Cali Kid Corals

Depressed- Thinking about Getting Out

I don't know if this helps, but I keep all my leathers on one side of the tank. The only leather that touches SPS sometimes is my "coral that mr Ugly didn't have" I also do run carbon.
 
Richard,
The Setosa's not looking good. Sorry.
Erin,
According to Elos, the nitrates are somewhere around 5ppm(?)
On the positive side, most frags I've gotten lately are looking fine.
Our house is very airtight. So the CO2 level might be high, so I was laying in bed this morning trying to figure out how to get some outside air to the skimmer.????
 
True, CO2 could be a prob. I've seen that happen a few times.

Run the skimmer air intake tube out a window. We had Boun do that and it worked well on his tank.
 
Maybe I'll do the window thing until I get the new tank in the living room. Then I could probably run a line into the garage.
 
Steve, I will grow out another and let it get more established before passing it on. With plants I plant three in different places in the garden. The one that grows the best is where I move the others so they all thrive. Another lesson to learn from gardening is the green thumb.

There are people who say they do not have a green thumb. I let them know that a green thumb only means the person has learned when a plant is dead and it is time to place it on the compost pile. Have a little ceremony and cover it up to keep the circle flowing.
 
Mr. Ugly said:
True, CO2 could be a prob. I've seen that happen a few times.

Run the skimmer air intake tube out a window. We had Boun do that and it worked well on his tank.
Click to expand...

Does a lack of CO2 cause problems beyond making it hard to keep your PH up?

Steve, I didn't see it in this thread, but do you have an idea on what your tank ph is and whether it swings a lot from day to night?
 
Eight[/quote said:
Does a lack of CO2 cause problems beyond making it hard to keep your PH up?

Steve, I didn't see it in this thread, but do you have an idea on what your tank ph is and whether it swings a lot from day to night?
Click to expand...

As far as I know, it just affects pH, under non extreme conditions. I really don't have a good feel for my pH. Don't run a reactor or anything, just 2 part. I don't even have a test for it.
 
Eight said:
Does a lack of CO2 cause problems beyond making it hard to keep your PH up?
Click to expand...

Too much CO2 will depress pH. Some tanks have that issue with our tightly insulated houses, especially during winter. Even more so when a lot of people are around due to holidays.

Kalk drip interacts with dissolved CO2 for calcium carbonate formation.

Ca reactor setups tend to have higher CO2 levels.

Shouldn't be a problem to get CO2 closer to atmospheric ambient by bringing in outside air to the skimmer.
 
Steve, I 've had the same problem you describe with my (former) tank inside. I'm pretty convinced the chemical warfare from the leathers and some of the large mushrooms, plus insufficient circulation is why I could never keep some of the "weed" SPS (monti digis, caps, slimers, etc.) that seem to overrun other's systems. I did have a couple (1-2) acros survive, and one mille, but other than that every SPS I tried (basic ones, not exotics) slowly faded away over a matter of a couple months. My parameters aside from nitrates were OK, and I did run GFO and Carbon, but perhaps didn't change the carbon often enough. In the new tank my lesson learned will be no leathers or softies, no discosomas, some ricordea and zoos but no palys, and regular dosing plus GFO and carbon reactors. I'm optomistic this will result in a better success rate with SPS, but we'll have to see. Hang in there and try a few things; we'll get it figured out!
 
Thanks Robin. Come to think of it, I do have a few straggling mushrooms, Green sea mat on the corner of the tank, palys, and aiptasia (that I'm trying to get rid of). I would like to be successful with some easy sps, acans, and zoas. Do you guys think keeping a green finger leather and a Mr. Ugly Didn't Have would be too much? Is the pulsating sinularia a concern?
 
I think you are ok with leathers if you have sufficient carbon which you change out regularly. I'd guess that you want maybe 1 cup per 10-20g changed out every other week. Hopefully someone else can offer better advice.
 
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