Mixing BTA

[noahwz]

Hello,

I have been trying to keep a mixed reef, with multiple colors of BTA. I already know this is a heavily debated topic. Currently my tank is a 45 gallon, Few months old, was the upgrade to my previous year old tank. I have cycled and added corals and BTA, slowly I have been adding new variants of lower end BTA. Currently i have 2 Rose BTA, 2 Rainbow BTA, 2 Black Widow BTA, 1 Funburst BTA, 3 Green BTA of different patterns, and 3 RFA. For awhile everyone has been doing okay.

I have had a green anemone die after numerous days of inflating/deflating and leaving its mouth open exposing and spitting out Zooxanthellae. I attributed the death of that nem to possibility of water parameter swings as the tank was on the newer end when I introduced it and or warfare between the other color variants. Now i have 2/3 green anemones spending most of the day deflated and when they are inflated they definitely don't seem as happy as before. I'm running carbon and testing water frequently.

Parameters
Salinity: 1.025
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
Phos: 0
Cal: 450
Mag: 1500 (run heavy for LPS)
Alk: 8.5
PH 8.2

I've done a lot of research and seen that people frequently have had success keeping multiple colors, and also have seen frequently that people have struggled keeping GBTA with any other colors.

#fishmedics please help!

 

[tzabor10]

Phosphate seems low. Would love to see some pics

 

[Hooz]

Yeah. Anemones, like coral, need phosphates. That would be the first thing I'd address.

You say you run carbon... How much, and how frequently do you change it? Passive flow or in a reactor?

 

[Jekyl]

Was everything from the year old tank transferred or is this a new 2 month old tank? Maturity and stability are key for nems.

As far as the color variations there is a lot of anecdotal evidence showing there can be issues. You can try running carbon to help.

 

[noahwz]

Phosphate seems low. Would love to see some pics

running API test kit, not sure exact value, i know its not 100% 0 but for sure on the low end.

 

[noahwz]

Yeah. Anemones, like coral, need phosphates. That would be the first thing I'd address.

You say you run carbon... How much, and how frequently do you change it? Passive flow or in a reactor?

im running heavy on carbon, a little more than suggested, it is passive flow in a bag.

 

[Hooz]

im running heavy on carbon, a little more than suggested, it is passive flow in a bag.

I've found that running extra carbon doesn't help as much as changing it more frequently. I change mine (in a reactor) every 2 weeks.

I'm actually looking in to using ozone instead of carbon. The initial investment is more, obviously, but it would save me some work (and ongoing costs) in the long run.

 

[noahwz]

Was everything from the year old tank transferred or is this a new 2 month old tank? Maturity and stability are key for nems.

As far as the color variations there is a lot of anecdotal evidence showing there can be issues. You can try running carbon to help.

absolutely agree and am familiar with need for stability. I started off with a few rainbows, black widows before adding anything else and they have done well and parameters have not fluctuated much since completing its cycle.

 

[noahwz]

I've found that running extra carbon doesn't help as much as changing it more frequently. I change mine (in a reactor) every 2 weeks.

I'm actually looking in to using ozone instead of carbon. The initial investment is more, obviously, but it would save me some work (and ongoing costs) in the long run.

mine is about 2 weeks old, i will switch it out today.

 

[noahwz]

This is this morning, i added nitrifying bacteria because i decided to test nitrite and was not at 0, more like 0.15-0.25, wondering if i had a minor cycle crash. Just strange that the green nems are the only ones that are upset.

 

[noahwz]

This is this morning, i added nitrifying bacteria because i decided to test nitrite and was not at 0, more like 0.15-0.25, wondering if i had a minor cycle crash. Just strange that the green nems are the only ones that are upset.

up until now, nitrite ammonia have been 0 nitrate was around 5ppm, now more like 0 ammonia, 0.15-0.25 nitrite, and 5ppm nitate.

 

[Jekyl]

No need to test for nitrite or ammonia in an established tank.