[cooksalot]

ok, looks like a carnation then...thanks for the info. i have the frozen phytoplankton...how much do i feed it? my tank is 24G and the only other life i have in my tank is a mushroom coral (that's going to take over the world at the rate he's going) and a CUC. and do i target feed? earlier today i mixed a little in with some of the tank water and then blew it on him with a turkey baster...is this the way to do it? and does anyone know if they just don't need light, or will light actually harm it? at the moment i'm trying to keep him in the lowest light possible, but it's not so easy. i've also seen that it has been suggested to keep him upside down...anyone have any experience with this? thanks!

[nanoreefer22]

Be careful with feeding the tank constantly with plankton. This could cause a lot more harm than it could good. It could have detrimental effects on your water quality if you dont keep up on water changes and are constantly feeding.

[Deanos]

The article posted by reefman presents the most information I've ever read on feeding Dendronephthya.

[jasno999]

I hate to be this person but somebody has to be.

Before you go out and purchase corals and or fish you should really be doing your research first. It is not a good thing to go out and make impulse purchases when you have no knowadge of the item you are getting. On top of that you can't believe everything your LFS tells you. Some are good and some are crap. Some are good but still have one or two bad apples in them that give you poor information.

Really you don't have to be an expert on every coral before you can make a purchase but you should know the basics about the coral you are purchasing. You should know about its requirements (Light, flow, food, hardiness, etc) so that you can make a good decision.

From everything that you have posted it seems to me like you are not even sure about what type and wattage of lighting you have on your tank. Let us know the wattage of lighting and type you have on the tank (T5, PC, etc.)

[cooksalot]

Quote: Originally Posted by jasno999 From everything that you have posted it seems to me like you are not even sure about what type and wattage of lighting you have on your tank. Let us know the wattage of lighting and type you have on the tank (T5, PC, etc.)

point taken, and sorry i wasn't more specific with the lighting...i had just mentioned that i had the AP stock lights...but i do know what they are. they are the 64 dual sunpac lighting (32 watt flourescent and 32 watt actinic). in this case i did ask the right questions about the coral, just got the wrong answers and now i'm trying to do all i can to make sure i take the best care possible of it.

[Froggie]

Hey Cooks,

Looks like you have PCs lighting system. Power Compacts...if you stated you have Aquapod 24g. Try moving your brain coral into a higher lighting area (elavation). However, lighting aside, how did you acclimate your corals? This is another very important factor. Make sure not to touch the flesh of the corals, causing tissue burn leading to death. I've kept brain corals under PC lighting before, although not ideal, it thrived. NVM, just read you exchanged the piece...FOR FUTURE REFERENCES THEN.

As for the carnation, trying to feed them will probably spike your nutrient levels since you do have a small system, unless you plan on making a lot WC (water changes) routinely. I had to do this when I kept gorgonias, another coral that is not light dependent, and exclusively requires filter-feeding. Unless you're up for that challenge, I recommend you returning the piece even though it's so beautiful. If you choose to keep it, good luck with it. Let us know its health in a few months.

	PC Power Compact Lighting, typically used in lower light aquariums supporting soft corals, LPS, and fish. Their low cost and cooler operating temperatures are an excellent choice for beginner aquariums and smaller tanks.

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Most Ap 24G come with 64W PC light just in case you don't know-I am sure you know though.

Carnations are considered to be one of the hardest to keep corals and are basically banned to sell in this forum by house vendors.

The moon coral is actually much easier but you may have just got an unhealthy one.

Like the other member said, keep on feeding may(or may not depends your husbandry) foul your water quicker than you think.

One way to increase your lighting is to add LEDs to your hood. Even though very little heat is generated from the additional light but I would still increase ventilation in the hood area. As you can see here, whatever, you increase or decrease (light or food) there will be a good or bad effect to the system, you just have to balance it correctly.

Check post #20 of this thread, you can see an example of what 15W LED can do.
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/...highlight=leds

BTW how much is the super little moon you have paid for?

GL

	PC Power Compact Lighting, typically used in lower light aquariums supporting soft corals, LPS, and fish. Their low cost and cooler operating temperatures are an excellent choice for beginner aquariums and smaller tanks.

[cooksalot]

hi all...well, thanks everyone for all the help and advice. here's an update on everything...the brain moon (someone asked how much i paid...it was $29.99) didn't make it in the lfs's tank...i had brought it back last saturday and by sunday morning (i went to check on it) it looked completely dead (they stuck it in its own holding tank), then when i went in today, it was gone. some similar ones in the tank it was originally in weren't looking great IMO (these all just came in last week), so maybe something was up with them? who knows.

then i learned my lesson by taking home that carnation in exhange for the moon. ok, so now i know to never bring home something i don't know about in advance. after reading practically non-stop about the carnation, i decided i had made a mistake and was in way over my head. it was so pretty, but not worth me possibly overfeeding to the point of fouling up my tank. so i went back again, they took back the carnation no problem (even commented it looked better than when they had it), and i decided before i set foot in the door i was only leaving with a mushroom or finger leather. i went for the finger leather. definitely not as pretty, but much more manageable.

so fingers crossed that the third time is a charm on this one.

[ellebelle]

Good luck with your new leather! I am new to reefing and have a couple of leathers that are doing extremely well in my 29g tank. w/ similar lighting.