Xenia shrinking and CA is high

bfoleyiii

Member
I have a 12g Eclipse tank:
Crushed Coral---yeah yeah I should have read more
15lb live rock
96w PC lighting (about 8" above the water)
RO water is used for top offs and water changes (water for changes is mixed and bubbled for a minimum of 12 hours and as long as 5 days depending on how long my bucket lasts)
Tank has been running for about 8 weeks
1 Perc (false)
Snails
2 Emerald Crabs
Metalic Shrooms
Marble Shrooms
Some Maroon/Dark Orange with a green eye Zoos
Xenia
The Xenia and the Marble Shrooms were added on Monday 12/6. The Shrroms (like my other Metalic shrooms and the Zoos) are doing very well. The Xenia seemed to do ok the first night and morning (Tues) I had it in there. Then Tuesday night I get a call at work from my wife that the Xenia has fallen over and looks *smooshed* --*what should I do* So I had my wife place the Xenia (attached to LR) back rightside up and in a more stable place.
Back story, when I started the tank the LFS saw me coming and I have some sized bottle of the following at home now:
Kent Pro Buffer dKH
Kent Iodine
Kent Liquid Calcium
Kent Liquid Reactor
All of which were being added to the tank (Again not enough reading) in some way. The Iodine about 3-5 drops every other night. The Pro Buffer and the Calcium at about 2 to 3 ml every other day until the purchase of the Liquid Reactor which was given at 2-3 ml every other day and the buffer and the calcium shelved.
I get home about 11:00 pm (4ish hours after my wife called) and the Xenia is still *smooshed*.
Wed morning I get up and same state. (lights on about 2-3 hours since my wife turns them on before she went to work)
I check my levels, PH is low--7.8ish and Ca off the chart over 540. No KH test, Ammonia and Nitrate 0.
Do a 2 gallon water change---
Wed morning the Xenia seems a bit better, not nearly as...full or plump as in the LFS tank, but not all smooshed up.
Wed night about 6pm...the wife calls....the Xenia looks much better. Wed night about 9pm the Xenia is *smooshing* up again.
Thursday Morning (lights on again 2 hours before test)
ph low 7.8, Ca about 580 now, KH is 105-110 mg/l (ppm CaCO3)
I do a 1 gallon water change
Friday Morning (today at time of post)
Xenia looking ok, still not very full or plump...but upright with some extension of arms.
(Wife calls at about 10:30 to let me know the Xenia looked much better this morning)
11:00 I finish a 3g water change.
Xenia doesnt like the disturbance and shrinks up some, but by 12:00 is back upright
readings at 12:20 (water should have mixed pretty well by now)
Specific G1.0228
Temp80f
PH8.1
Ammonia0.5
Nitrites0
Nitrates0.5
Ca520mg/L (ppm) Ca2+
KH105 mg/L (ppm) CaCO3
6:30 pm call....Xenia *smooshed*
I arrive home at 11:30 pm and Xenia not looking good
Lights are off, but not sure how long...guessing 2.5 to 3.5 hours.
readings as of 11:30ish
Specific G1.0234
Temp80f
PH8
Ammonia0
Nitritesx
Nitrates0
Ca620 (ppm) Ca2+
KH100 (ppm) CaCO3
What I do know:
Xenia is telling me something is wrong (and from what I have read they are a good indicater when something is out of whack)
the Xenia is my wife's favorite and so I need to save it or face the wrathe of a pregnant lady 8 months along (who has a son with my feet kicking the ribs---OUCH)
What I think I know:
My CA is still outta wack from my dosing extravaganza (sp)
What I dont know:
How do I fix it.
Will 15%ish (1g) water changes over time help correct this.
Do I need to test for something else I am not currently (Magnesium)?
If the water changes are going to do it, should I do the 15% every day or is that going to be too often and every other day better.
Or is there something else I can do?
Or am I up a creek and need to distract my wife for a couple of weeks , tell her the Xenia is most likely just *Hiding* in the same place her Fireshrimp is to adjust to the new enviornment, and then when the water levels work themselves out and I put another in.
Thanks,
Bob
ps if you need more information let me know, if I checked it, rememeber it and/or didnt mention it (not likely with my chatty post).
 

bfoleyiii

Member
Results for Sat. Morning readings:
TestResults
Specific G1.0234
Temp78f
PH7.8
Ammonia0.5
Nitrites0
Nitrates0-5
Ca540--560mg/l (ppm) Ca2+
KH105-110 mg/L (ppm) CaCO3
Lights havent been off for about 12 hours. Xenia is more upright with arms out streched. Fingers not open completely but not balled up either. I just pinched in some food for the Perc and Kent Zooplex (2ml)
Bob
 

bfoleyiii

Member
Xenia this morning:
Gonna get a better picture, maybe the Perc will move out of the way....not likely as it is very into getting its photo taken.
 

bang guy

Moderator
You could be correct about the Ca - KH imbalance. But in my experience Xenia doesn't extend its polyps when KH is out of whack with CA.
My opinion is that Iodine is slowly killing it and the imbalance just made things worse. The water changes you've been doing are the solution in my opinion.
I would suggest stopping all dosing and just do water changes until Ca is back in the low 400's. By then your KH should be back up near 150ppm. Once this is accomplished you can dose just enough to maintain that balance.
Just my $0.02 worth.
 

sula

Member
I recently got some Xenia, and I noticed that it gets really grumpy if I do a water change with newly-mixed water. I'd make sure your water has been mixing at least 24 hours.
Second, where's that ammonia reading coming from?
And third, don't mess with a pregnant woman! Save the Xenia AT ALL COST!!
 

bfoleyiii

Member
Ok so water changes it will be (and no more dosing till I read up much more on that).
Should I do the water changes of 15%ish daily or every other day?
Thanks again
Bob
 

bfoleyiii

Member
First readings are from this morning, lights off about 12 hours with the Xenia looking better (upright).
TestResults
Specific G1.0234
Temp79f
PH8
Ammonia0.5
Nitrites0
Nitrates5
Ca600mg/L (ppm) Ca2+
KH100 mg/L (ppm) CaCO3
Then a 15%ish water change (water has been bubbling for 3-4 days)
Xenia handled that water change very well, I didnt see any *shrinkage* doing the change. I was much more carefull about water disruption during the change.
Everything thing was doing well untill about 7:30 pm when the Xenia started to close up.
I turned the lights off. They had been on about 10 hours.
Readings at 8:30 (never stop a movie with the wife)
Specific G1.0235
Temp81f
PH8.2
Ammonia0.5
Nitritesx
Nitrates5
Ca560-580mg/L (ppm) Ca2+
KH105-110 mg/L (ppm) CaCO3
Here is some more information about the lighting as I am really starting to wonder about it.
I reto'd in a PC 18" 96w with 50/50 and 10k light bulb(s)
The lights reside 6"-7" above water level, with the Xenia residing about 5"-6" below water level (extended) and say 8"-9" when fully closed/shrunk/smooshed up.
I only have the one light unit so staging the lights isnt an option at this time.
I am thinking I may try running the lights for less time, on the order of 7 to 8 hours and see if the Xenia does better. Maybe I should lower the Xenia in the tank, or move it out of the direct light into an area with less light (further back in the tank where the light refractor doesn't casts as much light) or lower in the tank and increase the distance from the lights.
(an aside....I thought Xenias liked higher light output, maybe it needs to adjust to my lighting?)
Also, shoud I post in another forum for more imput. Dont get me wrong Bang, I value your input greatly. I am wondering if one of the other forums might catch the eye of someone that has encountered this before.
On a positive note....I moved some shrooms from one rock to another spot and removed the netting.....they are doing very well in the new home. My first move :) Next I might try to *frag* them and see how that turns out seens they really do seem to be growing well in this tank.
Thanks again,
Bob the :notsure: one
PS, pic of the Xenia as it closes up (it will actually close up smaller than this)
Edit: it is very blurry...so I can work on a better one tomorrow just a bit too :confused: and :mad: to deal with it more this evening.
 

bang guy

Moderator

Originally posted by bfoleyiii
Also, shoud I post in another forum for more imput. Dont get me wrong Bang, I value your input greatly. I am wondering if one of the other forums might catch the eye of someone that has encountered this before.

Yep. The Reef forum has a wider diversity of experiences.
 
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