SPS problem/question

[rica5tully]

I recently moved a few small SPS (monticap, montipora digitata) and LPS (hammer, candy cane) from a large tank into a 20-gallon nano.

The nano has bright, T-5 lighting. I've been very careful to limit feeding to keep nitrates low.

But the corals are not happy. One piece of monti-cap is bleaching and the branching SPS keeps its polyps retracted most of the time (although it is still growing).

I've changed the flow around (there is a lot)
I've moved the bleaching monticap further down to the gravel.
Calcium and alk are both low.

What other reasons might an SPS keep its polyps retracted?

Thanks. It's just frustrating because in my big tank everything was so happy and healthy under low light and high nitrates. Now I've got great equipment and it looks terrible.

 

[Marcus71]

what lighting do you have in the big tank, water flow?

sps is like women, they dont want to go from big to small.

 

[rica5tully]

In the big tank I had PC lighting with dirty glass covers. Now I have a suspended Tek T-5 that is 4 times as bright.

For flow in the new, small tank, I have a Koralia 1 which is aimed at the SPS from the other side of the tank.

 

[Marcus71]

they are probaly in shock, try facing the water flow to go around and not directly at the sps, i am impressed that the sps survived in the pc lighting

 

[rica5tully]

Well, they were really growing and flourishing under PC lighting. I wondered about shock, but it's been several months and I thought shock would happen over the course of a week or two. Since it's been a slow decline, I thought that was not it.

 

[Marcus71]

was the tank you put them new? could be going through the breaking in stage.

 

[zonco]

whats your dkh in the nano?

 

[JRechcygl]

Limit the photo period for a while, or did you?

 

[rica5tully]

Well, I turned off half the T-5 lights so it is dimmer. One orange monti-cap might be looking a little better. But the polyps on the branching SPS have been retracted for about 4 days now. I really don't know what is going on.