Uhhhhhh, hmmmmm, could be....ahhhhh...

how did your tank survive 7 months of not adding RO/DI

 

He added top off water, just didn't do a water change.

 

thats a asterina star, nope!

you've been topping your tank off with saltwater? Whats your salinity at?

 

That star is Asterina star, an unusual coloration for one. There are many many different types and some are coral predators, but unless you see one eating a coral I would not worry just keep an eye out.

What you describe with your frogspawn is called "polyp bailout" usually related to water parameters and stress not predators.

You have some larger types of fish like the tang, so if it were my tank I would do the routine water changes to remove nutrients and replenish trace elements.

One of the best things to do is routinely test for nitrates and phosphates to let you know where you stand nutrient wise.

This hobby is always a learning curve for every level of hobbyist so ask and seek advice whenever in doubt.

Nice looking tank.

 

Wow, freaking out about getting a water change now! Thanks for all the info and will be visiting my fish guy tomorrow for a bag of salt and water to do a change. Yeah, I mean I just keep adding water to my skimmer fill line as it evaporates so fast up to 5-6 gallons a week and figured with all the fresh water going in and salt levels maintained I was good. Have a few of the Asterina stars and happy to know what they are now. Thanks again!!

 

you top off with RO/O and I go through 5gal a week on my 90 with 20gal sump

What is your salinity level now?

Not all asterina's are reef safe

 

how long you had your tank running before you stated putting coral in it?

 

Sorry, I don't know what RO/O is, I assume a shortcut for a water term but new so not sure. My salinity is a 1.024. I have gone and gotten a new bag of salt and mixing my 15 gals up this AM. I started my tank in May, added rock, damsels, gobi end of June, added rock throughout July, first fish in Mid August, along with mushroom corals and an anemone which have done awesome, anemone has tripled in size (waking up in pic) and has 4 or 5 new ones started in other areas. I feed that anemone silversides and the clowns live in it. Added more fish throughout till now, Foxface, hippo, tang, flame, Bangaii Cardinal (thanks to earlier post), domino, Rasp, Yellow tag, snails, hermit crabs, pep shrimp and had a cleaner shrimp for months then added another one and within a couple of weeks of adding add'l one they were 'murdered' I believe by a very large Fire/Bristle worm I can't catch. I see his finger size tracks in the AM but haven't seen it yet. I also lost a mandarin Gobi shortly after that as well. I got for xmas a couple of new corals, don't know the names in pic its the two on bottome left, and the cauliflower looking one came out in the beginning a little but not anywhere near the size of when it was in shop then stopped coming out at all and the other one the anemone was a very fast downhill spiral, took them back to my fish guy to nurture them so they didn't suffer any more and the cauliflower one is doing much better and the other died. Throughout this entire time I have kept a close eye on Nitrates and Phospahtes, re checked with fish guy's chems and added new fresh water every day from evap. Salt levels are at 1.022. I feed flake and brine shrimp 2xs day, Tech CB part A and B two tsp of each in AM, started that when I got first corals. I took a week off from it this past week though. I fill water jusgs from the culligan water machine at Wal Mart, 2 bucks for 5 Gallons as the replacement water. Mixing in my salt today so it can dissolve while I am at work today. Sorry so long winded, Appreciate you taking the time to read!! I also added this coral in December and it is doing well, has grown it base over the new rocks. Worried whether the anemone above it might harm it, if it should be moved though. And these corals as well at the same time, had red slime growing but kept it off so far.

 

You may want to consider your own RO/DI (Reverso Osmosis/De-Ionized) water purifier for your own home. They are cheap to own and operate and will save you $ in the long run. I change 10-20% of the water in my 55 gallon each week and really do little else with it. I have to add calcium about once a month which I do with Kalk (Kalkwasser) powder. I top off with RO/DI about 5 gallons a week or so. Also, you have a large number of fish/corals in your system which means a large bio-load. This means that the nutrients will be depleated faster and the waste will build up faster. This means more frequent small water changes.

For me, that is the secret to keeping anything healthy, change the water frequently. +1 on mixing the water beforehand, I always mix my fresh salt water at least 24 hours before adding it to my tank. In my opinion, that is one step that can't be rushed. You should never ever add salt directly to your tank. Nice looking tank too by the way! I love the frogspawn, my clown fish host it! Here's a pic.

 

Thanks! Will do! Should I try to raise my salinity a little? I have well water here but it goes through a softner as the Iron and minerals as horrible, turns everything orange if the softner clogs up so am nervous about that but if it cleans the water enough to go in the tank then will def look into it! I didn't know a Fpawn could be in the sand, cool, your little guy loves it!