Anemone look bad

bmbpka · Oct 17, 2018

I have two anemones; green bubble tip and acid rain bubble tip. Both of them found a spot within the first few hours and haven’t moved since.

The green bta picked a spot on the side of a rock and never really opened correctly. But looked good. I always thought it was due to the position it was in.

The acid rain bta use to open wide and very full.

Recently they both just look deflated and horrible. Both are eating (1-2 a week mysis shrimp). My emerald crap lives under/with the acid raid (not sure if that normal).

I am assuming my lights and flow are correct, or they would move? So what could be wrong? Parameters are below and light schedule is attached. I also run T5 bulbs with the AI prime. T5 is on from 1pm -6pm.

Hammers, Frogspawn, Torches, Favia all look great and are growing. I’ve recently lost some high end zoas too.

PH 8.2

Salinity 1.026

Nitrate 5ppm

Nitrite 0 ppm

Ammonia 0ppm

Phosphate .12 ppm (I cant get this to drop, I keep trying)

Mag 1390

Calcium 375

Alk 8

Hitman · Oct 17, 2018

I’m guessing it’s your phosphate as I know mine look like poo anytime my PO4 gets to or above 0.10

bmbpka · Oct 17, 2018

Hitman said:
I’m guessing it’s your phosphate as I know mine look like poo anytime my PO4 gets to or above 0.10

Keep up the water changes. I’ve been fighting that phosphate for a while. I did a 50% last week and still nothing. Even cut down on the reef roids.

Hitman · Oct 17, 2018

I had PO4 issues and found ROWAPHOS to be my go to. GFO never worked for me. I’ve read Phosphate RX works to.

bmbpka · Oct 17, 2018

I’ll look into that thanks. Yes the GFO isn’t working for me either. Starting to wonder if my rock is leaching? It use to never be a problem. Then one day it sky rocketed and never came down.

Hitman · Oct 17, 2018

I feel your pain. Mine started when I foolishly put the rock from my predetor tank into this tank. I never checked PO4 in the other tank and I fed super heavy to the groupers.

bmbpka · Oct 17, 2018

The struggles of a peaceful hobby. It’s like golf. Suppose to be relaxing but ends with frustration 9/10 times ;Woot

Amoo · Oct 17, 2018

How high are your lights off of your water? It looks like it has bleached, but hard to tell based on the blue photos.

NY_Caveman · Oct 17, 2018

With all due respect to @Hitman i would not suspect Phosphate. In fact I find anemones like a bit of Phosphate (have owned LTA, H. magnifica and now a BTA). My current tank sits around 0.1 ppm with the BTA and it is quite happy. My old tank with the magnifica was much higher than that.

Hitman · Oct 17, 2018

I only have experience with BTA and mine have all looked bad and shrunken up when my tank went over .1 as we all know every tank and every critter respond differently though. Even after 22 years of reefing the only guarante that’s 100% solid I can say is what’s awesome in one tank may be awful in the next lol Sometimes I think all our tanks are just science experiments we aim to master. And after 25 years of marriage I can say it’s still easier then understanding a woman! Lord please don’t tell my wife I said that I enjoy living!!! Lol

NY_Caveman · Oct 17, 2018

Hitman said:
I only have experience with BTA and mine have all looked bad and shrunken up when my tank went over .1 as we all know every tank and every critter respond differently though. Even after 22 years of reefing the only guarante that’s 100% solid I can say is what’s awesome in one tank may be awful in the next lol Sometimes I think all our tanks are just science experiments we aim to master. And after 25 years of marriage I can say it’s still easier then understanding a woman! Lord please don’t tell my wife I said that I enjoy living!!! Lol

LOL, Agreed on both points.

pecan2phat · Oct 17, 2018

I use to have a tankful of Colorado Sunburst BTAs in a tank with over 1.5 ppm of P04 and they did not give a hint that phosphates inhibited their health.

Hitman · Oct 17, 2018

Wow Those are beautiful!!! Well I guess mine are Diva’s lol

pecan2phat · Oct 18, 2018

It was a 180g DT fowlr basement plumbed and above the 75g sump I put up this 102g tank just for extra water volume but eventually it grew into the Nem & Euphylia tank.
Heavy feeding resulted in uncontrollable P04. I was able to control the N03 by using bio-pellets but went through 5g containers of BRS GFO and eventually gave up since the GFO was rather costly.
I too am surprised that the BTAs did well in these conditions. Prior to going through a ton of GFO, the Hanna LR P04 meter would be blinking 2.75 ppm after a test Lol!

bmbpka · Oct 18, 2018

Amoo said:
How high are your lights off of your water? It looks like it has bleached, but hard to tell based on the blue photos.

My lights sit about 12” above the water. BTAs picked the top rock at 6”-8” below water surface. I think it’s the photo, I’ll try to get a better pick tonight. It’s always been on the whiter side, maybe a bought him bleached already? It was the first time seeing that color BTA so I am not sure. It was actually given to me because who I bought it from online didn’t have the RBTA I bought.

bmbpka · Oct 18, 2018

This didn’t really help with color.

Amoo · Oct 18, 2018

It actually looks normal to me in that picture. I can at least tell and see the speckling. It's the other one I'm more concerned with that looks really unhappy.