Reduced polyp extension SPS/fading?

[trido]

Hmmm. I thought we were past this. You have a list of great equipment. We have tried most everything. Maybe you should feed dirty like me. Mix up a batch of seafood in the blender, freeze it in an old mysis or formula one cube pack, and feed a half cube every day. I use tank water, thaw it and mix with a wire whip. When you are on the verge of getting cyano you know you are feeding dirty.

 

[Anonymous]

Well the new frags I added are going the same. If I feed 1 cube every 2 days of the mysis that I am feeding now isn't that similar?

Hoping to save these frags but it does not look good.

 

[trido]

IMO, mysis is only for the fish. With a blender mix, near 70% of what goes into the tank is small particulate matter that the SPS can grab and eat. I blend prawns,clams and formula 1. then I add whole mysis, baby brine shrimp and rotifiers. It is a real messy concoction. The water in the cup is almost milky when I pour the mix into the tank.
So, in short, NO, feeding mysis isnt the same.

 

[Anonymous]

Do you have a recipe of how you make your food?

 

[trido]

Sure. I buy enough fish to not be too annoying at the store and eat whats left for starters.
In the food processor:
Part 1
Three small clams de-shelled (1 1/2" across) Blend lightly
Four to five peeled prawns depending on size (16-25s I believe)
About a one inch cube of skinless salmon if I have it
Three cubes of formula one, these need chopped with a knife first (I wont buy more when its gone, I dont like how gelatinous it is. I just isn't natural)
The first part is kind of tricky, the clam juice can make the mix too juicy if you use it all. I usually do, but this last batch was wetter than I like. Basicly you only want is wet enough to not turn into a ball. Blend until you think the particals are the size you want.
Part 2
Rinse 4-5 cubes of mysis and add to mix
Thaw 3-5 cubes of baby brine and/or rotifiers in about 1/8 cup of tank water
Add to mix and blend just enough to mix in.

I put it into leftover cube packs so I can have premade portion sizes. This mix lasts me about six weeks of feeding the 120 and the 30 once daily. I would make more but am afraid of freezer burn if it sits too long. I use about 1/4 cup of tank water to thaw, mix with wire whip and pour right into tank in a heavy flow area. The 30 gets 5Ml of the mix from a medicine dropper. I have froze it in a ziplock but it is hard to guess portion sizes.
I actually started using this out of laziness. It takes the guessing out of daily variety, they just get it all daily. Mix up a batch and see how it goes. Even if your corals arent excited I can guarantee your fish will be.

 

[Anonymous]

Well I need more fish too. I only got 2. Tried a coris wrasse last weekend and it lawsted only 4 days.

 

[Anonymous]

Where do you get these?

cubes of mysis and add to mix
cubes of baby brine and/or rotifiers

The mysis I am using is the Prime Reef from Ocean Nutrition

 

[Len]

Lately, my Montiporas have all been closed up more so then usual. Acros look fine though, so I have no idea why just Montis. Maybe my angel is picking at them :?

 

[trido]

Where do you get these?

cubes of mysis and add to mix
cubes of baby brine and/or rotifiers

The mysis I am using is the Prime Reef from Ocean Nutrition

Nearly every LFS I have frequented on the west coast has them in the freezer next to the bloodworms and squid.

 

[Ben1]

Len, hope it isnt monti eating nudis 8O

Rob, if you arnt seeing any coraline either it very well may be a calcification issue. Even when testing 0 on a salifert low end test kit you may have too much. Maybe you know someone with a p04 colorimeter?

I feed the reef-nutrition line (rotifers and artipods) along with mysis soaked in selcon.

 

[stubbsz]

Well I need more fish too. I only got 2. Tried a coris wrasse last weekend and it lawsted only 4 days.

Must be an expiry date on them. Mine lasted 4 days too. He seemed so happy.

 

[1776Ken]

Rob;
I am having a similiar problem with my SPS corals. No polyp extension on my Montipora Digitata, and all Acro's. Did you solve your problem yet?

 

[Anonymous]

NO - and I am getting very frustrated. I am close to that thin line of getting out.

Or I may have to go back to softies and have an ugly brown coral tank

I am even noticing green algae on my return pipes now from feeding allot more. I don't now what to try net. If I feed more I can see the algae taking over the tank in short matter. Sand may be an option. Want more fish but cant get them to live. Maybe more flow? I dont know.

If its a phosphate problem then I dont know what to do either. I bought 2 new frags 2 weeks ago to see if they would stay colored up after feeding more and they are doing the same. The dark blue tort is getting lighter. The long polyp milie is not short polyped and decreasing and lighting. This does sound like it could be though since the coraline will not encrust the rock.

The lights are only 250W 14K HQI (5 hours) and 2 95W VHO's (7 hours).

 

[1776Ken]

My tank specs at:http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1204069#1204069

I am frustrated with the SPS thing also, but will not give up .... yet. I 've been fighting the problem for about 6 months now. I have raised ALk to 10 and lowered it to 7 dKh to no avail. Calcium remained above 400 ppm.
I operated so "dirty" I had a real cyno problem in the refugium. My next step was to reduce the photo period but reading about your short photo period I am reluctant to try it. Today I placed another piece of glass over a couple of corals. My thinking is that the light I have is producing to much UV. But it is only a guess. My research indicates that we are not the only one's with this problem and to date I have found no clear cut solution from someone who has had similiar problems.

 

[trido]

The lights are only 250W 14K HQI (5 hours) and 2 95W VHO's (7 hours).

Have you tried an increased light cycle? VHOs' closer to 12 hours and MH closer to 8 maybe. I run my at 13VHO and 10MH.

 

[trido]

crazy DP. I figured out when it happens. When my connection to RDO is slow ( takes near 30 seconds) for some reason it causes my posts to DP. IT IS NOT ME. It ususally isnt even my internet connection.It is my connect to the RDO server. I have had issues like this only since my move to Seattle. I try to just log off and not reply. Sometimes I just cant keep my mouth shut so to speak and then we get the DP .

 

[Anonymous]

trido - you and your double posts

I used to have the lights at 12 hours VHO and 10 MH.

 

[saltank]

Feeding the commercial frozen foods will add phosphate to the tank, even if undetected by your test kits.

Try rinsing the food with tank or RO water and "squeezing" the juice out before adding to the tank - I do this by placing a frozen cube in a small net over a sink and running RO water over it to melt it, then giving a few good squeezes to remove the commercial preserves.

I had the same issue with no corraline for about 6 months, at one point it covered 90% of my back glass and was all over the rocks. Then I added add'l lighting, my calcium and alk went low for an extended period (was having trouble raising the levels) and next thing you know - almost no corraline left, couldn't get it to grow either.

I've since raised the calcium and alk back up, but I think it was a low mag problem - the buffer I purchased now containes magnesium and all of a sudden I was able to raise calcium and alk - my corraline is starting to come back, although slowly. I've started mixing stronger batches of kalk which seems to be keeping the levels stable.

It is frustrating, but damn gratifying when things are in check and all is well, that's what we work toward :lol:

Good luck!

 

[Anonymous]

I am raising the magnesium now as well. Hopefully that will help with the calcification.

I did notice that 2 of the SPS frags have some new growth. Maybe things are turning but I will keep an eye on it.

I will be making my own food this week hopefully.

 

[Anonymous]

FYI - Since feeding allot more in the tank it has made no difference in the corals.

However I am now getting hair algae on the return pipes. I am going to strat doing weekly 15G water changes to get the nutrients out of the tank to stop the algae.

Next theory?

When will I listen and stop messing around with this rock and start the whole thing over from scratch? I think that's the only thing that will work at this point.