Unhappy Bubble Tip and Zoas won't open

[Keen4]

Yea I was aware they all get big- i was hoping to keep everyone and upgrade to a larger tank soon but that doesnt look like its gonna happen now with our economy. Lighting per my original post. I tested the waters once from Marks Tropical. That’s why I go back there and buy his water because it’s always clean but I never paid attention to all of the other parameters other than ammonia and nitrates. Everyone else that sold me water lied and said it was rodi water and clean and somehow it always tested dirty AF. I use the settings per another feed on R2R about this lamp in which i replied to about which setting to put it on. I never do full spectrum. The settings are weird.
I'll have to return or sell these guys. Theyre all new. I just dont understand what im supposed to have in this tank if i have one BTA and two clowns. Thats just a boring tank. Im completely discouraged. Im so tired of reading and listening to hundreds of feeds and people in person telling me different things about everything. I honestly dont know who r what web site info to trust anymore.

 

[Keen4]

Is this not supposed to happen?Mini maxi and a bta same tank? What if I made an anemone only tank with just my carpets and the bta’s I have now?

 

[laverda]

I did not realize you had mini maxis and can not say specifically about their compatibility with BTAs. If your BTAs are getting to much light (doubtful) they will move away from the light.
I am not saying Catalina water is bad I used it for years and know many stores use it. I have also used real ocean water from Scripts and the Kickoff institute for years with good results. You just need to realize it varies a fair bit as it is all taken from on shore. With Scripts being the best in my opinion as it is taken from a deep trench at the end of a long pier, not from in a harbor.

I am sorry your feeling overwhelmed. Different people catch different things while reading posts and have different experiences and experience levels. On top of that there are many ways to have a successfully reef tank. One of the universally recognized facts is it takes time to develop a successful reef tank. First we have to wait for our tanks to cycle , while we all want to start adding things to our tanks ASAP. Then we learn that being cycled is ok for some things, but not enough for others. Our tanks need to get established next. But there are no test kits to even help figure out if it is established or not. There are products sold to speed up the process and help along the way. But again it is really hard to know when our tanks are ready for the more sensitive things we keep.

Sorting through good and bad advice can be a real challenge. Especially as there is not only one way to do a lot of things in this hobby. You have to read and then think if what your reading makes sense to. Does the person giving advice know what they are talking about? How long have they been in the hobby? What are they keeping? Different things have different requirements. Sadly many people with very little experience are the first to reply on many threads. I have seen many people in the hobby less than 6 months talking like the know everything.

The hobby is probably the most complex in the world. There is so much to learn about, if your interested in it. That is one of the things I love about reef aquariums. No one knows everything about it. I refrain from commenting on many threads as I know others hear know more about a subject then I do. I read those threads to learn from them. I analyze what they have to say to see if if meshes with what I know and makes sense to me. BTAs are something I consider myself very knowledgeable about. I have been keeping them for 26 years or so. I currently have approximately 30 in my 300 gallon tank. I know for a fact that they thrive in height nitrate tanks. BTA farmers feed them nitrates. Yet almost every post I see like yours, if nitrates are above 10 a bunch of people will jump on and say they are a problem. In your case for your BTAs your nitrates are not an issue at all. For some corals that would not be the case. For that matter everyone used to say you needed zero nitrate and phosphate to raise corals successfully. Only recently has it become common knowledge that this is wrong and all corals require small amounts of phosphate and nitrates to thrive.

As I said before slow down and take your time. The is an old saying in the hobby: Nothing good happens fast in a reef aquarium. O and get decent test kits so you really know where you stand.

 

[Keen4]

I did not realize you had mini maxis and can not say specifically about their compatibility with BTAs. If your BTAs are getting to much light (doubtful) they will move away from the light.
I am not saying Catalina water is bad I used it for years and know many stores use it. I have also used real ocean water from Scripts and the Kickoff institute for years with good results. You just need to realize it varies a fair bit as it is all taken from on shore. With Scripts being the best in my opinion as it is taken from a deep trench at the end of a long pier, not from in a harbor.

I am sorry your feeling overwhelmed. Different people catch different things while reading posts and have different experiences and experience levels. On top of that there are many ways to have a successfully reef tank. One of the universally recognized facts is it takes time to develop a successful reef tank. First we have to wait for our tanks to cycle , while we all want to start adding things to our tanks ASAP. Then we learn that being cycled is ok for some things, but not enough for others. Our tanks need to get established next. But there are no test kits to even help figure out if it is established or not. There are products sold to speed up the process and help along the way. But again it is really hard to know when our tanks are ready for the more sensitive things we keep.

Sorting through good and bad advice can be a real challenge. Especially as there is not only one way to do a lot of things in this hobby. You have to read and then think if what your reading makes sense to. Does the person giving advice know what they are talking about? How long have they been in the hobby? What are they keeping? Different things have different requirements. Sadly many people with very little experience are the first to reply on many threads. I have seen many people in the hobby less than 6 months talking like the know everything.

The hobby is probably the most complex in the world. There is so much to learn about, if your interested in it. That is one of the things I love about reef aquariums. No one knows everything about it. I refrain from commenting on many threads as I know others hear know more about a subject then I do. I read those threads to learn from them. I analyze what they have to say to see if if meshes with what I know and makes sense to me. BTAs are something I consider myself very knowledgeable about. I have been keeping them for 26 years or so. I currently have approximately 30 in my 300 gallon tank. I know for a fact that they thrive in height nitrate tanks. BTA farmers feed them nitrates. Yet almost every post I see like yours, if nitrates are above 10 a bunch of people will jump on and say they are a problem. In your case for your BTAs your nitrates are not an issue at all. For some corals that would not be the case. For that matter everyone used to say you needed zero nitrate and phosphate to raise corals successfully. Only recently has it become common knowledge that this is wrong and all corals require small amounts of phosphate and nitrates to thrive.

As I said before slow down and take your time. The is an old saying in the hobby: Nothing good happens fast in a reef aquarium. O and get decent test kits so you really know where you stand.

Thanks- Yea my fish guys been doing this for 50 years and still i dont feel i can fully believe everything he says. I think what i need to do from here on is to move my zoas to my little 5 gallon with the rock flowers and Duncan. Ill do this until i can trade my gorgeous rock flowers. I am going to go back to my original plan to have an anemone only tank and just leave my acid rain btw that im trying to rescue and raise the little baby rainbow bta. ill keep the mini maxis in there and keep a close eye. The baby rainbow likes to hide under one of the carpets which i think is strange.

 

[Leslie Tabor]

You have gotten great advice, I an just throwing in my 2 cents...slow down. You have done A LOT in a little tank in a very short amount of time. All those anemones in basically a brand new tank plus all those fish. Concentrate on just your water chemistry until things settle.

 

[Leslie Tabor]

Is this not supposed to happen?Mini maxi and a bta same tank? What if I made an anemone only tank with just my carpets and the bta’s I have now?

Maxi minis, rock flowers, and BTAs can all live together in a large enough tank. They will move to new spots if they don't like where they are. In this picture that maxi mini will probably get stung and move or vice versa.

 

[Keen4]

You have gotten great advice, I an just throwing in my 2 cents...slow down. You have done A LOT in a little tank in a very short amount of time. All those anemones in basically a brand new tank plus all those fish. Concentrate on just your water chemistry until things settle.

Thank you-
ok so i mixed new water with the NeoMarine and RODI water. Im testing it before putting it in and the salinity is perfect 1.025 but the ammonia is still showing a little lime green .25ppm with the API test kit.

 

[Keen4]

I was able to get a new test kit for alkaline.
KH: Super low- its not even on this red sea chart. i used .29 titrant and the dkh has got to be i think 3.9 if i did my math right. I did the test twice. #reefsquad
CA: 280ppm according to api test (again on the redsea test the result isnt even on the chart its so low)
Specific Gravity: 1.025

 

[Keen4]

Your ammonia level is concerning right of the bat! You should not have ammonia unless something is dying or has died. Your Green Bubble May be the culprit to the ammonia level. You may be best to remove it before your water parameters really get out of whack.
It seems as if you have a lot going on and are trying to do to much to quickly. First of all, moving Anemones is not a good thing to do as they move on their own to find a place that suits them. By you moving them, you create stress for the animal. You can try altering water flow, light intensity and feeding the Anemone but it is best to leave it be.
Your Zoanthids love nitrates and nutrient rich water, unlike their cousins the SPS. Water changes are a good habit to get into, but adding chemical media to achieve very low nutrients isn’t advisable when trying to maintain success with Zoanthids and Palythoas.
Try to not stress out so much and do too much or in such a short time. Sometimes, altering things can be your own worst enemy.
good luck and be safe!

HELP- so i mixed a new batch of RO water again with Neomarine and the CA and KH are pretty much non existent in the water. Im about to just add kalkawasser and seas buffer

 

[Keen4]

What salt are you using? And do you have an alk test kit?

Im using Neo Marine and i have the Red Sea alk test. i did a second water change since i started this subject. The KH is like a 3.9 and the CA is 220ppm. im about to add kalkwasser #reefsquad

I really with there was a live chat available for this.

 

[Copingwithpods]

This sounds like a testing error don't add kalk just yet if gravity is a 1.025 alk should be around 7-8 and cal at 400-430

 

[Keen4]

This sounds like a testing error don't add kalk just yet if gravity is a 1.025 alk should be around 7-8 and cal at 400-430

Something is seriously not right- im doing tests over and over. This kh isnt anywhere near 7-8. its a redsea test kit. the numbers arent even on the chart.

 

[Copingwithpods]

Slow down and make sure you are doing everything correctly as per the instructions on the card, watch a YouTube video if you must. Also remember to flush the seringes and the test tubes well before retesting.

 

[Keen4]

Slow down and make sure you are doing everything correctly as per the instructions on the card, watch a YouTube video if you must. Also remember to flush the seringes and the test tubes well before retesting.

omg i was counting the syringe wrong. lol with this test kit it requires you to count back from 1.0

 

[nereefpat]

omg i was counting the syringe wrong. lol with this test kit it requires you to count back from 1.0

So, what is the alk reading?

 

[Idoc]

I would suggest taking a step back...read the directions very closely on how to perform each water parameter test and watch a couple of youtube videos by the test's manufacturer on how to do the test properly. Then attempt to take the test again and see how the results come out. In the meantime, many water issues can be corrected with simple 10-20% water changes every few days to a week. The corals will usually start to respond favorably once the water parameters are in check.

Don't add Kalkwasser or anything else to change your parameters until you know for sure your current parameters.

 

[jeffchapok]

While others here have said the same thing already, I'm not going to be as delicate about it -- YOU NEED TO SLOW WAAAY DOWN!!!

I'm not trying to be a jerk. Quite the contrary, I'm trying to save you a lot of heartache (and money!) in the long run. My head is spinning from trying to follow everything you've done or plan to do so far. Adding this, moving or removing that, etc. All this in an already heavily stocked tank that is only 3 months old. Most people don't even attempts nems in tanks less than 6 months.

It's said over and over again, nothing good happens in this hobby quickly. And there are no magic potions. Nearly everything you add has a potential negative consequence. And that can include something as innocuous as a 50% water change.

Above all else, these creatures crave stability. Most of them will adapt over time to whatever conditions they find themselves in, within certain parameters. That's why you find widely differing suggestions, ie. high vs low nutrient levels. Both can work as long as it remains stable.

So if you need to make changes, make them small and then give the system time to react. I know it's hard, but this can mean weeks of watching for a response. And only change one thing at a time, or you'll never know for certain what caused what.

This goes for adding livestock too, including CUC. You need to give your beneficial bacteria an opportunity to ramp up to the new bioload or else you'll cause an ammonia spike. Adding a bunch of snails or crabs at once can quickly result in them wiping out the available food supply and them many of them starving to death. Unless adding small schooling or paired couples of fish, only add one or at most 2 at a time.

I hope you'll take this advice in the spirit in which it was intended. I'm certainly no expert, as I've only been in the hobby a little over a year myself. I'm impatient myself and made a number of the same mistakes resulting in quite a few dead specimens. I only wish to share my experience to help someone else avoid the same fate.

Good luck and happy reefing!

 

[Keen4]

While others here have said the same thing already, I'm not going to be as delicate about it -- YOU NEED TO SLOW WAAAY DOWN!!!

I'm not trying to be a jerk. Quite the contrary, I'm trying to save you a lot of heartache (and money!) in the long run. My head is spinning from trying to follow everything you've done or plan to do so far. Adding this, moving or removing that, etc. All this in an already heavily stocked tank that is only 3 months old. Most people don't even attempts nems in tanks less than 6 months.

It's said over and over again, nothing good happens in this hobby quickly. And there are no magic potions. Nearly everything you add has a potential negative consequence. And that can include something as innocuous as a 50% water change.

Above all else, these creatures crave stability. Most of them will adapt over time to whatever conditions they find themselves in, within certain parameters. That's why you find widely differing suggestions, ie. high vs low nutrient levels. Both can work as long as it remains stable.

So if you need to make changes, make them small and then give the system time to react. I know it's hard, but this can mean weeks of watching for a response. And only change one thing at a time, or you'll never know for certain what caused what.

This goes for adding livestock too, including CUC. You need to give your beneficial bacteria an opportunity to ramp up to the new bioload or else you'll cause an ammonia spike. Adding a bunch of snails or crabs at once can quickly result in them wiping out the available food supply and them many of them starving to death. Unless adding small schooling or paired couples of fish, only add one or at most 2 at a time.

I hope you'll take this advice in the spirit in which it was intended. I'm certainly no expert, as I've only been in the hobby a little over a year myself. I'm impatient myself and made a number of the same mistakes resulting in quite a few dead specimens. I only wish to share my experience to help someone else avoid the same fate.

Good luck and happy reefing!

No your right I did too much. At first it was like dang, I gotta cycle this tank for 4 Mo this before I put anything in it. My lease will be up and what if something happens and I have to move. Well, now the world is falling apart and thy might really happen. Then I was told by different people to add stuff now no issue because of the water I was buying and the live rock I have. I’d been searching for a forum and I’m glad I finally have taken the time to find this one. My Facebook askbrsTV group gives different advice too. You guys seem to be more helpful and actually respond. For now the tank is just being left alone. My zoas are slowly opening back up in the 5gal. I’ll post a pic when everyone opens up. I just turned their light on.

 

[Keen4]

Slow down and make sure you are doing everything correctly as per the instructions on the card, watch a YouTube video if you must. Also remember to flush the seringes and the test tubes well before retesting.

So, what is the alk reading?

Per RedSea Tests:
Magnesium: 1440ppm
Alkaline: 8.8
Cal: 400pp
Salinity 1.027

Salifert tests
Nitrates- 25ppm
PH: 8.0


Per tetra Strip
Ammonia: 1.0ppm

 

[Copingwithpods]

Apart from the ammonia fro the tetra strip that can't really be trusted anyway everything looks close to ideal, Salinity is a tad high and cal a tad low, nothing that won't resolve its self with weekly 10 percent water changes.

Glad to hear you figured the test kit out! Believe me it took me 3 trys lol you'll be a testing pro in no time.