obeasethug Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 I am new to the site so i thought i would introduce myself. I started about a year and a half ago with a 12 Gal FOWLR. After i got my tank going i got a pair of clown fish. About 6 months ago i upgraded to a used 46 Gal bowront setup with aboout a 10-15 gal sump. I have a 4 bulb t5ho 24" light. My clown fish are doing very well and have had assorted snails and hermits that have also done well. However i have not had very good luck with 3 small soft coral frags i got from my LFS, aslo i tried an emerald crab that didnt make it 48 hours. One of my corals has grown but has become pale, one has died and the other has been getting smaller. I would like to expand my tank and get some new inhabitants but I dont want to have to upgrade all of my equip or risk killing more critters. Thanks for all the information on this site, any advice would be appreciated. thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trautman Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Welcome! my suggestion would be to test water parameters, and be religious with water changes in addition to this, make sure you have enough light. if you are going 50/50 on your current fixture, i would suggest going 75/25 white:actinic, that might give you an extra boost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Welcome Welcome to the forum!(clap) Yes parameters would be helpful. So many factors can affect corals. Softies usually are more hardy but you never know. I have had to remove my hammer coral and torches from one of the tanks because the clowns get too aggressive with hosting. Are you seeing that behavior with your clowns? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefsickness Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Welcome everyone here I have noticed are willing to help so if you have questions just ask. Reefsickness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Welcome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obeasethug Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 Thank you for the quick responses. Ok so i checked all of my parameters. here it goes. Ammonia o ppm Nitrite o ppm Nitrate o ppm PH 8 Salinity 1.026 KH 7 Temp 82 From what little i know, the parameters seem ok, temperature is a bit high due to the poor ac in my house. Also i think KH should be higher and i occasionally suppliment with Kent coral builer (LFS suggested to regulate KH). Yes lights are 2 white and 2 actinic, my concern is that 24" bulbs on a 46 gal might not be enough but that is what fits under my hood. My hood and home made lid to cut down on evaporation are also suspect in my high temperature. My clowns show no interest in my soft coral frags, the pick at and rub on the live rock. Thank you again for all the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trautman Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 what is your local fish store? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obeasethug Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 upscales in tualatin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trautman Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 nice guys!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 In my experience kh doesn't matter that much for softies. It's the sps that seem to be sensitive to that. My KH is only 8 in one of the tanks. What kind of softies have you tried? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obeasethug Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 I am not exactly sure what types of corals i have tried, based off of photos online these are my guesses. The frag that died may have been a xenia, the one that looks unhealthy and has gotten smaller appears to be a zoanthid polyp, and the frag that has grown but become more pale looks like a green star polyp. I have stacked my live rock to get my 2 remaining frags as close to my light as possible. Any other suggestions or better suitable corals frags for a begginer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Green star polyps usually are pretty hardy. Xenia can do well but I have been told if the temperature of the tank gets too cold they may not do as well. If you are ever in the Portland area I could give you some free frags of some zoas to try. That's just strange. I can't even kill green star polyps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Let me know if you are in the West Linn area I have a few things you can try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obeasethug Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 I am not sure what exactly i have. I think based off of photos online that my frag that died was maybe a xenia, the one that has gotten smaller and seems to not open as fully looks like a zoanthid polyp, and the frag that has grown but appears more pale looks like a green star polyp. I just stacked my live rock to get my two remaining frags closer to the light. any other recomendations or suggested frags that might be more suitable for a begginer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obeasethug Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 sorry about the repost, i am still figuring this out. Thanks for the help and offers, i would love the help/ advice, and i would love some free frags (but i dont want to kill anymore due to lack of knowledge). Also interested in seeing how other people have their set-ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninkylou Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Welcome, I have a 50g tank with soft corals and the same lighting as you and have things growing well in the bottom 3rd of the tank as well as up high. How old are your lights. One issue I had early on was using "Reef" salt instead of just a sea salt mix and my Magnesium got to high. I lost crabs and some snails and the corals were not looking their best. See if you can have the FLS check your mag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obeasethug Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 Welcome' date=' I have a 50g tank with soft corals and the same lighting as you and have things growing well in the bottom 3rd of the tank as well as up high. How old are your lights. One issue I had early on was using "Reef" salt instead of just a sea salt mix and my Magnesium got to high. I lost crabs and some snails and the corals were not looking their best. See if you can have the FLS check your mag.[/quote'] Thanks for the advice, i went to my LFS and had my magnesium level tested. They said it was at 1200 which should be fine, a little low if i had SPS. So as far as i can tell everything should be suitable for some new inhabitants. I am going to start by getting some more live rock and keep trying with my current frags. I think my next guy will be a wrasse... any suggestions, i know that the six line is the most common but want something a little different. Also there is a condylactis anemone for only $8 at the petco near me, i am tempted to buy it but from what i have heard anemonies generally harder to keep, do i dare? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I'm super new at all this, but I'd get your copper checked, it's pretty bad for invertebrates. I would be expecting snails to be suffering if your copper is high, but it's worth a double check. Should be nearly undetectable, definitely less than 0.25 ppm. That's my 2 cents Best of luck, hope it stabilizes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Personally I would steer clear of the petco, they are notorious for having ick in thier tanks. Just imagine saving a couple bucks on a nem and completely wiping out our tank. :( I once brought home a guppy from petsmart and killed all my nice freshwater fish. They usually have uniformed employes, who however well intentioned might give you some really bad advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trautman Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Thanks for the advice' date=' i went to my LFS and had my magnesium level tested. They said it was at 1200 which should be fine, a little low if i had SPS. So as far as i can tell everything should be suitable for some new inhabitants. I am going to start by getting some more live rock and keep trying with my current frags. I think my next guy will be a wrasse... any suggestions, i know that the six line is the most common but want something a little different. Also there is a condylactis anemone for only $8 at the petco near me, i am tempted to buy it but from what i have heard anemonies generally harder to keep, do i dare?[/quote'] Petco is no place to buy saltwater livestock, they arent knowledgable or reputable. I would suggest sticking with Travis or Tom at upscales. They are nice, and can probably order in anything you need. If you are in the wilsonville area, I can probably toss you some free frags. Pm me, and we could figure out something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Petco is no place to buy saltwater livestock' date=' they arent knowledgable or reputable. I would suggest sticking with Travis or Tom at upscales. They are nice, and can probably order in anything you need. If you are in the wilsonville area, I can probably toss you some free frags. Pm me, and we could figure out something[/quote'] Agreedm, Trautman; the only fish I'd buy at PETCO (maybe) is a beta fish (the regular freshwater kind), because the only disease it can bring is to itself (solitary fish)...I wouldn't put a petco fish in my tank without a solid 2-4 weeks in quarantine...and I probably wouldn't even do that. It's not that they're bad people, it's just that they're main focus isn't supplying quality marine life, so they don't give the care it takes, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obeasethug Posted August 11, 2011 Author Share Posted August 11, 2011 Thank you for the input, i will avoid petco. At least at the one near my house all of their fish are very pale and colorless. I will try to test my copper and if that is fine i will blame alll else on my inexperience. Anyone have some live rock for sale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 I've been on the lookout for some live rock...there's a little around, but it's hard to come by as there seem to be some serious 'hoarders' of it (not to name names :P) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMiller Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Are you using tap water? If so I would get an RO/DI Unit (or buy premade water). If you are using tap, and a water conditioner to de-chlorinize it, it may be toxic to your water/fish/inhabitants. Do you have any algae outbreaks? Also I would boost up the lighting to atleast a 36" 4 bulb t5ho unit. The 24" fixture is 12" too short and is definitely not enough light. Try putting a small clip on fan inside of your hood, blowing across the top of your water, to keep that temp down. How much Live rock do you have? All in all; WELCOME!! We are happy to have you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 If you are up for the drive, come on down to The Premium Aquarium grand opening! Lots of live rock in and some nice corals, inverts and some fish. Lots more to come over the next few months as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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