Is my coral OK?

[jgisler2006]

Hello all,

I recently put together my 55 gallon/10 gallon sump project. It has been running fine for a few months. I have just upgraded my lighting to a Current Marine Orbit 36/48 LED fixture. I also have a 24" dual blue I run sometimes.

I just put in my first frags yesterday and am very nervous at this point. The Zoas I added seem to be open and okay but my Duncan has yet to fully open. Parameters are okay as far as I can tell.

I even put my LED's on "Coral acclimation" which allows for a softer light and less hours.

Any advice is so helpful! :reading:

[Docdiggy]

I'd give it time as long as your water checks out.

[Dkuhlmann]

Make sure your Duncan's are in a low flow and low light area. They don't like lots of either.

Also after a few day's you can feed your Duncan's with mysis shrimp The more you feed them the more they grow and produce new heads. They will eat like an anemone does.

[Mcgeezer]

Duncan's don't need to be fed. They catch plenty of free floating food when you feed fish, plus they are primarily photosynthetic. I started with 4 heads (in high flow) and now have 31....and I never feed them.

It is very common for new corals especially zoanthids, to not open up for a significant period of time during the initial acclamation period. I wouldn't worry.

However, you say your parameters are ok....what are they? Are you also light acclimating the corals starting from the bottom of tank and moving them up eventually?

[ajcanale]

Duncans grow incredibly fast when fed, relatively slow when not... I had a vollyball sized colony a few years back. It got that big (from original 2 heads) from feeding it whole krill. Stopped feeding and it stayed the same size.

[jgisler2006]

Make sure your Duncan's are in a low flow and low light area. They don't like lots of either.

Also after a few day's you can feed your Duncan's with mysis shrimp The more you feed them the more they grow and produce new heads. They will eat like an anemone does.

Hey thanks for the tip! I was unaware but it seems as feeding greatly increases growth!

[jgisler2006]

Duncan's don't need to be fed. They catch plenty of free floating food when you feed fish, plus they are primarily photosynthetic. I started with 4 heads (in high flow) and now have 31....and I never feed them.

It is very common for new corals especially zoanthids, to not open up for a significant period of time during the initial acclamation period. I wouldn't worry.

However, you say your parameters are ok....what are they? Are you also light acclimating the corals starting from the bottom of tank and moving them up eventually?

My PH is about: 8.0/8.1 I know this is a little low
Nitrate/Trite: 0
Salinity is 1.023 (A little low also)
0 Ammonia

I made the mistake of putting my frags in the middle section of the aquarium. I have since moved both to the sand bed. My Zoas are nearly completely opened up, minus a few heads, but the duncan maxes out barely showing its tentacles. I don't have alk or KH tests but I am assuming everything is normal with that. I am preparing to do a water change tomorrow.

[jgisler2006]

Duncan's don't need to be fed. They catch plenty of free floating food when you feed fish, plus they are primarily photosynthetic. I started with 4 heads (in high flow) and now have 31....and I never feed them.

It is very common for new corals especially zoanthids, to not open up for a significant period of time during the initial acclamation period. I wouldn't worry.

However, you say your parameters are ok....what are they? Are you also light acclimating the corals starting from the bottom of tank and moving them up eventually?

Here are some photos

[Mcgeezer]

They look perfectly fine. You may wa,t to consider removing them from the plugs and either gluing/epoxy to the rockwork (solely for looks...I hate plugs 😀)

[Dkuhlmann]

Don't ever glue a frag until you have found it's "happy place" Also my Duncans are very happy in the sandbed so covering the frag plug isn't an issue.

[jgisler2006]

They look perfectly fine. You may wa,t to consider removing them from the plugs and either gluing/epoxy to the rockwork (solely for looks...I hate plugs 😀)

You think so? Shouldn't it be fully open like at the LFS?

I agree the plugs are very ugly but to be honest I am SO nervous to try to remove them without killing the coral.

[jgisler2006]

Don't ever glue a frag until you have found it's "happy place" Also my Duncans are very happy in the sandbed so covering the frag plug isn't an issue.

Good point. They are a bit ugly at first.

[Mcgeezer]

You think so? Shouldn't it be fully open like at the LFS?

I agree the plugs are very ugly but to be honest I am SO nervous to try to remove them without killing the coral.
You won't kill it by removing it from the plug. And yes it's quite normal that they won't fully open until they are acclimated.

You need to post all of your water parameters, including Ca, DkH, and Mg

[jgisler2006]

They look perfectly fine. You may wa,t to consider removing them from the plugs and either gluing/epoxy to the rockwork (solely for looks...I hate plugs 😀)

The Duncan does look a little better this morning after I moved him to the sand bed.

Take a look. I also added a photo so you can see the general placement. Sorry for the quality :spin2:

[Mcgeezer]

The Duncan does look a little better this morning after I moved him to the sand bed.

Take a look. I also added a photo so you can see the general placement. Sorry for the quality :spin2:
The Duncan is perfectly fine. They are the easiest LPS to keep.

[jgisler2006]

You won't kill it by removing it from the plug. And yes it's quite normal that they won't fully open until they are acclimated.

You need to post all of your water parameters, including Ca, DkH, and Mg

Can you recommend a good testing kit for these specifically?

[Mcgeezer]

Salifert tests are easy to use and reliable. If your going to keep corals, you always need to know these parameters and ensure your tank is properly dosed to maintain solid parameters

Proper ranges are:
Ca 420-460
Dkh 9-11
Mg 1350-1375

[Dkuhlmann]

It will take about a week maybe longer for it to be fully acclimated to your tank. So until then leave it where you now have it and it will be fine. Like I said all of mine are in the sandbed and the frag plugs are covered. I also agree it's no problem breaking them off the frag plugs if you decide to do that. I too hate them :D

[jgisler2006]

Salifert tests are easy to use and reliable. If your going to keep corals, you always need to know these parameters and ensure your tank is properly dosed to maintain solid parameters

Proper ranges are:
Ca 420-460
Dkh 9-11
Mg 1350-1375

Hey thank you for all of the help! I really appreciate it. Im on my way to the LFS to grab a test kit. Would you mind letting me know if I have the appropriate equipment run down?

55 gallon DT
15 gallon sump (Sock and Chaeto)
Rio 1200 return
Koralia PH
Current Marine Orbit LED

Live stock:
2 Clowns
1 Firefish
1 Disco Fang Blenny
a few snails and hermits

[Mcgeezer]

Hey thank you for all of the help! I really appreciate it. Im on my way to the LFS to grab a test kit. Would you mind letting me know if I have the appropriate equipment run down?

55 gallon DT
15 gallon sump (Sock and Chaeto)
Rio 1200 return
Koralia PH
Current Marine Orbit LED

Live stock:
2 Clowns
1 Firefish
1 Disco Fang Blenny
a few snails and hermits
I assume you are not using GFO? If not, you need to start. GFO=granular ferric oxide

This absorbs excess phosphate from the tank, which prevents algae growth. Excessive phosphate also inhibits coral growth/health

The best way to utilize it is in a phosphate reactor, but you can always put it in a mesh bag made for aquariums and place it in a high flow area of the sump (if you use a filter sock, just throw it in there and the flow from the drain is plenty)

[jgisler2006]

I assume you are not using GFO? If not, you need to start. GFO=granular ferric oxide

This absorbs excess phosphate from the tank, which prevents algae growth. Excessive phosphate also inhibits coral growth/health

The best way to utilize it is in a phosphate reactor, but you can always put it in a mesh bag made for aquariums and place it in a high flow area of the sump (if you use a filter sock, just throw it in there and the flow from the drain is plenty)

GFO got it. I will start running it in my sump!