Deepwater Yellow Gorgonian problems

navajetsfire · 08-02-2006, 05:18 PM

Hey...im new to thge forums ...my name is nicole. I currently have a 56 bowfront stocked with only 1 lonely royal gramma. I recently purchased 2 deepwater yellow gorgonians....then are in relatively low lighting and a low water flow. When i first put them in the parameters of the water were fine but then i had to add about 4 gallons of new water and my nitrites went up a little bnit. I put cycle in and everything is fine again however, my gorgonians HAVE NOT opened up since i purchased them...they were open in the store when i got them but no luck in almost 2 weeks. I have moved then to different spots and even tried adjusting the flow and lighting. Yesterday when i picked them up to move again i noticed a translucent fleshy like skin coming off of them...so pretty much i wanna know if that means they are goners???? They were so pretty but i am afraid i have killed them...nitrites possibly???

dobejazz · 08-02-2006, 07:30 PM

Welcome to TRT Nicole. Sorry to hear about the gorgs Have you been feeding them anything?
Why did you have to add 4 gallons of new water? was it fresh water to replace evaporation or mixed salt water?

navajetsfire · 08-04-2006, 10:59 AM

i have been feeding a tablespoon of Kent zooplex everyday. I had to add the 4 gallons of new waer because i took the gladd hood off and my motyher knocked it over and shattered it to bits so b 4 i got a new one i had quite a bit of water evaporate in this 100 degree weather....and it was fresh water but i had put cycle in it and let it run through because i dont want the salinity to go any higher

navajetsfire · 08-04-2006, 11:00 AM

Glass*

tims · 08-05-2006, 10:47 PM

well come to TRT.
you need to remove the glass hood , it does not help withhteh gas exchange you need on the tank. it will also trap the heat in.

can you post a picture of it?
if it is the one i am thinking of. they are sorta hard to keep alive, you will need to do a good direct feeding of it using phytoplankton , you may want to turn off all your filters and power heads ( cut off the flow) and feed every few days.
here is some reading that should help you along.
also watch for any alage that might try and grow on it!

dobejazz · 08-05-2006, 11:14 PM

Tim is right Nicole you really don't want the glass tops also topping off with fresh water should be done daily I top my tanks off twice a day sometimes. As the water evaporates the salt is left behind so the salinity goes up and when you add a large amount of fresh water the salinity drops quickly and that is extremely hard on corals

navajetsfire · 08-08-2006, 11:07 PM

did u mean shut off the filters for a few days??

dobejazz · 08-09-2006, 06:53 AM

No Tim means to shut off the filters and powerheads a few minutes/hours when you feed so the coral has a chance to get it before it's removed from the tank. Only feed every few days

tims · 08-09-2006, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by navajetsfire

did u mean shut off the filters for a few days??

heh sorry , as keeli said , just a few hours if that while feeding the coral. this give a better chance of it capturing food. ( please note , if you have sump, make sure it can handle the over flow when the pumps are off)

navajetsfire · 08-11-2006, 05:54 PM

ok so i shut the powerheads and pumps off for about 2 hrs a day and try and feed but still nothing...there is still a fleshy substance comeing off of them,....i have given up hope with my little ones. But on another not i removed my glass hood and got my 50 bucks back figuring it was good my mom broke it!! So when i add new water in everyday should i add a little cycle or conditioner to it and let it sit out? I live in Lancaster PA and we have very hard water over this way and lots of heavy metals...thats why i drink bottled water...lol

dobejazz · 08-11-2006, 07:23 PM

The best think for your reef would be RO/DI filtered water If you don't have a RO/DI unit at home buy distilled water at the store to use in the tank.

navajetsfire · 08-12-2006, 08:53 AM

Ok well the past few days I had noticed that the branches were becoming more bumpy. I was praying that the polyps would be opening but I hadn't had luck yet. I have had them for about if not over a month now. Today when I woke up I noticed that on one branch the tips of the bumps were slightly whiteish purpleish.....SUCCESS!!!! Well not full success yet but its a huge improvement......I shut off the filter this morning and contact fed with some zooplex before I head off the the NJ aquarium. As for the other gorgo nothing yet but if I save 1 I will be pleased. Unfortunatly my resources for SW stuff is limited I live in the middle of amish country and there arnt any petstores that carry a big selection. I will def start using bottled water though. The lfs where I bought them from said zooplex and I'm not sure if they have much else but I will look into it. I do know the flow should be stronger but I was afraid that it would stall their acclimation and opening longer.....do you think that stronger flow might actually aid in them opening????