New Coral Not Opening Up / AI Hydra Advice

[raschafer]

Plus I do have star polyps that are doing fine.

 

[raschafer]

and a rose bulb anemone

 

[ak_reefer]

The point that was trying to be made is that Mandrins have a specialized diet and are slow and cant compete foe food with thosw aggressive eaters. Thats even if its eating prepared foods since their main diet is pods.

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[ak_reefer]

Also your tank is still very young and it will take a while for it to build up the good bacteria to keep up with that bioload. When you are in this hobby you need to plan for the system you have. Those fish you have produce a lot of waste as they get bigger it will increase and you may see some aggression as well. As far as adding a fish a week sure you can buy that many fish in your system is a bit much. Take it slow when you hurry and push the limits in this hobby bad things happen. Just my opinion.

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[mfinn]

Mandarin is fine. If I maintain my water levels, I don't see how my fish count makes a difference. My tangs are still small so It's not like they are causing a big problem right now.
Even Mr. Salt Water Tank says that you can add a fish a week.

The 30 ppm nitrate says that it is a problem if you want to keep corals.
Fish will survive in that amount. But how healthy they will be?
Think of it this way, how healthy would you be if you were breathing bad air all the time?
As far as the mandarin, it needs a very healthy population of copepods to survive. It may be fine now, but they can starve over time.

IMO, you really need to slow down. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby.

 

[raschafer]

When I do water changes, I change 30 gallons. That should bring those levels down. Im going to do this tonight. My rock was live when I bought it. I had a very good pop of copepod when I started adding fish. I don't plan on buying anymore fish and I will not buy any more coral for awhile.

 

[mfinn]

Another question, what is your source for water?

 

[raschafer]

BRS 4 Stage Value PLUS RO/DI System - 75GPD

 

[mfinn]

AWESOME!

From you've mentioned in your equipment list, sounds like you are getting some good advice.
Is it your local fish store?

 

[raschafer]

Yeah. He has his own maintenance business as well. He has been very helpful.

This is the rest of my equipment:

125 Gallon tan Aqueon Reef Ready k & Overflow Kits
40 gallon Sump
3 AI Hydra LED lights w/ wireless controllers
Reef Octopus 5500 Pump
Reef Octopus Diablo DCS 150 DC Internal Protein Skimmer
BRS 4 Stage Value PLUS RO/DI System - 75GPD
VorTech MP10 Propeller Pump *2
Digital Equatics Reef Keeper Elite Plus
BRS Dual Carbon Reactor
Check Valve
PH Probe

 

[mfinn]

You should do a tank build, or just a here is my system build in the members showcase forum.
With pictures and details

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/70-Members-Showcase-Forum

 

[raschafer]

Yeah I'll have to do that

 

[user 26995]

I agree, that is a real heavy bioload on such a newly set up system, but not for the size of the tank. definitely keep up with the water changes. your biofiltration should be able to catch up at some point if you have enough rock. You have at least 150lbs of rock, right?
And to be on the safe side, for your madarin, add a bottle of tisbe or reef pods every 3-4 months for the next year. that should give your system time to mature enough to support their reproduction. then I would add a bottle once a year.

 

[user 26995]

everyone is going to recommend going slow. and in this hobby, its a very good recommendation. too much bioload adds to algae issues and will discourage you very quickly. Believe me, everyone recommending this is doing it because they don't want you going through that and being discouraged and giving up. We all want you to enjoy this hobby and succeed.
Although algae issues will happen and can be worked through, so dont get too discouraged when it happens.

 

[raschafer]

Just hooked my PH Probe to my Apex about an hour ago and I got a 7.86 PH level.

 

[mfinn]

Just hooked my PH Probe to my Apex about an hour ago and I got a 7.86 PH level.

Sounds a touch low.
I don't have a apex and don't know much about them, but is there a way to calibrate the ph probe?

 

[raschafer]

Yeah It came with a calibrated PH bag on it. I may take it to the store this week to make sure.

 

[raschafer]

After some water changes I got the coral to open up really well on 3 of the 5 branches. If you look at the photo 2 of them are still not opened. Any Ideas on why that might happen? Should I just give it more time?