gsp question.

[albie611]

for those who have great luck with Gsp... what water parameters do you keep them in?
what makes the difference between them surviving and growing like mad?
the reason i ask is ....i just bought some and they were shipped via fedex and they were delayed..
they arrived 2 days later they they should and didnt look too good upon arrival.
i have tried to save what i could but none have shown signs of life since they arrived.......
my parameters are solid and within normal ranges.
SG 1.025, ph 8.0-8.1, phos< 0.1, amonia and nitrite 0
nitrates 5-10ppm at the most ever,calcium 460-480, alk 8 dkh
(trying to get it to 9dkh)
all other corals are doing great and growing at a good rate just wanted to know your secrets...
thanks for the help.....happy reefing .....al

 

[MikeNapoli]

I think they'll open once they get used to the water... they are very hardy but they'll stay closed if they've been stressed/annoyed.

At least that's been my experience... just keep doing what your doing and they'll come around.

 

[PaulM]

Mine like some decent flow across them. They will come out. If not I have some you can have.

 

[JohnS_323]

We have no luck with them. I've tried a number of times and all they do is slowly dwindle down to nothing and then disappear. I have no idea why but we just can't keep them, which is a shame because I really like the look they add to a tank.

 

[albie611]

thanks for the offer ihop..i just might have to take you up on it if these dont make it.

i was looking for the "secret" to making these take off.
i too have tried them befor with mixed results.. they would do go for a while and then fade away.

 

[Subliminal]

Mine occasionally disappear into their mat for 2 or 3 days, but I've had great luck. I think my 'grass' is 2x the size it was when I got it a few months back:

As far as my conditions, I don't really skim or dose, and I change 1/6 of the water every week.

 

[blange3]

They grow like mad in my 55, but not the frag tank.

The 55 is a softie tank, moderate flow and skimming. DSB,running carbon, parameters are all to the lower ends of the normal range.

The two major differences in my display tanks compared to most folks is the VHO only lighting and I run temps around 77degrees.

My frag tank is T5 and 80 degrees and thats where my softies grow slower.

 

[albie611]

ok.......i have heard form a few people that they like the water a little higher in alk so im going to buy some 2-part and bump it up over the next few days...we'll see if it helps............happy reefing ..al

 

[harryk]

They also grow like a weed in my tank also. I have a fairly large rock that is covered in them.

 

[HEMI_Andy]

Don't buy 2 part make it. The alk part.. Bake 2 cups of baking soda in the oven at 300 for 1 hour then add to enough RO water to make 1 gallon.

Andy

 

[reefitup]

Dang, you're like an Underwater Bobby Flay I'll have to try that sometime.

I got some GSP's from adesimone1 and they were doing FANTASTIC until I changed lights and they got very annoyed :

They've since acclimated and are doing Fantastic once again.

Maybe there was a difference in the lighting before/after you got them? If you posted that, I missed it.

I'm terribly sick and my head is a little fuzzy Stupid Upper Resp. Infections! LOL

 

[Phyl]

When we had GSP, I found them particularly sensitive to Mag levels in the tank. When the mag went low they disappeared and came back when the mag went back up.

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

I have GSP out the ying yang. Like Blange3 i run strictly VHO but they grow everywhere in the tank. On the sand, some rocks and on the glass right up to the waterline. One key is to have intermitent flow on them to keep detritus out of the colony. GSP is suseptable to HA and gets smoothered very easily. I don't know what my parameters are I haven't tested or done water changes in a few years.

And if anybody wants to give them another try I have plenty.

 

[Subliminal]

I've actually notice the hair algae thing too. Everytime I do a water change I just yank that crap out...but it always comes back, but only on the GSP mat.

 

[albie611]

ok...its update time....
the batch of gsp i bought has finaly withered away to nothing...
i truly believe that it was due to the poor handling by fedex...
i tried all i could do to save atleast a small frag of what i got but they didnt survive the shipping disaster.
i would love to try a new piece in the near future, so any of you out there with plenty to share ,please let me know an we will work out pick up...thanks and happy reefing.....al