hey i was wondering what would help bring the polyps of sps fully come out. my dkh is 11 my ph is 8.3 and phos and nitrate's are 0 my calcium has never really ever been higher than 420 and the salinity is 1.025 apporximatly.
polyp's not fully coming out
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hopefully we can help you after you post more info
Also, what type of fish do you keep in your tank?
wingman1234
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i have a 90 gallon tank with 2x250 sunpods with 14k or 15k xm bulb with 4 65 w 50/50 pc bulbs. for flow i have a reeflo dart pumping in about 2800 gallons through 4 (3/4") ports two seio 820 pumps and a rio plus 1400 in side the tank. i also have a 55g tank that has a mesh filter pad and bio balls and a section that is about 20 gallons dedicated to just kelp calupa or how ever u spell it. i have a skimmer rated for a 220. i also treated for red bugs like a little over a month ago. but even with red bugs they were not this short or non existant. for corals i have monti's for all of them look great and are not affected at all as well as the birdsnest types. the most acropora closed of like an ora boreallis, valida, fuzzy yelllow acro, a blue bottle brush is the same as well, all the millies are closed. most the corals are at from 8 to 12 in from the surface. tang police stay away. i have two blue hippos that have never fought or picked on any other thing in the tank. a purple tang and yellow. a potter's wrasse, carpenters wrasse, 3 neon gobies, 1 pearly jaw fish, a pair of true percula's.
wingman1234
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i liked fish it i used to have more but i gave them away because they ganged up on the potters wrasse. i used to have yellow corris wrasse, a neon dotty back, six line wrasse, and a lemon peel angel ( he was great for 6 months until one day he ate an entire povona colony.
Wingman with that many fish you are either starving your fish or it is very likely your nitrate and phos test kits are bad if they are reading 0.
I have a 92 gallon tank with 130 gallons of sump and frag tank in addition and also run a Orca 250 on my system. Point is I have two tangs a hippo and a scopas, two clown fish and 4 green chromis. My phosphates still read between .05 and .03 and I use zeo.
All that said my experience with polyp extension is all about stabiliy, assuming you truely don't have any nipping fish. I'd check:
1) Good flow.... high flow low velocity is the key to much velocity and it will have a negative affect on PE.
2) Constant Temp... how much is your temperature chaning in a day. I keep mine within 2 degrees
3) Constant Alk and Salinity.... what are you using to add CA and Alk? and is it causing large swings? Do you ahve an auto top off or are you pouring in 10 gallons of ro/di at a time?
Just some things to look at and hopefully you can provide us with more details about your setup.
I have a 92 gallon tank with 130 gallons of sump and frag tank in addition and also run a Orca 250 on my system. Point is I have two tangs a hippo and a scopas, two clown fish and 4 green chromis. My phosphates still read between .05 and .03 and I use zeo.
All that said my experience with polyp extension is all about stabiliy, assuming you truely don't have any nipping fish. I'd check:
1) Good flow.... high flow low velocity is the key to much velocity and it will have a negative affect on PE.
2) Constant Temp... how much is your temperature chaning in a day. I keep mine within 2 degrees
3) Constant Alk and Salinity.... what are you using to add CA and Alk? and is it causing large swings? Do you ahve an auto top off or are you pouring in 10 gallons of ro/di at a time?
Just some things to look at and hopefully you can provide us with more details about your setup.
Acronuts
Well-Known Member
Would too high of a level in alk cause polyps to retract or not fully extend?
current level 3.50meq/9.8dkh
Would nitrates at around 15 to 20 be a better bet as to less polyp espansion?
current level 3.50meq/9.8dkh
Would nitrates at around 15 to 20 be a better bet as to less polyp espansion?
xrayrider
Active Member
I agree with a lot that bkv1997 said. Stability is very important in polyp expansion. Nitrates I doubt. I have always been able to acheive 0 nitrates with a deep sand bed, and a refugium full of macroalgae. However, keeping phosphates down is a whole other matter. What test kit are you using to test for phosphates? Most are completely worthless. Merc and a couple of others in the $100 range actually have enough resalution to be useful in a marine aquarium, but API, and most of the cheeper brands are so slow to register phosphates, that the levels have to be way above acceptable levels just to register on the kit. You will definately see problems with growth rate, color, and polyp extention with elevated, or fluctuating phosphate levels. High alk levels may cause this, but it is not very likely your cause, in my unprofessional hobbiest oponion.
steve99999
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Try a water test from aquariumwatertesting.com.....40.00.......IF EVERYTHING is ok try look at them at night.....if feeder polyps are open just add some food......oystereggs at night......some volka only 1 ml during the day will open them up......
wingman1234
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that is a good point about the phosphate test. i add about a gallon or two of RO water everynight i dont have an auto top off system. and for calcium i test my calcium every two or three days and add what is needed i use the turbo calcium from kent i do the same for alkalinity but i just add about a quater tea spoon per day. should i just run a phosphate reactor while i send a sample off. and i heard i should try running carbon too.
revaltion131
Active Member
I agree with those thinking that it could be an alk stability issue. I would try testing for it once before going to be, then again in the morning before work or if you have the option, shortly after the MHs come on. See if it's stable or if it's swinging overnight. Also, what kit are you using to test alk?
Lamotte makes a great alk test kit, and its been the most accurate one i have used to date....i use salifert for magnesium, and elos for calcium....also, keep in mind that it cant hurt to take multiple readings from different test kits to assure accuracy.
Wingman I'd suggest getting a Tropic Marine alk test kit. They also make a CA/Mg combined kit. Very easy and accurate, but there are also numerous others on the market. I'd try to go for higher grade (Salifert, Lamotte, TM, etc).test kits than API... just my 2 cents, but i consider those more appropriate for fish only setups..
My guess from the sounds of what you are describing is it is a stability issue. Adding water and supplements every few days is going to cause spikes and valleys in your parameters. Try looking at ways to increase stability... Ca/Rx and autotop off.
If money is an issue setup a 30 gallon trash can full of RO/DI with Kalk get a cheap aqualifter and put a valve to dial it back to a slow drip and drop it in the sump. This will also help to precipitate Phosphates.
I've been doing this a while and there are alot of variables and no magic answer, however if i were you thats where I'd start looking to make changes.
Hope this helps.
Brandon
steve99999
Community Member
Why take a shot in the dark with all types of guesses .....40.00 test your water first from awt......dont think for a moment if you have very depressed levels of potassium or very high levels of copper .....do you get the piont......test with awt first make sure every thing is in line......THere are many things in your water supply/salt that can become toxic....plyops closing up is the first sign of toxity.....dont think people realize how easy it is to get elevated levels of copper or manganese or any other things.....
