optic fibre refuses to grow.

[evolutionZ]

hi fellas, its been about 2 -3months since i had this frag of optic fibre pocci.. from day 1 till now, it didnt grow at all, not a single bit..

Here's a pic


My tank's 65g.. i have lots of other sps and mots of them grow well.. my lime green pocci grows pretty fast too.. i have stable parameters too

No3 : 2.5ppm
po4 : 0ppm
ca : 420ppm
kh :8.2dkh
mg : 1320ppm

Lighting's definitely not an issue.. i dont see any pest too.. anyone able to explain?

Thanks.

 

[redcable]

Mine grows so fast, seems that it liked a strong intermittent flow....

 

[Wills612]

mine likes high flow and one of my fastest growers under my Vega Blues.

 

[UTCReefer]

I have a Poccillapora likes to spawn constantly and is trying to take over my DT. Maybe try moving it to a different location. It doenst look unhealthy and I havent seen any pests that attack poccillaporas yet. Some corals are just super slow in the beginning but then explode at some point.

 

[Stolireef]

I'm curious about the flow as well. My poci is in a higher flow area and is a slow grower. Stylo right next to it grows like a weed. It's odd.

 

[evolutionZ]

thanks guys! i totally forgot about flow.. its smack right in the middle.. with both wavemakers on the left and right.. recent SPS addition around it might have blocked the flow a little..

 

[epicurus84]

mine is in quite high flow. And really low lights (my zoa's require more light). As soon as it settled it started to grow quite fast.

 

[rovster]

Mine grows like a weed. VERY high flow and light.

 

[evolutionZ]

i guess i'll shift it to a higher flow area.. it currently receives medium flow. thanks!

 

[Aqualund]

Lighting's definitely not an issue.. i dont see any pest too.. anyone able to explain?

Are you sure? You may have too much light, or not enough of the right spectrum. According to this study:

Pocillopora damicornis

Growth of P. damicornis was highly variable, and varied from -0.004 to 0.005 day-1 (or -0.4 to 0.5% day-1). The survival rate was 50%; all corals under LED died after several months. A significant effect of spectrum on growth was found, in contrast to irradiance (Table 1), with higher growth under LEP at all irradiance levels (F1,30=8.903, P=0.006, F1,30=7.023, P=0.013, and F1,30=8.279, P=0.007, respectively). No interaction between spectrum and irradiance was found. Highest growth was achieved under LEP, regardless of irradiance. Growth under LEP was most efficient at an irradiance of 40-60 µmol m-2 s-1.

link: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/2/aafeature

Yeah i looked at the leds they used for the study. Only white/blue ratio. I imagine there is a particular spectrum outside of the white/blue combo of LED fixtures that pocillipora requires.

For me personally I have never had success with pocillipora...this was until i did full spectrum led lighting, now they take over my tank. I am inclined to think UV is what does it, as i have friends with Kessils and sucessful pocilliporas. Kessils have a great multichip with a UV component along the blue and whites.

Try a supplemental UV strip!

 

[evolutionZ]

i use maxspect razor 160w 16k which is full spectrum and does have True violets ( 420nm) in them. i have lime green pocci which are doing great and grows prety fast. i shifted the optic fibre to a higher flow area. i'll update again in a couple weeks!

 

[Aqualund]

i use maxspect razor 160w 16k which is full spectrum and does have True violets ( 420nm) in them. i have lime green pocci which are doing great and grows prety fast. i shifted the optic fibre to a higher flow area. i'll update again in a couple weeks!

I hope that works for ya man!

420nm is close to UV, but it's a little bit shy. the wavelength range is actually 100-400nm, the difference in energy per photon between 400nm and 420nm is pretty significant when talking about millions of photons.

 

[evolutionZ]

i thought corals don't use UV (below 400nm) and it is harmful to them? the peak absorption is at 410 - 420nm isnt it?

 

[Aqualund]

Peak absorption? Yes, I think that's the case, but I cant remember where I read it. Additionally, if that's a range, at 420nm your starting at the end and missing the entirety of the range.

Harmful? Well yeah if you use nothing but UV...that would be harmful. But if you look at spectral readings of light wavelengths in the ocean it is very much there.

 

[evolutionZ]

Peak absorption? Yes, I think that's the case, but I cant remember where I read it. Additionally, if that's a range, at 420nm your starting at the end and missing the entirety of the range.

Harmful? Well yeah if you use nothing but UV...that would be harmful. But if you look at spectral readings of light wavelengths in the ocean it is very much there.

thanks for the explanation