Help please with polyp exstension.

[justy]

Hi i wonder if anybody could offer an opinion on poor polyp exstension.
I have three main suspects a file fish, asterina star fish or urchin bumping into corals.
I've had poor polyp exstension for over a year.
Any thoughts?

 

[Jmareef1022]

Could me many things from lighting, flow, water chemistry etc.. Have any pics of your corals. An asterina or urchin bumping into corals shouldn't really effect they p.e on corals maybe for a minute but that's about it.

Jose

 

[Dsnakes]

That could be due to any of the above as well as the other factors stated by @Jmareef1022

For starters, have you checked at night? Some will only show real extension at night. Do you feed your corals or use any dosing?

 

[Waters]

Probably not due to the urchin or starfish...my tank has both....even if they were bothering the coral, it would be short term. Are the coral growing at all? What are your phosphate, nitrate, ALK, and Ca levels at?

 

[justy]

Hi thanks for the responses.
Lighting two hydra 26, phosphates vary from 0.5 down to current levels 0.024.
Nitrate 4.0
I have good flow, some acros growing ok some hybernating. Red planet only acro with decent polyps.

 

[justy]

More thoughts just looked at the tank in the dark and polyp exstension is much better.
I also have a lot of discosma mushrooms can they cause acros to have poor pe?
Or is the file fish a likely candidate?
Thanks again.

 

[KrisReef]

My corals extend more when I feed with coral food, or scrape off the coralline growing on the glass.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Is your flow steady or pulsing? Are you using gfo to drop your po4 down? What are your hydra settings?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Is your flow blowing your sand all over the tank?

 

[Nick blinkin]

Your tank looks amazing. And I’m wondering more of lighting than flow. But that’s the keyboard doctor talking.

 

[justy]

Hi
Hydras, Tony rogers setting only been on two weeks but pe issue long running.
Flow, Jeboa on else setting, tunze on constant.
No gfo but i use lanthanum chloride 3ml every over day.
Thanks for your help keep it coming.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

What size is the tank and have you checked your par? My PE went crazy when I cranked up my hydras. I have 2 52 HD’s on a 50 gallon cube. BRS ab+ clone with 100 watts per fixture

 

[justy]

Plenty of par tank roughly a 30" cube 300ltrs.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I can tell you have plenty. Your acros look great im the pics. What kind of tank is it? I’ve been looking for a shallow 30” cube

 

[justy]

Hi its just a custom build job nothing special.
I've removed the file fish about a week ago, so I will monitor pe to see if it improves.