trouty

<54gal>
Okay, so I bought 2 small colonies of polyps (green star) and the other 1 was like a tan clover like polyps. I brought them home and acclimated them properly followed by positioning them in the tank around medium level. they wouldnt even barely open up under my metal halide lamp! my water parameters are fine (pH nitrate/ite ammonia salinty). I also offered them plenty of phytoplankton throughout the couple weeks they were alive and closed... So I obviously need to look into other parameters.. calcium.. duh, i feel stupid for not considering it before Ishould have known better. What is the best way to go about dosing calcium and rather cheap method too

Stang Man

Wha"s your water test levels any phosphates or nitrate levels. Last water change etc. What do you have in your tank currently. Give details please!

Naeusu

other than water levels there are a few reasons your corals didn't open up. It could be they came from a lower light source and because yours is higher it's shocked them so they need to be lower in the tank. It could be one of your inhabitants is munching or irritating them in some way.

Stang Man

Did you acclimate by drip procedure could be they went into shock

trouty

I have 3 damsels and a sea bass, all small fish and they had nothing to do with it im sure of it, they didnt even notice the corals. Anyway im thinkin it was the light shock or improper acclimation. I also didnt look into all the crutial parameters (calcium, phosphate ect. and I know that there is more than that when it comes to keeping corals now. Also I havent done a water change on my reef tank in ages. I check my ammonia, ph nitrate and nitrite levels regularly and they never seem to fluctuate. So heres the question, should I start doing water changes? are corals more needy of water changes?

Naeusu

ammonia and nitrites in an established tank aren't really the ones you have to worry about. for corals it's all about the phosphates, the nitrates, and the calcium (as well as strontium and other trace elements you can't test for). As long as your phos, nitrates are low and calcium is between 440 and 490 you're doing good and only need to perform your regular water changes.

trouty

thanks naeusu that really sums it up and I think im gonna make a trip to the pet store today to get a phosphate and calcium test kit, also I need a calcium source. what is a good way to dose calcium?

ATP

seachem calcium buffer.

Note calcium IMO is just one of the three major things to check in a reef for corals. Carbonate Hardness (KH) and magnesium (Mg) is the other two. I would get test kits for all three. Especially Mg. Calcium and Kh are needed for corals and magnesium balances calcium and kh levels. Some corals (SPS, LPS) skeletons are made out of mainly calcium, kh, and magnesium so these three are very important.

ATP,

Naeusu

My salt mix has calcium in it already so there's no need for me to dose calcium, make sure you don't over do it.

charzar-g

I know this isn't my thread, but its sort of related.
If my salt mix already has calcium in it, will the calcium eventually decrease if its used up?? Because i have a single button polyp. And I think he's slowly getting smaller and smaller

Stang Man

Syenthetic salts have proper amounts in them the calcium will deplete depending on how many corals you have in a system if your tank is fully stocked then yes calcium levels willdrop very rapidly cause all the specimans use the calcium to this in turn corals thrive on this also helps with structual growth as well. The trick is testing water for all things is a very good habit, The ocean does not have any defaults unless man destroys water quality which is happening all over the world right now but anyways lets not go there what I am saying is that you have a small piece of it in order to be sucessfull we all have to keep water in our tanks to it's purest level with all that we can to acheive the ocean water that we make. you need to add trace elements, strodium, iodine etc.

charzar-g

I am going to the LFS tomorrow, i may get a calcium test kit, but at the moment i only have 1 single button polyp! :P

It seems to be lighting thats stopping it reproducing anyways, but it would be interesting to start checking calcium levels too

Stang Man

Are you using RO water?

trouty

no I do not use reverse osmosis water.. what are the benefits to using one they are kinda pricey

Stang Man

Most walmarts have vending machines and runs around 25 cents per gallon just make sure its RO purified. The benifits to this is water needs to be pure meaning no contaimants such as no nitrites and nitrates, phosphates minerals unwanted contamination of pesticides etc. In turn this will benefit the water quality in your tank. I wouldn't drink tap water would you? has alot of contaminents that alot of test kits won"t show up. You need to use RO trust me!

Goldwing_Don

Purple up works great at adding calcium to the tank

Stang Man

I saw that in my CORAL magazine I'm old school I prefer kalkwasser myself and calcium chloride.And with KH buffer brings my PH just where I like it>

charzar-g

Get your own 'ro machine'

They are costily at first, but they pay for themselves quickly. especially if you have more than 1 tank. We also use it in this bubble lamp thing we hve.

nemo addict

You can overdose your tank with calcium and this product can do this very quickly,, It will knock your kh all over the place , having 2 clusters of polyps will not need that much calcium to worry about if you are doing water changes regular,, calcium is more a requirment when keeping hard corals, not for a few polyps ,, as mentioned above other trace elements will also be replenished by water changes also so these would not require dosing,,,