anemone questions

[keylargo sun]

I have a anemone and one day it looks fine and the next day like its going to die. It used to open up and look nice. Its been a long time since it has done that. Ive had it for a year and it hasnt grown any. The tenecales used to be long but now there short. Any ideals. Thanks

 

[garygb]

What are your water parameters including specific gravity, temp., nitrates, ph, alkalinity? How often do you make partial water changes? What salt mix? Do you use RO/DI? What type of anemone is it? What kind of lighting do you have? Do you target feed? Pics?

 

[keylargo sun]

My salt is at 1.025 using refractometer my temp is 78-80 nitrates 50 ph 8.4 i have been having problems with ph but now got that right and alk is low but the last two days have been putting baking soda to bring it up. The tank is a 75 with about 8-10 gallons with built in refuge and i do 5 gallons a week but going to start doing 7 gallons every two weeks(what is best weekly or bi weekly) I have a 4 stage pure flow coralife ro/di unit (no tds meter yet working on getting one unit is only 2 months old) and i use the red sea coral pro salt . It is some type of bubble anemone but its teancles arent bubbly I have a 250 watt 14k metal halide with 2 96 watt true atenic bulbs.Try to target feed brine shrimp and it gets some filter feeding food for my xenia's. Haven't figured out how to post pics from my phone.

 

[garygb]

Thank you for giving more information. I would think the nitrates at 50 could be the problem. Anemones can tolerate some nitrates, but 50 is high and if it's been that high or higher for a while, that might explain the problems you are having. Baking soda needs to be dosed carefully so as not to spike the ph. I would suggest a two part solution, or better yet 15% weekly water changes with a good salt mix--I like ReefCrystals myself. You have plenty of light, that's for sure. For nitrates, a good skimmer, chaetomorpha and a deep sand bed will usually eliminate the problem in conjunction with regular water changes and light feedings.

 

[keylargo sun]

I have a coralife skimmer and i have a refuge with the chaetomorpha in it. Its not growing any but i had just found out that i need bulbs that grow plants and i have 1 actinic and some other not for sure so going to change those today what bulb do i need? Its power compact bulbs there 24 inches and my fixture has a place for two. My sand bed in my tank is 2 inches and in the refuge i have about 6-8 inches of sand in it. (would the refuge mud be better) On the salt mix i was using reef crystals but was told the coral pro salt was better for ro/di water do i need to go back to reef crystals. Thanks

 

[garygb]

Chaeto grows like a weed with 6700K. As far as the sand bed, I personally like a remote deep sand bed. You can research that subject on RC to find a strategy right for your sump/situation. As far as salt, I've heard good things about Coral Pro Salt, though I have no experience with it. You could mix some up to 1.026 and check the alkalinity, ph, Ca and see if it looks good. I would say the most important thing is that you do regular water changes. Once you get 6700K PCs, expect your Chaeoto to begin growing rapidly, most likely reducing nitrates and phosphates assuming you have a large ball of it.

 

[keylargo sun]

I just got a bulb and i got a flora sun max plant growth it says that it has a 5000k high intensity lamp with peak emissions in the blue and red regions to maximize the photobiological processes in plants. Ideal for planted aquariums terrariums as well as marine reef aquariums. Emissions spectrum closely matches absorption curve of chlorophyl-a, promoting maximum photosynthesis. Its 18 watts and i have another bulb in there that is a power glo its for saltwater, fresh water and planted aquariums, corals invertebrates 18,000 k is that good enough or do i need to swap bulbs and if so excatly what kind. Thanks

 

[garygb]

5000K should be just fine for chaeto. The 18000K is a little blue. I would want nothing higher than 10000K and preferably 6700K to 5000K.

 

[keylargo sun]

I will remove the 18000k then thanks.