Wilting with Anthelia. Please help!

[bigjohn]

I ordered a start of Anthelia from IPSF in September. It seemed to be doing very well for the past 2 months. However, in the last week it has started to noticeably diminish.

My water parameters test normal.

pH 8.0
alk. 2.86 meq/l
calc 390 ppm
nitrates 15 ppm
SG 1.0247
temp 80

I have been dosing Kent's turbo calcium about once per week to boost the calcium during the whole period (Sept. - present).

I have been Kent phytoplankton 2 times per week.

Everything else seems to be doing just fine.

The only other change is my sump light. I had a 20 W NO fluorescent fixture. I removed the fixture about 2 weeks ago for cleaning and repair and have not put it back yet. This light was run 24 hours per day. No reserve cycle. I do not have any algae growing in my sump. So I didn't expect this light to affect pH.

Please let me know any advice.

[bigjohn]

Here's a quick followup.

I tested the pH this morning with tank lights off and it tested 8.0 - 8.1. I wondered if I had been getting a pH swing when the main lights went out, but that doesn't appear to be the problem.

I'm going to try a 10% water change this weekend. It has been about 3 weeks since the last one.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with anthelia?? Is it possible to "overskim" the water?? My skimmer runs 24X7 and keeps nitrates nicely low.

[Mrs Smith]

Hm... Our anthelia isn't kill-able, so I don't know if I'll be any help. Most tanks have a pH swing with lights on and off. We don't skim as much as we should, but even when we were, I didn't notice a change in the anthelia. We also run a 24h 'fuge light...

I guess try putting that back on - sorry I don't have any other suggestions for you. Well, other than if it really does all die, let me know and I'll bring you some next time I go to Springfield. (We are a major exporter...it's a great cash crop, as far as I'm concerned. )
Danielle

[Jeremy1973]

How old are your lights? Added any new corals recently? I got my Anthelia from Mrs. Smith, and she is right...hard to kill. heh heh I keep my pH around 8.2, sg 1.026, temp 79, nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia are all at 0 right now. You may also want to (if possible) move them to a different spot in the tank. Just a little prayerfully hopeful ideas. Let us know how things go!

[bigjohn]

Thanks for the replies.

The lights are new. I just installed 440W VHOs in October. This is frustrating, because the colony seemed to thrive for about 2 months. Started with 3 smallish stalks, ballooned to 6 or 7 stalks, and now back to 3. I have been religiously doing water changes over the past 3 to 4 months (2 times per month, 10-15% at a time).

How similar are these to xenia?? I did not find too many threads about anthelia, but I did see several about xenia. One of these threads mentioned low alkalinity, and possibly iodine deficiency as being detrimental.

What is a good target for alkalinity?? I would like it to be higher but don't know how high. Everything else is doing really good, so I don't want to do too much.

[Mrs Smith]

They only sent you three stalks?? I guess that's a "start," but it seems pretty wimpy.

I don't know how similar to xenia it is, as it's always thrived for me, and I've had ups and downs with xenia. If you're doing regular water changes, I can't imagine that it's a mineral deficiency.

I can still bring you some if you want. No problem. Hopefully someone will a better grasp of alkalinity will pipe up about that.

Danielle

[bigjohn]

Thank you for your generous offer, Danielle. For now the remaining 3 stalks seem to be hanging in there. I hope I can figure out the cause though, because I don't want to become known as an anthelia murderer.