Purple Monster frag not showing up?

[FishPharm]

My PM has been in my tank for about two months and only the tips are purple. Havenââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t seen much growth, in fact its size hasnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t changed so far as I can tell. Color hasnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t changed. My friendââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s monster is a very intense purple, from which I acquired a small frag as a gift.

I have mine up high and in moderate flow area. Lighting is 250 DE 20K for 10 hr photoperiod.
Water parameters are where they should be. I have cheato, use carbon, ozone, rowasphos, weekly water changes of 10%. What gives?

 

[JmLee]

what is your water params and what kelven does your friend run in hes lighting.

 

[FishPharm]

Salinity = 1.025
Alk = 8.5 dKh
Ca = 450
Nitrate = 0
Mag = 1450
PO4 = 0

Friend runs 10k XM's
I have Aqualine 20k

 

[jjackson]

I am pretty sure that it is a Super slow grower... and the fact he has 10k's has alot to do with his color and growth

I have a 2" frag in my tank that I doubt has grown but a 1/16 of an inch in a month

 

[FishPharm]

James,

How long did it take for your PM to color up?

 

[fishypets]

Give it time. It took my P.M. frag four months to color up and grow maybe 3/4 inch. Don't get in a hurry with this frag. Most colonies you see took years to reach size. Your nutrients in your tank could also be lower than your friends causing the color difference.

HTH

 

[FishPharm]

Patience......hmmmm. Well if this don't sound familar.

OK. So, are you saying that too much nutrients taken out of the water could cause the acro to not have enough to eat, ie particulate matter. I was more worried about too much nutrients. Hence all the various components to assist/rid my tank of those nasties.

Is it possible I could go too far in the other direction?

 

[fishypets]

I went in the wrong direction. I was one of those who thought good water and good light = sps success. I had heathy corals but most were lacking color. I started feeding rotifers, oyster eggs, and mixture of fresh blended shrimp, mussel and clam. Since my color has come to live and overall my tank is much healthier. I just make sure my skimmer is set to wet and dump it once a day. I'm sure there will be some who say it is not necessary to feed but I know what worked with me.

Clint

HTH

 

[JmLee]

Well in most peoples experiences. Alot of SPS will grow faster in the 10,000k Range compared to the 20,000k range. The change in color is probally due to the change in Kelvens or even inproper lighting acclimation ( dont get offended by this ). Give it a few months and see if the color changes. Good luck!

 

[FishPharm]

No offence taken..... Just trying to get a sense for what may be happening. I wasn't aware that PM may grow slower than some other stonies. Just wanted to compare notes. Thanx.

Thanx Clint....I have heard about oyster eggs. Wasn't sure if they were out on the market. Will look into finding some.

 

[ctreefer]

Too early to tell, but I picked up a PM frag 1 month ago which was pretty brown as a result of PC lighting, but so far it has reacted well to my tank. I have about 1/8" growth on the tips that's a decent color purple. I have to work on feeding my tank more as most of my frags are on the pale side.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know the actual name for the Purple Monster?

thanks

 

[Sullivmw]

Friend runs 10k XM's
I have Aqualine 20k [/B]

Just an fyi, there can be a significant difference between the output of a 10K bulb and a 20K. Using Sanjay's info, here is an example using an PFO ballast :

XM 10K (SE) - 182 PPFD

Aqualine 20k (DE) - 57 PPFD

This is just an example since I do not know yours or your friends combo, but this could greatly affect the color and growth.

 

[Hal]

I believe the PM is an Acropora Valida.