Red planet lighting requirements

[hnguyen]

Hey guys, I'm having a hard time figuring out what's wrong with my red planet frag. It's not coloring up but losing color instead. I have other sps frags mounted above and below it that are doing great except for this guy. Lighting is a 48" ATI 6 bulb fixture. Water is perfect with at least 30% water change a week broken down to 20 gallons twice a week. Any idea what's going on? Thanks

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[hiimsean]

How high in the tank is it mounted? They like a lot of light and a lot of flow. Mine is directly under my sols and has been growing well and starting to get more red as opposed to green.

 

[dawgface]

My guess is it's new tank pissed. I've always had issues with SPS in new tanks regardless of testable water conditions.

 

[hnguyen]

HiImSean;951596 wrote: How high in the tank is it mounted? They like a lot of light and a lot of flow. Mine is directly under my sols and has been growing well and starting to get more red as opposed to green.

I have it mid way in my tank which is about 12 under water level. Light is mounted 6-8" above the tank. I'll try and move it up a little this weekend.

DawgFace;951597 wrote: My guess is it's new tank pissed. I've always had issues with SPS in new tanks regardless of testable water conditions.

You think so? Thank is about 3 months old now and I've never had a problem with SPS corals acting like this during a tank move. If you remember, I use to change tanks A LOT!!

 

[curtismaximus]

DawgFace;951597 wrote: My guess is it's new tank pissed. I've always had issues with SPS in new tanks regardless of testable water conditions.

+1 my RP took quite a few months to settle in. Also I have mine in strong direct flow from a wp25. Sounds like a little more light could help. Honestly the best thing I did for mine is glue it down and leave it alone.

 

[hnguyen]

Mine has been glued down for over a month now and flow is not an issue with my tank. I have two MP10w es in my system along with almost 1000 gph from my return pump (and that's with the pump reduced with a gate valve). I'll move it up a little this weekend and see how things turn out in a few weeks. Thanks guys.

 

[curtismaximus]

I think the first four months I had mine in my tank it maybe grew a quarter of an inch. The last four months it grows an inch+ every month. Kinda weird but I'm not complaining. I just made two more frags this weekend.

 

[ringo®]

Well, just to put another opinion out there....any chance the water is too clean?

 

[dawgface]

Ringo®;951636 wrote: Well, just to put another opinion out there....any chance the water is too clean?

That is exactly what Im referring to when saying "new" tank syndrome. Albeit I understand your probably referring to nutrients whereas I am not or atleast not exclusively. What I'm talking about is the delicate balance of micro algae, bacteria, crustaceans and the 100 if not 1000 other microbes that have yet to stabilize in newly set up aquariums. Any significant change in the aquarium takes at best 6 months of perfect husbandry of the hobbyist to reach this harmonic balance.

 

[ralph atl]

Curtismaximus;951630 wrote: I think the first four months I had mine in my tank it maybe grew a quarter of an inch. The last four months it grows an inch+ every month. Kinda weird but I'm not complaining. I just made two more frags this weekend.

Hnguyen;951629 wrote: Mine has been glued down for over a month now and flow is not an issue with my tank. I have two MP10w es in my system along with almost 1000 gph from my return pump (and that's with the pump reduced with a gate valve). I'll move it up a little this weekend and see how things turn out in a few weeks. Thanks guys.

agreed, some frags take months adjusting and some take months encrusting before you see any growth.

 

[wildernets]

I say you give him some time. Your tank is as good as you can make it right now. Let everything settle in.

 

[hnguyen]

I guess I'll wait and see. It just worries me because all else is fine. Thanks for the input guys

 

[hiimsean]

It's not loosing any tissue is it?

 

[hnguyen]

No tissue lost that I can see. It's just not coloring up. Looks really pail while all my other sps frags are coloring up nicely. It's not the growth I'm worried about, it's the color.

 

[kirkwood]

Ringo®;951636 wrote: Well, just to put another opinion out there....any chance the water is too clean?

let me piggy back this... I put an RP frag in my tank about 6 weeks ago.. It was GLOWING yellow/green base... within about 3 weeks it was brown... this was when I started to feed much heavier in an attempt to get a detectable level of Nitrates.. I also switched my Fuel dose from night to peak light cycle... I'm happy to report my RP is GLOWING again...

i have it high light high flow...

 

[indecloudzua]

My buddy's RP is doing the same while mine is red as can be. His other sps are doing fine. Not sure what the cause is.