Corals not opening!

[mike22cha]

Well it's been this way for a couple of weeks now, my striped mushroom and zoanthid are closed. They aren't dead, just not opening.
I add the calcium, iodine, and what not on schedule. They are under Nova Extreme T-5's. Tank is 20g tall.
Well last week I thought there was less calcium in the bottle than I thought so I poured the whole thing in, got like 3x the dose than I planed. I went to the lfs to get my parameters tested, and they said the only problem was calcium was to high and told me to lay off calcium for a month.
Anyways, I'm concerned about my corals and why they aren't opening.
Anyone got an idea why?

 

[nycbob]

zoas and mushrooms dont really need any supplements except light. i would invest in ur own testkits, since lfs doesnt test for everything. i wouldnt dose anything w the corals u r keeping. its a waste of money. try changing 20% of water and gv it a few days.

 

[mike22cha]

Originally Posted by nycbob
zoas and mushrooms dont really need any supplements except light. i would invest in ur own testkits, since lfs doesnt test for everything. i wouldnt dose anything w the corals u r keeping. its a waste of money. try changing 20% of water and gv it a few days.
ok so stop supplementing? But doesn't that help stabilize ph too?

 

[mike22cha]

Ok still not opened. Is it because there is not enough lighting? I thought the lighting I got would be sufficent, but it is a high tnak.
I'll add more alkalinity and supplements today.
NEED HELP!

 

[1journeyman]

Quit adding ANY supplement until you get test kits.
Anything you add to the tank (except SW) can be toxic in too high levels. If the only corals you have are some mushrooms and Zoas then routine water changes will provide all the Iodine they need. I also highly suspect you wouldn't need to ever add Calc in a lightly populated tank.
My bet is you are poisoning your critters with the additives.

 

[mike22cha]

Ok that makes since. When I got it tested my alkalinty was low so I was told to add some aklinity. I only added that twice. Should I continue or stop adding alkalinity?

 

[mike22cha]

Would adding some live rock and some fish help it any? I got some that need to be moved from the 125g and lots of live rock that needs to be moved so I can get ready for an upcoming tankmate

.

 

[1journeyman]

No.
Don't change anything but the water until you get test kits. If your levels are really off you could kill critters on your new rock.
Test your water; then we'll go from there. Until then, do a decent water change.

 

[mike22cha]

Ok, tomorrow is my dad's birthday, but I will soon. The only problems with parameters last time I checked was alkalinity low and calcium high. I haven't added any calcium for a couple weeks now.

 

[cantbstopd]

I was adding purple up for awhile and my calcium went way high which threw my ph and alk out of wack. So if your calcium is high do a check on your ph and alk and you may find them to be out of acceptable range. Just my experiance with high calcium.

 

[1journeyman]

Have you tested your iodine?

 

[mike22cha]

No, I don't have enough money to get all these fancy test kits LOL. I'll get some saltwater to do a water change soon and I'll get it tested too. Should I still be adding phytoplankton?

 

[1journeyman]

No.
I suspect you are spending more money on additives than you will on test kits.
Never, never add anything without testing for it. Iodine in higher levels is toxic.
With a light bio load, such as yours, routine water changes are the best additives.

 

[mike22cha]

Alright thanks.

I'm cutting back on additives and plan on adding some rock and fish soon. (Can't add anything that's going to cost me LOL).

 

[1journeyman]

Adding fish right now is a bad idea. You don't want to add anything until you know what all of your levels are and can properly test for them.
Adding rock is always a good idea.