Coral ID/Radion power

[Medical_Reef]

Hello Reefers!

First post here, stalked for a while. I was hoping to get an ID on a potential leather (finger?), some tips for care and then general Radion guidelines.

Pictures for coral are posted below. When he first went in the tank 3 days ago he was a lot taller and had some nice polyp extension. Color has varied from dark purple to the current maroon. My snail won’t leave him alone, so I’m just hoping that’s not a bad sign.

On a different note, I have an XR30 gen3 pro mounted 10 inches about my nuvo 20, no par meter, would love some advice for percentages

 

[bsn_rn_cen]

I struggled deciding on settings when I upgraded to radions. I read a wide variety of opinions. Decided to 4 week ramp up to 60% and adjust from there. So far everything is going well. There are some pros on here that can offer better insight I'm sure. Welcome to reef2reef.

 

[Medical_Reef]

Thanks! Ideally I'd track down a PAR meter from a local to borrow, but we'll see how that goes. Initially I wasn't going for a radion, doing all this on a student budget, but found a gen2 that needed new pucks for $50, so couldn't pass it up. More light than I need for a nuvo 20 probably, but at ~$225 for a gen3 pro after the repair, I had to do it.

 

[bsn_rn_cen]

Yeah cant blame you for picking it up

 

[Medical_Reef]

Bump for coral ID. He looked real bad last couple days, but polyps have started to come back out. I am trying to decide if the lights are too strong though? The coral seems to shrink down during the day and get darker, then colors up and extends polyps as the lights dim.

Again, any help with ID and care guide is appreciated.

 

[Medical_Reef]

Plot twist. Appears to be nocturnal. From my brief google search, does this mean I have a chili cactus coral (Nephthyigorgia) on my hands?

 

[cristata.reef]

Plot twist. Appears to be nocturnal. From my brief google search, does this mean I have a chili cactus coral (Nephthyigorgia) on my hands?

Yes, those are super super hard to keep. Make sure you are feeding it lots of phyto and other particulate foods. Also hang it upside down in a dark area

 

[Medical_Reef]

Yes, those are super super hard to keep. Make sure you are feeding it lots of phyto and other particulate foods. Also hang it upside down in a dark area

Thank you for the confirmation. I had no intentions of bringing an NPS home thats for sure, but he hitchhiked in on a zoo/mushroom/gsp rock I broke up. Picked up some coralific delite at the LFS tonight and am about to hang him under a rock. How specific are the flow requirements? I don't have a ton of flow in the tank at the moment.

 

[cristata.reef]

Thank you for the confirmation. I had no intentions of bringing an NPS home thats for sure, but he hitchhiked in on a zoo/mushroom/gsp rock I broke up. Picked up some coralific delite at the LFS tonight and am about to hang him under a rock. How specific are the flow requirements? I don't have a ton of flow in the tank at the moment.

Not super sure. I'm sure someone might be able to provide some more insight. Maybe post again but under the name chili coral and ask for care tips