A few Q's upon entering the next level...

[T4Stock]

Tank Specs:

90 Gallon w/ 170 lbs. of Live Rock
6" DSB
15-Gallon Sump w/ Skimmer & Charcoal
Yellow Tang, Sohal Tang, 2 Percs, 2 Blennies, 1 Gobey, 1 Dottyback, 5 Green Chromas, 4 Black & Gold Damsels, 2 Velvet Damsels.


My tank is now about eight months old and things are going pretty well. I had a problem with cloudy water, but the charcoal cleared it right up. I want to kick my tank up a notch so I added a Leather I got for a steal.

My Questions:

Aside from occassional dropper feeding, is there anything special I need to know about keeping the Leather (my lighting is fine)?


My Nitrates were quite high for some reason, so I did a 24% water change. I will repeat to get my nitrates down further, but they are still quite high. Will adding mangroves or something like that help? If so, where is a good source from which to purchase on line? How should they be planted?


How often do my fish need to eat (aside from nori for the Tangs' grazing)

Thanks!

 

[esmithiii]

Leathers are quite hearty in my experience. Tell us about your lighting...

How high is high on the nitrates? Be careful on water changes that big.

E

 

[T4Stock]

I have two 75W actinics and 2 175W MH's.

Regarding my Nitrates, they were actually off the scale. hat;s why I took such drastic action. I cut them down by 70%, but they are still high. So today, I added de-Nitrate sachets..... will these work?

Regarding the Leather, he opened up all day! I did notice, however, that he closed back up in the evening. Is this a reaction to increasing water temp as the day progresses, or is this rather a normal "cycle"?

 

[danmhippo]

One note about mangrove, Unless you have sumpfull of mangrove, otherwise, one or 2 plants are not going to have a impact on the dissoved nutrient level.

 

[Anonymous]

Leathers will periodically deflate. Especially when they are adjusting to a new system.

Glenn

 

[T4Stock]

Correction -- My lighting specs are actualy about 5.3 watts per gallon. Is this enough. So what other approaces should I take to reduce nitrates?

 

[6_line]

Hi,
with 19 fish in a 90 gallon, where else would you expect to be nitrates to be? High is the only way.
If you're going to attempt the next level, you'll need to reduce your bioload considerably because corals are sensitive to high nitrates,
With 6 fish in my 90, I consider myself fairly well stocked--and i'm not a conservative person...

 

[cubera]

Hi T4. You might just be patient and see where nitrates go once your DSB matures a bit. You could get a DSB activator kit from somewhere like www.ipsf.com You are feeding your fish too much also. Watts per gallon are not always the best rule of thumb by your lighting seems enough to me at this point. You might try a hardy lower light tolerant SPS like Montipora digitata when you NO4/PO4 comes down to earth

 

[naesco]

I agree with 6-line.
IMO you need to say good-bye to one of the tangs at the minimum. The leather should not be a problem but leather and mushrooms is about all you will be sucessful with.
Water changes will help as well as reduced feeding but you need to address the cause of your problems which is that your tank is overstocked. Sorry.

 

[davelin315]

I have over 20 fish in my 125 and I have no problems with any of my corals (except from xenia overgrowing them). I don't really feed my fish, though, as I allow them to control algae in my tank and eat the pods in there. I feed them occasionally, and have actually noticed some neat adaptations(sorry, a little side story) going on in my tank. I use a corner overflow box, and it a macroalgae has grown in there and serves almost like a mini refugium. When I feed flake food, the food gets stuck where the algae has grown to, and pods come and pick at the flake that's stuck there. My royal gramma hovers next to the overflow, and when a pod comes out too far BAM, he grabs it and gobbles it down. Fun to watch him hunt! Anyway, I don't think you need to cut back on fish numbers if you can maintain healthy water quality, and the way to do that is by reducing feedings. IMO, a tank should be self sufficient (with the exception of adding water and some supplements because obviously, they get depleted and need to come from somewhere) meaning if you go away for a week and no one feeds your fish, they shouldn't get skinny while you're gone. Mine have gone over a week without me feeding them, and everyone is always fat and happy.

As far as the leather is concerned, corals that extend polyps during the day time will retract them at night usually. There are some that extend at night, versus the day time. Also, some corals have sweepers that come out at night only. Your leather is protecting itself at night by closing up.