devil's hand leather help please

[trailer]

hey all,
picked up a devil's hand leather on sunday and put it in my tank but i cant tell if it is doing ok or not. it is kind of leaning to one side and its "fingers are drooped down for the most part. i fastened it to LR at the top of an arch pattern i have in the tank so it is about 13" away from 96w PC 50/50's. it looks like it is getting small bumps all over it and color has remained the same the whole time.
here are tank stats:
47 column (33" tall)
51 lbs of LR
2" LS
Aquaclear 110 HOB acting as mini fuge when i get cheato
2 MJ 900 Powerheads
Salinity:1.023
PH: 8.0
Amm and trite: 0
nitrate: 20 ppm
Also, what type of trace elements do these guys need if any at all. The LFS guy said i should add a Kent "total coral" supp twice a week.
thanks for the help

 

[monalisa]

Hi Trailer,
When I first added my dh, he didn't come to properly for quite a while. He's been in my tank for about 6 months now, and even now every day he has what we call his "fainting spells" for about an hour or so in the late afternoon. When he's out, he's gorgeous yellow and stretched out, but when he's in his fainting mode, he looks like something I should flush. I'm not sure why they do that, but apparently it's normal.
Hope this helps.
Lisa :happyfish

 

[trailer]

lisa, yeh that is a big help, thanks. what trace elements do you use? also, would 20ppm nitrates hurt him too much?

 

[dburr]

20 PPM is on the high side. Don't let it get higher.
What/how often do you feed? Do you add anything else to the tank?
Water changes?

 

[trailer]

Originally Posted by dburr
20 PPM is on the high side. Don't let it get higher.
What/how often do you feed? Do you add anything else to the tank?
Water changes?
10% water changes weekly. use kent marine essential elements and have fed once so far. i added a watchman goby along with the coral.
hope that helps.

 

[dburr]

If I understand this right, You cycled, added coral and one goby and fed one time. The tank is pretty new.
Personally speaking, if water changes are done weekly, I wouldn't add the elements. You don't need them, it's in the salt.
The 20 PPM could be because the tank is new. I would stay with your WC and feed sparingly, maybe every other day. Just see that your goby doesn't get skinny.
HTH