Why are my brain corals retracted?

[mommafish]

I have a 24 gallon aquapod which has been up for about 6 months. Added a rose brain about 3 months ago and a green brain about a month ago. The rose brain was full for a few weeks and then retracted. I moved it to the bottom of the tank. After a week or so it would plump back up for a couple hours a day. My green brain basically did the same thing.

My nitrate, ph, salinity, etc. levels always seem to be good and the tank is a constant 79 degrees. We leave both lights on for 8 - 10 hours a day. We do weekly water changes and I've upgraded the power head to a Rio1100. it's only open half way so as to not be too strong. I have a SeaChem block in the back.

I feed the coral DT Marine Phytoplankton once a week. I also have a Hammer polyp and a star polyp. My button polyps have spread to another rock and a rock of about 15 mushrooms has grown to 20.

I have a 6 line wrasse, a firefish and a yellow paired goby/shrimp. I have a fire shrimp and what I believe to be an emerald crab, though it's brown, a star fish, a handful of hermit crabs and snails.

I haven't been able to get much help from the LFS, so I'm hoping someone can help me figure out if I'm doing something wrong. Thanks in advance!

[dobejazz]

Welcome to TRT !
Can you post your actual water parameters and also a pic of the corals in question ?

[Twitterbait]

Yes, WELCOME!!! please let us know your exact parms and the lighting type and wattage on the tank as well.

thanks

[mommafish]

Thanks for your quick response. Here's the info:

The 24 gallon Aquapod has 1x32w SunPaq Dual Daylight & 1x32w SunPaq Dual Actinic. It also has 2 Nocturnal Blue LED's that stay on all the time.

I tested the water before and after my weekly water change this morning and here are the numbers:

ph 7.8/7.8
nitrate 0/0
ammonia 0/0
nitrate 10/5
salinity 1.024/1.021

I also want to mention that I have a Fission protein skimmer, but it never seemed to work very well and so we took it off. My LFS told me to go ahead and put the bio balls and the porcelan ones that came with the tank (the directions said not to use in a reef tank) in as well as a bag of the activated charcoal. I did remove the bag today as it's been a month. So I have two bags of porcelan (I think that's what they are) and 3 bio balls. One bag is under the filter sponge, the LFS said to take out the second sponge and replace with the bag. Next to the sponge was where the charcoal was with the bio balls above it. In the second chamber closest to the power head is the second bag of porcelan and the seachem tab.

I do have Kent iodine that I just started using once a week (half cap full).

That's all I can think of now. I've attached a couple pictures showing the corals as well as the tank.

Hope that is thorough enough to give you a better picture!

[dobejazz]

Is that sand on the red one? I wouldn't add Iodine too much can be toxic. Regular waterchanges will supply all the iodine you need

[mommafish]

Yes it is sand from the water change. I have only added the iodine once last week. The LFS said to add it weekly.

[dobejazz]

I would get the sand off ASAP that should help. My LFS sold me iodine and other additives too The best policy to follow is if you can't/don't test for it don't add it. I stopped using additives with no Ill effects right after I joined TRT. The money I would have spent on the suppliments I used to buy corals

[Reefyone]

I couldn't keep Trachyphillias, no matter what I did. Other LPS are perfectly OK.
Is your alkalinity within limits? And, while an not an expert, my open brains prefer the low flow and the light.

[Loverotties]

Ph a little low,nitrates are high (so phosphate are probally high also)and you didn't post Iodine,so if not testting don't add.And what is your water temp?

[mommafish]

water temp is 79 degrees

[Kathi]

Your salinity is 1.021 after the water change? I think it should be held steady at 1.024 which it was prior to the change. If you mix it to be a
that level you just maintain that between WC's by adding water non-salt water. If you don't have RO/DI which you probably don't with that small a tank used distilled water, both for the top off and mixing.
I know Bio Balls shouldn't be in there and I don't know what porcelan is.

If I am wrong about the salinity someone please correct me.

[mommafish]

Just wanted to let those of you who were so nice to respond know that I was talking to a new guy at one of my LFS's and he too asked about ph and when I mentioned that I had never used buffer he was confident that was the problem and he seems to have been right! My corals are looking great again! Thanks.