A bit of an update. I started this project the 4th of July. Dendrophyllias and Tubatreas are doing very well. My chili is showing excellent expansion, if not some growth. It feeds actively. I added a Dendronephthya about three weeks ago. After adjusting it has been showing good expansion, i.e., it stands tall, and seems to be feeding well. Time will tell on that. My Scleronephthya, added July 4, is of concern. Lately it has not been expanding as much and does not have the "cloud" of polyps it displayed a few weeks ago. I'm wondering if it's slowly fading away.
I'm target feeding two or three times in the morning and as many times as I can get in from the time I get home at about 5:30 until midnight. All circulation is turned off for each feeding and the three corals (chili, dendro, sclero) are basically coated with food. After a few minutes, I turn on the Vortech, but not the main drive pump, and let the excess food circulate in the water so the corals can feed. Typically the main drive pump is off for several hours as the food is circulated and eaten. The tank also has some leathers, pipe organs, and a clam, so all are getting to feed.
My standard feed is various mixtures of Rod's coral food (not used as much anymore), rotifers, Cyclopeez, Ultra Minf and Ultra Clam. I feed as much of the FM foods as possible.
The last couple of weeks the tank temp has been in the high 70s. The chili doesn't like it warm, but the other two don't seem to mind.
I'm not sure if the Sclero is deteriorating or just going through a phase. I'm used to keeping leathers, so I don't expect corals to be on full display all of the time. Does my diet need to be modified? Don Arndt has suggested Ultra Pac for the dendro. I haven't purchased it yet, but it's on the horizon. Would that also help the Sclero?
Though I'm feeding heavily for extended periods, are the big gaps in feeding an issue?
Would appreciate any feedback.
Gary