Fairly New Hobbiest, needs warm welcoming

dara

dara

New Member
Hey, my girlfriend and I have been in this hobby for about 5 months now. We're fairly happy with the current state of our fish tank, but feel there is more that can be done to improve. Our recent testing of the water parameters are:
Nitrate: 30ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Ammonia: 0ppm
Ph: 8.2
Calcium: 420ppm
Alkalinity: in the middle of an acceptable color gradient (not a very good alkalinity test kit, but purchased it so, oh well.) There are no corresponding number.
I know that the Nitrate level is way high for a reef tank, but 10ppm comes straight from the tap. Just ordered a ro/di unit and should be coming in today.
Going into saltwater was a spontaneous that we jumped into, and I learned everything I know (which is very little still) from the post on this website.
But anyhow, I just registered with swf.com and thought I should post a thread of some sort, so this is it. I do have a question though: How do I get my xenia to pulsate?
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
A warm welcom to dara:cheer: :happy: :happyfish
And an awesome tank.

Pssst:
nitrates can be lowered through more plant life. otherwise excellent tank
ro/di won't help much especially if 10ppm is from the tap. plants will bring 30ppm to 0.0 in about 3-4 weeks. You just have to have enough of them. And that would be with using your existing tap. meanwhile your tap probably has calcium and buffering in it. The ro/di will remove those. So you will probably have to start doseing calcium with ro/di
 
neowind

neowind

Member
Hello and welcome to the boards!!! That is a beautiful tank and I am very impressed. There are a bunch of people on here that love xenia's and I am sure they will be able to help you out on this.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
Welcome
Nice tank :). Good move on the RO/DI, that will help a lot.
How do I get my xenia to pulsate?
What kind of lighting do you have?
 
dara

dara

New Member
I have a CoralLife 260W compact. I have hiding behind the canopy, an Emperor 400 filter and a prizm skimmer. I suppliment with kent liquid reactor and strontium. When I remember, I throw in some marc weiss marine dna and plankton. That's basically it. Bob, thanks for you promp reply, I didn't know replies were so quick to come by, I just posted an hour ago, and already, there are three. I have been thinking about building a refugium (no clue how, as of right now), and I hope it all works out.
 
shoreliner11

shoreliner11

Active Member
Its possible it has something to do with your high nitrates. I am not totally sure on this, but xenia is usually a pretty good indicator for me on my water quality. Its the first to show signs that the water is bad. With that said it might just be your nitrates are a little high. Oh, and there are multiple species of xenia, those from your pic, yours should be able to pulsate. If you add a refugium and start using ro/di water I think they'll come down fine. Good luck.
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
A warm welcome...glad you decided to sign up! Very nice looking reef for only 5 months. Your water levels aren't that bad...nitrates could be addressed...but 30ppm isn't bad at all. Smart move with the ro/di...despite what was mentioned above most hobbyist try to insure as quality a water source as possible.Plants can help...but again most experienced hobbyists prefer not to have a reef overrun with the amount of plants it takes to maintain water quality. A refugium would be a good idea and there has been numerous posts on the subject(try the search feature at the top)...Again...Welcome to the forum I hope you enjoy your stay. Ask away with any specific questions and I'm confident the members here will be more than willing to help out....:happyfish
 
dara

dara

New Member
Thankyou all very much. It seems like a very warm place to post questions. I just got my ro/di unit that I bought from ---- about 10 mins ago, and I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to install it. It's the unit from filter direct for about 125 dollars shipped. But again, thankyou all. I will go back to figuring out the ro/di installations, and I will be back read my reception.:)
 
dara

dara

New Member
the xenia is to the right of the red brain, in the middle of the tank (as in the picture above). I have an ebo-jager heater that keeps the water temperature at 79 degrees solid. I have had the xenias for about 2 weeks. And thanks everyone again for taking the time.:joy:
 
dara

dara

New Member
I have two maxi 900 powerhead that points at an angle of about 45 degrees upwards. I don't feel as if the xenia sees much of that current, so I would have to say moderate current at best. The goniopora feels most of the current.
Note: the goniopora is a result of someone who did not do their research ahead of time:notsure:, and listened to the owner of the LFS who said it was hardy (and he shows this by putting his hands all over it:nervous: . It was actually the very second coral I added to the fish tank, right after the button pulp. Since then, I have read up on it quite a bit, and it has been doing very well. I have had it since the tank was just a month old (started with cured rocks), and have had it for four months now.
 
neoreef

neoreef

Member
Hi and welcome,
My xenias stop pulsing abruptly when I turn off the powerheads when I feed my fish, and resume pulsing when I turn the flow back on. You may want to try to direct a powerhead in the direction of the xenia, and see if that helps.
Good luck!
 
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