Something is wrong with my octospawn!!??!!

[ArticI]

Hello, I've had this octospawn for about a week now and the polyps have not fully extended this whole time. Also today I noticed some weird white stuff coming from the underside of its skeleton. 2 sexy shrimp have been living in the rocks it's on. Are they causing these problems? My ph is 8.1, salinity is 1.024, ammonia is at zero. My tank does seem to be going through an algae bloom atm. What's the problem?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

High flow will make them not extend their polyps to full. But there are a few more parameters that you need to test for. Mag, alk and cal. If you don't have the kits you need to get them. Also what salt mix are you using? And what kind of lights do you have?

 

[ArticI]

High flow will make them not extend their polyps to full. But there are a few more parameters that you need to test for. Mag, alk and cal. If you don't have the kits you need to get them. Also what salt mix are you using? And what kind of lights do you have?

I have ecotech radions at half intensity and I use Red Sea salt mix. I'll pick up those test kits asap

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Those 3 tests are the most important you need with having corals. I would also test your salt mix after you have mixed a fresh batch. I'm guessing that it won't be any good for corals. I use and recommend Instant Ocean Reef Crystals.

 

[jayball]

I personally use regular instant ocean but red sea states the following regarding the target levels, I have been thinking of switching because of the lower Alk. I use Kalk to keep CA/ALK steady, If your aquarium is consuming a lot and you do not dose anything than you may want to consider switching.
@35.5 ppt
7.8 "“ 8.2 Alk
420 "“ 440 Ca
1250 "“ 1310 Mg

It would be best to bump your salinity up a bit to 1.025-1.026.

I do agree that you need to provide more information like ALK/CA/MG, size of tank, what you use for water flow and what the conditions are there, how direct is the light on the piece/how high in the tank... things like that

 

[Dkuhlmann]

With my using Reef Crystals I don't need to dose anything. I do a 20% WC every two weeks and it keeps my levels fine. I just would rather not dose if I can help it. If it gets to where I need to dose then I'll switch to the regular Instant Ocean. I've got a lot of corals in my tank and they look amazing and are growing well the way I'm keeping my water. Hey if it works, don't fix it. Right!