RBTA - could water be too clean?

[RADIOACTIVCORAL]

I have a RBTA that does not seem to be doing well while I have the skimmer running. When I turn the skimmer off, its tips are full. When the skimmer is running it is sunken in.

All paramaters seem fine:

Temp: 79-80
PH: 8.2-8.4
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 20
Ammonia: 0

Livestock:
2 true percs
1 yellow tang
1 lawnmower blenny
1 mandarin goby
2 fighting conchs
about 10 hermits and ceriths snails

I do have excessive algae bloom that I am working on, so i only have the lights, 4X65 watts, on for 8hrs.

Any ideas what it could be?

 

[han012]

it's rumored that when anemones are stressed, its tentacles get bubbly. i don't think it would make sense to have 20+ no3 just to make the bta look better. stringy looks nice too~

 

[Peter Eichler]

If you have 20ppm Nitrates and an algae bloom it's cetainly not a problem of the water being too clean.

 

[RokleM]

I would tend to agree, with those stats I don't think the water is too clean.

There are other possibilities as well. For example, are you sure no current is flowing into the tank while the skimmer is running? I assume you would likely have found that however. When you're doing this testing, is it at different times during your lighting cycle or the same time? For example, when my actinics turn on my BTA is always bubbly and remains that way for a short time after my MH turn on. Then it turns stringy during the main cycle. It turns bubbly again as the MH turn off an the actinics stay on.

 

[RADIOACTIVCORAL]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10570163#post10570163 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RokleM
I would tend to agree, with those stats I don't think the water is too clean.

There are other possibilities as well. For example, are you sure no current is flowing into the tank while the skimmer is running? I assume you would likely have found that however. When you're doing this testing, is it at different times during your lighting cycle or the same time? For example, when my actinics turn on my BTA is always bubbly and remains that way for a short time after my MH turn on. Then it turns stringy during the main cycle. It turns bubbly again as the MH turn off an the actinics stay on.

That is exactly what is happening. Now the mouth is wide open and looks to be on the move... I always perform my tests at night when all except leds are off. I read somewhere (I am not sure but I think it was here) that the numbers are higher when the lights are off.