[Amanda_n_Jason]

Finally got our nitrates down from 20ppm the other day in our 20 gallon it has a 96watt pc I plan on putting another 96watt pc on there this weekend when i make the canopy...even got 2 small power heads to increase flow more and my mushrooms still arent opening all the way there edges are "ruffled"...i also have a red plate atleast thats what the guy called it who gave it to me...it was bleaching around the edges when we put him in there but now his color is comming back...we usually keep our lights on 10-12 hours a day is this too much ??

As of now: Ammonia = .25 ppm
Nitrate = 5 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Ph = 8.2
CA= 420
Salinity = 1.023

[Phyl]

Your lighting sounds fine. I run my PC lights for a total 12 hours a day. I have the actinics come on an hour or so before my 10ks and stay on an hour longer. Actinics on:12pm; 10K on:1pm; 10K off:11pm; Actinics off:12am.

I'm more concerned about your ammo level (depending on your test kit... some of them give false positives) than your nitrates at this point, but your shrooms probably won't care... they're pretty forgiving.

You don't say how much rock you have in the system but you should have 20-40# of rock in there (base rock would be ok) and that will help your system process the nitrogen cycle better.

The "Red Plate" looks more like an orange cap to me (SPS fussier, likes more pristine conditions and seems to be RTNing from the stress of the environment). I found I could grow caps fine under PC lighting as long as you keep it up high on the rockwork. Though with 2x96 over 20 you're going to have more than enough light for it, I'd imagine.

I've never needed anything more than light to make shrooms open up so I can't imagine what's causing them to not open all the way.

[BubbaWPB]

It took my mushrooms a week or two to fully inflate after I added them to my tank... and even now, if there is some change in the environment such as water parameters or when I changed light fixtures, they tend to shrivel up for a while.

[CSeaSee]

How's the flow in your tank? Most don't like a lot of flow. Also, they may be getting too much light...possibly, or it's time to change the bulbs. Hope these ideas help!
Actually, those mushrooms looks like some of mine... and they're fussy for me, too. Although they may not be the same species, I've had luck putting them in lower-light areas, or areas with more blue light.