tongue coral

[blennies]

I have bought a tongue coral and he was doing good for a couple of days but now only 1/3 of him is opening up. A couple days ago i took him off the sand and put him on a smooth flat tile in my tank to see if the samd that was getting ontop of him was affecting him at all. It looked like he was coming back then he closed up again. The nitrate leves in my tank are a bit high do you think that could affect him that much? I feed him eat day a little shrimp and he eats it can anyone help me figure out how to get this guy going again thanks

 

[Reefing Madness]

Gotta figure out your water params, and requires strong lighting.

 

[blennies]

I cannot get my nitrates down i have been performing water changes as much as i can. One thing that might be a problem is that i have a cannester filter that has been running a while without replacing the filters or the bag of charcoal in it

 

[Reefing Madness]

Its not replacing them thats the problem, its cleaning them every week thats needed. 50% every other day until they come down.

 

[blennies]

So i dont need to replace the filters or carbon bags just clean them can i do that with tap water or should i do it in buckets of sea water

 

[Reefing Madness]

The filter bags are ok to just clean out once a week, the carbon needs changed out every 4-6 weeks or it will leach back into the system. I just clean my filter out once a week myself.

 

[blennies]

I have a canister filter with pad filters in it no bag filters so still do the same?

 

[fungia_fiend]

Personally I don't use canister filters for reefs, just my freshwater. The pads clog easily and nitrates spike, as you're seeing. I just run liverock, water changes, and a decent skimmer.

Tongue corals don't mind the sand at all, as long as they aren't being completely buried. They need moderate light and low to moderate flow. They're not too hard, but they are stony corals., They need stable alk/ca/mg in normal reef ranges. When healthy, they appreciate some feedings. I like using mysis and spectrum pellets.

 

[Reefing Madness]

I have a canister filter with pad filters in it no bag filters so still do the same?

Yup, pretty much. Make sure they are cleaned out weekly and they won't become nitrate issues in the system. Same with the carbon, if they carbon becomes full it leaches back into the system.
I run a filter myself, I run it because I run SeaKlear Phosphate remover, which instantly bonds phosphates together, and you have to have a way to remove them, and the skimmer isnt' the best at it.