Pipe Organ Coral Question

[SaltyMcAfee]

Hi there! I’m new to Reef2Reef I’ve had my 10 Gallon reef going for about 6 or 7 months now and I have 4 different types of corals going, the Xenia, GSP, and Zoanthid are all doing great! For some reason my Pipe organ coral though is not all that great, it opens up a little bit but doesn’t fully bloom as you would say. Anybody have any ideas what the issue could be? Ive got a saltwater test kit coming in today to get water parameters and such which will tell me more, but I’m just wondering if anyone here has a few ideas just to give me an idea. Thanks in advance!!
Alec

 

[reef lover]

They can be finicky...need enough flow to keep detritus from settling among them but not too much as to damage the polyps on the sharp skeleton. I would keep trying new spots until you find its happy spot.

 

[SaltyMcAfee]

They can be finicky...need enough flow to keep detritus from settling among them but not too much as to damage the polyps on the sharp skeleton. I would keep trying new spots until you find its happy spot.

Thank you for the response!! Great to know! I have a new power head coming in tomorrow that should help get rid of any tiny dead spots, any tips on good gph to shoot for in a 10 gallon reef?

 

[reef lover]

Never done a nano...but the smallest you can find most likely.

 

[Salt1823]

Pipe organs are picky about flow and light. At least my two are. They get upset if it's not just right. I agree with Reef lover move them until you find there happy spot. They will tell you

 

[SaltyMcAfee]

Awesome responses thank you guys! You were right! I have a custom LED set up that the other corals are loving but the pipe organ wasn’t having it, so I had to move him to a shadier spot in the tank! It’s doing great now! I knew it was my parameters as they are all looking great so thanks for helping me track down the problem!

 

[SaltyMcAfee]

Pipe organs are picky about flow and light. At least my two are. They get upset if it's not just right. I agree with Reef lover move them until you find there happy spot. They will tell you

Thanks for the replies! Y’all were right! I had a custom led set up that the other corals are loving but the pipe organ was having none of it lol. I moved him to a much shadier spot and he came out within the hour! Thanks for the help!

 

[Xandernfs]

That's interesting that you say that because my pipe organ like a lot of flow and a lot of light. That stuff grows like crazy in my tank! They like clean water too.

 

[bill120reef]

Hows your alk? I had one that wouldnt open and it turned out my alk was low.

 

[RichReef]

Hows your alk? I had one that wouldnt open and it turned out my alk was low.

Ditto. Once I put my ALK in line they boomed. Constantly trimming.

 

[Nikita1981]

I think it's not finicky at all. Grows like a weed in all parts of the tank, high or low light and flow. It is also very tolerant of high nutrients here.

The biggest issue to me is its fragility. It's so brittle it seems to break as soon as I look at it. All the small parts grow into frags so it pops up everywhere in the tank. Good luck and try to keep it in one piece.

 

[madweazl]

Ours grows like a weed and it drives me nuts. I've given away two softball size pieces now. I was hoping to be rid of it but some grew onto my aquascape and you cant kill it. I mash it to bits frequently and within a day or two, tiny polyps show back up. Our tank is SPS dominant with two MP40s running at 100% (75g tank) so I certainly wouldn't say they need or prefer low flow rates. The last large piece was also dead center in our tank and getting about 300 PAR so they can handle higher levels (yours may have come from a lower intensity tank and needed an adjustment period though).

My advice, isolate it from the rest of the rock and dont let it touch anything. You can go from an inch to basketball size in a year. Since you have a 10g, I'd recommend re-homing it altogether.

 

[Salt1823]

Mine loves high nutrient and is in the upper 3rd of my tank. It just doesn't like to be moved around in the flow and lighting. It does grow very fast. Take your frags to lfs to trade. My tank is LPS and soft coral so I don't mind the spread. I love the flowy movement it makes.

 

[Vteclover]

What type pipe organ coral ? There are many different with different needs
This one for me is a very slow grower and likes high light
Its the only one i have