Why can't I keep Xenia?

[bullitr]

All of my SPS and LPS are growing well
But my soft corals are not growing at all.
The worst one is my Xenia it slowly starve and shrink then will eventually dies
I dose iodine once a week and feed heavily and don't do water changes that should favor the soft corals right ? but still no growth . Even my chaeto never grow and my nuisance algae growth are very minimal
Maybe I dose too much quantity calcium and kalkwasser?
Because before my calcium are always 450 and my alk is 11.8 that is why I stop testing
I don't want to turn off my skimmer either because I have a lot of fish
Any ideas?

 

[Aero]

Xenia tend to like slightly "dirty" water. If your macro algae is barely growing that means you have a low nutrient tank. Great for sps, but not softies. No need to dose iodine, you should be getting ideal amounts through water changes, its really to overdose on iodine and that will get you into trouble, but according to your post you don't do water changes so i guess you could dose as long as your testing for it... Im guessing that your sps are releasing growth inhibitors in order to outcompete your soft corals, try running carbon, that should help somewhat.

 

[Armen]

maybe to much waterflow.

 

[blackmamba]

i hear that some people just have bad luck with xenia and gsp... even if they have a really good system :/

 

[xxtechxx]

that is sad... i throw my xenia in the sump and it grows like weed.....
i believe they do not like a lot of flow.

 

[travisw30]

+1 on the super clean water. I would does IODIDE! I dose 2 ml a day. As far as the Xenia say goodbye and enjoy the sps!

 

[travisw30]

Maybe try dosing iron. I dose 8 drops a day on 50g. It's for macro algaes. It might help. Not sure though.

 

[bullitr]

The Xenia is still alive but not growing ...
Some soft corals are dying like multiple colonies of neon green leather. So far all the SPS are grows well. LPS not so much.
But everything is coloring up very nice except for my pearl of the pacific acropora it's not as bright maybe due to low temp 73.5 but it's growing well!

 

[DETANE]

I can't grow xenia either. The sps grow like crazy but xenia stay small and no growth. I'm sure their are a lot of reefers out there who would switch places with us in a heart beat. I sold all my xenia and gsp 2 weeks ago and used the money fo more sps. Maybe you can have xenia grow in nano tank bro.

 

[IEreefmaster]

I can't grow xenia either. The sps grow like crazy but xenia stay small and no growth. I'm sure their are a lot of reefers out there who would switch places with us in a heart beat. I sold all my xenia and gsp 2 weeks ago and used the money fo more sps. Maybe you can have xenia grow in nano tank bro.

The Xenia is still alive but not growing ...
Some soft corals are dying like multiple colonies of neon green leather. So far all the SPS are grows well. LPS not so much.
But everything is coloring up very nice except for my pearl of the pacific acropora it's not as bright maybe due to low temp 73.5 but it's growing well!

It sounds like your guy's water is probably too clean. As was said xenia like slightly dirty water as it grows in back bays on the reef. It gets all the washup from the reef crest, so the water is slightly dirtier compared to the reef crest where sps grows.

 

[zigginit]

the water is too clean... this is the same reason you cant grow kenya trees in a xeina occupied tank, they use the same food. its got to be one or the other, or start them at the same time untill one out competes the other.

 

[Drew Shark]

Your temperature could be a small factor. For reef tanks you generally want your temperature above 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[Jgo]

I've had problems with xenias too. not too fond of them.

 

[aznpg]

i had problems with my xenia not growing when i was running my skimmer 24/7 and then i moved the tank into my room and then only ran the skimmer 10hrs a day and the xenia and soft corals started growing like crazy and sps are also growing pretty good too