Gold Torch Coral Care

[Mark SF]

New coral, was darn expensive and I felt that my tank might be a little too new for this coral, but I bought it at the delight of my GF. Sometimes you do stupid things so your significant other can share in your hobby, no? :debi:

The torch is gorgeous, but it is not opening as large as it did at the LFS. I have a few concerns.

One, I purchased a few new fish along with this coral and my ammonia has spiked, to about .5ppm. Obviously this is harassing the coral as well as the fish but even with water changes its not seeming to drop much.

Two, it is now under a Kessil A350. Once I get the ammonia under control, what is the best way to acclimate this coral so I can increase the brightness in the tank? Currently I have the Kessil at about 30% power.

Tank Specs: 29G Nano, All in One
Fuge: Back Chamber with Chateo and Rubble Live Rock 3lbs.
Live Rock: Real Reef Rock 18lbs.
Live Sand: 20lbs. Carb Aragalive
Lighting: Kessil A350
Skimmer: Tunze 9002 (can't get to skim, probably due to lack of ATO, purchased one this week)
Dosing: Nothing

Parameters

Calcium: 500PPM (API)
PH 8.4 (API)
ALK 7.5 (API and ELOS)\
MG 1300 (Salifert)
Ammonia .5PPM
Nitrate 0PPM

What signs will the torch give me if it is getting too much light? Here is a current shot of the little guy.

 

[geaux xman]

I think 30% is fine.

How long has the tank been running? is it cycled?

Did you have any previous fish in the tank? if so, for how long?

 

[mfinn]

How old is the tank?
Did you cycle the tank yet?

 

[amutti]

Ammonia shouldn't have spiked if the tank is done cycling, not for one fish anyway. It is really toxic at any level in a reef aquarium.

The torch looks fine for recently being added. The most common reason they stay closed, or more closed, is more flow then they were previously use to. Give it some time and get the ammonia under control. I'd start dosing some bacteria to nip this in the bud. Stability or something like it.

 

[Hypnotize]

i had the same prob with the golden troch 2 of them dyed in my tank

 

[Mark SF]

Tank is only a few days old, but I transferred all of my live rock from my 14g nano which was 2 months old.

I did not use the sand from the nano though, I added live sand (Carib sea arag alive). I let the water and sand sit in the tank for a few days, ammonia level was 0 and the I added the live rock and went to the store the same day and bought the fish.

I had two damsels in the 14g, brought them into the fish store and picked up two ocellarius, one six line and a splendid dotty back for the new 29g when the ammonia levels read 0. Also bought this coral at the same time. Was an expensive day at my LFS.

-Mark

 

[kismetsh]

Your rock from your 14 gallon had enough bacteria to support 2 fish. You moved the rock and doubled your bioload (4 fish). I'm not surprised you are seeing ammonia.

My advice is to slow down. Nothing good happens fast in a reef.

 

[Mark SF]

Your rock from your 14 gallon had enough bacteria to support 2 fish. You moved the rock and doubled your bioload (4 fish). I'm not surprised you are seeing ammonia.

My advice is to slow down. Nothing good happens fast in a reef.

I agree. I have been moving slowly since the issues, but I am afraid it is a little too late. I moved around 5 gallons last night for a water change, but the ammonia level is still slightly increasing.

Additionally, I don't think that the live sand was that effective.

Do you recommend using something like Purigen?

-Mark

 

[JRR1285]

I had success dosing Seachem Prime in a freshly started emergency quarantine with clownfish. I dosed it once and sometimes twice a day. I am not sure if it's the safest thing to do but it worked for me. Got me through to the point where the biological filtration could catch up.

 

[Mark SF]

I had success dosing Seachem Prime in a freshly started emergency quarantine with clownfish. I dosed it once and sometimes twice a day. I am not sure if it's the safest thing to do but it worked for me. Got me through to the point where the biological filtration could catch up.

Thanks for the advice.

I added Purigen to the tank and will be performing another water change tonight.

After much thinking, my mistake was made with the live sand. I put too much stock into thinking that crap out of the bag had enough biological support. I guessed wrong.

-Mark

 

[Mark SF]

Update: My ALK was about 4.5 dKh. I thought I had ammonia, so I made an emergency water change last Friday. I purchased a 25G "box" of Reef Crystals at my LFS, literally the last box they had on the shelves. Well, it was the last box for a reason.

I first noticed an issue when it didn't mix well, it also wasn't quite as dry as the last batch that I had. It was a lot more crystalized, and definitely seemed to have more moisture.

My API test kit was registering about .5 - 1.00 ppm ammonia, and my LFS kit read 0 (Believe Elos). Bottom line was I knew it wasn't my ammonia and my test kit SUCKS.

Sure enough, my tanks alk was 4.5-5.0. Tested my salt batch made with the Reef Crystals and it was hovering around 4.0 with my Elos test kit. Bummer.

So I have been dosing ALK and the torch is looking a lot better.

Also, note that my Hanna Checker is reading .25ppm Phosphate. Does phosphate bother LPS corals like it does with browning out of SPS? What is an acceptable level for a LPS/ Soft Coral mixed reef.

-Mark