green kenya tree receeding?

[safeuerwehr]

Seems like the more attention i put towards my tank the worse it gets....I have had this large kenya tree for about 5 months and it was doing great....it was the show piece in my tank....now its all receeding and refusing to open for about a week now....i have been having issues with hair algae and now it seems like cyano is in the tank....would this be the reason why its not opening up? this thing has been in this tank for about three months and has been doing great even growing...Heres what i have so far:

water changes: 10-20% weekly using instant ocean
water flow: 2 mj1200, 2 mj1200 mods
lights: 2 250 mh about 8 hrs, 2 vho super actinic 10 hrs.
supplement kw with water change

tests:
Ph: 7.8 - 8.0 is this low? how do i bring it up if it is?
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: .25
Calcium: 480 is this high?
Temp: 79.2
Speci Grav: 1.025

Anybody have any ideas what could be cuasing this and what i should do?

Thanks
Alfred

[urban79]

well your ph needs to be at 8.4 and your grav needs to between 1.021 to 1.024.. you need to bring up your ph with that all you need is a ph raiser or stablizer.. they both will bring it up .. grav.. need to come down but its not as bad as ph.

[safeuerwehr]

ok well i was told to bring gravity up to 1.024 or 1.025 so i settle for the 1.024....will get the ph up have to go and get some ph stabil any thing else i should try?

[Marlin]

What is your Alk and Ca at? This could cause you a problem if they are way out.

[urban79]

I think that would be it. I really wouldnt worry about the calcuim.. If you have alot fo purple and sps or clams. You will need it on the higher side.. just get your ph up and see what happens

[DeAngelove]

What about your phosphates? Hair algae tends to thrive in elevated phosphate levels, but it can occur even in low phosphates, as well.

I would try to bring up the PH for sure, 8.2 at least, shooting for 8.4. What about you Alk? I'm willing to bet that's on the low side given the rest of your water parameters, and low PH. Alk should be between 7-10, though I know alot of people like to keep it higher.

Anywho... Just my $0.02, HTH! :D

[safeuerwehr]

ok guys i just tested ph again as i tested right after the water change....its upto 8.2 and spec. grav. is a 1.024, i went ahead and added some ph buffer....i also picked up a phos test which measured 0 which i figured was going to be the case since im running some phos absorber in the return....will check for alk tomorrow when i pick up a test kit....but the kenya seems to be waking up after the water change so maybe i should do another water change in a few days instead of waiting til next wed. if my alk is low how do i raise it? also i read somewhere about the salt mix im using all these problems didnt present themselves til after i changed to Instant ocean...should i switch over to another brand?

[DeAngelove]

If your Alk is low, you will need to add buffer to your water. I like to use a two-part additive like Gary P's DIY 2 part buffer. If you're not into DIY, you can get B-Ionic or something similiar at your LFS. I try to add some in w/ every water change, but you can also dose it inbetween water changes, as well. I've never been a fan of IO salt, I've been using Oceanic ever since it came out.

[alton]

I use Kent because there levels are between Instant ocean(Low Calcium) and Oceanic(High Calcium). Richard had a calcium test here on sea salts last year, maybe he can repost or we can get our library running? My Kenyan Trees grow like weeds, except around aggressive corals like Frogspawn. Next to them they just wither up and die unless I move them. My personel experience is to do water changes to bring my levels up rather than dosing.

[RNall]

Just following along...out of curiosity, what is Gary P's 2 part buffer????

[demodiki]

What about that .25 ammonia?

[safeuerwehr]

ok after water change and ph buffer....the cyano is not growing as fast as it was.....before the minite i removed it, it would regrow within a few hours....also the kenya tree is opening up but not all the way like before.....and a side note my zoas which have been closed up for weeks are starting to open up, now i can see most of thier eyes but not the lashes......will test my water again and post see what happend..

[hobogato]

What about that .25 ammonia?

just read this thread for the first time, and this is what jumped out to me as well. ammonia and nitrite need to be zero and nitrate as low as possible, or you will continue to have problems with corals and fish.

[safeuerwehr]

ok here are the test results:

CA-440
Phos-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-0
ammon-0
ph-8.0-8.2 just added ph buffer again it says it will take a few days to get it up to 8.3
spec. grav-1.024
temp-79.5

will test for alk today when i pick up a test kit

[safeuerwehr]

dont know what to attribute the change in ammonia level but here are a few things that may have played a part:

1. read the test at night so it was fairly dim....
2. did a water change yesterday which included a deep sand bed siphon that produced alot of gunk (may be why im having issues with algae)
3. tested after a water change.....

[urban79]

glad to hear that.. You need to post some pics of your set up. Im about to upgrade to 125 and would like to see how your did yours

[safeuerwehr]

urban there are some rough pics in the photo forum....i will try to get some more posted soon