help with a brain coral - Trachyphyllia geoffroyi

[TOURKID]

hi everybody

Im hoping you guys can give me some advice on a red brain coral i picked out of the lfs yesterday

My tank...
45 gallon
250 watt mh
salinity 1.25
nitrate, nitrite, ammonia - undetectable
alk.. (have a small issue here) 5 meq/L
ph.. about 8.3 (color chart test)
phosphate.. undedectable
calcium.. 450. (its usually 400.. same small issue as the buffer. getting it in check)

so all perimeters appear ok. I acclimated the brain for about 2 1/2 hours. put it on the substrate on the bottom of my tank

I fed the tank about an hour later and it opened up real wide and grabbed my attention. very very cool!!

well.. today it looks just a little unhappy. and whats bothering me is it dident open when i fed today. I opened its lil mouth part a tiny bit at one point during the day and that was it. it looks a little smaller too.

anything im missing here? it was better yesterday than today so im not assuming its 'getting used to the tank' its health seems to be declining



side note. This is my second lps. I also have a candycane coral (red with green center) Ive had it about 3 weeks and the same thing happened. the first night all its stingers came out around the green and it looked good. now the green seems to be receeding. and I thought the whites were falling off. i started raiseing my alk. and now the bases of the candycanes are REALLY white. (making a skeloton maybe?)

I dont think im ready for lps. but I want to help the ones i have. any advice will be taken very seriously. this is making me sad

tia

Maggie

 

[Dorado13]

If there is a problem (it has only been a day)it might be with the lighting. I only have a 130 watt PC over my brain so i don't know much about halides, but i've heard that you have to acclimate brains to intense light using screens or by shading them.

 

[kramgnik]

With that much light over your tank you want to keep check of your temperature. A temperature flux. or excessive heat may also be the culprit.
Good luck,
Mark

 

[TOURKID]

My heat is high, 82. but it doesent fluxuate. Its the hottest it gets, so I keep it that hot

the brain came from a halide, I do hyave a screen on it though

what about iodine? i have iodine, but no test kit, so i dont use it...

 

[IslandCrow]

I don't dose my tank with iodine, and my t. geoffroyi has been doing great. Make sure it gets enough flow so that it doesn't have sand or anything else settling on it. From what I've read, they can be irritated fairly easily.

 

[Cody Ray]

It has only been a day, give it time, however if it appears to keep going down hill a water change never hurt anything.

 

[yardboy]

You're showing salinity of 1.25? Is that 1.025 or is the salinity way too high?
I'd suggest a water change and see how it reacts. The only open brain I ever lost was to dirty water, too high in DOC. Skimmer quit pulling and I was "too busy" to do water changes. I've been nuts about water changes ever since. I really loved that coral, man :sad2:

 

[TOURKID]

1.025 yeah lol

my skimmers been acting up lately. it dident open for food agian today, but it doesent look any worse, it has a gentle flow. I really like them too!!