Got some Pulsing Xenia today

zoalover34

zoalover34

Superstar Fish
#1
Jun 5, 2006
1,269
2
0
43
Kent, OH
#1
as the title says i picked up some Pulsing Xenia today for free.. this guy was giving it away because his tank is being over run with the stuff and he said no one else wants it around so he gave me a little bit to see if it would survive in my tank.. its been in for about 8 hrs. so far.. its opened up pretty good but its not really pulsing much? is this because of my week lights? i just have standard lighting as of now.. i plan on gettin some 50/50 bulbs soon but i don't know if that will help the Xenia or not? ill try to get some pics and post them later..
 

J

JeLeAk

Large Fish
#3
Jan 4, 2005
491
0
0
40
Alaska
#3
wow, this type of coral is fascinating, that video is nuts... if you dont feel like reading ill cliff note it for ya :p

I personally have observed the phenomenon many dozens of times over the course of a decade with large colonies of Xenia elongata in my propagation facilities. With digital pH meters on growout systems, I could watch entire pools with hundreds of mature colonies abruptly stop pulsing when the pH dropped below ~ 8.3, as per the calibration of my instrument(s). When I would dose calcium with caustic calcium hydroxide later, thereby raising the pH, they would resume pulsatory function promptly. Now even if this phenomenon proves not to be directly correlative, a proper alkalinity of 8-12 dKH and a stable pH in the range of 8.3-8.6
Click to expand...
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#6
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#6
I agree, if your calcium is that low I would question your salt mix? You really don't have anything inyour tank yet that would use up that much calcium do you?

I would retest with another test kit to ensure accuracy before I add anything, then test your salt mix? It should be at least 380. Then if it is do a substantial water change this will help get your ca levels up then if it is still that low. Then start looking for a regular way to supplement your ca as it should be in the 400 range. The low ca level won't adversely affect what you have in the tank right now but down the road you will need to get the levels up if you want to keep corals etc as they utilze the ca from the water. A good way to measure your usage is test your ca level day 1 then test 4 days later & divide the difference by 4 for daily usage. That is the amount you will need to supplement.......

Sorry for the longish post.
 

zoalover34

zoalover34

Superstar Fish
#7
Jun 5, 2006
1,269
2
0
43
Kent, OH
#7
i used a sailfert test for the CA... my hyrdometer(sp) says im in the good range for the salt.. the only stuff i should have in there that's using the CA would be my LR and it kinda looks like its loosing some of the color of the coreline.. ill do a WC and test again but i just did one a few days ago? oh well thanks for the help guys!
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#8
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#8
Jim check the calcium level of your change water before you add it to the tank and after it is mixed up. I wonder if you have a bad batch of salt? The mix should be around 380 with an sg of about 1.025 and alk in the 9.6 range with ph at 8.3 If you ca levels are that low that could be why you are losing corraline......it uses ca but not at those levels.......

Xenia will pulse more in lower flow areas.....or so I hear. When I had mine in a low flow area it pulsed like crazy. I now have it in a higher moderate flow area and though it pulses you can't see it pulsing as much as the current moves it quite a bit. I am not going to move it as it is growing a spreading so rapidly it will get to the low flow area on it's own .....It is one of my favourities though......looks great and moves so nicely.....
 

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