I am going to tell my LFS to shove their business UP HIS (you know what)

[pitbull01]

Howdy Everybody,
Guess what? About a month ago I bought a leather coral and it never really opened much in my tank but looked really good in theirs. The only thing is that everything else in my tank is doing INCREDIBLE!!! So today, I call my LFS and they tell me they will not take it......and about a week after I got it I went there with my reciept and they said it should open up in about a week or two and it never did...there is nothing eating it-I stayed up all night one night and there is nothing strange about my tank. Water conditions are perfect and I am just really confused. I am not sure how to package it, but I could find out...but I was wondering if any of you people would like it. It is not black and is not falling apart, which means it is nowhere near dead, I just think it could do alot better in another tank. I am not going to let 40 dollars go down the drain. I would sell it for your best offer plus shipping and handling. It is about 4-6 inches fully opened-as I saw it in my LFS. But what they did really made me madbecause they were VERY rude about it so I am no longer interested in doing business with them any longer. Any opinions on this or any offers? If interested contact me at pitstopkennels01@yahoo.com
Thank you,
Adam :happyfish

 

[red79]

Sent you mail

 

[ophiura]

What have you tried to get it to open? Have you moved it in the tank? Tried to change the flow it is receiving?
What lighting do you have?
What are your exact water quality parameters, alkalinity and calcium, etc?
I understand why you will not do business with them again but you may still be able to get the coral to open.

 

[pitbull01]

Ophiura,
My lighting is a coralife 492 watt metal halide/power compact combo, I use ro/di water, ammonia 0 ppm,nitrite 0 ppm, nitrates 2 ppm, alkalinity 230 ppm, calcium 420 ppm, temp 78 degrees...I dont think I missed anything-let me know if I did. If there is any way I can still save it-great, but I cant figure out why it wont open!
-Adam :help:

 

[ophiura]

What sort of flow? Have you moved it lower in the tank (where is it in the tank?)...or just "around" in the tank to see what it does? I am assuming specific gravity is standard 1.025-1.026.....
:thinking:

 

[vanos]

I realize you're a student and probably don't have much money but it's only 40 bucks. Keep it longer and hopefully it will open up.

 

[pitbull01]

I have approximately 480 gph of water movement in my tank- three 160 gph each. (rotating powerheads) At first I had it in the middle-didnt open, tried the bottom-really didnt like it, and I tried the top-still didnt like it!! So as of right now, it is just resting on a ledge near the bottom of the tank. I am sooo confused right now, this is too much for someone in junior high to handle!! By the way, Vamos, how did you know I was a student?? Creepy. JK.
-Adam :happyfish

 

[pitbull01]

Oops, it is Vanos, not Vamos.

 

[pitbull01]

I am supposed to be getting a scanner soon, so once I do, I will try to get a photo of it.
Incase this helps for whatever reason here is my livestock list as of right now, as I set my tnak up about 5 months ago.
Fish
2 percula clowns
1 blue devil damsel
1 yellow tang (i know tang police, dont get after me)
Inverts
cleanup crew
1 cleaner shrimp
flame scallop
bulb anemone
Corals
fiji mushroom leather (one this subject is on)
torch
ricordea
solomon ricordea
star polyps
encrusting sponge
sun coral
tons of mushrooms
I think that is about it. :notsure:

 

[pitbull01]

Sorry about my thread name, it is kind of inappropriate. (did i spell that right)

 

[vanos]

Your profile says you're a student and I also have a yellow tang in a 55G. He's been in there for 4 months.

 

[pitbull01]

Oh, I forgot about my profile. Thanks for the info about the tang.
-Adam :jumping:

 

[ophiura]

You have 480 gph in a 55g tank? That is pretty low, IMO, and that could be part of the problem.

 

[pitbull01]

Well, that is just with the powerheads...I also have an Aquaclear 300 and 200 on my 55 as well...which makes the total GPH a LOT more than 480...I am not sure exactly how much though.

 

[darth tang]

But even with those two pumps I don't think it will bring you up to the miniomum 20 Times turnover rat. You need to be able to move over 1100 gallons of water in an hour minimum to adequately keep corals and such. You need a few more powerheads. This might solve your problem.

 

[pitbull01]

I will pick up some bigger powerheads to replace the others and I hope this will help.
-Adam

 

[vanos]

Buy your powerheads online b/c it's so much cheaper. I can't believe how many local stores overprice their stock.

 

[ohiorn67]

no offense, but personal preference. 20X in my opinion is not miminum....I have about 15x and my tank is perfect with flow at this time and my corals are growing faster than I can even try and frag them. Just depends on the person's tank..20x might be best for some, just like everything else, personal preference and individual tanks....mine did great at 10x but then did add a little more and then was perfect for me....

 

[ophiura]

I would agree that 20X is not minimum for every system. For many softies and LPS it may be quite too much...including in my tank. I've reduced flow. But you do want flow throughout the tank, and with the hang on back filters you may not be adding a lot to the calculation in a decent size tank. Surface flow but maybe not much deeper. So in cases like this where the leather otherwise seems healthy (it is not rotting at the base, etc), the first thing to consider, IMO, is the flow rate. So I would try boosting it a bit and see if in your tank the inhabitants do better with more.