This is one of the first times Ive actually done some reading on a coral before I bought it. Granted I dont have too many corals aside from the softies, zoa's and that branching Monitpora frag, all of which I took the LFS guy's word for it that I could maintain the species. And so far they've all thrived despite that 6 week stretch of pulling my hair out trying to balance Ca and Alk.
Oddly its the difficulty in keeping these Goni's that led me to try it out. Im on a bit of a mission to prove what this system can sustain. Its a mix of the Berlin, Ecosystem (half mud/macro, half rock/duster refugium), as well as DSB. Im also using a wet-dry trickle filter as Im sure it must offer alot in terms of gas exchange as well as an Ammonia and Nitrite consuming powerhouse. Granted these nitrogenous wastes would normally be largely handled by any tank with its fair share of cycled live rock but I just dont see the harm in providing another natural environment where life (in this case bacteria) can grow as it wishes. I havnt had a problem with nitrates until the past week or two when I overdosed my duster section with phosphate rich live phytoplankton, rotifers and oyster eggs. That stuff will cause algae blooms very easily if youre not careful.
Anyway, why all the background on a thread about the addition of a coral? Because I know these things are quite difficult to keep for any extended period of time. What Ive noticed already is once the calcium drops below 400, the Goni definetly shows signs of distress. The first day I was surprised as it was fully open and extended within the first hour of introduction. But 8 hours later it was starting to shrink and by hour 10 it was only the heads of the polyps visible. This caused me some distress too, wondering why Im putting myself in this situation with these hard to keep species, am I trying to drive myself crazy? Then I decided to chill ma ***** out and try some deductive reasoning. Started with a calcium test and sure enough the days dose of B-Ionic was completely sucked out of the system. I have all those Porites encrusted rocks, a hell of alot of coralline algae and i guess the Montipora and this Goni really depletes the calcium levels.
Anyway this is one beautiful LPS coral and Id like to learn all I can about getting them to survive well beyond the projected odds. Ive read in 3 places the surviveability rate of Goni's is less than 12 months. So any information I could get from TRT would be really appreciated. I have been on the verge of splurging for a Ca reactor for a couple weeks and I think the addition of this one species will put me over the top. IF these things need Ca that badly, I dont feel like testing my water 2-3 times a day and dosing it like crazy. It would obviously be far more cost effective to buy a reactor.
So how bout it? Anyone have any success or failures with this species?
