ORA Coral Struggles

[JaaxReef]

So, every sps I’ve purchased from LiveAquaria that I got from ORA seems to struggle in my tank. Birdsnest and stylos specifically. I have a couple acros and montis that are growing well and have great colors but the corals I’ve purchased from Ora slowly pale out and eventually start to stn and it’s mainly corals I get from them. I hear they are grown in a greenhouse under sunlight so maybe they just don’t adapt well to my tank?

My alk has been stable right around 9 for the last 6 months with only tiny variances and I definitely don’t have low nutrients: 16ppm NO3 and .15 PO4. So I know they are not starving. Tank is only 10 months old, but I’m having growth, color, and success with other sps from my LFS or other online vendors so I don’t think my tank isn’t ready for them yet.

I’m not frying them with PAR either. My mixed tank gets about 250 on top of the rocks and 100-120 on the sand bed. They have always been placed somewhere in the 150 range to start and seem to do okay then pale and stn later...

Thoughts?

 

[P-Dub]

My thoughts... Don't buy from them again.

 

[JaaxReef]

My thoughts... Don't buy from them again.

Probably just not a good fit for my tank... I love their stuff, but maybe I’ll stick to my LFS, TSA, Legendary Corals, and WWC. Always have good experiences with their corals.

 

[Nick Steele]

That’s weird ORA’s corals are usually pretty hardy.

 

[melanotaenia]

Probably suffering from lack of light.

ORA corals generally do well for me as they are larger than most frags sold. I have lost very few from them; I generally keep them at high PAR however (400+)

 

[melanotaenia]

My thoughts... Don't buy from them again.

ORA has been around for a long time and knows what they are doing in the SPS arena; I would hardly blame them for the problems the OP is encountering.

 

[driftin]

Do orders from LA get shipped directly by ORA, or do they come from a LA facility?

 

[melanotaenia]

If you order from the ORA section of LA they ship directly from the ORA farm in FL. If you purchase through DD on LA then they come from WI. I always prefer to order direct from ORA if possible.

 

[JaaxReef]

Probably suffering from lack of light.

ORA corals generally do well for me as they are larger than most frags sold. I have lost very few from them; I generally keep them at high PAR however (400+Definitely could be the case.

Probably suffering from lack of light.

ORA corals generally do well for me as they are larger than most frags sold. I have lost very few from them; I generally keep them at high PAR however (400+)

400+ is more than my lights would put out at full blast in my mixed tank. I could maybe get 300 at the top rocks if I cranked them up more. Could definitely most be a lack of light if that’s what ORA corals are used to...

Interesting how the sps from other vendors do just fine and color up in my tank and grow though.

 

[JaaxReef]

If you order from the ORA section of LA they ship directly from the ORA farm in FL. If you purchase through DD on LA then they come from WI. I always prefer to order direct from ORA if possible.

Got them directly from ORA. Not DD.

 

[JaaxReef]

That’s weird ORA’s corals are usually pretty hardy.

my understanding was the same. Probably a lack of light. I’m on the low end for sps for sure at 250 where my acros are.

 

[ATAquariums]

Ora is using daylight, which can reach crazy high par numbers. A local guy here farms corals outdoors and can reach 1000 plus in summer days. Beyond that, I imagine there is something chemically lacking that is causing these specific corals to not thrive.

 

[JaaxReef]

Ora is using daylight, which can reach crazy high par numbers. A local guy here farms corals outdoors and can reach 1000 plus in summer days. Beyond that, I imagine there is something chemically lacking that is causing these specific corals to not thrive.

So ORA is really more Maricultured than aquacultured, since they aren’t used to aquarium lighting. Might be a bit of a shock going down to the low par in my tanks. I also don’t run a ton of white....

What would you say is chemically lacking? Maybe just bacterial maturity since the tank is under a year old? I have acros and montis growing very well that I got from other vendors... so I’d be curious to know what you are thinking.

 

[ATAquariums]

So ORA is really more Maricultured than aquacultured, since they aren’t used to aquarium lighting. Might be a bit of a shock going down to the low par in my tanks. I also don’t run a ton of white....

What would you say is chemically lacking? Maybe just bacterial maturity since the tank is under a year old? I have acros and montis growing very well that I got from other vendors... so I’d be curious to know what you are thinking.

Still aquaculture. It’s a closed system, maricultures benefits from all the benefits and stability of the ocean. An icp test will be able to provide that info.

 

[melanotaenia]

I still think it is PAR especially if you are having luck with other frags from vendors who are running LED or T5 at lower outputs; ORA corals in my experience are not happy unless they are being blasted with light.

As a frame of reference I have an ORA Hawkins that has doubled in size in the last six months; it is probably getting about 450-500 PAR in my tank.

 

[JaaxReef]

I still think it is PAR especially if you are having luck with other frags from vendors who are running LED or T5 at lower outputs; ORA corals in my experience are not happy unless they are being blasted with light.

As a frame of reference I have an ORA Hawkins that has probably doubled in size in the last six months; it is probably getting about 450-500 PAR in my tank.

Definitely sounds like light is too low. I have too many other healthy corals growing a looking good for it to be a major chemical issue and my parameters have been pretty good and very stable.

 

[P-Dub]

ORA has been around for a long time and knows what they are doing in the SPS arena; I would hardly blame them for the problems the OP is encountering.

@melanotaenia Was I blaming? I was not. The OP stated all corals from ORA have not done well in his system. Don't buy from them. Not because they provide poor quality corals, they simply do not do well in his system. Simple as that.

 

[JaaxReef]

So... quick update. I did start slowly increasing my lights and the struggling ORA sps I had are starting to color up and grow! I’m betting on low light now too given the improvement seen now.

 

[P-Dub]

So... quick update. I did start slowly increasing my lights and the struggling ORA sps I had are starting to color up and grow! I’m betting on low light now too given the improvement seen now.

Thanks for the update.