how to stabilize my reef tank

Question
hello, I've had a problem with my 24 gallon aquapod reef. My tank at the start was normal and it was doing great.Every coral was open and flourishing and splitting.I have had the tank for a year now and in the past two months, nothings really grown, my corals are mostly opening except for my xenia and kenya tree. I need to know what is going on.Please help.

my water parameters are:

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate >15
Salinity 1.024
P.H 7.9
Calcium 520 ppm
Alk 9-10
Temp. 79 F all the time

Tank includes

1 ocellaris clown
1 pajama cardinal
1 mandarin dragonet

5-8 astrea snails
10 crabs
1 electric blue hermit
1 red hawaiian hermit
1 coral banded shrimp
2-3" bubble tip anemone

5 small colonies of xenia
5" kenya tree
about 55 yellow polyps
4" cabbage leather
6" green frogspawn
3.5" green goniopora
8 head blastomussa wellsi
5 head aussie acan
13 blue mushrooms
5.5" christmas favia

Answer
hello antonio,

Corals are not like flowers, or cake/cookie recipes...

they all dont grow out the same as what they did in someone else's system.

with flowers, you get seeds with a pretty picture with yellow and red center.. and pretty much you know that is what you will get.. but with corals, it could be totally different.

now, with that being said, corals also dont necessarily grow at all in everyone's system..

I had a large system, 180 gallon, and I could not grow xenia.. no matter how hard i tried and how manytimes i tried.. they would just melt away after a month or two or three...

other corals will do the same... My system had a 'habit' / routine of basically no growth for six months, then after that period, then they would start to show signs of growth...


You didnt really mention what type of lighting and circutlation you have, but im guessing you ahve more then adequate...

If xena was the only coral having issues i would stop right here, but the kenya, is prolly the most hardiest of all corals and i have yet to hear of anyone having problems with it, while other corals are 'ok'...

BUT, soft corals, and especially kenya's and devil's fingers get real MOODY.. they look like death,.. start fadeing out.. start peeling layers of flesh...   start having 'ulcerous' areas where chunks of meat start rotting out...

but, after a few weeks, they come back.. bigger and better...

As long as there is some meat/flesh there, Im sure the kenya will make a come back...


Also, Im wondering about your test results... it is highly unusual to have such a high calcium level unless you are dosing..

Are you dosing calcium and alk??? and if so, how are you doing it, and what product..



Let me know what is going on, and hopefully some of what i offered is going to make sense to you, and work out... but PLEASE let me know ...

thanks, and best of luck...


bill