mushroom/polyps HUGE TROUBLE

coralman05

coralman05

Member
So.. This is my second post meaning i'm in some trouble.. I noticed my tank hasnt had that "sparkle" look the last week or two. I thought changing the water would help but it didnt.. I probaly did a 50% change within 2 in half weeks. i've also notice my mushroom and polyps havnt been looking as good as they should( just been smaller, less colorful,sadder look to them). i just got home; and look like they arent going to make it to tomorrow.. picures will be added tomorrow as well.. I hope you guys can help me out..
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
need a lot more info - tank size, water readings, what else is in the tank, what lights are you running, how old is the tank and lights.
T
 
coralman05

coralman05

Member
so the fish I have...

  • mandarin dragon

  • yellow tang

  • two cardinals
    two firefish goby
    some mushrooms
My tank been up for 6 or 7 years now.. It's a 55 and the lights I have "zoo med light top it has two light bubls" the lights go on at 1 to 11 plus it gets sun light from the window and I know this isnt the best but i went to ***** to have them check my water and all the things they check they said it was perfect.. I found a smart employ
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
1. You really need to be testing your own water. What did they test for?
2. What is the temperature of the tank?
3. How do your first look?
4. Do you run carbon?
5. What is your salinity and how do you check it?
 
coralman05

coralman05

Member
yeah i know.. they tested like nitrates and all the kinda stuff on the strips.. temp is 80ish.. yes i use carbon and my salinity is 1.021 i use a hybromiter
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
You had had a SW tank for 6-7 years and you don't have your own test kits??? Strips are worthless BTW
A hydrometer is also not very accurate and 1.021 is kinda low.....can't really help too much until you answer the questions you were asked above
 
coralman05

coralman05

Member
right.. uhh I dont know i'm hoping the picures will help you guys seeing how i;m not giving you much to go by.. if something was wrong with the water wouldnt my watch changes fixxed that.. it seems like they gotten "worser" after the water changes.. pic's will be on around 3 after my light kicks in
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by coralman05 http:///forum/thread/386918/mushroom-polyps-huge-trouble#post_3400876
yeah i know.. they tested like nitrates and all the kinda stuff on the strips.. temp is 80ish.. yes i use carbon and my salinity is 1.021 i use a hybromiter
Test strips are highly, HIGHLY inaccurate and really have no place in the marine world, so I can assure you that you really need to get your own kits (SeaChem or API would be best, RedSea is terrible). A truly educated employee would have known that test strips are not going to read properly. You need pH, nitrate, ammonia, Carbonate Hardness (KH), Calcium, nitrite.
Hydrometers are very inaccurate as well. I've seen a hydrometer read 1.022 when in reality the tank was at 1.030, that's a huge difference for delicate organisms that we keep in our tanks.
80ish is high-ish. This alone could be your issue.
Pictures are probably not going to help much because you don't have accurate readings of your water parameters.
You really need you own test kits and a refractometer.
 
coralman05

coralman05

Member
Here the pictures.. so I dont know if you can tell by my pictures, but the mushrooms almost look see through, glass like, also they look paper thin.. I know I dont have my water parameters but if you think you know the cause i will try anything.. and my polyps look smaller, barley open and the "flower" head part is cured up.. my fish are doing great no problems at all.. I also have a star fish that is doing good as well.. i hope I have enough for you SW ises to help me out :)

Here my polyps they look almost brittle.. very skinny :(

Any ideas is better than nothing
 
coralman05

coralman05

Member
i'm not sure I know when I got the tank that the wattage was the right amount.. and maybe like a year not even i don't think. my lights are on for 9 10 hours
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
I agree, it does look like light starvation. The mushrooms look like they've already expelled their zooanthellae, which is a big issue and unfortunately, they probably will die.
Take a picture of your lights/bulbs, we can probably figure out what you have.
I'll add that my cloves don't look great in temps above 79, so that could be adding to the problem. What color are the mushrooms supposed to be and how long have they looked like this?
Not trying to be mean, but you don't know your parameters, you don't know your equipment, you have nuisance algae. You're lucky you've had the tank this long without problems. All of this can be fixed, but it's going to take some work.
 
coralman05

coralman05

Member
yeah i tore my ACL so i havnt been able to maintain it and get down into my tank.. having it look like this sucks because it usually looks great.I started working on it 2 weeks ago with the help of my friend... i have a ocean sun 10,000k and a anther one but i cant tell what it is.. and my water is below 80.. they use to be like purpleish greenish and maybe a little blue they use to look huge and really think and they multipled like crazy.. and now not so much anything.
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
ok, I googled that bulb you listed and its a t8 which is a regular florecent bulb and not suited to suport coral life. It may have been fine for a while, but they are not strong enough
 
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