Still no acropora polyp extension?

[cr500_af]

grouper therapy;604063 wrote: I am going to bet on the Flame Angel.

Acroholic;604064 wrote: A good thing to try, Barry, if you can't find another cause, is to catch and isolate the flame for a while and see what happens with your coral's PE then.

I don't think I can say he is 100% NOT the issue, but even if he occasionally nips one (though I've never seen it after hours of watching), I doubt he can be that sneaky and tick off every acro in the tank.
I will eliminate this as a possibility... I think I'm going to build eggcrate "walls" on my biggest rack so no fish can get over the top of it. That won't shade the corals and will answer the question.

RaisedOnNintendo;604079 wrote: Change your bulbs out for radium 20k I switched from ushio n mine did way better n looked better.

DE bulbs, so no can do.

Landon;604083 wrote: Just exploring other thoughts... Do you clean your hands before putting them in the tank? Do you ever spray any kind of air fragrance or cleaning chemical around or near ur tank?

I'm very careful about that sort of thing.

mysterybox;604148 wrote: what I would do.....

1. treat for redbugs
2. change that phosguard crap for GFO asap...change it weekly until phates are acceptable using a "real" test kit, i.e., merck or the new elos
3. raise alk and keep it steady by daily dosing
4. lighting make sure lighting is intense for sps (can't remember what you had)

GFO is coming next, alk is being caught up on, and I am getting 600-650 PAR at the racks where these corals are.

I will dip a few and see if anything appears.

 

[mph84]

can someone please let me know exactly what is so bad about seachem products? just curious... I've used all of the same products barry listed and have never had any problems like I said just curious

 

[grouper therapy]

cr500_af;604220 wrote: I don't think I can say he is 100% NOT the issue, but even if he occasionally nips one (though I've never seen it after hours of watching), I doubt he can be that sneaky and tick off every acro in the tank.
I will eliminate this as a possibility... I think I'm going to build eggcrate "walls" on my biggest rack so no fish can get over the top of it. That won't shade the corals and will answer the question.



DE bulbs, so no can do.



I'm very careful about that sort of thing.



GFO is coming next, alk is being caught up on, and I am getting 600-650 PAR at the racks where these corals are.

I will dip a few and see if anything appears.

keep us posted. It must be in the water!lol I have never had polyp extension either, But I know the culprit in mine.

 

[skriz]

mph84;604348 wrote: can someone please let me know exactly what is so bad about seachem products? just curious... I've used all of the same products barry listed and have never had any problems like I said just curious

Absolutely nothing wrong with them. There is, in fact, a lot that's right with them. Consider that Seachem is based on sceince and publishes their data, so you're getting a good product.

Barry, if you're ever in/near Lawrenceville, hit me up and bring a water sample with you and we can test for phosphates on my colorimeter.

What I would do: large water change and discontinue media useage. Run the tank without carbon, gfo, etc and see what happens.

 

[mph84]

thanks skriz

 

[ralph atl]

mph84;604348 wrote: can someone please let me know exactly what is so bad about seachem products? just curious... I've used all of the same products barry listed and have never had any problems like I said just curious

test kits are very hard to use (those trays suck, imho)
they still use an aluminum based phosphate remover
they don't have gfo
they use too much boron in their salt (which, I have no issue with personally, but it can be difficult to figure out carbonate alk)

 

[ralph atl]

while I agree that a water change is very good, using carbon (a fresh batch) wouldn't hurt, yet could help.....

I would immedaitely start gfo, as I stated before.....but, that's me..

 

[raisedonnintendo]

Skriz;604413 wrote: Absolutely nothing wrong with them. There is, in fact, a lot that's right with them. Consider that Seachem is based on sceince and publishes their data, so you're getting a good product.

Barry, if you're ever in/near Lawrenceville, hit me up and bring a water sample with you and we can test for phosphates on my colorimeter.

What I would do: large water change and discontinue media useage. Run the tank without carbon, gfo, etc and see what happens.

Ok I get everything but one part why the rum? I mean why not use carbon? Is this an advanced thing beyond me? Or did I miss something. Was he doseing? Is that why you removed it. Unless you want to leave a chemical in the water why would he want to remove??? Ps I hope your tanks doing better!!!!!!!!

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Almost guaranteed nipping. What, besides the flame angel is in the tank?

Also, something to consider- why is daytime PE "good"? Oceanic acros rarely show polyps during the day, if at all. Is the colony doing well? Then don't fix what ain't broke.

 

[cr500_af]

jmaneyapanda;604652 wrote: Almost guaranteed nipping. What, besides the flame angel is in the tank?

Also, something to consider- why is daytime PE "good"? Oceanic acros rarely show polyps during the day, if at all. Is the colony doing well? Then don't fix what ain't broke.

Very good point, Jeremy. FWIW, I've got a grand total of one acro (Miyagi Tort) that has PE at night, best I can tell.

Some updates...

Now that no fish can reach the corals in question, no change there. I'll probably house the flame somewhere other than the DT or sell it when I move my livestock over to the new tank anyway. It may be my only chance to catch him easily, and I know that even a good one could turn bad as it ages.

Dipped a few test subjects (CoralRx, RO water as experiments... a couple of frags in each vessel) and there was absolutely nothing in the water than could be seen with the naked eye. These were specimens that I have more than one of (and nothing expensive) just to be on the safe side.

I've checked the lighter colored, smooth-skinned ones the closest (because I can see them better with my old eyes). Under magnification, no evidence of red bugs or anything else.

I picked up an Elos phosphate kit (new) today and it reads zero. I will definitely take you up on the offer, Raj, even if I drive to MRC for just that reason. I almost ordered a colorimeter today, but I'd like to see one in action (especially if it disproves three test kits).
I am going to leave the GFO unopened for now... no reason to use it if my phospates are in fact very low.

Skriz;604413 wrote:

What I would do: large water change and discontinue media useage. Run the tank without carbon, gfo, etc and see what happens.

And I do appreciate the help from everyone, but don't miss the fact that this has been a 12-month-plus condition... many, many water changes have happened. The tank has also run at least six of those months without any media/reactor at all.

I think that since growth is good, and other than one coral I've never had any STN/RTN issues... I will do the smart thing and shut up and be happy with my naked acroporas. At least until I see somebody else's colonies and get jealous.

So, even still I've learned a few things (the happiest of which is that I can't find any pests in my system).