Mushrooms reaching to the sky
 

I've had these for a few weeks now and this is the first time they've folded upwards like this.
Any ideas why?

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...pseisovjvg.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps0rgfk3nc.jpg

Maybe they are trying to blend in with the zoas?:lol:

Jokes aside, this may be unbelievable but they are probably not getting enough light. Those stretched stems of zoas are due to lack of light so I am guessing the same is happening with the mushrooms too. What are you using for the lights?

Id say not enough light or too much flow.

i mean, ya, not enough light.

I'm using LEDs

I think it might be flow. This piece of rock the shrooms and zoa are sitting on just recently got moved a few days ago to the very top.
See photo below of tank on day it was setup. They are now at the highest point. Before they were on that little Rock to the left down low and never did this

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...pswgsv3ma8.jpg

What sort of LEDs? Because there are the ones which can barely illuminate a chromis and then there are ones which can melt away corals like forest fire.

Honestly I don't know.
I bought this tank off a guy that had a gorgeous reef in it!
He custom installed where he added a 2nd switch to the hood to turn on the blue light and turn off white light and vice versa. Or have them both on at same time.

I take it I'm going to have to measure the light output somehow....?

Again....they just started doing this today after weeks of having them. Also my hammer coral, war coral and Xenia are growing FAST without feeding...

I turned on the blue light about 20 minutes ago and they are now settled down and laying flat again and zoas are not reaching anymore. Wierd!!

So they were in fact getting less light. You can try keeping both blues and whites on and see how the corals react. And the blues will make your corals look prettier too.

I can keep both on at same time during the day?
Figured white only was better for them to grow aka simulate Sun I suppose...?

Time to upgrade lights I suppose

Corals need all sorts of crazy spectrum because of different chlorophyll within them. White lights are more oriented toward growth while blue spectrum (along with UV, green, red, etc.) plays important role in producing the colour. Hence reef lights will either be full spectrum or a ratio of blue and white LED mix. Since you have two separate channels (blue and white), you can use timers to simulate change in lights over the day. An example would be, start with blue for like 2 hours, turn blue and white for 4 hours, turn off blue and keep white for an hour or so and white to blue only for rest of the day (sunrise/sunset effect). I don't have any proof that its is of any help but corals do love the change.

Light upgrade is always fun. Been there done that :razz:

I leave my blues on at 100% for at least 2 or 3 hours longer than my whites.

BTW, I NEVER have just the whites on and they're only at about 30%. Your mushrooms and Zoas were definitely NOT getting enough light or were missing the blue spectrum.

Consider changing your lighting schedule around to have blues on say 11 hours and whites on 8 hours, rather than just whites on most of the time.

Cheers,

Anthony

Not enough of the right light.....

As light penetrates water different parts of the spectrum are removed the further down it travels. In the ocean, by the time sunlight hits corals a lot of the warmer spectrum is gone and it's being hit with a much higher percentage of the blue spectrum. Blue travels the furthest through water, warmer colors like red/orange/yellow are stripped first.

So ya, turn on those blues all the time.

So odd! Mushrooms are still reaching but not as much now that blue light is on as well.
I mean these other corals are happy...aren't they?

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...psjqehkanh.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...psdiixhgbu.jpg

By the way, that is a bubble you see on the hammer coral. A BIG puffy one! Looks like it's blowing a bubble gum. A good thing from what I understand. About to get a new head....?

Both those corals look happy. But don't see what bubble you're talking about. Hammers usually grow new heads from the side of their skeleton.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...pslsmnldfb.jpg

That bubble. Right in the middle.

Anyway I am thinking if upgrading to a Kessil A350 with a gooseneck. I know it's overkill for my little nano but I can adjust the intensity and it would be useful if I got a bigger tank later on.
This would require topless tank though. What to use to stop fish from jumping? Will mesh hold them in?

Ah its probably just doing a hammer thing. I wouldn't worry. It still looks happy. Sometimes they expand, or contract, or poop, or whatever.

Most people use clear mesh with a window screen kit. I use Lexan or bullet proof glass lol Unless your fish weighs a good amount they wont be able to jump and knock the lid off. I ran my LEDs through the lexan. no open top. gotta keep cats and dog hair out.

Oh right! Dog hair! I have a husky that likes to shed!

You mean this?

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.p...000171917.html

If so, it says UV coating.....

No idea if what I get has a "uv coating" I get my dad to order it in large sheets through his work, at cost. He cuts it, drills a few vent holes and away we go.
Never had an issue with corals growing. Shit I couldn't keep up with the growth of some corals. My bloody gold hammer grew like 10+ heads in 2 months :| I think Walter in Langley used Lexan on his tank as well.
You could get regular glass cut and just add a handle or whatever.