Closed up and temperamental

[bluejuice]

I've got a 2-month-old tank with a leather tree coral, 2 Zoas, and 1 Goniopora. I'm fighting algae on one zoa with H202 and my Goni is currently closed- likely to do with a weird phosphate spike I had early this week, but the focus of this post will be the leather tree. The leather has been in the tank for approximately 1 month and is yet to fully open up.
It had been on the bottom of my tank-I think getting around 80 par, but today I moved it to a higher area and raised the flow to hopefully get it out of its shell but am unsure if this will be enough.
It's bumming me out, especially because I want more, but cant justify that if I cant keep the "easy" ones happy- anyone have suggestions?
Parameters:
Nitrate- 5ppm
Phosphate <0.25 (API B.S.)
Calcium- 520
Kh- 8dkh
Ph-8.4

In addition to the problem above, I also have a few general questions about coal care. To specify I have a 14 Gallon AIO with 4 coral. When folks talk about phytoplankton, are they referring to dead phytoplankton used for coral nutrition? What about zoo plankton? I know these are things you can buy to feed your corals, but do people also "grow" phyto or zooplankton in their tanks as part of a healthy microbiome, like copepods? Should I be feeding my four corals anything besides light? It seems like a mess to broadcast feed and I can't imagine any of the ones I have responding to target feeding... but perhaps this is why they aren't doing so well?

Also, I have a friend with an established saltwater aquarium and they offered me some of their water to help me deal with my brown algae problem- is this a good idea?

 

[Doctorgori]

I see a lot of : “ my leather is closed up/unhappy” threads and my reply is always the same: unless there is a clear/obvious issue, they can just do this for even weeks on end…you could plausibly have a actual issue, but I wouldn’t use a leather as my first clue

When folks talk about phytoplankton, are they referring to dead phytoplankton used for coral nutrition? What about zoo plankton? I know these are things you can buy to feed your corals, but do people also "grow" phyto or zooplankton in their tanks as part of a healthy microbiome, like copepods?

Kent and a few other manufacturers do sell bottles of inert/dead phyto…I’ve never had much luck or notice any benefit with those products…maybe others can chime in but I personally don’t buy them anymore.

I have cultured live phyto however and it works for a host of things: Direct feed, water quality, and gut loading…it works well and IME, worth it…
Pods are a waste of money IMO, but perhaps not in a small tank with mandarins et…I have raised both thisbe and tigger pods with success, but more often failure…again it might be worth it, the best deals for pods are here on R2R

Should I be feeding my four corals anything besides light?

yeah, many threads here on the topic…definitely feed live phyto, reef snow and aminos…You will get better advice on this than me…hopefully a stick head will chime in

Also, I have a friend with an established saltwater aquarium and they offered me some of their water to help me deal with my brown algae problem- is this a good idea?

No

 

[Uncle99]

Water carries little advantage as it doesn’t contain a lot of bacteria. Sharing anything comes with risk also of adding something bad to your tank.

At 2 months, can’t see the system having much in terms of diversity and population, the best guys come last. This diversity is what in part feeds on the water column and uptake by corals.

With very stable parameters, this helps to advance system maturity, but it does take some time.

You have nutrients available and that’s a plus. A daily dash of bacteria, I use 3 different ones, a one time addition of pods, and a weekly dash of live phytoplankton if you have access to that. Reef Nutrition makes a good brew.

I’m not sure how long each system would take but with another 6 months, assuming on point water chemistry, all of a sudden, algae disappear, rocks go clean, sand stays white, and corals extend fully.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

What kind of light do you have, 80 par seems very low to me for for leather and goni's. Mine are all in medium/high light and high flow. What do you have for flow in the tank?

Your getting the diatoms phase now - thats the brown algae, diatoms, it will go on its own in a couple of weeks.

My first goni ever stayed closed for about 4 months before finally opening up, its not a beginner coral.

I would never add someone else's water into my tank.

Are you using tap water or rodi water?

 

[exnisstech]

Solid advice given. I would add some established live rock or rubble but wouldn't bother with someone elses water. As mentioned leathers can be very temperamental and close up for long periods of time. Mine alway close for a few days if I move them and weeks if they're shedding. Mine will even close if a fish bumps them. Most of mine are under 250 - 300 par with plenty of flow.
I've never been able to keep a goni alive. I think early on maybe I was getting wild harvested ones but my last batch of aquacultured ones didn't last either so they're now on my list of corals I can't keep.
I see a couple of clowns in your tank so their waste along with light is all coral should need. 2 months is early so I wouldn't get overly concerned. IME things don't really really start coming together until at least 6 months to a year unless real live rock is used.
I've personally never added phyto to a tank tho many people do with good success. I did dose aminos in my stick tank but can't say I noticed any difference during use or after I stopped.