Frogspawn has two mouths? Is he stressed?

[nutturbutter]

It does appear to have some recession, once you get your levels all worked out, it should be fine. also what lighting do you have? and also what spectrum are you on?

Ok so I just retested and now I’m even more confused because the levels look better.

pH = 8
Ammonia and NO2 = 0
NH3 = anywhere from 0-5 ppm but hard to tell with the shade
Salinity = 1.024
Mag = 1470
Calcium = 490 ppm
Alkalinity = somewhere between 7.7-9.3 dKh

Highest PAR lighting is 120
Flow medium
Spectrum is mostly blues and violet, very little white through most of the day if that’s what you meant.

Thoughts?

 

[Reeflix]

Ok so I just retested and now I’m even more confused because the levels look better.

pH = 8
Ammonia and NO2 = 0
NH3 = anywhere from 0-5 ppm but hard to tell with the shade
Salinity = 1.024
Mag = 1470
Calcium = 490 ppm
Alkalinity = somewhere between 7.7-9.3 dKh

Highest PAR lighting is 120
Flow medium
Spectrum is mostly blues and violet, very little white through most of the day if that’s what you meant.

Thoughts?

what tests are you using? levels are definitely better! also by NO2 you mean phosphate, correct?

 

[Reeflix]

Ok so I just retested and now I’m even more confused because the levels look better.

pH = 8
Ammonia and NO2 = 0
NH3 = anywhere from 0-5 ppm but hard to tell with the shade
Salinity = 1.024
Mag = 1470
Calcium = 490 ppm
Alkalinity = somewhere between 7.7-9.3 dKh

Highest PAR lighting is 120
Flow medium
Spectrum is mostly blues and violet, very little white through most of the day if that’s what you meant.

Thoughts?

definitely raise up your PAR, what light brand are you using? your flow should be fine, what percents are the spectrum at?

 

[BeanAnimal]

Why is the first advice to somebody new to the hobby with a 5 gallon tank... to of all things, start dosing nitrate and phosphate?

 

[BeanAnimal]

Tank parameters when I checked last
Temp - 78
pH - 8.0
Ammonia, NO2, NO3 - 0
Salinity - 1.023
Mag - 1140-1170
Calcium - 490-500
Alkalinity - 14.4 dKh

It is a brand new tank.
Your levels look fine.
Don't fret about the Mag or Calcium
DKH is a bit high, but that may be partially due to the water change and type of salt mix or your test kit.

Don't chase numbers.

I personally would not worry about Nitrates or Phosphates at this point. Heading down that path is dangerous with a tank this small.

Keep up your maintenance. DON"T CHASE NUMBERS. Just make sure that they stay in the ballpark. Your water changes in a tank this small with no demand (1 coral) will be fairly easy to maintain with water changes. I assume you will be putting a fish in at some point. Feed the fish, make sure you have adequate light and enjoy the tank. Keep an eye on the frogspawn.

It looks like it is splitting off a new head, they don't do this out of stress. It should extend decently during the day. You can directly feed it SMALL (I mean SMALL like a a few drops) amounts of mysis or coral food. once a week or so. Don't overdo it, or you will be fighting phosphates and algae, not contemplating adding phosphate.

 

[Jedi1199]

It is a brand new tank.
Your levels look fine.
Don't fret about the Mag or Calcium
DKH is a bit high, but that may be partially due to the water change and type of salt mix or your test kit.

Don't chase numbers.

I personally would not worry about Nitrates or Phosphates at this point. Heading down that path is dangerous with a tank this small.

Keep up your maintenance. DON"T CHASE NUMBERS. Just make sure that they stay in the ballpark. Your water changes in a tank this small with no demand (1 coral) will be fairly easy to maintain with water changes. I assume you will be putting a fish in at some point. Feed the fish, make sure you have adequate light and enjoy the tank. Keep an eye on the frogspawn.

It looks like it is splitting off a new head, they don't do this out of stress. It should extend decently during the day. You can directly feed it SMALL (I mean SMALL like a a few drops) amounts of mysis or coral food. once a week or so. Don't overdo it, or you will be fighting phosphates and algae, not contemplating adding phosphate.

Funny,, I said the same exact thing yesterday.. Guess it means more from a Bean Animal than a Jedi.. lol

 

[nutturbutter]

So just an update, it turns out I was reading a few of the tests wrong. I was out of town this weekend but, before I left I took a sample of the water to my local fish store and got correct readings.

Here were my actual levels:
Alk: 7.1
pH: 7.9
Cal: 405
Mag: 885
Ammonia and nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 1
Specific gravity: 1.023 (1.024 as of yesterday)

I got lucky it didn’t die over the weekend but did recess a little bit more. I ordered in the proper supplementation off Amazon and doses calcium, mag and alk yesteday/today. Gonna test again later today.

Hopefully it can recover/grow back once the levels are normal. This explains a lot though and although I’m disappointed a little, I am just glad I know what caused it to go astray!

In your experiences, do frogspawn recover quickly or does it take a long time?

Thanks everyone for the advice too.

 

[Reeflix]

So just an update, it turns out I was reading a few of the tests wrong. I was out of town this weekend but, before I left I took a sample of the water to my local fish store and got correct readings.

Here were my actual levels:
Alk: 7.1
pH: 7.9
Cal: 405
Mag: 885
Ammonia and nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 1
Specific gravity: 1.023 (1.024 as of yesterday)

I got lucky it didn’t die over the weekend but did recess a little bit more. I ordered in the proper supplementation off Amazon and doses calcium, mag and alk yesteday/today. Gonna test again later today.

Hopefully it can recover/grow back once the levels are normal. This explains a lot though and although I’m disappointed a little, I am just glad I know what caused it to go astray!

In your experiences, do frogspawn recover quickly or does it take a long time?

Thanks everyone for the advice too.

Did you test phos? Also raise the levels SLOWLY. I can’t tell you how fast it would recover, though I assume slowly. And hey, if this coral does die, then you know what to do for the next one!

 

[kevgib67]

Your magnesium is way low. My torches, frogspawn and hammers seem to thrive at 1400 or a little higher. I would keep nitrates at 10-15 and phosphate at .05-.1. You need to get a ro/di unit and make your own saltwater getting the salinity up to 1.026.

 

[nutturbutter]

Did you test phos? Also raise the levels SLOWLY. I can’t tell you how fast it would recover, though I assume slowly. And hey, if this coral does die, then you know what to do for the next one!

Ok. Update. I have another question.

Phos was tested at 0.

I re-tested my tank after the adding supplements and they look like they’re climbing slowly. I’m pretty sure I read them correctly this time.

Alk = 9.3
Cal = 400 (don’t know how this got lower but maybe over the weekend it dipped and came back up after supplementation)
Mag = 990 (slowly climbing)
pH = 8
Ammonia = 0
NO3 = 0-5
NO2 = 0
Salinity = my hydrometer says 1.024 but my digital one is reading like 1.021….so I’m kind of unsure.

My question is should I keep dosing calcium and mag? Or wait another day or two and see if keeps climbing? Frogspawn is still kicking in. He doesn’t look much better but he doesn’t look worse.

 

[kevgib67]

Ok. Update. I have another question.

Phos was tested at 0.

I re-tested my tank after the adding supplements and they look like they’re climbing slowly. I’m pretty sure I read them correctly this time.

Alk = 9.3
Cal = 400 (don’t know how this got lower but maybe over the weekend it dipped and came back up after supplementation)
Mag = 990 (slowly climbing)
pH = 8
Ammonia = 0
NO3 = 0-5
NO2 = 0
Salinity = my hydrometer says 1.024 but my digital one is reading like 1.021….so I’m kind of unsure.

My question is should I keep dosing calcium and mag? Or wait another day or two and see if keeps climbing? Frogspawn is still kicking in. He doesn’t look much better but he doesn’t look worse.

I would, at least keep slowly raising your magnesium. It is still so low.

 

[nutturbutter]

I would, at least keep slowly raising your magnesium. It is still so low.

Ok. Thanks for the fast reply. I’ll go ahead and add some tonight. I’m using premixed salt (will consider making my own but that’s a little advanced for me at the moment) so I’ll top it off with a little salt water too.

 

[kevgib67]

Ok. Thanks for the fast reply. I’ll go ahead and add some tonight. I’m using premixed salt (will consider making my own but that’s a little advanced for me at the moment) so I’ll top it off with a little salt water too.

Basically 1 cup of salt per 2 gallons water. Check salinity. A little high add ro/di water and a little low add a little salt, easy peasy. Gives you complete control of what is going in your tank.

 

[Reeflix]

Ok. Update. I have another question.

Phos was tested at 0.

I re-tested my tank after the adding supplements and they look like they’re climbing slowly. I’m pretty sure I read them correctly this time.

Alk = 9.3
Cal = 400 (don’t know how this got lower but maybe over the weekend it dipped and came back up after supplementation)
Mag = 990 (slowly climbing)
pH = 8
Ammonia = 0
NO3 = 0-5
NO2 = 0
Salinity = my hydrometer says 1.024 but my digital one is reading like 1.021….so I’m kind of unsure.

My question is should I keep dosing calcium and mag? Or wait another day or two and see if keeps climbing? Frogspawn is still kicking in. He doesn’t look much better but he doesn’t look worse.

Mag is still low, climbing slowly is good! if both refractometers are reading different, then one is probably not calibrated. also if you raise your salinity, it will also raise your alk cal and mag, and your tank is quite small so it should raise enough.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Ok. Update. I have another question.

Phos was tested at 0.

I re-tested my tank after the adding supplements and they look like they’re climbing slowly. I’m pretty sure I read them correctly this time.

Alk = 9.3
Cal = 400 (don’t know how this got lower but maybe over the weekend it dipped and came back up after supplementation)
Mag = 990 (slowly climbing)
pH = 8
Ammonia = 0
NO3 = 0-5
NO2 = 0
Salinity = my hydrometer says 1.024 but my digital one is reading like 1.021….so I’m kind of unsure.

My question is should I keep dosing calcium and mag? Or wait another day or two and see if keeps climbing? Frogspawn is still kicking in. He doesn’t look much better but he doesn’t look worse.

The FIRST thing to do is verify your salinity. If it's actually 1.021, bringing this up will raise all the other parameters (assuming your salt mixes to higher mag, cal, etc than what's in your tank).

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Ok. Thanks for the fast reply. I’ll go ahead and add some tonight. I’m using premixed salt (will consider making my own but that’s a little advanced for me at the moment) so I’ll top it off with a little salt water too.

For what it's worth, frogspawn (and hammers, torches, etc) are not the best "starter" corals. They need a relatively stable tank - and a very new 5 gallon aquarium is likely very unstable. I hope this one makes a comeback but if it doesn't, don't give up! Just plan a little better, make sure your water parameters are correct before adding more coral, and make sure you know the parameters of the saltwater you're using. With such a small tank, you risk big swings with water changes if the new sw levels are much different than your tank (and salt used by an LFS could change from week to week, they could accidentally mix it too strong or too weak, etc).

Good luck

 

[nutturbutter]

For what it's worth, frogspawn (and hammers, torches, etc) are not the best "starter" corals. They need a relatively stable tank - and a very new 5 gallon aquarium is likely very unstable. I hope this one makes a comeback but if it doesn't, don't give up! Just plan a little better, make sure your water parameters are correct before adding more coral, and make sure you know the parameters of the saltwater you're using. With such a small tank, you risk big swings with water changes if the new sw levels are much different than your tank (and salt used by an LFS could change from week to week, they could accidentally mix it too strong or too weak, etc).

Good luck

Hi! Thank you for this advice. I see now that you’re correct about Frogspawn not being the best starter corals. I asked the lady at the store and that’s what she referred me to but if you have any suggestions please let me know. I had read somewhere online that Hammers were good.

Other ones I noted were green star polyps, mushrooms and zooanthids.

Anyways I have great news! I think my frog spawn is making a comeback. He did have a lot of recession but my tank is finally at good levels and he’s puffing out way more and looking much happier now. He came back slowly. He still isn’t where he is when I got him but I’m hoping he can get back to that.

My parameters from this morning 11/29:
pH = 8
Ammonia = 0
NH3 = between 0-5 probably like 1-2
NO2 = 0
Calcium = 450-460 ppm
Mag = 1200-1230 ppm
Alk = 9.3 dkh
Phos = 0-0.25 ppm
PAR = 120 ish with LED
Salinity = 1.024 with hydrometer

I was able to raise my parameters by supplementation and adding salt. I know the salt could still be higher. I’m having a hard time raising it. I also don’t want it too high and I don’t want the calcium to keep increasing.

Overall, I have become way more efficient at doing/reading the tests and I think how the coral looks means these levels are fairly accurate.

I was thinking I would supplement with a little bit more mag to get the levels in the 1300s and maybe add a little more salt.

I also haven’t done a water change in like 3 weeks (the water from the store wasn’t at the correct salinity and nutrition so I have been working to improve that and then topping it off with this and RODI). I don’t feel like a water change is really necessary at this point because the tank looks much better and only has my 1 coral and live rock.

I do have more algae growth but I figured this was ok, considering how new the tank is and is easily cleanable with my magnet.

I’m feeding him once a day.

Thoughts?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

My parameters from this morning 11/29:
pH = 8
Ammonia = 0
NH3 = between 0-5 probably like 1-2
NO2 = 0
Calcium = 450-460 ppm
Mag = 1200-1230 ppm
Alk = 9.3 dkh
Phos = 0-0.25 ppm
PAR = 120 ish with LED
Salinity = 1.024 with hydrometer

Thoughts -
Raise nitrate (I'm assuming that's what you meant when you put "NH3") to at least 10. Corals need nitrates to survive and with your tank being so new, you really don't want to bottom out your nutrients.

Test salinity with a properly calibrated refractometer and if needed, raise it to 1.026. Just do this. I'm not sure why you're hesitant but lower salinity is not good for coral (and again, with a new tank, you want everything you can to be in line so the other inevitable variations don't have even more of a negative effect).

 

[Reeflix]

Hi! Thank you for this advice. I see now that you’re correct about Frogspawn not being the best starter corals. I asked the lady at the store and that’s what she referred me to but if you have any suggestions please let me know. I had read somewhere online that Hammers were good.

Other ones I noted were green star polyps, mushrooms and zooanthids.

Anyways I have great news! I think my frog spawn is making a comeback. He did have a lot of recession but my tank is finally at good levels and he’s puffing out way more and looking much happier now. He came back slowly. He still isn’t where he is when I got him but I’m hoping he can get back to that.

My parameters from this morning 11/29:
pH = 8
Ammonia = 0
NH3 = between 0-5 probably like 1-2
NO2 = 0
Calcium = 450-460 ppm
Mag = 1200-1230 ppm
Alk = 9.3 dkh
Phos = 0-0.25 ppm
PAR = 120 ish with LED
Salinity = 1.024 with hydrometer

I was able to raise my parameters by supplementation and adding salt. I know the salt could still be higher. I’m having a hard time raising it. I also don’t want it too high and I don’t want the calcium to keep increasing.

Overall, I have become way more efficient at doing/reading the tests and I think how the coral looks means these levels are fairly accurate.

I was thinking I would supplement with a little bit more mag to get the levels in the 1300s and maybe add a little more salt.

I also haven’t done a water change in like 3 weeks (the water from the store wasn’t at the correct salinity and nutrition so I have been working to improve that and then topping it off with this and RODI). I don’t feel like a water change is really necessary at this point because the tank looks much better and only has my 1 coral and live rock.

I do have more algae growth but I figured this was ok, considering how new the tank is and is easily cleanable with my magnet.

I’m feeding him once a day.

Thoughts?

So, I would keep phos at .1-.2, nitrate at 10-15 as this is required for the coral, and low nitrate and phos and lead to Dinos, and that sucks. You can keep your salinity at 1.025, but 1.026 is better. Also mag isn’t as important but still is, and as long as you can get it around 1300+ you should be good. What are you feeding him? It isn’t necessary to feed him once a day, just once a week. Also for starter corals, definitely some softies, also just wait a bit for some coral until you feel ready to take on some more. Definitely mushrooms are a very good starter coral, along with GSP and zoas. If you want LPS, then I would recommend candy canes.