Help with coral health

cculos · 09/29/2012, 09:22 AM

Hey guys, sorry for the two threads in two days, but I have a few questions about the health of my corals.

First, here's the tank in question:

It's a 30g 24x24x12 setup with a quad bulb t5 light, two Koralia Nano powerheads, full sump / refug / protein skimmer setup.

I'm doing weekly 3-4 gallon water changes and am very careful to make sure the water quality is proper. All levels test fine.

So, most of my corals are doing very well, but there are a few that I wish would do a bit better. Here's my questions:

1) I have a red plating montipora that immediately started to lose color when I bought it and placed it in the tank. At first I placed it pretty high up in the tank. It's now placed a bit lower, but it's a very light pink rather than red.. is there any advice for placement of the coral to bring the color back?

2) I have a Duncan coral (not pictured) that doesn't seem to want to extend out. The polyps open up during the day, which is fine, but they're not extending the usual 1-2 inches that I've always seen them extend. This started a few days after I put the coral in the tank. Is there anything I can do to get the polyps to extend again? It's truly a beautiful piece when they're extended.

I'm feeding 3 times a week and using Reef Snow about twice a week currently, and I run the light about 10 hours a day.

Any idea on what the issue could be? Here's the rest of the livestock:

- Torch Coral
- Frogspawn
- ORA Sprung Stunner
- ORA Green Toadstool
- Rhodactis Mushrooms
- Acan Coral
- Various mushrooms and zoanthids
- Green Star Polyps (doing really, really well)

I guess I just don't understand why those two are having so much trouble.. any thoughts?

Pdxile · 09/29/2012, 10:37 PM

Your coral looks great, especially the Acan! The monti des not look like montipora capricorinis, maybe montipora undata? They need more intense light than capricornis. Also check ca and alk levels. Monti needs a lot, alk usually depletes faster than ca.

Try offering Duncan a little mysis. They love to eat!

Steve175 · 09/30/2012, 10:14 AM

I agree: your corals look very healthy to me. Spot feeding the Duncan will help. For the SPS, track and stabilize your Alk as much as possible.

09/29/2012, 09:22 AM	#1
cculos Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 33	Help with coral health Hey guys, sorry for the two threads in two days, but I have a few questions about the health of my corals. First, here's the tank in question: It's a 30g 24x24x12 setup with a quad bulb t5 light, two Koralia Nano powerheads, full sump / refug / protein skimmer setup. I'm doing weekly 3-4 gallon water changes and am very careful to make sure the water quality is proper. All levels test fine. So, most of my corals are doing very well, but there are a few that I wish would do a bit better. Here's my questions: 1) I have a red plating montipora that immediately started to lose color when I bought it and placed it in the tank. At first I placed it pretty high up in the tank. It's now placed a bit lower, but it's a very light pink rather than red.. is there any advice for placement of the coral to bring the color back? 2) I have a Duncan coral (not pictured) that doesn't seem to want to extend out. The polyps open up during the day, which is fine, but they're not extending the usual 1-2 inches that I've always seen them extend. This started a few days after I put the coral in the tank. Is there anything I can do to get the polyps to extend again? It's truly a beautiful piece when they're extended. I'm feeding 3 times a week and using Reef Snow about twice a week currently, and I run the light about 10 hours a day. Any idea on what the issue could be? Here's the rest of the livestock: - Torch Coral - Frogspawn - ORA Sprung Stunner - ORA Green Toadstool - Rhodactis Mushrooms - Acan Coral - Various mushrooms and zoanthids - Green Star Polyps (doing really, really well) I guess I just don't understand why those two are having so much trouble.. any thoughts?

09/30/2012, 10:14 AM	#3
Steve175 Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 1,186	I agree: your corals look very healthy to me. Spot feeding the Duncan will help. For the SPS, track and stabilize your Alk as much as possible. __________________ Steve ---------------------------------- Current Tank Info: 2 separate 250G bowfront rimless ELOS tanks plumbed to 260G sump, 220G refugium, 220G frag, BK DeLuxe 300, 400W MH x4, closed loops, 3/4hp chiller x2, Phos reactor, Kalk reactor, Charcoal reactor, Ca reactor, 60G surge tanks, & a huge elec bill

09/29/2012, 10:37 PM	#2
Pdxile Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 162	Your coral looks great, especially the Acan! The monti des not look like montipora capricorinis, maybe montipora undata? They need more intense light than capricornis. Also check ca and alk levels. Monti needs a lot, alk usually depletes faster than ca. Try offering Duncan a little mysis. They love to eat!