Question about Xenia weeds..errr I mean coral

Well that seems to be what a lot of people think of them anyway. I am wondering if Xenia will do ok in less than perfect water conditions. I am currently struggling with the Nitrates as they never really seem to come below 10-20 on a regular basis. I have heard some people talk about how Xenia seems to actually like systems with a little Nitrate or dissolved organic compounds in the water so I am wondering how it would to in my system placed higher in the water. I have 4x54W T5 HO over my 48" long tank and am about to get another set of 4 in the next week.

Also does anyone know a good place to aquire some? I see a lot of people complaining of having to literally rip them out because they took over the tank. I would be more than happy to have my tank covered in them as I think they are beautiful and don't really plan on having any other coral in this tank. I can always start another tank if that is my desire. I just want to be able to sit back and watch them sway in the current .

 

You have the same amount of light over the same size tank as me. I have my xenia near the bottom and they are growing very fast. They are actually really cool looking corals. You should be able to get them from a LFS that carries corals, they are common and cheap. I would frag and send some but you can probably get them locally cheaper than you could ship them.

 

I wouldn’t suggest you focus on adding Xenia or anything else to your tank until you get your parameters in place and solid. Yes, Xenia will do ok in your conditions, and yes – it is a weed that seems to thrive in dirty tanks.

Do you have a refugium, would you consider adding one?

 

They dont look that cool when they completly take over IMO. but they are a very hardy coral. my Xenia are doing fine with no skimmer, sump,fuge. just HOB filter.

 

One thing I would watch with xenia would be your PH levels. When I have kept it, it wouldn't pulse unless the PH was above 8.3. Kind of a handy visual check of your water conditions. If you don't have a fuge set-up on you tank, expect that there is some fluctuation in PH between morning and afternoon.

Oh and if you do get a xenia coral, isolate it from your tank sides and any rock you don't want it on. It will spread fast, but not across sand. I kept mine on its own little xenia island.

 

Thanks for the quick replies everyone. I dont have room for a Fuge, but I do have Chaeto and some other macro's in my tank. They don't seem to be fighting them too well, simply holding them at bay. It may be because they don't have as much light or flow as they need to process more wastes as fast as needed. I just ordered a couple of Koralias and another t5 fixture a minute ago so I'll have 8x54w over the tank and I'm waiting for John at Reef Cleaners to get more Grape Caulerpa in so I can have a more aggressive means of fighting these darn Nitrates.

 

If you have macros in your tank and you are still having a high amount on nitrates you are probably overfeeding. Depending on what fish you have in your tank you can feed every other day.

Also how often do you change your water. I would do one large water change then do weekly 10 to 15 percent water changes to keep the levels in check.

 

i would keep the grape caulerpa out of yoru DT, it will take over everything, you will live to rue the day you put it in your tank...

 

Xenias are more of a hassle than they're worth. Sort of like GSP, they're growth is slower, but given time, they'll take over the tank too.