Candy Cane/Trumpet not opening
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I may slowly just replace it.. like a little bit per week.. with some larger grain Nat'l geographic white sand I have laying around from my old freshwater tank. It has a nice look and a much larger grain size without actually being big pebbles.
yes, sugar sand is the worst. It's the one consistent thing I'd always recommend against. It took a week for the water to clear up after starting up on the first day.
Hmm.. Not sure if that's diatoms or cyanobacteria, but if it is diatoms then it would not be related to the nitrogen cycle at all.
Typically the silicates that feed diatoms are in the sand, are consumed, and then the diatoms die. However, water source is another potential cause for diatoms. RO/DI Water should be silicate free. Tap water, however, is one way to add silicates.
If it's cyanobacteria, then that would likely be related to excess nitrate & phosphate.
Is the Nat'tl geographic sand you have laying around new? If is used you need to be careful about its condition before adding it.
You had one mishap already with used stuff (rock).
Carib Sea Seaflor Special Grade is what you want. I'm sure you can pick it up locally. Cost of shipping heavy bags of sand offsets any would-be 'savings' online versus picking it up at a brick and mortar.
Back to the candy cane though - move it up into the rockwork.
Jenn
Carib Sea Seaflor Special Grade is what you want. I'm sure you can pick it up locally. Cost of shipping heavy bags of sand offsets any would-be 'savings' online versus picking it up at a brick and mortar.
Back to the candy cane though - move it up into the rockwork.
Jenn
destineyfoster
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Saturday I'm going to take out half and replace it with some Nat'l Geographic white sand that's a much larger grain size, but still offers that smooth ocean floor look. It's not large pebble size, but it's not dust either like what I have.
Also... it's party diatoms, part cyano... battling high nitrates.
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DestineyFoster;987041 wrote:>class="gc-images" title="ImageUploadedByTapatalk1411435897.532460.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:400px" /></a> my fairly happy trumpet coral. Lol
That's awesome!
..I'm going to have to try again... I think this one's a gonner.. I can see the heads deteriorating and the skeleton starting to poke through... I'll leave it a bit longer but I think I need to try again...
so odd. Everything else in there is doing amazingly.. even the SPS I have.. the polyps are fully extended and colored wonderfully.. kinda bummed. I thought candy canes were supposed to be easy.
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It's brand new, Camellia... I bought a 20/25lb bag (can't remember exactly) and used about half in my old freshwater setup. The rest has been sitting in the closed bag in storage under the tank for about 7 months.
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Where'd you get it, Josh?
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no.. I know I should. I knowl... I know I'm a bad reefer..but they are too expensive and can't get any clear information on which ones work best.. some folks LOVE salifert.. some hate on them, some can't live without RedSea.. some wouldn't sell RedSea to their worst enemy, API is like Nickelback.. everyone hates them but no one knows why... I figured at $10 a frag, I'd give it a shot anyhow. :sick:
Give it a few days. Mine usually open to be fed or late at night under my moonlights.
Several local stores sell the Red Sea Reef Foundation set of tests (CA, MG, Alk) for around $45-50 with ARC discount. Amazon has them a tiny bit cheaper but with some reports of older/closer to expiry sets being delivered (depends on the fulfillment party). Salifert's the gold standard for hobby level test kits, but unless you;re planning on keeping something particularly sensitive I'm not sure the added cost is justified at this time.
Honestly even API's tests at this stage of your tank's existence would work. For what you're currently stocking you don't need fine detail on the big three parameters, just high/medium/low and a low enough cost footprint to be able to test often enough to establish some baselines and trends.
I just bought a RSP pack... will let you know if it's accurate & easy enough to be worth it.
Honestly even API's tests at this stage of your tank's existence would work. For what you're currently stocking you don't need fine detail on the big three parameters, just high/medium/low and a low enough cost footprint to be able to test often enough to establish some baselines and trends.
I just bought a RSP pack... will let you know if it's accurate & easy enough to be worth it.
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Have u tested that >10ppm nitrates with API? 10ppm can hurt "some" stony corals and this is possibly one of them.
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yeah.. the good folks at the fish store tried to push the red sea pack on me.. I wanted to bite, but couldn't justify spending an extra $60 on top of the $30 I'd planned to spend. I know.. I know.. the test kit might save me a lot of money in the long run.. and I know I need to do it.. but it's just such a boring, expensive part of the hobby. :/
Caulastrea sp. (Candy cane) is an easy coral.
I don't know about Nickleback, but I can tell you several reasons why API tests are crap. 1) Short shelf life. They will probably expire while you own them. 2) Very hard to interpret. 3) A real pain the the rear to perform - shake this for 2 minutes, let that sit for whatever... 4) Even if you jump through all the hoops the right way, they're dreadfully inaccurate.
They are probably the most widely sold, because they're the CHEAPEST. People will spend thousands on fragile livestock, but balk at $10 or $20 more for a good set of test kits. That's like buying a $100,000 sports car and being too cheap to change the oil regularly.
Red Sea, Salifert, Seachem - they're all good. Pick a brand and buy them before you continue. Spending a few dollars on a good set of testing kits and a refractometer will save you thousands in mistakes later. (Don't forget the calibration fluid for the refractometer, I haven't seen one accurately factory calibrated in some years.) I'm partial to Seachem test kits because they come with a reference solution so you can check for yourself that the kit is accurate AND your method is correct. However Red Sea and Salifert are good choices too - just check the expiration dates when you buy. Seachem kits have a pretty long shelf life and have lot numbers so if you are ever in doubt, you can call Seachem (a Georgia company, BTW) and they can check the lot numbers and if you experience a problem they will replace the reagents.
What is National Geographic Sand? I have never heard of it and I googled it and no joy. Is it aragonite? If it isn't, then don't use it. Spend a few dollars and get the right stuff and be done with it. Otherwise you'll be spinning your wheels even more.
If that Caulastrea is failing, there must be a reason. You're best to find out why and address it, before 'trying another one'.
Jenn
I don't know about Nickleback, but I can tell you several reasons why API tests are crap. 1) Short shelf life. They will probably expire while you own them. 2) Very hard to interpret. 3) A real pain the the rear to perform - shake this for 2 minutes, let that sit for whatever... 4) Even if you jump through all the hoops the right way, they're dreadfully inaccurate.
They are probably the most widely sold, because they're the CHEAPEST. People will spend thousands on fragile livestock, but balk at $10 or $20 more for a good set of test kits. That's like buying a $100,000 sports car and being too cheap to change the oil regularly.
Red Sea, Salifert, Seachem - they're all good. Pick a brand and buy them before you continue. Spending a few dollars on a good set of testing kits and a refractometer will save you thousands in mistakes later. (Don't forget the calibration fluid for the refractometer, I haven't seen one accurately factory calibrated in some years.) I'm partial to Seachem test kits because they come with a reference solution so you can check for yourself that the kit is accurate AND your method is correct. However Red Sea and Salifert are good choices too - just check the expiration dates when you buy. Seachem kits have a pretty long shelf life and have lot numbers so if you are ever in doubt, you can call Seachem (a Georgia company, BTW) and they can check the lot numbers and if you experience a problem they will replace the reagents.
What is National Geographic Sand? I have never heard of it and I googled it and no joy. Is it aragonite? If it isn't, then don't use it. Spend a few dollars and get the right stuff and be done with it. Otherwise you'll be spinning your wheels even more.
If that Caulastrea is failing, there must be a reason. You're best to find out why and address it, before 'trying another one'.
Jenn
