coral help

[greatgman]

i got a problem
hopefully a pmasi member can help me out
as of right now it doesnt look like im going to get the lighting upgrade for my 90 for 6 more weeks or a bit longer
and my torch coral i got at the all ohio frag swap is not looking so good
it had 5 heads on it then now only 3 (2 are white w/ no tentacles)
this is the coral i went up there to get specificicaly to get (and paid 45 bucks for )
now i dont want to kill it till i get my new lighting and my water figured out
the pink acros i got arent growing (havent seen any poylps out)
my purple tip monti is doing ok but could be better (seen polyps out but not all the way)

can ne1 spare any room in there tanks to babysit them for about 2 months
i know that this might be a strange request and all but its either that or they will most likely die - i dont want that
and i'll make it worth the trouble
(i'll pay rent for the corals space)
no lfs around me will do it
what i mean by getting my water figured out is
rearange my rocks , plumb the cl, finish my sump system
get a calcium reatcor(so i can keep up my calcium to near 400)
i have an aqua system overflow that will work up to a 125 gal (not used yet)
got to get a sump pump (my sump is one of those 30 gal rubbermaid translucent storage containers)
ne help on this will be greatly appreciated

 

[greatgman]

ne1??

 

[acer]

wish I could help you out- but really am overfilled myself - sorry. Went overboard at the frag swap and still dont have everything glued down.

 

[acroconut]

I don't have any room either. What kind of lighting do you have on your tank right now? My experience with torch is that it really isn't all that light demanding. I have had it grow wonderfully under a single 175W halide lamp. Also if calcium is an issue you could use B-Ionic, Randys' 2 part, or do what I do and dose Seachem's Reef Advantage Calcium. My 75G is loaded with acros and the Reef Advantage does a good job at keeping the Calc level fine. Are you sure you don't have an elevated nitrate or phosphate issue?

 

[raynist]

How big are they?

I have a frag tank with a 2x65w pc fixture. I might be able to house some there.

--Ray

 

[greatgman]

torch is about 2 1/2 inches wide at base (3-4 inches w/ tentacles out
i have 4 frag peices of pink tip acropora (each 3/4 inch)
a purple tip montipora (1.5 inch)
a cup coral (2 inch)
a nice frog spawn (4 inch)
a green sinularia (2-3 inch)
and a pavona rock (4 inches)
a toadstool leather (2 1/2 inches) -my first one-
lighting is just 2 36 inch shop light fixtures from lowes with a 4 bulb ballast in each - the kind of ballast designed to light a 4 foot 4 bulb flouresent fixture 2 zoomed atnic t8 bulbs and 2 zoomed 10 k t8 bulbs
the frogspawn and sinularia are seemingly healthy (living well but not really growing much
if given some time in a much better lighted tank i'm sure they would grow better

positive on the nitrate and phosphate being at or near zero

gotta get the shoplights out of there quickly the one in the back -2 10k- near my hv1 modified skimmer has some rust on it (not too much)and the bulb has salt residue on it even though i keep the glass tops on it

 

[Adam]

Greatgman,

Based on our conversations about your lighting, I don't think lighting is the problem. In fact, torch will get plenty of light from a couple of normal output lamps. I would suspect a water quality issue.

You mentioned in another thread that you are using an alkalinity test kit that gives a low/normal/high result. I would strongly suggest checking your alkalinity with a better test kit.

Please post back and describe your system...Age, tank size, amount of live rock, water flow, skimmer, sand/substrate, lighting.

Also, list the results for any water tests you are performing, most importantly pH, Salinity and Alkalinity. Also include Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate if you can. Phosphate can be an issue as well, so include it if you have a test kit, but otherwise let's rule out the more basic stuff first.

Last, but not least describe your maintenance routine, especially supplements and water changes (amount and frequency).

Unfortunately, I am not in a position to coral sit either, but hopefully we can get your problem worked out.

Adam

 

[raynist]

I would get a salifert alk test and then check the alk.

I don't have room for all that you listed, but I do have some room in my 20g frag tank to house some of the pieces that are not doing well.

I also have a bit of room in my SPS tank for the acro frags

--Ray

 

[greatgman]

well i do hav that bottle of bio sea aqua cal and bio sea buffer +dkh generator (carbonate hardness regulator w/ calcium)
the calc bottle is about 1/2 empty and the buffer bottle was only used twice
plus i have another bottle of reef sucess calcium+3 from red sea i use for when i top off like later on today (right now the water level is low enough to see a little light from the bottom of the top plastic rim on my 90

tank has been up for over a year (i think 18 months)
90 gallons
about 120 - 150 pounds of live base rock- maybee 20 pounds of actual live rock
water flow is brisk enough(quiet one 6000 in tank hooked up to a clm(1 inch) with only two outlets open on the two outlets i have a lockline splitter and two peices of locline tubes fitted to two wide fan outlets) and two maxijet powerheads (1 modified)
skimmer is an hv1 excaliber hob modified with a maxijet 900 and the needlewheel mod(getting dark green scum)
sand is caribisea aragamax 120 pounds and 1 bag of caribsea live sand
as far as the test kits are concerned i threw out the ammonia nitrate and nitrite becuse they were spent(mt), my ph and alk test kit - broke the syringe
so i go to wet pets to get my water teseted
im going there today to get my water tested to day also
at each wc/top off i put some calcium +3 in (about 1/4 cup) disolve it well then put it in the tank
water changes 30 percent every month io salt to .1023 -25-30 gal-
water top off every 10 -14 days -water from walmart filtered water machine (culligan) (cant beat 5 bucks for 14 gallons)-its sediment filtered -carbon filtered, ro and blasted with uv -not bad for .33 cents per galon
as for not having a rodi money is REAL TIGHT for 6 weeks
just having enough gas to get to work is gonna be hard every week (every paycheck HAS to go to rent)

 

[acroconut]

What do you use to check your salinity? Hydrometer, refractometer, meter with probe? The reason I ask is because some of those swing arm hydrometers aren't always accurate and more so if you don't rinse them out occasionally with some vinegar. This is a real concern if you are using any large amount of sodium Bicarb to buffer.

 

[Ghumbee]

Linda is right.

I have a Deep Six Hydrometer that I have to add .003 to and an Instan Ocean Hydrometer I have to add .001 to.

The refractometer I bought is one of the best investments I have made.



Chuck

 

[greatgman]

io hydrometer i rinse it out after every use and do a vinegar soak once a month for a few minutes (straight vinegar) - man that stuff stinks-