Polyp Extension Tips?

[Charlie’s Frags]

My acro polyps extend 5X more in the day than they do at night.

 

[bubbaque]

My acro polyps extend 5X more in the day than they do at night.

Mine too

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

My water is almost splashing out of the tank

 

[Reefnjunkie]

If you want to get polyp extension, add some reef roids, if it does work send me the receipt and I'll refund your money and pay to have you ship the unused portion

Guaranteed

FWIW my Tenius look like millies and I once used to say "I don't know why I don't have any polyp extension"
I already had 60x+ turn over so it wasn't flow (or angels).

Good luck!

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I use reef roids as well. The tenuis absolutely love it

 

[Raptor72]

I use reef roids as well. The tenuis absolutely love it

Do you feed when the lights are on or off?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

On and right before they go off

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

On and right before they go off

I also turn off my return pump for 20 minutes every time I feed

 

[wmwesty]

Yeah everything is nice and shaggy at night but most o my acros have very little day PE, even the ones that have been in the tank for a good 8 months. I have quite a bit of flow in my 20g from the return and 2 mp10 on random mode.

My Acros also withdrew polyps when I introduced a Flame angel took him out and polyp extension really good now
1 clown
1 royal gamma
1 cherub angel
1 starry blennie
1 cleaner shrimp
assorted snails and hermits.

 

[Gribbliest]

I have to agree with the majority of these posts... I'd sump your Angel for a couple of weeks and see if you have an improvement.

I had a Pygmy Flame Angel until last week. I swore he was a 'good boy'.... Then I caught him nibbling my SPS. Then the more I watched him, the more I noticed it. I have unfortunately lost an Oregon Tort and possibly a couple of tenuis - just waiting to see if they recover... I read some people saying it's natural, and happens in the wild, and it's nothing to worry about, I don't agree. Unless you have a large tank, with VERY well established colonies, I think there's just a little too much stress for the smaller corals. I've seen a little yellow clown goby kill an entire acro colony in my last tank, so I would suggest to not assume because it's natural, it's OK in your small piece of the ocean!

Within 24 hours of his removal, I started to see an improvement. It's slow, but the corals are definitely improving. I bought a new millie to watch and see if it continues with great polyp extension or not, if it does, I am hoping to see my others recover fully!

Just my $0.02...

 

[Hans-Werner]

My own personal experience has been that if my PO4 drops below .02 my PE is noticeably reduced. The NO3 doesn't seem to have that big of an effect on PE. I ran a ULN system with 0 NO3 and 0 PO4 and had zero PE. Along with a ton of flow I keep my NO3 between 2 - 5 and PO4 between .03 -.05 and have great PE on everything. My millies look like shag carpets.

Very low phosphate concentrations and high alkalinities reduce polyp extension. Polyp extension is better at moderate phosphate concentations, low alkalinites and with some organic substances in the water. In summary factors that inhibit calcium carbonate precipitation seem to improve polyp extension.

 

[jda]

Very low phosphate concentrations and high alkalinities reduce polyp extension. Polyp extension is better at moderate phosphate concentations, low alkalinites and with some organic substances in the water. In summary factors that inhibit calcium carbonate precipitation seem to improve polyp extension.

Yes. It is harder for them to exchange gas, but I cannot remember the exact reason why. The PE is needed to for the corals to do what they can do more efficiently in different water conditions.

 

[Gmerek2]

Acro power!

 

[Hans-Werner]

With polyp extension the coral is not only regulating gas exchange (for example at night) but also exposure of zooxanthellae to light. When polyps are contracted the zooxanthellae are shading each other and in summary they receive much less light. When polyps are extended the zooxanthellae are exposed to light without shading each other.
If polyps are extended the formation of organic substances that serve as food for the polyps and calcification are maximized. If polyp extension is reduced to regulate down calcification because water is already oversaturated with calcium carbonate also the production of food for the coral animal is reduced. That is the downside of high alkalinities and why high alkalinities with low phosphate concentrations are detrimental to corals.