colt coral

[blennyluv]

hey
my colt coral has been in his "stumpy" stage for a couple of days. i moved him to better current but he doesn't seem to care. when i tested my water my ammo. was up a notch, but everything else was fine. i have no idea why the ammonia would be up at all, i have 3 fish in there, maybe cuz i changed out my substrate? anyway, is he just going though a stage like the toadstool did or what?
thanks again

[Doctor_Reef]

Could be the ammonia....Corals don't do well with ammonia!!!

Why did you change out the substrate????

[gman0526]

If you changed sustrate you might be going through a cycle, bacteria residing in the old sustrate isn't there anymore, the biofilter needs to catch up.

[blennyluv]

i changed from cc to sand. recommended by ya'll. right? should i do a water change? what would be my biofilter? guess i may not have one. should i put like something in my canister, like bio stars or something? i have a protiein skimmer, 2 power heads. a hob and the canister.

[Doctor_Reef]

Do you have LR????

[blennyluv]

yes, 60 pounds, and getting ready to get a bit more, i am setting up a tank for a friend and we are getting her some rock and cycling the tank with it, so i may get a few pounds and use her tank to cure it.

[gman0526]

Yup, yes we did :oops: . Bio filter is the sum of all different types of bacteria/critters that break down nutrients/waste in your tank. Colts are very forgiving corals it should bounce back. Good thinking on the LR.

[blennyluv]

coral looks better today, but i was starting to think onmovinghim to the other tank. at least until this one is done with its flip flop. will test water again today, i am seeing tons of pods in both my tanks again. doesn't take long even after changing out all that cc!! i am glad i got a colt, i need a forgiving one ha ha. good learning tool i think
thanks for all. so my lr is my biofilter??? cool

[Doctor_Reef]

The reason I asked the question on LR...is that is your bio-filter and it will take up the extra load from the removed substrate until your new substrate gears up to help some...You should be fine...and as Gman said "colts are very forgiving"....

[blennyluv]

okay!! yep, it looks really good today. so sand actually will act as part of your bio filter?? here i thought it was just for looks.
how much should i have in there anyway, i probably have 2 inches.

[gman0526]

That's fine, unless you wanna take on the responsability of a DSB, which will need 3x that much sand.

AAAHHH!!!! DSB thread alert. Run Away!!! Run Away!!! :)

The sand itself is not the bio-filter. It's simply additional surface area for bacteria to populate. The bacteria is the bio-filter.

Sand is definately better than crushed coral becasue it doesn't trap as much waste. However, over time, it will also become clogged just like CC. It is important to have sufficient bioturbation to make it more effective and last longer. Some people achieve this by stirring a different portion of their sand with thier hands each week. Other people do this by purchasing a lot of sand-stirring critters.

IMPORTANT NOTE: IF YOU HAVE AN OLD SANDBED THAT HAS NOT BEEN STIRRED ON A REGULAR BASIS, NEVER STIR ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM AS YOU MIGHT HAVE A SULPHIDE ZONE. With a new sandbed, this is not an issue.

[blennyluv]

ya, i dont want a dsb. and i stir mine once a week or so to keep it nice and white!!
i havent got any sand sifters yet, that i s the next purhcase, with the exception of my other tank, my clown does all the stirring and more than it needs :-D

[Doctor_Reef]

Good points mantisfreak...it is always the bacteria that is the bio-filter...it is the different types of media that holds the bacteria that is in question...and I am with you on the DSB...interesting note on the stirring of the sand bed....good information!!! :thumbsup:

[blennyluv]

Terry B iin the knowlege base section had a good thing about algae and in it he said it was important to stir your sand bed often and make your water cloudy, let your filters do the work and this will help keep algae down. i am sure in the ocean the sand is always being stirred but something, whether it be the tide or the critters!!

Yeah, that's a good recommendation and Terry is a great guy. I got the chance to speak with him for a while last year.

If you are having disease issues with your fish or you just want background info on how to reduce stress on fish, visit his website. http://www.marineaquariumadvice.com/about_marine_aquarium_advice.html

[blennyluv]

thanks i will check it out. my fish do not look a bit stressed right now, but i guess they don't show it too often.
my tang has been so cute, she just bops from current to current, and when she sees me she swims to the place i am and gets real close to the glass and watches me, begging i am guessing. i am worried about one thing, she picks at the silk plants and i have seen her poop some out. could this be hard on her?? just wondering, the silk plants would be history in a heartbeat if it could hurt her!

[Doctor_Reef]

Tangs...how funny blennyluv...don't they just keep you entertained!!! I don't think you need to worry...when I had my 125 set up as a fish only tank I had some of those silk plants to...and my blue tang would do the same thing and it never seemed to cause any problems...the problem I had was keeping the silk plants form looking bad after the algae got all over them....:(

[blennyluv]

ya, me too, but about once a month you soak them in a bit of bleach overnight, then soak them in stress coat (or anything else that takes out chlorine) over night and presto, beautiful plants nothing to hurt the fish. thats an old pet shop trick ha ha
tangs are funny. i can see where they got the dory character from :-D
hey, got a brown rock flower anemone today, can you tell me a bit about it??

[Doctor_Reef]

Great a new friend for the tank!!!! I have never kept one but here is a start on some information....
Hope this helps....
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1704

[blennyluv]

its puking!! well, it is letting some brown slimey stuff out ofits mouth. the coral beauty seems real interestedin the stuff, what is that anyway??

[FishinInTheDark]

Probably poo.

[blennyluv]

oooooo too funny thats 2 xs in this thread that poop has been mentioned.
thanks, he looks ok, so wasnt' toooo worried!