A less than perfect start

[Gup_King]

Originally Posted by Mhay

Xenias are pretty hardy not sure if they would work as an "alarm" as it would take a good amount to upset them. I would add more rock, I would rather have too much than not enough. Also depends on the type of rock you have. I would also test for copper just to rule that out as well. I had a problem with that and it really messed things up.

I know they're hardy but I've also heard that they are also quite moody and will stop pulsing if things are out, even before kits pick it up.

At the moment I'm going to avoiding adding rock as the bioload is low and I'm already causing stress by bring the salinity back down (albeit slowly) but will look into it asap.

[Gup_King]

Also, my new refractometer is showing specific gravity at about 1.031, so the hydrometer was clearly off. Hopefully I can resolve the issue over the next few days.

[Mhay]

Originally Posted by Gup_King

I know they're hardy but I've also heard that they are also quite moody and will stop pulsing if things are out, even before kits pick it up.

At the moment I'm going to avoiding adding rock as the bioload is low and I'm already causing stress by bring the salinity back down (albeit slowly) but will look into it asap.

They can be moody about anything not just parameters. If a hermit touched them, if they don't like the lighting, etc. So I wouldn't soley rely on that as a heads up.

Originally Posted by Gup_King

Also, my new refractometer is showing specific gravity at about 1.031, so the hydrometer was clearly off. Hopefully I can resolve the issue over the next few days.

Yes, hydrometeres are not a reliable way for testing SG. This is probably why you have some unhappy inhabitants I would work on getting that down immediately, but not too quickly.

[HCJohn]

I really wish they would just quit selling hydrometers. They just arent reliable at all and you can get a refractometer for barely any more. Good luck with your tank...

[Reefer4evaa]

I'm assuming that your using coralife salt mix as I notice the high calcium levels..also I really think the salinity is too high.i usually test my water hours after I mix the salt in and do whatever adjustments needed to match the paremeters in the tank such as calcium,alkalinilty,magnesium and salinity

[Gup_King]

Originally Posted by Reefer4evaa

I'm assuming that your using coralife salt mix as I notice the high calcium levels..also I really think the salinity is too high.i usually test my water hours after I mix the salt in and do whatever adjustments needed to match the paremeters in the tank such as calcium,alkalinilty,magnesium and salinity

It's Kent marine salt. Yeah, salinity is far too high; I brought it down by .002 yesterday and am going to bring it down by .001 for the next few days until I reach 1.025.

I tended to prepare the water a day in advance and measure just before adding (the hydrometer obviously caused issues though).

[Reefer4evaa]

Can't go wrong with a refractometer..with a hydrometer all you need is an air bubble or salt creep to throw things off