msweeney1994
New member
Hey all, I usually don't post on here often but have been in the hobby for quite some time. I started a 90 gallon mixed reef just over a year ago and am having some issues with polyp extension on my purple Stylo. Sorry if this seems like a lot but im trying to paint the best picture I can.
A few months back I went through a die off with my sps frags and lost nearly all of them while my softs and lps were just fine. Before that time I was doing 10 gallon water changes every 2 weeks, running GFO and carbon in a BRS dual media reactor, dosing NoPox, using red sea's reef energy, and red sea reef foundation to keep Mag, Calc, and Alk in check. I abruptly stopped dosing reef energy but continued dosing everything else along with running the dual reactor. Shortly after stopping the reef energy all sps seemed to bleach. After feeling discouraged for a few months I got my water params back to what I thought was acceptable for an easy sps, and began dosing reef energy, NoPox, reef foundation, and running my dual media reactor and bought a purple stylo from an lfs which had amazing polyp extension and seemed like a very healthy coral.
I start all of my corals on the sand bed and move them up week by week and this stylo has been in my tank for exactly one week now and there has been polyp extension but only on the branches of the coral, none from the main stem and it is not even comparable to what it was in the lfs. Heres the clencher, a few days after the stylo I bought a small frag of bali green slimer and the polyp extension on that is awesome in the same tank and in the same part of the sand bed as the stylo.
water params (tested using Red Sea test kits)
Phos:.04
Nitrate:between 0 and .25
Calc, Alk, and Mag: all good (cant remember exact #'s but I know this isn't the problem)
salinity:1.026
temp:80
I have a grounding probe, maxpect gyre for flow, Ati 8 bulb, reef octopus skimmer(150 I think)
live stock:
Flame Angel (one of the suspects)
3 green chromis
2 coris wrasses
2 skunk cleaner
3 emerald
some hermits and turbos
3 strawberry chonchs for sandbed
why isn't the stylo doing well?
Also a side note, the flame angel seemed awfully curious the first day the stylo was put in but I don't really see him nipping on it. and I also started feeding oyster feast every 3 days or so. I just want to make sure theres not something that I am doing that is causing this coral to retract. its not losing color at all either
A few months back I went through a die off with my sps frags and lost nearly all of them while my softs and lps were just fine. Before that time I was doing 10 gallon water changes every 2 weeks, running GFO and carbon in a BRS dual media reactor, dosing NoPox, using red sea's reef energy, and red sea reef foundation to keep Mag, Calc, and Alk in check. I abruptly stopped dosing reef energy but continued dosing everything else along with running the dual reactor. Shortly after stopping the reef energy all sps seemed to bleach. After feeling discouraged for a few months I got my water params back to what I thought was acceptable for an easy sps, and began dosing reef energy, NoPox, reef foundation, and running my dual media reactor and bought a purple stylo from an lfs which had amazing polyp extension and seemed like a very healthy coral.
I start all of my corals on the sand bed and move them up week by week and this stylo has been in my tank for exactly one week now and there has been polyp extension but only on the branches of the coral, none from the main stem and it is not even comparable to what it was in the lfs. Heres the clencher, a few days after the stylo I bought a small frag of bali green slimer and the polyp extension on that is awesome in the same tank and in the same part of the sand bed as the stylo.
water params (tested using Red Sea test kits)
Phos:.04
Nitrate:between 0 and .25
Calc, Alk, and Mag: all good (cant remember exact #'s but I know this isn't the problem)
salinity:1.026
temp:80
I have a grounding probe, maxpect gyre for flow, Ati 8 bulb, reef octopus skimmer(150 I think)
live stock:
Flame Angel (one of the suspects)
3 green chromis
2 coris wrasses
2 skunk cleaner
3 emerald
some hermits and turbos
3 strawberry chonchs for sandbed
why isn't the stylo doing well?
Also a side note, the flame angel seemed awfully curious the first day the stylo was put in but I don't really see him nipping on it. and I also started feeding oyster feast every 3 days or so. I just want to make sure theres not something that I am doing that is causing this coral to retract. its not losing color at all either
