Xenia Won't Grow Under PC???

[Kaiser Tang]

My Xenia grows like a weed in my display tank. I'm constantly cutting it back. Of course, I would like to take it to the LFS or sell it to get some money out of it. BUT, I hate having to look at those frags while they attach to new rock. So, I started a new 10 gal. frag tank. It's simple. It has a small biowheel filter, a heater, and a 96 watt PC light. I do weekly water changes using the waste (seasoned) water from my display tank. My problem is that the frags won't grow. They don't really even look like they are doing well. The only big difference that I can figure is that they are under PC light vs. the metal halides in my display. Should I assume that lighting is the issue? If so, I can get a cheap 175w setup to use over my frag tank, but would a 175 watt metal halide over a 10 gal. tank be too much light? Suggestions?

[whiteshark]

I think lighting is a big factor. If you are worried about it being too much light you could just raise it real high off the water.

[bluehippotang]

My xenia grows fine under pc lighting. Maybe the tank is too small or the water is not suitable.

[killertommygun]

you could do the 175watt mh but you would hang it starting high to see how they react to it, i would start out about 12 to 15 inches above the water and keep the xenia on the very bottom always start with minimum and move to max you will know, but the pc lighting wont do it they need high power lighting i bet they look a little shriveled huh, and are not pulsating do the lighting thing it will work i had the samw problem before it might take a week or so to get them back to normal

[killertommygun]

My xenia grows fine under pc lighting. Maybe the tank is too small or the water is not suitable.


hey blue hippo is your xenia pulsating

[Kaiser Tang]

Originally posted by killertommygun
you could do the 175watt mh but you would hang it starting high to see how they react to it, i would start out about 12 to 15 inches above the water and keep the xenia on the very bottom always start with minimum and move to max you will know, but the pc lighting wont do it they need high power lighting i bet they look a little shriveled huh, and are not pulsating do the lighting thing it will work i had the samw problem before it might take a week or so to get them back to normal

Sounds about right.

[BigElephant]

My xenia is ok under 2 x 36W PC light. It grew from 2 to 3 in about 3 month and now 1 of them is starting to split (probably another 3 weeks). It is plusing too.

[Kaiser Tang]

Originally posted by BigElephant
My xenia is ok under 2 x 36W PC light. It grew from 2 to 3 in about 3 month and now 1 of them is starting to split (probably another 3 weeks). It is plusing too.

In my display (under halides), my xenia grows an inch or more a week! I have a pretty good feeling that the PC isn't going to cut it.

[BigElephant]

Originally posted by Kaiser Tang
In my display (under halides), my xenia grows an inch or more a week! I have a pretty good feeling that the PC isn't going to cut it.

yep. Time to change my light too.

[davocean]

Mine grow great under PC's.
Ones in heavier flow areas don't pulse, but low flow areas do.

[killertommygun]

the reason i believe it doesnt pulse under strong water flow is because the water current is doing its work for it it is basically putting off waste when it pulsates but i agree w/ keiser i have mine under 2 150watt doulble ended hqi mh and mine grow daliy i have got rid of so many colonies it is rediculous and people i give them to w/ pc lighting do not have any luck and even vho's dont do the trick and i dont know about t5's

[reefnewbie54321]

I think there are other issues besides lighting ... Maybe the shock from 175w halides to PC was to much but its been proven that xenia can grow lie weeds under PC.

[killertommygun]

sorry my camera sucks for now

[coralcat]

I raised xenia commercially for several years and did a lot of experimenting with lighting, temp, ect. They will grow just fine under 250 MH both 6k and 10k and 96w cf 10k. They grew faster, taller with less light, much thicker, nearly broomstick under the 250s.Both had 96 w actinic. They do like well seasoned systems. Your 10 gal frag tank doesn't have the stability they need on several levels, including nutrients, minerals and oxygen saturation. Use a larger tank to frag. Tip. Whenever moving from tank to tank, or shipping xenia. ALWAYS put them in a container of water, (from where they came) for at least 5 to 10 minutes, so they can release, (or slime if you will). Throw this water out, then reaclamate, or prepare to ship This will keep the tank your putting it in from fouling, or the bag your sending it to a new home from a melt down. I raised thousands of them.

[ADA33]

mabey you are doing to many water changes my xenia does alot of growth with no3 at a readable amount but does not like p04

[killertommygun]

coralcat hey how was the xenia under pc,vho& t5 in your experimenting and is mh better

[coralcat]

T-5 where to new then to try I have seen them both work and not, I'm not sure of the reason yet.....between compact and MH We likes less wattage 175 to 250. We grew under 6k, for 3 months, then moved them under 250 10k so they wouldn't have any problems in customers tanks IE getting burned. I fee that there is too much light used in most tanks. WE setup a 150 gal tall glass tank with both hard and soft corals, with the intent of getting 400w 15k but order wasn't in yet, so we used 250 w MH 10k, We where amazed how fast all he coral opened up, soft and hard

[BigElephant]

Originally posted by Kaiser Tang
In my display (under halides), my xenia grows an inch or more a week! I have a pretty good feeling that the PC isn't going to cut it.

yep. Time to change my light too.

[Kaiser Tang]

I'm not saying that it isn't the water, but I think light may be the bigger issue. The water comes from my display tank. That's the water they obviously like. I do a 50% water change on my frag tank wach week using the seasoned water from display. Whatever is in my display tank's water, the frag tank is getting it too.

[cieslin1]

Just my two cents. I’ve had some type of Xenia for years and consider it a weed. I always grew it in a 15 gallon long tank with 2 65 watt PCs. This tank was plumbed to a larger system’s sump, so the body of water was much larger than 15 gallons. I think circulation in the tank and perhaps water quality would be a bigger issue than the light. The Xenia will adapt to the lighting eventually, but it will definitely change in shape/form and pulsing. I found when I tried a frag setup independent of all other tanks with poor water circulation the xenia would become really long and leggy and not reproduce as quickly.

I would say don’t buy another light just yet and give it a couple of weeks to acclimate. Maybe get something to move the water better (read random, even if it is a sea swirl or something of the like).

One other point if you’re fragging for sale and not in a big hurry, I’ve always gotten rubble rocks and just leaned them against a colony and let the xenia spread on its own. Once it has attached (usually 3-7 days) start pulling the rock away over a few days to let it start severing itself from the parent. You can make the final small cut if needed. This way they can be sold/traded almost immediately without unsightly cut marks and rubber bands.

Good luck and have fun. I’ve always enjoyed the satisfaction of propagating corals.

[sloshesv]

My xenia goes nuts under my PC's. So does my monti caps, porites, zoos, bubble, blasto, acro and brains. BTW, I just keep a little patch because my girlies like it, otherwise I would kick it to the curb.

[HowardW]

I got a small frag of Xenia about 2 weeks ago for my 55 gal. with 4 X 65 PC lighting and placed it about half way up in the tank. It has already at least doubled in size and has 2 new small stalks. It also looks like it starting to grow off the small pice of rubble it came on and is spreading out onto the larger rock.

[rustybucket145]

My xenia prop tank actually only has two Normal Output Flourescent lights on it. The xenia grows like a weed. It's not your lights. But then again my xenia tank is tied into my main sump. So the water is the same as that in the display tank. I think water quality and or flow are your problems.

[ACBlinky]

I have Xenia in three tanks. 5.5g with 80W PC, 30g with 130W PC & 28W NO T5, 65g with 302W PC and it grows like a weed in all three. If the water you're using comes from the display, I'm at a loss as to why yours isn't growing. Have you checked all the parameters to make sure they match? It's possible the pH in the new tank is different, Xenia seem to really react to changes in pH.

[falconut]

I have a two frags of the same Xenia that came from a tank using PC lighting. 1 is in my Display under 250W 10K MH and looks great and pulses constantly. The other is in a 10 Gal. Frag tank with 2 x 65W 10K PC lighting. It is growing, but it is longer and skinner with no pulsing. I too take water from my display and do water changes with it.

I kept thinking maybe my flow was too much so I turned down the flow on the LR filled Aquaclear. Maybe, I was going the wrong way, I guess I'll try turning it up. Since the way - cieslin1 - decribed its appearance in low flow areas matches mine.