i bet YOU can help me

fox1135

fox1135

Member
i recently bought a kenya tree and a polyp of zooanthids i believe, and also a BTA. Now for the first day the kenya tree looked excellent and 2 days later its now hunched over touching the ground with its limbs sligtly closed. the zoos look fine for the moment but what also worries me is that my BTA is shrinking every other day for a full day. i have no idea if the two are related. ive had my talk for 7 months now and im still learning about all the tests i need. heres what i have so far
salt-perfect
ph-8.3
nitrite-0
nitrate-0
ammonia-0
lighting- 2 t5 ho
uh for the kh test it took seven drops to make a color change. im pretty sure thats good(by the boxs standards)
im really at a loss on what to do. i realllllllly need some good advice and this is where ive got it in the past
 
aquaguy24

aquaguy24

Active Member
not sure bout the kenya tree but u might want to consider upgrading ur lights for that BTA to survive depending on the size of ur tank and how deep it is..where is the BTA in ur tank..i'd place it on the very top or take it back..can the BTA sting the kenya tree by any chance...
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
so many factors can effect ur corals and inverts. 1st , i dont think ur lighting is sufficient. 2nd, do u hv enought flow? 3rd, how much lr do u hv? tell us the tank size, equipments and what livestocks u hv currently.
 
scopus tang

scopus tang

Active Member
Also let us know how often you do water changes ~ there are many trace elements that we don't test for that can affect coral growth; most notably iodine and magnesium.
 
fox1135

fox1135

Member
its a 30 gallon tank and the 2 t5ho are definetly sufficent for my size. i dont remember exact watts but i really dont feel its a lighting problem. i do small water changes once a week. i have 2 false perks, a kenya, a polyp of zoos, a bta, an emarald crab, 2 turbo snails, a cleaner shrimp, and 1 starfish that i have to keep an eye on around my tree and zoos. the flow is not as strong as i would like it to be. its just a regular small penguine powerhead from ***** but i dunno why that would make him shrink every other day
 
fox1135

fox1135

Member
and today i woke up and my kenya looked a little better but its starting to grow algae on it! what is that about? that cant be normal.
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
2ho t5 is not enough to support an anemone long term. 15 lbs of lr is very little for a 30 gallon without any outside filtering help. 1 powerhead for a 30 gallon could be the problem here, since algae is now growing on ur corals.
 
fox1135

fox1135

Member
what do you mean outside filtering help? i have a penguine 150 filter if thats what you mean. sorry if i didnt post it.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
While the comments about the lighting are true (that you probably don't have enough for your anemone), I don't think that's your issue. 2 days is not enough for any coral to be seriously impacted by insufficient lighting.
Anemones do what you describe... shrink up... sometimes remaining that way for a week or more. It's a matter of them getting used to your tank. Unless an anemone starts to literally disintegrate, it's not dead.
As for your Kenya tree... have you done a phosphate test? It seems strange that you have algae growth with your parameters, unless you have phosphate trouble. The other problem may be your test kits... the (0) ppm nitrate reading is interesting to me... that's nearly impossible to achieve in closed systems.
Apropos, it's not the lighting that concerns me the most with your anemone... it's the size. BTAs get very large and a 30g tank may not provide enough room for it to grow, unless you are lucky enough to have it split, allowing you to take out "half."
 
fox1135

fox1135

Member
i havent done a phosphate test yet that would be needed. and for the anemone its already very large and it hasent shrunk in days. i think it needed to get used to my tank and also i moved it as close to the light as i could to compensate i guess and its full in color. ill retest nitrates. ive never seen algae grow on a kenya before and yeah thats why it strikes me as odd. also added 7 more pounds of live rock and soon to get another powerhead hopefully bat powered
 
metweezer

metweezer

Active Member
Kenya trees can look like they are keeling over and dying. The next thing you know they have fallen off the frag and start growing a new tree on your sand. And then you'll be pulling them out and selling them.
As far as adding more rock you could start a cycle.
 
dse

dse

Member
as i said on other post in the anemonie's and clowns forum, no RO unit= high phos...... so that is where the problem lays........ go buy a RO unit today/tomorro or expect bta to die and others to follow.
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
Originally Posted by metweezer
http:///forum/post/2744170
Kenya trees can look like they are keeling over and dying. The next thing you know they have fallen off the frag and start growing a new tree on your sand. And then you'll be pulling them out and selling them.
As far as adding more rock you could start a cycle.
if the rocks r cured and from lfs, it shouldnt cause a cycle at all.
 
fox1135

fox1135

Member
thank all you guys for all your time and help. its kinda hard to find specifics like these just on the internet. atleast that i can find. i really appreciate all the help guys. if anyone thinks of anything, ill still be checking this one so feel free to comment about anything
 
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