leather corals are not opening

[madman19710]

i gave up the hobby 2 years ago. my wife took it over and has probably maintained the tank better than i did. she really likes leather corals .the only change that has been made is we had a ro/di unit installed .could this have an effect on the leathers .everything else is doing great 2 anemones and her hammer coral are steadily growing .fish are great. the tank is bare bottom good flow skimmer pulls 1/4 cup of skimmate out a day .ive tested the water its all good. i took it to a fish store i trust and the tested samples and came up with the same results.

[KingAmir]

i gave up the hobby 2 years ago. my wife took it over and has probably maintained the tank better than i did. she really likes leather corals .the only change that has been made is we had a ro/di unit installed .could this have an effect on the leathers .everything else is doing great 2 anemones and her hammer coral are steadily growing .fish are great. the tank is bare bottom good flow skimmer pulls 1/4 cup of skimmate out a day .ive tested the water its all good. i took it to a fish store i trust and the tested samples and came up with the same results.

Try metal halide lighting to simulate day night lighting!

[Original Fin]

Try metal halide lighting to simulate day night lighting!

???

[madman19710]

Try metal halide lighting to simulate day night lighting!

my lighting is fine i actually put 6000 k giesmanns in and they are starting to respond a bit i took the halides off long ago t5s are on it now trying to get used to the yellow color might add a tru actinic just for apperance

[KingAmir]

my lighting is fine i actually put 6000 k giesmanns in and they are starting to respond a bit i took the halides off long ago t5s are on it now trying to get used to the yellow color might add a tru actinic just for apperance

You should have 20000k Metal Halide Spectrum!

[madman19710]

You should have 20000k Metal Halide Spectrum!

i have 2 6000 and 2 18000k bulbs they are getting the right spectrum of light day and night are being simulated with 3 timers i dont want to use metal halide if i did i would go to my garage and get it i have 3 250 watt fixtures out there i dont think its a lighting issue. thanks

[Original Fin]

KingAmir,

Unless you're talkng about a really deep tank, T5 lighting should be fine for just about any leather I can think of. MH would be overkill, waste energy, and needlessly heat the tank up. Seems like the OP is well aware or the lighting needs of PS soft corals, and is looking for other ideas.

Madman,

The RODI is a good investment, but changes (even for the better) to an established tank's routine can sometimes have an unintended negative effect on particular corals tha had gotten used to less than ideal conditions.
What was your source water prior to using RODI? Were you (or your wife) in the habit of balancing Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium, and if so, what is your method for doing so? Source water can play a big role in the starting point for these three important parameters. If they are now inconsistent with what the tank was used to, you may see some agitated corals for a while, but if everything is balanced and in range, they should get used to it. Can you share you readings for Ca, Alk and Mag?