Xenia not pulsing

[BigLarry]

I have some 3 xenias that were fully open for a couple of weeks. Suddenly they all closed. The only other problem lps is button polyps - they barely open. My hammer, torch, flower pot, colt, leather, brain, plate, mushrooms, candy cane corals all open fully.
My Calcium is 400ppm. I have 55 gallon with about 55lbs live rock. Wet/dry filter - 1/2 bioballs, quiet one 1200, in sump protein skimmer, turbo twist uv, 384w pc lights (2 dual 10k/actinic/1 dual actinic/1 6500k), crushed coral 1/2"base.
I have been dosing 10 drops of Kent Iodine per day.
Water parameters are in check.
The xenias are in mid to high light area with mild current. Does any one have any suggestions as to why they are not opening?

Thanks.

 

[ezee]

BigLarry,

Why so much Iodine?

When you say water parameters are in check what does that mean? What are your readings, nitrate particularly? With cc and bioballs you may have a problem in that direction, which certainly (I have read) can lead to the types of problems you are having.

E

 

[BigLarry]

Nitrates seem to stay at 20, even after 20% water changes. The daily dose of iodine according to Kent is 8 drop per 50 gallon. I put in a little extra after factoring in the sump. I also read that xenia need additional iodine to thrive

 

[Reefer420]

xenia are strange- mine pulsed like crazy for a few months then suddenly stopped for the most part. nothing has really changed in my tank as far as I can tell (though I haven't been good w/ water changes lately...). I will say that they always seemed to pulse more in lower flow, and when the tank seemed a little more 'dirty'- also when lights weren't as bright. If I think back to when they pulsed the most- it was when they were in a moderate flow area- and had not grown tall enough to be near the light. I also think my clam also helps filter my water a lot (as well as a huge fan worm i got)- so not as much waste floating around! I have seen tanks where people keep large colonies of xenia in their fuges to filter the water- as they seem to like more nutriant rich water... who knows though? they are very fickle w/ their pulsing as far as I've read. Some advocate Iodine supps, others advise against it...etc.

 

[noodleman]

do you use any 2 part cal/alk? forgot wheer i read it but i think when alk is low they stop pulsating

 

[Tonyscoots84]

umm for a reef tank with corals even if its not full blown reef you want to stay for nitrates at least a 5 or lower. maybe your problem is the nitrates. i no corals dont like em for nothing. i think your adding a little to much iodine but other than that i would get rid of those bioballs. there not something you want running in a reef tank. or a coral tank.

and what exactly is water paremeters in check to you.

whats the


temp
ph
ammonia
nitrite
nitrate 20ppm
alk
calcium - 400

i no im forgeting something.....

 

[fritz]

100% alk. Add some buffer to raise your alk, and buffer your water when doing changes, especially top offs. If you top off with RO water (PH 7) you're seriously straining the buffers in your salt mix. Also if your alk is low your ph runs the risk of wandering all over.

Xenia are great alk test kits! Whenever they stop pulsing you know to add some alk.

 

[fritz]

If not PH/Alk it could also be caused by toxins from other corals. Are these in a tank with aggressive corals, bubble, frogspawn etc? Try adding in some carbon and poly filter pads if so. Usually not pulsing is from low ph / alk (PH gets lower at night) or toxins from corals that shouldn't be in a confined space with it. Hope that helps.

 

[BigLarry]

temp =78
According to Mardels test strips:
ph = 8.2
ammonia = 0
nitrite = 0
nitrate 20ppm
alk = 220
calcium - 400
I do top of daily with r/o water - about 2/3's gallon. Perhaps my alk is low. They are not near other corals. I'm removing the bioballs.

 

[fritz]

alk & chemical warfare

8.2 is definitely too low for xenia to be pulsing. If your ph is 8.2 during the day you could be as low as 8.0 at night. Try buffering your ph back up around 8.6 (daytime, and of course SLOWLY).

Stinging corals don't have to be near other corals. Many corals do the "chemical warfare" thing, in a small confined space this can get ugly over the long term. Adding in some carbon (replaced weekly) along with polypads can be a huge help.

 

[fritz]

What kind of salt are you using? I remember reading somewhere about some salts not being good for reefs because they don't have enough magnesium which then causes the ph buffering additives to fail and your ph falls. (Non buffered RO water doesn't help)

 

[Tonyscoots84]

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4507&highlight=salt

and read this(this was posted by jhale a while back.)
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/11/aafeature1

 

[alrha]

8.2 is definitely too low for xenia to be pulsing. If your ph is 8.2 during the day you could be as low as 8.0 at night. Try buffering your ph back up around 8.6 (daytime, and of course SLOWLY).

my pH has fallen as low as 7.9 - and my xenia never stopped pulsing.

 

[Deanos]

8.2 is definitely too low for xenia to be pulsing. If your ph is 8.2 during the day you could be as low as 8.0 at night. Try buffering your ph back up around 8.6 (daytime, and of course SLOWLY).

8.6!!! Are you kidding Fritz?!? :bigeyes2: A pH of 8.2 is pretty close to the bullseye for maintaining a reef tank.

For anyone contemplating this advice, please read, Reef Aquarium water parameters before taking any buffering actions. :sigh1:

Dean

 

[fritz]

no, really

please also read this and this
Bob Frenner and Anthony Calfo have written quite a bit on this. I'm with you though, when I first read it I thought it was a misprint. Completely oposite to what I had thought. Then again think about how much "what we have known" about reef keeping has changed over the years. If we could teleport someone from the 80s to MR today he would be telling us all that we were crazy and didn't know what we were doing. He would guarantee to all of us that our systems would fail horribly.

As far as people having xenia pulse in 7.8 ph water, to quote Cris Rock, "you can drive with your feet, that don't make it a good idea". I've kept corals for months in water with >.25 amonia. Every rule has its exceptions.

 

[Josh]

My PH was normally 8.0 and my xenia would pulse just fine.

I would cut out the iodine though. Normal water changes on a 55 gallon will cover you for iodine supplementation.

How much current is on the xenia? Do you have a picture?

 

[Deanos]

please also read this and this

Point taken.

I'm fortunate that my two morphs of Xenia pulse at a lower pH. I'd never raise my reef pH that high, just to see Xenia pulse. I have too many other inhabitants to consider.

 

[fritz]

ph

Mine is usually up that high during the day, I'm going to try letting it fall down to see how it goes. Perhaps I've even been holding back growth... I'll post how the experiment goes.

 

[alrha]

Nitrates at 20, maybe a problem

Xenia like nutrients

 

[BigLarry]

I've been using Instant Ocean. I'm going to switch to Reef Crystals salt. I'll try to get a pic. Since they are closed -they look a small ball of grey flesh with very small tentacles sticking out.
As far as Akl, I have reef carbonate for akalinity. Will this work to raise it?