xenia mystery!

[Wiz]

When I started my tank I had a piece of pom pom xenia and regular xenia. At that point both grew like crazy and earned their "easy" status. A couple months later the reg xenia staryed having "episodes".
Random arms of the xenia would start to turn white and melt away. One day two or three arms. The next day two or three more. Over the period of a month or so the entire Colony melted away. I did not mind horribly because the regular xenia was rather large and I knew would eventually be a problem so I let it go. Plus I still had my pom pom, which at this point was up to about 10 stocks. A fine-looking colony Topping the left side of my rock work.
After another month or two The pom pom colony which I had
been fragging regularly and was doing great Started to do the same thing.One stock at a time it dwindled until it was nothing. over a couple of months. Then gone. :-(
I had a similar thing happen with my duncan. Grew from 2 to 15 heads and then slowly died. I waited a couple of months and got a new frag two heads. Which is now up to about 15. And doing well.So I decided to wait a few months and give the pom pom another try. I really like the motion of the polyps.
At first it grew good. Up to 3 stalks then a repeat. Dead in a week.:-( I decided pom pom was not for me.
At the last frag swap a friend practically told me to take a frag of his. I told him it would die. He said he didn't want it and no one bought it. So.....
I got it in the display and it immediatly started to melt. It was down to a sad little lump and as a last effort I threw it in my fuge. Well, low and behold in a few weeks it has staryed to rebound. Its never gotten better before. Thoughts?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Interested.
Parameters Please?
Parameters Please(in the sump from the bottom)
Carbon dosing?

Did the duncan Growth and death coincide with the xena death?

 

[Wiz]

I have not dosed vodka since the fuge was running. I only test the display but all water is plumbed together so it shouldn't matter. And no the duncan was at a different time. It may have overlapped the reg. Xenia dying.

Sg 1.026
Temp 81º
Alk 10
Calc 440
Mag 1280
Phos 0
Nitrate 0-10 depends on last feeding.
Amonia 0

 

[Scubabum]

Following as well. My tank was exploding with xenia for years. Now I can barely keep it alive. I'm down to 1 tiny stock. I'm pretty sure it has to do with very low nutrients.

 

[Wiz]

Kind of what I was thinking. But why would it do better in my refugium then my display when both share the same water

Following as well. My tank was exploding with xenia for years. Now I can barely keep it alive. I'm down to 1 tiny stock. I'm pretty sure it has to do with very low nutrients.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I only test the display but all water is plumbed together so it shouldn't matter.

"shouldnt"
Lets get weird.
if a sand bed its doing what it should do by hosting billions of bacteria on the bottom of a tank, and water flowing over and through it, and there being some form of buffering being done (electrical ion), and gravity will hold rotting detritus to the bottom. So there should be a layer on the bottom of the tank of higher nutrients, esp in a fuge with a lower lagoon style flow.
If the flow is correct in the DT all detritus and extra food is winding up in the fuge and not the dt.
By sampling the water from on top of the DT with everything on your only getting an average sampling of the water column. Not the "micro climates".

 

[Wiz]

So which areas do you suggest I test. I would be glad to give it a shot

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

If Xenia are what we think thet are and gluttons for exess nutrients(google xenia fuge) it could be possible that they sucked up all the nutrients in the WC in th DT and wilted.
Same could be said for the duncan.

Also Xenia taking over my tank! usually means its a kinda dirty tank.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

So which areas do you suggest I test. I would be glad to give it a shot

with the pumps of, and Id bet you have a 5ml syringe, right next to the xenia.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I pulled a huge amount of Po out of my 30gal(a rehab)cyano exploded tank by using a Hob refugium, overstock on corals(more no Po uptake) and increasing the light intensity. Trimmed the chato weekly. fed lightly