buttons wont open and green ricordea

[rgall]

I have a 75 with under gravel filter/2 power heads along with a canister filter, power compact which has 2x65 watt 12k daylight on 8hrs and 2 x65 actinic on 10 hrs, and then the leds at night.
2 tangs, nemo, 2 damsils, 1 shrimp, crabs. PH is good, nitrate/nitrites good, temp runs 76-82, just got a rock with purple buttons on it that are not opening up like it was at the store. After 3 days I moved it to another location and my girlfriend got me a rock with green ricordea. Now the buttons have been in for 5-6 days and are barely opening and the ricordea has been in for 2 days and is closed up more than it was on day 1 and doesnt look like it did at the store. Any suggestions here? Do I have enough light? There is what looks like a mini feather duster on one rock that is open. Fish are happy... Both rocks are placed towards the top 2/3 of the tank. Also at night the buttons close up more, I am assuming this is normal.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Hi,
You only have about 3.46 watts of light on your tank per gallon. For your corals, I would recommend around 5 to 5.5 watts per gallon (at least 400 watts) for your tank, if you want to start a reef. Are your other corals not looking well?

 

[piscian]

I think your 6 degree swing in temp is a big problem.

 

[snakeblitz33]

ooo, hah. I didn't read about his temp swing. Yeah, that could be a major problem. Reef tanks etc. have to remain at a constant temperature. You could get some temp sensitive fans to blow some of the heat away....

 

[perfectdark]

And IMO you have sufficient light for your current stock. You might want to place them up higer towards the light but IMO its enough for polyups, shrooms and Ric's. Another thing to consider is the FS water quality, nitrates PH etc.. coral acclimation can take time if the orginal tank and yours is that far off. Although I do agree with the temp swing too, thats alot.

 

[rgall]

Originally Posted by rgall
I have a 75 with under gravel filter/2 power heads along with a canister filter, power compact which has 2x65 watt 12k daylight on 8hrs and 2 x65 actinic on 10 hrs, and then the leds at night.
2 tangs, nemo, 2 damsils, 1 shrimp, crabs. PH is good, nitrate/nitrites good, temp runs 76-82, just got a rock with purple buttons on it that are not opening up like it was at the store. After 3 days I moved it to another location and my girlfriend got me a rock with green ricordea. Now the buttons have been in for 5-6 days and are barely opening and the ricordea has been in for 2 days and is closed up more than it was on day 1 and doesnt look like it did at the store. Any suggestions here? Do I have enough light? There is what looks like a mini feather duster on one rock that is open. Fish are happy... Both rocks are placed towards the top 2/3 of the tank. Also at night the buttons close up more, I am assuming this is normal.
The temp is more of a 78-82 range. Being 78ish in the early morning due to the fact that the lights are off. Its near a window with sunlight which may alter temp it a bit during the day along with the heat from the lights. The top of the tank is open and the lights are clipped onto the tank.

 

[nycbob]

this might not be a light or temp issue. hv u tested all of ur parameters like ph, nitrate and ammonia?

 

[spinylobster]

bob,, check your calium levels... if you chack my posts you will see that i had the same problem. Calcium was the main culprit, and believe it or not i was changing too much water on a weekly basis. So if calcium is good maybe try going a bit longer on water changes

 

[spinylobster]

sorry RGALL(above post)

 

[rgall]

Originally Posted by rgall
I have a 75 with under gravel filter/2 power heads along with a canister filter, power compact which has 2x65 watt 12k daylight on 8hrs and 2 x65 actinic on 10 hrs, and then the leds at night.
2 tangs, nemo, 2 damsils, 1 shrimp, crabs. PH is good, nitrate/nitrites good, temp runs 76-82, just got a rock with purple buttons on it that are not opening up like it was at the store. After 3 days I moved it to another location and my girlfriend got me a rock with green ricordea. Now the buttons have been in for 5-6 days and are barely opening and the ricordea has been in for 2 days and is closed up more than it was on day 1 and doesnt look like it did at the store. Any suggestions here? Do I have enough light? There is what looks like a mini feather duster on one rock that is open. Fish are happy... Both rocks are placed towards the top 2/3 of the tank. Also at night the buttons close up more, I am assuming this is normal.
I just did a partial water change a few days earlier..