New acro frag, poor polyp extension...

[vmacisback]

I just acquired a new blue acro frag. It seems like the 4 other SPS frags I got on the same day from the same store are showing good extension in their polyps. I am wondering why the blue acro is taking longer and not showing any polyps. All on the same frag rack. Any idea how long these take once added to a new system?


Adjusting AI Sol staring at 30% with frags 4 inches up from the bottom

temp: 79
Nitrate.5
phos:0
salinity: 34
DKH: 12
Cal: 410
mag: 1320

 

[Eurobeaner]

salinity is high.......

 

[acroholicreefer]

How long have you had them? Some acros can take a day or two unit they get settled in.

Salinity seems fine.

 

[vmacisback]

I picked it up on Saturday, I can some some very slight polyps or at least i think I can. Can you show me a picture of what a good one with PE is suppose to look like?

Here is mine, sorry for the color.

 

[reefereef]

alk looks a little high to me

 

[vmacisback]

ur right I didnt dose it the last 2 days and it has dropped to 9.8. I am going to try and keep it there and see if I get some better results. I may be over feeding a bit as well. Im going to stop with the over feeding and try and maintain these levels for the next week and see what happens. Maybe the lack of food source may help to extend the polyps. As long as this beauty keeps its color I dont think I can worry.

 

[allsps40]

SG is not high 35ppt is recommended for sps.

 

[rmalone]

Check it at night for pe, some acros just don't have much during the day.

 

[Reef_Noob]

Alkalinity seems high.....but main thing is to keep it stable without fluctuations...

A new coral needs time to settle down in the new enviornment, that itslef is stressful, but if the parameters are fluctuating then its added stress.

IMHO make gradual changes in the parameters and bring it to NSW levels, especially in regards to ALK and pH. Moniter both and avoid big fluctuations (increase or decrease in either)

Polyp extension is arguably not an absolute indicator for coral health...some acros show polyp extension during night only and some during day...it varies.

Hows the circulation/flow around the coral?

Observe your coral...
Since its still retaining colour...and shows no tissue necrosis..i guess u have nothing to worry

 

[qfrisco]

Polyp extension is one of those things about this hobby that just drives me nuts, which sucks because the main reason I fall in love with an SPS frag is because of its polyp extension and color. Many times, I'd buy a frag because of how it looks at the store, bring it home, only to see extension about 1/4 what it had at the store.

I've compared bag water to my DT water, and if anything, my LFS water is worse than mine. For example, one time, my LFS had 1.020 SG (yes, low) compared to mine at 1.026, and PO4 of 2.x (forgot what it was exactly) compared to mine at <0.03.

I did an informal test in my tank on lights (high, medium, low) and flow, moving a frag around, and got no definitive results.

As has been mentioned, polyp extension isn't exactly a sign of good or bad health, but this isn't any consolation, I think. I did try dosing Reef Nutrition's Oyster Eggs, and noticed polyp extension improve by 50%-100%. So maybe there's something there.

Also, do you have any angels (including dwarf angels)? I'm convinced that's part of it, too. I had a coral beauty that I caught and put in my sump for a few weeks, and polyp extension improved within a week.

Hope that helps!

 

[vmacisback]

gfrisco, I am starting to see some very slight PE, I just decided to leave it alone for a few days and let it do its thing. I think some people forget about that sometimes especially when they wanna make something perfect.

I know my parameters are good just trying to hold them steady and will probably be adding a few things like a dosing pump soon to help. Do you know any good tips for checking to see the fluctions per day on how much dosing is needed for Mag,Cal,Alk? I cant seem to get a good read on how much of each I loose per day in order to know how much to dose. No angels just some hungry Tangs.

reef noob, salinity is fine i do know that 1.025-1.026, just tough to keep it there with no ATO working for me. anyway i appreciate the suggestions and concern, just hoping to see some PE in the next week or so.

 

[dunk373]

pick a start point of your alk and cal, brs has a reef calculator test every 5 days to a week if it drops add a bit more. when they grow or you get more you will have to bump it up, i have 200g total volume i dose 120ml alk a day and 100 cal maintains 9.8dkh 450 cal

 

[qfrisco]

I know my parameters are good just trying to hold them steady and will probably be adding a few things like a dosing pump soon to help. Do you know any good tips for checking to see the fluctions per day on how much dosing is needed for Mag,Cal,Alk? I cant seem to get a good read on how much of each I loose per day in order to know how much to dose. No angels just some hungry Tangs.

In my experience, steady parameters don't mean good polyp extension. My params have been rock solid, and I still get nowhere near the amount of extension I see at my LFS. I've read that it might even be less-than-perfect water params that causes good extension. Until we can ask a polyp what gives, we may not ever know!

Regarding fine-tuning your dosing, it's difficult to find out what you're losing per day because our test kits and/or our technique isn't that precise, and you'd see your numbers fluctuate too wildly from day to day. It's better, as dunk373, mentioned, to test your water every few days, say 5-7 days, take a per-day average of your loss, then figure out how much you need to add to your per-day dosage.

It's tricky because until you get close to being dialed in, you'll probably be losing quite a bit over a span of 5-7 days, so you'll have to get your levels right again before doing another 5-7 day test.

Hope that makes sense!

 

[Felixc395]

Just takes time. I was in the same situation. Picked up at efflo not too long ago, probably a week and a half. Put them under my AI's and no polyp extension for the firs week. Now, every day PE gets better and better. Just wait, especially if the coral isn't used to LED lighting. The spectrum and intensity of the AI's are very different and can have a profound affect on the coral, including PE. Hope this helps, good luck!

 

[stingman]

pick a start point of your alk and cal, brs has a reef calculator test every 5 days to a week if it drops add a bit more. when they grow or you get more you will have to bump it up, i have 200g total volume i dose 120ml alk a day and 100 cal maintains 9.8dkh 450 cal

Alk should be tested daily until you can maintain it the same for a long period.