Red Planet Issues

[Mercury2234]

Hello,
About 3 weeks ago, I purchased a Red Planet / California Blue tort frag for $25 for both.
I could see the Red Planet didnt look in the greatest of shape, but considering it was only $25 for both, I said "why not?"

My parameters seems to be stable (420Cal, 8alk, 1300mag, 0 Nitrate, .08 Phos (trying to lower))
I do have Pink and Green Birdnest, which seem to be thriving with lots of PE.

I recently bumped up the lighting (one SOL AI for 40g hex tank) from 40% to 55% spacing out from over 2 weeks.

Tank has been set up for about 8 months or so.

Red Planet seems to be getting med/high flow and is at the top of the tank.
I did notice though recently for the first time, I can see SLIGHT PE from it, but the coral is still very pale, color wise.
I did take the Slight PE as a positive news.

Any ideas, on how to bring it back to health? Should I continue to bump up the lighting? Increase Alk? Reduce Flow? etc...or just let it be?

Thanks for stopping by,
HC

 

[Finland]

I have a red planet that took forever to start growing. Sat there like pale lump with no pe for the longest time. I ended up lowering it to mid tank and after about a month it's growth took off. May be coincidence about lowering it, but now it grows pretty fast with great color. The original frag never grew, but branches shot up out of the encrusted part.

 

[Froggy]

I did a number on a red planet frag over a year ago. As a result it paled out and just sat there dormant with no sign of ANY growth. This went on for a good nine months. I left it alone and finally it started showing more polyp extension and color. Over the last 2-3 months, my red planet has become one of my faster growers and is getting more red each month. It is a coral that grew a large base 1st once it woke up before it grew vertically and branched out. It is a consistent grower for me now and I look forward to the next year of growth. IMO/IME a mad red planet stays mad for quite a while and then is a pretty fast grower once they forgive. :hmm4:

Joe

 

[Mercury2234]

9 MONTHS!??? Wow.. Thats a big if too, no? I was debating just getting a whole colony already, since I had this for 3-4 weeks, and just now just seeing SLIGHT PE. No crusting...

Honestly though, part of me is wanting to see if I can salvage this.

 

[Nano sapiens]

This is one coral that is really sensitive if it is in a spot it doesn't like (light and flow issues). I had originally placed my frag in a location that receives 185 PAR (LED) and strong, intermittent flow. It just sit there, faded and then parts totally bleached.

Here's what mine looked like @ 185 PAR (LEDs) after 6 months:

...and only two weeks later on the sand bed at a mere 85 PAR:

Obviously, it still has a ways to go, but the change was dramatic.

Good luck!