Maybe I need different lights?

[Maswired]

I have a 20 gal tank. It is a tall 20Gal.
I am using 1 10K 120V 24W T5 HO and 1 actinic 120V 24 W T5 HO in a double bulb Coralite unit. I am having trouble with a mushroom and a xenia. My Duncan coral is happy, my sympodium and my frogspawn are also happy.
My parameters are within reason:
salinity : 1.023
pH 8.2-8.4 (not either color - in between)
ammonia : 0
Nitrite :0
Nitrate : 0-5 ppm - not quiet yellow, not quiet 5ppm orange
Calcium : 360-380 ppm ( I am dosing daily using 2 part system)
Magnesium : 1260-1290 ppm
Phosphate : .06 using Hanna Phosphate Checker (repeated test three times)
temp : 82 F

I do weekly water changes.
I feed granular flakes, no copper, and Microvert by Kent marine.
the microvert has iodine listed as an ingredient so I have an iodine checker ordered.

I supplement with Kent Marine Coral-Vite
I use Instant Ocean salt. (not Reef crystals)

I use a Red Sea Berlin-Airlift Skimmer
I am currently using an EHeim canister filter in which I placed a bag of activated carbon and a bag of Rowa phos PO4 & SiO2 Adsorber two days ago.

I went on vacation for 9 days and left my 14 year old in charge of my tank. Her job instructions were to turn the lights on in the am and feed a pinch of flakes, and then turn the lights off in the pm and feed another pinch of flakes.
Things went wrong. I came home and ran parameters and the nitrates were up to 10ppm, the phosphates were at .21. Magnesium was down to 1200 and calcium was down to 400. I am now working to bring the balance back to my goal units. I have done three water changes this week and dosed calcium and magnesium in the 2 part process for three days. Things are gradually returning to normal.

My question is about the xenia and the mushroom.
My xenia, when I left, was standing tall, happy as can be, pulsing, and being a xenia. My mushroom was having none of anything. It turned loose from the plug it was on and floated away. It found a piece of sand it liked and stuck to a shell. I left and went on vacation. Upon returning, everything in my tank is doing well, except the xenia and the mushroom. Three days have passed, no good turn in the road. The xenia are small and dark purple. The mushroom looks for the most part, bleached. I have posted pics on my profile. If I can figure out how, I will post them here.
I am wondering if the drop in parameters, and then the rise in parameters might have something to do with the xenia not doing well. I know it likes a pH of 8.3, so the pH is there. The phosphates might be bugging it, the drop in calcium and magnesium might also be bothering it. The tank is warmer than normal, at 82F versus the normal 80F.
I added the Duncan coral when I came home from vacation, but it seems to be happy as can be, as are the frogspawn and the sympodium.
I wonder if I change out my lights, if the temp will drop a little, and maybe the reduction in light will help the mushroom.
Reduction in light meaning that I buy moon lights or actinics and shorten the daylight 10K lights to maybe 8 hours, and run the actinics or moon lights the rest of the time.

Would swapping out lighting help or hinder at this point?

 

[moondoggy4]

Mushrooms are easy to keep, Usually when they detach it is from to high of water movement I do not see that you have any power heads in the tank I do not believe that a canister filter has that much flow. Rowa phos will cause your Alk to lower. Mushrooms like dirty water so the lack of attention to the tank should not be a problem. The lights seem fine but you can always upgrade two more bulbs.

 

[Maswired]

Thanks for your reply. It has been awhile since I checkd back in to reefcentral. The mushroom disappeared as did my xenia. No clue why. No evidence in the tank at all of either of them. The duncan, sumpodium, waving hand xenia (new), frogspawn, and now a kenyan tree are all doing really well. The fish are doing well. My parameters are perfect now and no phosphates. So .... Why? I don't know. I replaced the xenia with a waving hand version. I did see new polyps of sympodium growing on a nearby rock, so maybe all is well that ends well?

 

[zachts]

xenia can be a bit finicky, also they tend to not like temps in the 80 plus range, mine typically decline rapidly during the summer and then bloom again in the winter, much like they do in the wild. water flow and lighting can also impact them pretty drastically, old lights can cause them to start dying pretty fast when they are getting only the bare minimum under new lights, they are much higher light lovers than most assume. they also like good water flow, not enough can also be a down fall. As far as soft coral goes xenia are one of the most difficult to grow. Mushrooms are pretty much the opposite, and often times it can be difficult to keep both mushrooms and higher light and flow loving corals like your others happy in the same tank. Keeping both xenia and mushrooms in close proximity in a tank is really tough as they prefer very different conditions.

 

[zachts]

Thanks for your reply. It has been awhile since I checkd back in to reefcentral. The mushroom disappeared as did my xenia. No clue why. No evidence in the tank at all of either of them. The duncan, sumpodium, waving hand xenia (new), frogspawn, and now a kenyan tree are all doing really well. The fish are doing well. My parameters are perfect now and no phosphates. So .... Why? I don't know. I replaced the xenia with a waving hand version. I did see new polyps of sympodium growing on a nearby rock, so maybe all is well that ends well?

personally I prefer the waving hand xenia (anthelia) they are a little tougher and and my clowns always loved them as a surrogate anemone.

sympodium are pretty bullet proof and under ideal conditions will quickly become a bit of a weed, though a pretty one