chris_kerryn Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 My finger leather is looking a little unhealthy. fingers have shrivelled up slightly and there looks to be a slighlty milky tinge to it. It has happened after yesterday as I removed a damsel and had to remove everything to get him out. had it all sitting in buckets of water, and have put new fish in which look happy enough. pH has suddenly dropped to about 7.9-8. everything else seems ok. Could this be the reason leather is not looking good? could it just be from the shift? Leather had been ok up til now which is about 2 weeks. pH has never been a problem. I have just put a bigger powerhead in to give it more circulation. 800l/hr on 75 l tank. not directly at it though. However I have it next to it so it doesnt look like it gets much current at all. Would i be better to aim at it from a distance? How do you get the pH up? I did a water change yesterday too. Also my clown is trying to use my bubble as an anenome. quite funny but don't bubbles sting? will clown be ok? I would like to put an anenome in but have been advised against it in a small tank with other corals. Anyone know of something that could go in. I have a platform area that would fit one, but whether it would stay there and if it would affect other corals, fish and is lighting adequate. Ideas. is pH at this level a major problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 Could be the leather is just grumpy from being disturbed. Give him a few more days before you start to worry. Mine seem to do that if I'm in a bad mood and walk past the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 what is your alkalinity? Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 PH in a reef tank is simply a function of alkalinity against carbon dioxide. The alkalinity drives PH up, and CO2 drives it down. Therefore you need to measure and correct if nessecary your alkalinity, and have some means of gas exchange such as skimming, or surface agitation to ensure CO2 does not accumulate. Alkalinity can be raised by adding baking soda, although the baking soda will initially add some CO2. To avoid this, the baking soda can be baked in an oven for an hour at 250 degrees, which will turn it into "baked" baking powder, or washing soda, which does not release CO2. When adding, if you add too much, it will precipitae out calcium, so alkalinty and calcium should be added in balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 What wasp said is good, just a technical correction if I may. Alkalinity doesn't necessarily drive pH up. What it does is provide a resistance to changes in pH, alkalinity at normal atmospheric CO2 levels will keep pH stable at around 8.2. High levels of atmospheric CO2 (such as in a poorly ventilated room) does drive pH down. The higher your alkalinity, the less your pH will change, given a fixed CO2 level. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 Iduncan, agreed. I should have said, in a normal reef tank environment, alkalinity will take PH up to 8.2 / 8.3, and CO2 will try to take it down. ( I think that's right, anyway ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 to answer your other question, clowns will be fine. they actually have a slime coated on their bodies (or something like that) that stops them being stung. i have a bta (bubble tip anemone) that hosts a couple of clowns. you could eventually look at getting a bta for your clowns at some stage in the future, or maybe some glasses for your clown fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted December 14, 2004 Report Share Posted December 14, 2004 My Tomato clown has taken a shine to one of my pulsing Xenia's!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_kerryn Posted December 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 leather is still looking not so well. not fully extended like it used to be and it is showing signs of yellowness on some of the tips. ie the yellow underlying speckles are beginning to show more as the orange disappears. it looks like the pollen on pine trees if anyone has seen that. tested the water and everything is fine. ph is back up again and fish seem happy enough. bubble, mushrooms and feather duster are now happy aswell after the move. Anyone got any ideas what could be wrong with it? or what could be done. Algae is still growing well. Where can you get cleaner snails? sick of cleaning it every couple of days Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Leathers need lots of flow and light, you could try pointing a small powerhead at it for a few days. Can you put a photo up so I can see it, its hard to tell other wise. Thay can get some mite thing I would have to look it up in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 pm jetskisteve for snails, he had a few turbo's for sale not too long ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Actually, I should do that too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_kerryn Posted December 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Dont know how to put photos up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 send me the photo chris and i can put it up for you, ive seen that some leathers are very picky (tempremental) some do very well and some dont i got one that started dieing in a few days and all the others i have opened up straight away and extended the polyps with in hours of being pu tin the new tank one of my leathers closed for three weeks and then came back when i reshuffled its position (i think the torch was stinging it at night) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 mine open up and close down all the time (ie: they'll be sweet for a few days then all of a sudden they'll be closed up for an entire day) they appear to close down when i run my calcium reactor 24x7. soft corals dont need calcium reactors but i've read somewhere that they actually have an adverse effect on soft corals. check alkalinity, calcium carbonate levels etc. perhaps its even a coral disease? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 no problems with your ph chris. mine ph is between 7.9 - 8.10 check salinity?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 There is a disease where leathers turn bright yellow and start crumbling away. Happen once to me a couple of years ago on a yellow tongan leather. They just crumble like puff pastry. As for what causes it, I don't know. But giving it good flow, and light, and making sure all water parameters are spot on will give it the best chances of surviving. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_kerryn Posted December 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 I have been adding a calcium suppliment every week as directed. could that be doing it? I am doing this for the others in the tank am was preping it for a shrimp which I am hoping to get soon. It is not that high though, only low to mid 400's. Also adding iodine every couple of weeks. I did have a bit of a spike in the salinity which I gradually brought down over a few days. It doesnt take much in a small tank. I have moved it again to the front of the tank, which should give it some better flow and more lighting. Side issue/tinkering I want to set up a sump on an existing tank. it is possible. been reading the nano tank set up string. I know how I would do it only I could only really take the overflow down about 100mm as I would have to drain the tank partially to glue it in. would this give enough head to drain the tank adequately. could install larger diameter pipe for the outlet. can you buy the drill bits, or do you have to get it done. I have a 30l container ready and waiting to be a holiday project. I have a new powerhead 800l/hr on 75l tank it does 1.5m head I think. would that be grunty enough to push it back up. top of tank is probably 4ft high. could elevate pump also to make diff about 3ft. At the moment I have hang on tank skimmer with the pump at the base of the tank. An alternative would be to divert the outlet from the skimmer down to the sump, then use the powerhead to bring it back up. Problem could be that if flow rates dont exactly match up, one would flood! Has anyone tried this? The poerhead is adjustable, but I wouldnt trust it and I know skimmer is on the wrong end of system. Has anyone put in the overflow in an operational tank? Can it be done? Also the rock. you couldnt put heaps of live rock in could you if it is not lighted? and you cant put heaps of uncycled rock it. Would you just gradually add it. Keen to do something as the old trickle filter doesnt do much for cleaning the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 you can make an overflow box (siphon) (drilling in an operational tank would be nigh on impossible) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_kerryn Posted December 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Ho do I do that. the main thing would be to keep it fairly close to the surface so if you have a power cut it doesnt empty your tank. how would you keep the flow regulated so it is the same as the incoming flow? if it is too high you will drain the tank below syphon and then will flood the tank once drain has gone. If is is too low it will then flood tank. I might be missing something. I might need to start a new string for this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Using a syphon to drive a tanks sump is for suiscide pilots only, it will NEVER work. Have a look at the use of a 'weir' which will work, or drill the tank with an overflow (reccomended). Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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