Information please!!

[twiggyb]

I have a rock I bought with star polyps and some anthelias growing on the side of it( I think that's what they are, although they don't look as feathery) and some button polyps further down the side. It's probably been in my tank for about a month now doing fine until recently. The newer star polyps that were growing in sucked in for a couple of days but then re-emerged so I didn't think much of it, about a week later I came home from work and the bigger bunch weren't out. I thought they might have just come out in a couple of days but it's been about four days now and they still haven't emerged. Other than my carbonate being too high, the rest of my parameters are good, well except for my evaporation rate, by the time I get home almost a full gallon of water has evaporated. What is my problem?

 

[stingythingy45]

You say alk too high........how high?
If I were you I'd keep that rock separate from your other rocks.If that stuff takes off you'll be fighting to keep it from spreading all over your tank.

 

[twiggyb]

17 dkh or 304.3 ppm kh. Are you refering to the anthelias or I should take out the whole rock?

 

[stingythingy45]

17 DKH????
Holy smokes!!!!:eek1:

You should be between 7-11 dkh.
You are WAY high.I would recommend a water change to bring that down asap.
And yes,both anthelia and GSP can become very invasive in some tanks.

 

[stingythingy45]

Do you dose anything for alk?
Are you sure that parameter is correct?You may want to retest that.

 

[twiggyb]

Well, I've been changing 5g every other day or every couple of days two weeks ago because my nitrates were way too high and since I top off my water a lot my ph is always dropping so I add a buffer, thats probably why my alk is extremely high, what should I do to prevent my ph from dropping and my alk from rising? I think the star polyps are actually briaeum, but I here they're very similar

 

[twiggyb]

I mean briareum

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

well lets determine what you mean by PH dropping? what is your PH swing? alkalinity plays a part in that. and if your alk is truly that high, and you don't dose it then you might want to change brands of salt. What are your nitrate levels that you are doing massive water changes like that? if they are in fact too high what contributes to the high levels? have you tried to tackle the cause instead of putting a band aid on it (waterchanges)?

 

[twiggyb]

Well my ph drops to about 7.8 every four days from 8.3. The reason I think the nitrates were so high is because of the water I got from a dealer to jump start the tank. Had a bad experience with that guy so I stopped going and got my own r/o unit. Whether that was the case or not the nitrate level now is either 10 or 5 the two colors are very similar. It was about 40 when I started out.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

API test kit right???

 

[stingythingy45]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15709783#post15709783 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by twiggyb
Well, I've been changing 5g every other day or every couple of days two weeks ago because my nitrates were way too high and since I top off my water a lot my ph is always dropping so I add a buffer, thats probably why my alk is extremely high, what should I do to prevent my ph from dropping and my alk from rising? I think the star polyps are actually briaeum, but I here they're very similar

You need to STOP chasing PH.
PH is not really something that's a big deal.Ph can drop off at night due to a decrease in photosynthesis.Aeration also increases PH as well as opening windows to allow excess CO2 out.
DON'T add anymore buffer!Do a water change and try to get that alk down to at least 12 dkh.Do it slowly,maybe 3- 5 gallon water changes over the next 3-4 days.I hope you don't have any repercussions from this high Alk.
Good luck.

 

[Toddrtrex]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15710698#post15710698 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stingythingy45
You need to STOP chasing PH.
PH is not really something that's a big deal.Ph can drop off at night due to a decrease in photosynthesis.Aeration also increases PH as well as opening windows to allow excess CO2 out.
DON'T add anymore buffer!Do a water change and try to get that alk down to at least 12 dkh.Do it slowly,maybe 3- 5 gallon water changes over the next 3-4 days.I hope you don't have any repercussions from this high Alk.
Good luck.

My thoughts exactly. That pH buffer is causing more problems then it is solving. Stop using it, do some water changes, and allow your levels to get back to normal.

GSP are fairly tough, so if the levels are brought back down I would suspect that they will recover.

 

[w16227]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15710123#post15710123 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by twiggyb
Well my ph drops to about 7.8 every four days from 8.3. The reason I think the nitrates were so high is because of the water I got from a dealer to jump start the tank. Had a bad experience with that guy so I stopped going and got my own r/o unit. Whether that was the case or not the nitrate level now is either 10 or 5 the two colors are very similar. It was about 40 when I started out.

The nitrates aer also a little high.

Helps more to post your actual test results rather than "everything is just fine". Though the corals you mentioned can be more tolerant than others, it can make a difference.

You said that you were dosing for PH ----- what were you adding?

 

[twiggyb]

Well thanks for te advice I'll have to do that. Is that the reason why the polyps haven't came out? I was adding a buffer to bring the ph up. Sorry these have been short replies but I'm at work and the mans watchin me