SPS advice

[Original Fin]

I have little to no exp with SPS, so looking for some advice.

Three months ago, I got an unidentified Acro frag. Happy to say, it's still alive. So over the past couple days, I've added two more Acro frags, and a 4x4 piece of sunset monti.

Here's my concern. The oldest frag colored up well, and has definately grown, but it has never had PE durring the day (except at the LFS, which was under MH), and minimal PE at night. So far it looks like the new frags are going to follow suit as far as PE goes.

What can I do to stimulate better PE?

Do I need better lighting? I have them under 216W T5 (in a 55) about 10" below the surface, and the lights are 6" above the surface. Two 10K's and two actinics.

Is it flow? The tank has about 2200gph turnover, but not on any sort of wavemaker, so the currents are pretty static.

Is it compatability issues with fish/other inverts? The tank is mostly soft corals...could it be chemical warfare? There's also a bi-color angel that occasionally nips at the SPS. Would this cause them to keep their polyps retracted?

Lastly, is it feeding? I'm not specifically feeding anything at the moment since the polyps arent out, it wouldn't make sense. At night when they are out, I stir up the fuge a bit, releasing detritus into the water collumn.

Water quality is the one thing I'm reasonably confident is not an issue. Tank has been running for a year. Nitrates are less than 5, Phosphates are between .2 and .3, and I'm running Phosban in a reactor, with chaeto in the fuge with a DSB. I also run a skimmer.
Salinity is 1.0265, temp 78, PH 8.3, Alk 9.6, Cal 430, Mag 1370. I dose BRS 2 part (and mag) daily to keep those levels rock solid. I change 10 gallons every week.
I haven't checked any other trace levels like strontium, iodine, etc., nor do I have kits to do so...I assume, perhaps incorrectly that my water change regimen should suffice, but perhaps I'm wrong about that? Everything else in the tank coral-wise, thrives.

Any thoughts?

[surf&turf]

I would say its your nipper. I had a flame that nipped and also ate SPS. My polyp extention
was terrible till I moved the flame.

[Original Fin]

I would say its your nipper. I had a flame that nipped and also ate SPS. My polyp extention
was terrible till I moved the flame.

Thanks S&T. I could temporary move the angel to the fuge. How long did it take for PE to return after you removed your nipper?

[chrisfont23]

I have my green acro (well at least I think it is) and my pink birds nest about 4-6 inches from the surface. Lighting is 140 W in my 30 g and about 6 inches above the surface. Also 2 10Ks and the actinics. I have them in direct flow from my MJ 1200 which is located on the other side of the tanks. This, so they are not blasted but get the most consistent and direct movement of my corals.

Just looked now to be sure - the acro has great polyp extension at night. I can see them moving/wiggling. The BN not so much, but I read that low flow on the BN will not really extend branching as much...higher flow was better so I went with the branching angle. The acro is also encrusting more. Who knows. Needless to say, these are the only SPS I have and I probably won't add more anytime soon.

You can see the PE on my acro on my thread "29 Gallon Setup - Almost Done" - one of the last pics.

[twisted]

i have a few sps that didnt show alot of pe until i found the right spot for them. i always thought that they needed to be at the top since it seemed the sites said high lighting. i started moving them down a little and boom! out the polyps came. some sps dont need the intense lighting. ive got some that are mid tank and even one on the bottom and they are doing great. and they were the ones i only saw pe at night. the other thing you could try it to turkey baster some oysterfeast or something similiar around them. that usually makes the polyps in my tank go nuts! or it could be something as simple as too much or too little flow. i dont use a wavemaker but have my pheads aimed so they create swishing cuurrents . it takes a while to get them just right but its worth the trouble.

[kevinpo]

Hello,
Polyp extension in SPS corals is highly variable. Some species will always have very little PE no matter what the conditions. Others almost always have great PE extension day and night. Corals with both conditions can be right next to each other. One thing to note is that PE (like color) is not a sign of coral health.
Water quality issues are the most common reason for lack on PE in SPS that otherwise have long PE. Water quality covers quite a bit of territory. The buildup of compounds such as terpenes, tannins, etc. that are produced by biological processes for defense can stunt or even kill some SPS (and LPS too). Biweekly or monthly water changes and the use of fresh carbon each month will greatly help to reduce these compounds and improve water clarity.

Regards,
Kevin

[surf&turf]

Thanks S&T. I could temporary move the angel to the fuge. How long did it take for PE to return after you removed your nipper?

About 2 weeks for them to come back around, she was actually eating my green birdsnest, stripping the flesh off of it.