Help!!! Mushroom in trouble

[Buzz]

Had mushroom for a year. It now is getting holes in it and the area around it looks like flesh coming off Hate to loose it please help
Buzz

[Seige]

Can you provide a pic and info on your tank including test results, water source, livestock, age of tank.

[Buzz]

Water temp 80d ph 8.4 nitates 5ppm mag 1200 ammonia 0 calcium 520 phosphate .5 ro water pink bubble tip anemone damsels yellow tang tomato clown wrasse brain coral snails hermit crabs sand sifter stars one year+ Buzz

[Ninong]

Buzz,

How are you maintaining your calcium and alkalinity? What do you use? Do you know your current alkalinity reading?

Mushrooms are sensitive to sudden spikes in pH or alkalinity.

[Ramer]

ca 520 isnt that a bit high? What test kits do you use?

[Buzz]

Yes the calcium is little high salinity is 1.023, as for alkalinty i have to pick up a kit tommorow The kits i've been using is Aquarium Pharmaceuticals

[Buzz]

I've been doing water changes 5 gal a week and the calcium has always been around 500 I have a 150 gal tank

[Seige]

Not sure if hermits could damage a mushroom. You need help from someone with more experience then me. ;-)

5 gal a week water change won't do much. You'd be better off doing 15 or 20g every 2-3 weeks.

[Ninong]

Five gallons a week on a 150-gal tank is fine. That's just a different approach. Some people prefer to do small water changes more frequently. You could also do 15 gallons every other week or 15 gallons every other month. Or you could make that 25 gallons every other week or every other month. There are no rules on water changes, just that water changes are a good idea. It's up to each individual hobbyist to decide what works best.

Yes, anytime calcium goes above 500 ppm, it's too high, which is why I was wondering what the alkalinity reading is right now. Just as a point of information, not because I think this has anything to do with his mushrooms.

It's possible to affect mushrooms negatively is you suddenly (accidentally) dump a lot of Kalkwasser (or some sort of buffer) into the system that results in a sudden rise in pH due to the sudden increase in alkalinity. However, when that happens the mushrooms usually shrivel up.

[Seige]

ok. I think Lee mentioned it'd be better to do fewer bigger changes. It likely doesn't make a huge difference.

[Ninong]

ok. I think Lee mentioned it'd be better to do fewer bigger changes.

He's talking about fish-only marine tanks, not reef tanks. You read that advice in the fish-only forum, not the reef forum.

It likely doesn't make a huge difference.

It does make a huge difference. Some people prefer frequent small water changes; other people prefer 20% water changes less frequently. Even those people who do 20% water changes differ as to whether they should be every two or three weeks or every two or three months.

The argument in favor of smaller, more frequent water changes is that there is less disturbance on the reef system. The argument in favor of larger, less frequent water changes is that they have more of an impact than small water changes. What is seen as desirable by one camp is viewed as undesirable by the other.

Larger, more frequent water changes are definitely the best way to go with fish-only marine systems but, when it comes to reef aquariums, there is a lot to be said for not doing large water changes except in cases of emergency. And always age the saltwater for at least two or three days before using it.

[Buzz]

I somehow collected a nudibranch do you think he could have been the problem

[Nemo Keeper]

How do you age saltwater? I'm confused.

[Ninong]

How do you age saltwater? I'm confused.

You mix the saltwater in something like a Rubbermaid Brute container (yellow, white or gray only). You place either a powerhead or an airstone in the container. You put the lid back on the container but you make sure to allow maybe a 1/4"-1/2" gap so that fresh air can get it. You allow it to sit for a few days before using it. That's calling aging the water. I liked using an airstone because the airstone was pumping air all the way to the bottom of the container. I used a 1" PVC elbow to weight the airstone down.

Make sure that the water's temperature is maintained with a heater and be sure to check the salinity before beginning the aging process.

Fossa & Nielsen in Volume One of their excellent series recommend aging saltwater for a full week before using it. I usually aged it for at least three or four days before using it. There are a lot of good reasons for doing this. I would only use freshly mixed saltwater in the event of a real and present emergency that required saltwater immediately.

[Seige]

Thanks Ninong. Your correct, Lee mentioned it on the fish only forum. I had no idea there was that much of a difference. Glad your here to clarify.

[Nemo Keeper]

Hmmm...interesting. I see what you mean, I was confued cause I get my water straight from the ocean about 4.5 miles off the coast of key largo them take it to process through a filter a fiend of mine has. It takes about 3 hours to process 20 gallons of pure clean saltwater.

[cdearing]

Just wondering how many of you actually age your saltwater for water changes. I have not been doing that. I will let it sit for several hours. Am I damaging my inhabitants by not aging the water? My tank is 1+ year old and I do about a 4 gallon change every week or two in my 29G. I am upgrading to a 55G. Guess I just need to get an extra heater and then I can age it for a few days in a bucket.

[Lucid]

I age my water in a 35g barrel. Most of the time I allow it to age for 2 days before doing any water changes (got a fish in QT). Usually lasts a week or more until I need to make up a new batch.

Before I used to mix and do water change. Haven't noticed any difference on fish. The main diff. is it's easier to have mixed sw at hand then have to break out buckets/salt and mix to have some when I need it.

[metalhead]

I somehow collected a nudibranch do you think he could have been the problem

Bingo!!!

You'll want to get him out of there if you want to keep any kind of mushrooms or corals. Your phosphates are high too. Try running some GFO and see if that helps reduce them.