Corals

[DormySaz]

Hi all!

I've been given two small corals for my tank when purchasing my Blenny yesterday, and I was wondering if anyone can help with first of all what they are, and second of all what is happening with the tree coral? It seems to just be folded over.. I am super new to this and these are the first corals I've ever owned. I've got them both low down and out of the strongest water flow possible too.

For reference my water readings this morning were:

Tank size: 56L
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.0
Nitrite: 0.1
Nitrate: 5
Salt: 1.022
Water temp: 25 Celsius

I've attached photos too.
Any help would be hugely appreciated! The fish are happy and thriving, it's just the one coral that seems unhappy!

 

[Gman83]

What kind of lights are you using? The first appears to be some kind of zoa, and is likely just acclimating to your system.

I don't have a Kenyan tree, but i feel like I have read that they will do that while acclimating.

Now that you have coral, you will need to test nitrate and phosphate. While the range for softies isn't as important (as compared to sps) but you will want to make sure you have some level for the corals.

 

[BristleWormHater]

I think pic 1 is some yuma mushrooms but they could be zoas like @Gman83 said. How are you lighting this system? How much light are you giving them and how much flow are you giving them.
What are your water parameters?

 

[DormySaz]

What kind of lights are you using? The first appears to be some kind of zoa, and is likely just acclimating to your system.

I don't have a Kenyan tree, but i feel like I have read that they will do that while acclimating.

Now that you have coral, you will need to test nitrate and phosphate. While the range for softies isn't as important (as compared to sps) but you will want to make sure you have some level for the corals.

At the moment it's just the standard light that came with the tank in the lid.

Ahh that's good to know if that is the case! I struggled figuring out where to place them as well.

So Nitrate is sitting at 5ppm but I haven't tested the phosphate recently, the last time I tested phosphate though it was sitting at a steady 0.25ppm - it was always the same from day 1. That was on 19th September.

 

[BristleWormHater]

At the moment it's just the standard light that came with the tank in the lid.

Ahh that's good to know if that is the case! I struggled figuring out where to place them as well.

So Nitrate is sitting at 5ppm but I haven't tested the phosphate recently, the last time I tested phosphate though it was sitting at a steady 0.25ppm - it was always the same from day 1. That was on 19th September.

Do you always run the light on white or did you switch it to that for pics?

 

[DormySaz]

I think pic 1 is some yuma mushrooms but they could be zoas like @Gman83 said. How are you lighting this system? How much light are you giving them and how much flow are you giving them.
What are your water parameters?

Heya, at the moment we are lighting it with the standard tank light that came in the lid! I generally have the light on from around 7am till about 5pm, but have read around that too much light can cause Algae so I am now trialing turning it off around midday for a couple of hours!

We have a flow machine that is on a steady stream - not too fast , and the tree coral is at the back of the tank not in the main stream. The mushrooms are at the front, also not in the main stream.

Water parameters are as above in my post

Many thanks for replying!

 

[DormySaz]

Do you always run the light on white or did you switch it to that for pics?

It is just a standard white light. It doesn't have any option for other colours unfortunately.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Heya, at the moment we are lighting it with the standard tank light that came in the lid! I generally have the light on from around 7am till about 5pm, but have read around that too much light can cause Algae so I am now trialing turning it off around midday for a couple of hours!

We have a flow machine that is on a steady stream - not too fast , and the tree coral is at the back of the tank not in the main stream. The mushrooms are at the front, also not in the main stream.

Water parameters are as above in my post

Many thanks for replying!

7am to 5pm is not too much. Don't worry about adjusting light for algae, it just delays the inevitable, it will come anyways when you run the lights for coral. I would increase the light time and do 7am to 7pm. Kenya trees need flow in order to stand up properly, I would move it closer to the wave maker. Do you know the gph(gallons per hour) of your wave maker also is it a wave maker or return pump?

 

[Gman83]

It is just a standard white light. It doesn't have any option for other colours unfortunately.

Couldnyou take a picture of the light? The ones that come with the tank are usually for illumination purposes, and don't have enough power to grow corals.

 

[BristleWormHater]

It is just a standard white light. It doesn't have any option for other colours unfortunately.

You'll need to get a different light before those corals die, they cannot survive solely off white light.

 

[DormySaz]

Couldnyou take a picture of the light? The ones that come with the tank are usually for illumination purposes, and don't have enough power to grow corals.

Sure, here's a picture of what we have!

 

[DormySaz]

7am to 5pm is not too much. Don't worry about adjusting light for algae, it just delays the inevitable, it will come anyways when you run the lights for coral. I would increase the light time and do 7am to 7pm. Kenya trees need flow in order to stand up properly, I would move it closer to the wave maker. Do you know the gph(gallons per hour) of your wave maker also is it a wave maker or return pump?

It's a wave maker with a filter as far as I know - the max flow on the side says 500L/H and we don't have it on max at the moment.

Here's a photo of what we are using currently.

 

[Gman83]

Unfortunately, I don't think those lights will cut it. I would go to a lfs and get some coral lights

 

[DormySaz]

You'll need to get a different light before those corals die, they cannot survive solely off white light.

Ahhh okay! Any recommendations on what sort of lights we need?

Thank you!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

The corals will not survive under a white light

 

[BristleWormHater]

Sure, here's a picture of what we have!

You'll definitely need to upgrade that so the corals survive. Some lfs carry quality lights, but most of the time it's some decent bar style lights, get one those ASAP if you want the corals to make it.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Ahhh okay! Any recommendations on what sort of lights we need?

Thank you!

What kind of corals are planning on growing?

 

[DormySaz]

What kind of corals are planning on growing?

I'm not sure at the moment! We were thinking of some sort of coral for the clownfish to be able to swim in and such eventually. These were ones the shop gave us to start off our coral journey, so still very very new to corals so not much knowledge on the different coral types.

 

[Gman83]

A local to you Reefer may have extra light that you can buy without paying retail

 

[BristleWormHater]

I'm not sure at the moment! We were thinking of some sort of coral for the clownfish to be able to swim in and such eventually. These were ones the shop gave us to start off our coral journey, so still very very new to corals so not much knowledge on the different coral types.

I would start with a noopsyche k7 they will grow any softies(like the ones you have) and lps(large polyp stony) corals and even some lower end sps (small polyp stony) corals.

Soft corals are the easiest of all corals they need less light and like dirtier water nitrate around 10-40 and phosphate within acceptable ranges (.10-.50) 20ppm is a good spot for nitrate and I like my phospate at .25ppm. You don't need to worry about kh, calcium and magnesium as much with soft corals as they don't have a skeleton that they build with these elements
Lps(large polyp stony) are also pretty easy for the most part. They vary in light, but most like medium light of around 75-125 par.They like dirter water as well 20ppm nitrate and .25phosphate is a good spot. You should try these after a few months of successfully keeping soft corals. They need calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity to grow and build their skeletons. Keep calcium around 400-450ppm, magnesium at 1400-1500ppm, and alkalinity at 7-11dkh (9 is the sweet spot for me).
Sps (small polyp stony) corals are the hardest variety. They mostly like medium to high light 150-300par. They like cleaner water around 10-15ppm nitrate and .25 phospate will work.
You should only try sps once you start to coralline algae growth and have a light that meets their needs. They also like calcium around 400-450ppm, magnesium 1400-1500ppm, and alkalinity at 8-11dkh is a good range. I don't have experience with these yet I have to upgrade my light first.
Hope this helps!