Mysterious disapearing green striped mushrooms

[mjpelikan]

My green striped mushrooms aren't doing so good. One completely disapeared last night and another is all shrivveled. I have only one other that is doing just okay.

Everything else seems to be doing good since the move from the 55 and 25 into the 120. Shirmps are doing well, crabs and snails are happy, albiet a little hungry. (I saw a pepermint attacking an overturned snail this morning) One of the cleaners molted a couple days ago.

This monrning I removed my biowheel after listening to the talking reef podcast that had said that there was no need for it in a reef tank.

Here are my water specs (fresh from MS):
Temp 80.2
pH 8.022
sg 1.024
Ammonia: 0
NO2 0
NO3 25

KH 7
Calcium 700

Greg at MS suggested using Buffer to reduce my Calcium. though I didn't mention my striped mushroom issue.

Thoughts?

 

[stlouisguy]

Holy crap your calcium is high. Are you sure of that test? Did they test it for you? I would be worried with that much calcium in my tank. When was last water change

 

[dynamitedj]

I have a biowheel on my emporer biowheel filter system on my tank. Sould it be removed?

 

[mjpelikan]

They did the test for me. I had it tested a month or so ago and it was 600.

I am not dosing, I am using Coralife Marine Salt.

 

[mjpelikan]

dynamitedj: I think the talking reef pod cast that is relavant is either the second pod cast (how the nitrogen cycle works) or the 27th pod cast (How deep sand beds work)

 

[hagfish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6918108#post6918108 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mjpelikan
They did the test for me. I had it tested a month or so ago and it was 600.

I am not dosing, I am using Coralife Marine Salt.

That's the salt I use. It typically causes high calcium. If you have a lot of calcium consuming critters then that is good because it may reduce the need for dosing. Otherwise, as you see, you may have high calcium #'s. You might want to try a different salt mix for a while and do a water change with it soon.

If your shrooms are disappearing, I'd do some water changes either way. And run some carbon if you aren't already. This happened to my dad a while back for no obvious reason. The best he could think of was that he had gotten some contaminant in the tank. Water changes and carbon helped him stabilize. We never figured out for sure what the problem was.

 

[mjpelikan]

I will give the carbon a try.

I love the price of the Coralife at MS. Any recommendations on a different salt brand (specifically relating to this massive Ca problem?

 

[Letmegrow]

Instant Ocean.

 

[DrBDC]

With that high of calcium, if you try to add buffer you will get a precipitate all over everything in your tank. I would use an alk only supplement like baking soda to take it to about 9 and keep it there. Using a salt mix that is closer to NSW like IO will help to bring it down but remember, a water change of 50% with 380 will only bring it to 540 which is still too high so it will take a number of water changes to get it closer to 420ish. Your magnesium levels must be alright if you haven't had it precipitate yet but keep an eye on them or it will. The water changes w/IO will also have an alk of 11 which will help in the alk portion too.

All that but the mushrooms can live in just about anything and the shriveling may just be that they are getting too much light with their placment and sometimes too they just do that. Don't stress on them directly but work on the water parameters and let them do thier thang. If you run into a loss of green striped mushrooms after the water is back in condition let me know and I'll hook you up with a couple.

Biowheels are fine for a FO system but have the reputation of being nitrate factories. They don't produce them as the nickname implies but they convert the nitrites to nitrates which can be taken care of anyway by the live rock. In short a duplication of services w/o the help of some of the bacteria that will actually break down/consume the nitrate that will happen in the rock but you've handicapped the rock by using the biowheel. Macroalgaes will eat the nitrate too as well as some heavy metal and phosphate pollutants.

 

[trottman]

your shrooms may have let go and floated somewhere else because of high flow or high light.... they will probably pop up behind the rock work or something one day.

 

[mjpelikan]

I think the shrooms are just being jerks. Flow is lower and light is the same where they are, compared to where they were in the 55. The Frilly mushrooms are doing great in similar positions next to them. Of the two striped that are left, striped 1 is still holding steady, and striped 2 doesn't seem to be deteriorating any further. It may not have liked the flow coming from the bio wheel.

I will try the baking soda this weekend (I think I will go with baking it first).

I seem to be having a diatom issue starting to pop up. But since I have removed the biowheel, I expect this to cure itself shortly.

Thank you!