? its all over my sand and everywhere. i have halides and i know that will cause algae but is there anything i can put in the water to control it? algea fix dont do anything!!
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Leather
Feb 5, 2009 18:43:47 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN2 on Feb 5, 2009 18:43:47 GMT -5
Do you know an effective way to get ride of the nuicense brown algae? its all over my sand and everywhere. i have halides and i know that will cause algae but is there anything i can put in the water to control it? algea fix dont do anything!! FIRST-If your tank is less than a year old it is common to go through algal blooms so please post the age of the tank. Added more chemicals would only be a cover the real problem. Lighting itself does not cause algae. If the bulbs are old they may have had a spectrum shift which certain nuisance algaes may prefer. If you eliminate light you can get rid of algae but you also kill everything else. So therefore you need to get to what the root of the problem is which, is probably high nutrients. The nutrients in water cause algae to grow. What are the levels of phosphate and nitrate in the tank? Now that you know the problem now lets look at how to get rid of nutrients. Here are few ways to do it, I tried to put the most practical toward the top. If you do not know what they are let me know: 1. A Good skimmer 2. Low TDS top off water 3. adequate feeding 4. Water changes with low TDS water 5. Macro algae growth in a refugium5. Run high pH (dose kalk) 6. Binding of phosphate Elevate magnesium ( this did not work for me but others say it does) 7. Elevate magnesium ( this did not work for me but others say it does) 8. Carbon dosing (not for the beginning aquarist) 9. Use of ozone reactor. 10. Zeoliths 11. denitrators (hope you have some $) I am sure there are others I have missed but that is a good list to start with.
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Leather
Feb 5, 2009 21:47:14 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN on Feb 5, 2009 21:47:14 GMT -5
"I also have what the store told me was daisey polyps. they look like pipe organ coral to me but i was wondering how to frag them?"
If they are daisy polyp I suggest leaving them alone and letting them spread to a nearby rock which you may remove after they encrust it. They do not take well to fragging. If it's pipe organ leave it alone and enjoy it for as long as it lasts. If after 6 months it is spreading then you can attempt to frag it. IF the tank is young (less than 6months) avoid fragging anything in it as it takes at least that long for the tank to come to into balance. In short frag nothing unless your tank is in good health.
Yes light alone will not cause algae it will only feed nutrients which can cause it to bloom out of control. Less nutrients, less algae. Deep sand beds4+ inches with low flow, over feeding, poor skimming, high TDS and poor nutrient export in general, these cause more nutrients in the water which can cause an algal bloom if the light and water chemistry + temp is right. Make sure the tank salinity is stable as well. Find the cause and eliminate it and you will have no more algae problems. Would not hurt to test the PO4 (Phosphate) as well.
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Leather
Jun 27, 2009 15:45:13 GMT -5
Post by Watership on Jun 27, 2009 15:45:13 GMT -5
uh oh... i just bought a koralia nano powerhead that puts out about 240 GPH, and now my finger leather coral wont open up. i also recently bought a javanese damsel, and he picked at it once when i put him in. do you think its the powerhead leaking voltage? the leather was fine with the new flow for a couple of days, but now i havent seen it out at all.
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Leather
Jun 27, 2009 17:23:48 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN2 on Jun 27, 2009 17:23:48 GMT -5
You may just need to give it a few days and it will probably open back up.
If you have stray voltage you can usually feel it through little cuts on your hand when you place them in the water.
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Leather
Jun 27, 2009 21:42:12 GMT -5
Post by ADMIN on Jun 27, 2009 21:42:12 GMT -5
Have you added any phosphate removers this will can cause problems.
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Leather
Jun 28, 2009 13:14:37 GMT -5
Post by Watership on Jun 28, 2009 13:14:37 GMT -5
no i havent added an phosphate removers, and i have a rather large cut on my thumb (staying the hell away from the zoas) and i didnt feel any electric shock went i stuck it it. its starting to slowly come out i think. Thanks for the help.
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