Which of you corals alert you to different water issues?

[twelvejewelz]

Ok so i wanted to start a thread to see which of your corals tell you that something mabe wrong with a certain water parameter in your reef tank.In other words:

1: In my tank when my acans shrink up for a few days:
a.my Alkalinity is off alittle( either to high or to low).
b.my nitrates are above 20ppm .

2: When my xenia stops pulsing:
a.I have just added carbon/chemipuer /phosban
b.My temperature is to high(which prob has an effect on oxygen)
c.My alkalinity is to low

3: When my Montipora digitata polyps arnt fully extended and are mostly retracted:
a.my nitrates are usually greater than 20ppm.( I do a water change and they usually open up within an hour ..)


Now what corals do you have that let you know there is an issue , and what is the issue.If you know your tank well enough you can almost spot something that is off and fix it before it becomes a problem.

[twelvejewelz]

nothing huh? i find that hard to believe :P

[travis32]

I agree with you on xenia.. Since I started dosing Pickling lime in my ATO to raise alk and calcium, I've noticed some of the xenia colonia completely shriveled up and look like they calcified. They don't like calcium evidently (turned a powdery white color) The rest of he xenia stopped pulsing or are pulsing slowly as I raised the alk and ca to "normal" levels.

Mainly xenia tell me if they don't like something in my water, even if it's good to have.

Otherwise, my hair mushrooms let me know when my alk is low. They start to shrivel up and look like they're goin to hell. Then I get alk up and the next day they're open and looking like brand new.

They've been looking huge since I started dosing pickling lime to keep alk constant.

[username in use]

I have a purple tip acro that looses the purple tips if my alk goes too high.

[pandarider007]

when my alveopora or flowerpot doesnt open its either my salinity or nitrates.