alot of questions......

Ok here we go..
we started our 55 gal. tank in June. We just got our new lights and the temperture in the tank is 81 degrees I was wondering what is the right temp for a reef tank? we have some fish not many we also have 2 sponges, a green mushroom which looks like its splitting, and we HAD a pulsing xenia which we have had for about 1 week which looks like its melting. so sad. I am not getting much help from the pet store, the boy that was working today did not know what to tell me. so if anyone can help us out Thank you
Rose

What kind of lights did you get? I keep my tank at 78 degrees, 81 may be a little high. What are your water parameters? Nitrate, nitrite, amonia, ph, alk and calcium. What type of equipment are you using? Power heads, skimmer, filtration, etc. This info will be very helpful for people to help give you advice. Without it it would be shooting in the dark.
If your new lights are a big upgrade from what you had you need to acclimate your corals - either by using screens or by slowing increasing photo period over a week or 2.

We have a Rena filstar canister filter, sae clone protein skimmer, maxi-jet wavemaker model 900 (230gph) as for lights we just got the T-5 nova extreme with lunar lights.(as of Aug 23) Before that we had just 50/50 lights, like on a freshwater tank.

i keep my tank @ 78...you might just a have faulty heater. i use a rena on one of my tanks..just a word of caution...make sure you clean all those sponges once a week because if you dont it will turn into a serious nitrate factory. in fact your best bet would be just to remove half of them

As for the temp 78 is ideal but a couple degrees is not going to kill anything. The Seaclone is not a great skimmer I had one when I started and would not use it on anything larger then a 20G tank. So when money permits I would think about upgrading to a better skimmer, which will help keep your water clean. I would also like to know what your water parameters are currently. Xenia likes fairly bright light and good water. What wattage are the T5s and how many bulbs are you running? A really easy way to keep the tank a little cooler is to put a fan on the tank if you are only a couple degrees off that should take care of it. Just make sure you are diligent about your top off RO water. Also make sure your heater is adjusted correctly and is not coming on and heating your tank above 78. Just a few things for you to look at.

No one told me about cleaning them. How do you go about doing that? I have 2 . How do I know if there is a problem with a sponge? we just got them a few days a go they told me it would help filter the water. Is that true? I really should just ask every one here questions because the pet store isn't being very helpful : (
thanks

Which skimmer is better?(any advice and I'll start saving)The lighting is as follows 216 watt four 54 watt with lunar lights. what temp should the heater be set on? we got the lights on line from dr. foster & smith.

do I do anything to the rock the xenia was on? I'll have to post some pictures. Thank you for you help

Your temperature is fine as long as it wasn't a drastic increase from your previous temperature. The problem with your Xenia is most likely due to your water perameters (high nitrates possibly?) anyway here is a good discussion on temperature Advice on temp - Page 2 - Michigan Reefers
PS i keep my tank between 80-82 and have good coral growth under PC

I would also that xenia do not like nitrates.Also
most seem more happier when iodine is added.This probley a good time start getting your water test.If you have them already what brand and types of test are running?.The seaclone skimmer is a mixed bag some love them some hate them.I would leave for now and see much skinmate(the smelly stuff in the cup)If does not work for you then look for the best one for your budget will alow.I like my coralife super skimmer good bang for buck.Other would include remora,bak pak,and aquamedic.There is others that are higher dollars.The T-5 will fine for soft coral and some types of LPS coral.The mushrooms splitting is a good sign..The canistor filter is helpful.The sponge is used for trapping bigger particles of debris and dirt.This builds up and causes a nitrate build up.By removeing on it trap less dirt but still fuction,or take them out weekly and rinse them in RO water perferably,if not tap is ok.This gives a quick clean out of the dirt build up.If you have not viewed the articles page please do so there is alot of helpful info there

First of all I think zippy is talking about live sponges. Not sponge filters. So zippy never take the sponge out of tank if the sponge touches air it will kill it. I would recommend Remora skimmers. I am running the Aqua C Remora Pro with a mag 3 on my 55. The most important thing is to find out what is going on with your water. If you have tests post your test results if you don't then buy some immediately if not sooner. Liquid tests are the most accurate but tank the longest to actually do the test. Strips are cheap and easy but not very accurate. I would go with liquids.

As for setting your heater: watch the heater and see if it is still coming on at 81 if it is turn it down 6 degrees and then back up 5 so the setting is 1 degree lower then it was set at and wait 24 hours then repeat if the heater is still coming on.

For the Xenia they like stronger flow and brighter light so I would place them higher in the tank where there is better water flow and stronger light. I hope this helps.