Goniopora acting stange

rBlair · 11/02/2017, 05:08 PM

I've had this goni for about a month. It was in my 90 but I've moved it to my 180. In the 90 the PE was substantial, prob 1 1/2 in on each and stayed open. In the 180 it maybe opens to less than 1 in each and retracts around 330 in the afternoon for some reason to only a 1/4 in.

tank params are pretty much the same in both

PH 7.9 - 8.1
Sal 1.026
dKH is about 7-8
cal 480
temp 76.5 - 77.5

any idea why its acting so different?

the lights are different
over the 90 (for now) are 2 black box leds set to about 60 blue, 30 white
over the 180 is a current marine pro 48 in (much less of a light I believe)

light schedule 7 am blue, 9 am white comes one

it's color is good but weird that it only extends till about 3 each day

the 180 is pretty empty, I will be moving the rest of the coral and livestock this weekend to the 180 and turn the 90 into FOWLR

rBlair · 11/02/2017, 05:13 PM

forgot to say, the 180 has been up with live rock and CUC for about 2 months -
no other livestock but I ghost feed daily. I recently moved and had put everything into the 90 till I could get the 180 set up the way I wanted it.

the goni was a recent addition and with its extension it was too close to others so I went ahead and moved it over. Its been in the 180 for about a week and this pattern has develped

ReefKeeper64 · 11/02/2017, 05:47 PM

In my experience, Gonipora are happiest with nitrate around 5 and PO4 about 0.08. When nitrate drops to 0-1, they close up. Good luck!

rBlair · 11/02/2017, 06:01 PM

thanks reefkeeper64, I know the Nitrate and PO4 are low given no livestock but I can feed a little extra to bring those up.

how's Tampa these days? I pretty mush grew up there, in the Busch Gardens area. In fact the first house was one block east of the park ( i think they turned it into parking) but we used to walk to the end of the street and see the extra animals.

haven't lived there for prob 25 yrs, last time was on N. Florida ave.

ReefKeeper64 · 11/03/2017, 05:37 AM

Try straight calcium nitrate from greenleafaquariumsDOTcom or similiar. You get a whopping pound of high grade granules for $2.50. You won't raise your PO4 that way. Just put a tablespoon into a liter of RO and mix it up. Dose a tablespoon of your mix and test your nitrate. Add another dose and keep testing until you get a feel for the right dose for your tank. Start slow and you'll be set for years!

Calcium Nitrate Ca[NO3]2 - 1lb
$2.50
Calcium Nitrate Ca(NO3)2 1 lb Use to provide Calcium (Ca) and Nitrogen (N) to plants. This item ships to United States destinations only. Select a reclosable bag or our new GLA Fert Jars for easy storage...

Actually lived nearby you back then as I was a student at USF. I was around Busch Gardens and N Florida Ave all the time. Graduated in 1988. Tampa is a booming city. What used to be cow pasture just north of Tampa is now developed all the way up to Land O Lakes/Wesley Chapel. Employment is good and you know the weather is always a plus, especially in the winter. No place is perfect, of course, but I like the area so I have stayed local.

Good luck with your goni. I read where people say they struggle with them but I've never had a problem as long as I keep them happy with a steady, but small amount of Nitrate and not too much PO4. Let me know if it helps you!

rBlair · 11/05/2017, 06:33 PM

I wanted to follow up - I was in a transition mode between my 90 gal "temp" tank and my 180 since the move. I finally got everything in line to get the 180 back together so I made the switch yesterday (Saturday)

Most of the rock was moved from the 90 and added to what I had cycled in the 180. I moved about half the water from the 90 to the 180. got everything hooked up and running.

The goni looked great all day today. Still open with great PE. The only major thing I can see different is the light. There was an Orbit Marine Pro on the 180 till I switched over and now have 3 black box leds on it. (2 of the leds were over the 90 when the goni was looking good)

I would have thought the coral would extend more looking for light but it seem like it was not liking the lessor lights.

ReefKeeper64 · 11/05/2017, 09:12 PM

They tend to close up a bit when there is less lighting, especially at night. Goni can be finicky so if it looked great all day, I wouldn't worry about it too much. It sounds like it's doing fine.

Did you adjust your Nitrate and did you notice a difference?

rBlair · 11/08/2017, 02:49 PM

It's still looking good with good extension all day. I'm waiting on the Calcium Nitrate to get here. I've turned off the skimmer but still show basically 0 on the API kit.

ReefKeeper64 · 11/08/2017, 05:25 PM

Glad to hear it. You can't go wrong with a little calcium nitrate to bring up your numbers.

jjoos99 · 12/18/2017, 09:35 PM

would low nitrate also cause gonipora to pale some in color? I have 4 different pieces of goni in my tank and two have paled out some in color and not extending much. Im pretty sure I have low nitrate, i only need to clean my glass maybe once a week. I wish hanna made a checker for nitrate, I hate the color comparison charts for testing.
thanks
Jeff

11/02/2017, 05:08 PM	#1
rBlair Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Columbia, TN Posts: 44	Goniopora acting stange I've had this goni for about a month. It was in my 90 but I've moved it to my 180. In the 90 the PE was substantial, prob 1 1/2 in on each and stayed open. In the 180 it maybe opens to less than 1 in each and retracts around 330 in the afternoon for some reason to only a 1/4 in. tank params are pretty much the same in both PH 7.9 - 8.1 Sal 1.026 dKH is about 7-8 cal 480 temp 76.5 - 77.5 any idea why its acting so different? the lights are different over the 90 (for now) are 2 black box leds set to about 60 blue, 30 white over the 180 is a current marine pro 48 in (much less of a light I believe) light schedule 7 am blue, 9 am white comes one it's color is good but weird that it only extends till about 3 each day the 180 is pretty empty, I will be moving the rest of the coral and livestock this weekend to the 180 and turn the 90 into FOWLR __________________ 180 gal, 40 gal sump, 3 galaxy hydro 165 watt LED for light, Aquamaxx ConeS CO-2 skimmer

11/02/2017, 05:13 PM	#2
rBlair Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Columbia, TN Posts: 44	forgot to say, the 180 has been up with live rock and CUC for about 2 months - no other livestock but I ghost feed daily. I recently moved and had put everything into the 90 till I could get the 180 set up the way I wanted it. the goni was a recent addition and with its extension it was too close to others so I went ahead and moved it over. Its been in the 180 for about a week and this pattern has develped __________________ 180 gal, 40 gal sump, 3 galaxy hydro 165 watt LED for light, Aquamaxx ConeS CO-2 skimmer

11/02/2017, 05:47 PM	#3
ReefKeeper64 Wanna be a reefkeeper Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Tampa Posts: 1,158	In my experience, Gonipora are happiest with nitrate around 5 and PO4 about 0.08. When nitrate drops to 0-1, they close up. Good luck! __________________ Reef Savvy 110g Tank \| GHL Profilux 4 Controller & Doser \| Royal Exclusiv Skimmer & Dreambox/Sump \| ATI 8x54 Sunpower T5 \| Ozotech Ozone Generator

11/02/2017, 06:01 PM	#4
rBlair Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Columbia, TN Posts: 44	thanks reefkeeper64, I know the Nitrate and PO4 are low given no livestock but I can feed a little extra to bring those up. how's Tampa these days? I pretty mush grew up there, in the Busch Gardens area. In fact the first house was one block east of the park ( i think they turned it into parking) but we used to walk to the end of the street and see the extra animals. haven't lived there for prob 25 yrs, last time was on N. Florida ave. __________________ 180 gal, 40 gal sump, 3 galaxy hydro 165 watt LED for light, Aquamaxx ConeS CO-2 skimmer

11/03/2017, 05:37 AM	#5
ReefKeeper64 Wanna be a reefkeeper Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Tampa Posts: 1,158	Try straight calcium nitrate from greenleafaquariumsDOTcom or similiar. You get a whopping pound of high grade granules for $2.50. You won't raise your PO4 that way. Just put a tablespoon into a liter of RO and mix it up. Dose a tablespoon of your mix and test your nitrate. Add another dose and keep testing until you get a feel for the right dose for your tank. Start slow and you'll be set for years! Calcium Nitrate Ca[NO3]2 - 1lb $2.50 Calcium Nitrate Ca(NO3)2 1 lb Use to provide Calcium (Ca) and Nitrogen (N) to plants. This item ships to United States destinations only. Select a reclosable bag or our new GLA Fert Jars for easy storage... Actually lived nearby you back then as I was a student at USF. I was around Busch Gardens and N Florida Ave all the time. Graduated in 1988. Tampa is a booming city. What used to be cow pasture just north of Tampa is now developed all the way up to Land O Lakes/Wesley Chapel. Employment is good and you know the weather is always a plus, especially in the winter. No place is perfect, of course, but I like the area so I have stayed local. Good luck with your goni. I read where people say they struggle with them but I've never had a problem as long as I keep them happy with a steady, but small amount of Nitrate and not too much PO4. Let me know if it helps you! __________________ Reef Savvy 110g Tank \| GHL Profilux 4 Controller & Doser \| Royal Exclusiv Skimmer & Dreambox/Sump \| ATI 8x54 Sunpower T5 \| Ozotech Ozone Generator

11/05/2017, 06:33 PM	#6
rBlair Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Columbia, TN Posts: 44	I wanted to follow up - I was in a transition mode between my 90 gal "temp" tank and my 180 since the move. I finally got everything in line to get the 180 back together so I made the switch yesterday (Saturday) Most of the rock was moved from the 90 and added to what I had cycled in the 180. I moved about half the water from the 90 to the 180. got everything hooked up and running. The goni looked great all day today. Still open with great PE. The only major thing I can see different is the light. There was an Orbit Marine Pro on the 180 till I switched over and now have 3 black box leds on it. (2 of the leds were over the 90 when the goni was looking good) I would have thought the coral would extend more looking for light but it seem like it was not liking the lessor lights. __________________ 180 gal, 40 gal sump, 3 galaxy hydro 165 watt LED for light, Aquamaxx ConeS CO-2 skimmer

11/05/2017, 09:12 PM	#7
ReefKeeper64 Wanna be a reefkeeper Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Tampa Posts: 1,158	They tend to close up a bit when there is less lighting, especially at night. Goni can be finicky so if it looked great all day, I wouldn't worry about it too much. It sounds like it's doing fine. Did you adjust your Nitrate and did you notice a difference? __________________ Reef Savvy 110g Tank \| GHL Profilux 4 Controller & Doser \| Royal Exclusiv Skimmer & Dreambox/Sump \| ATI 8x54 Sunpower T5 \| Ozotech Ozone Generator

11/08/2017, 02:49 PM	#8
rBlair Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Columbia, TN Posts: 44	It's still looking good with good extension all day. I'm waiting on the Calcium Nitrate to get here. I've turned off the skimmer but still show basically 0 on the API kit. __________________ 180 gal, 40 gal sump, 3 galaxy hydro 165 watt LED for light, Aquamaxx ConeS CO-2 skimmer

11/08/2017, 05:25 PM	#9
ReefKeeper64 Wanna be a reefkeeper Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Tampa Posts: 1,158	Glad to hear it. You can't go wrong with a little calcium nitrate to bring up your numbers. __________________ Reef Savvy 110g Tank \| GHL Profilux 4 Controller & Doser \| Royal Exclusiv Skimmer & Dreambox/Sump \| ATI 8x54 Sunpower T5 \| Ozotech Ozone Generator

12/18/2017, 09:35 PM	#10
jjoos99 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Dayton Ohio Posts: 796	would low nitrate also cause gonipora to pale some in color? I have 4 different pieces of goni in my tank and two have paled out some in color and not extending much. Im pretty sure I have low nitrate, i only need to clean my glass maybe once a week. I wish hanna made a checker for nitrate, I hate the color comparison charts for testing. thanks Jeff