Purple monster

Abhishek · Jul 10, 2017

vuqchu said:
Ah ok. Mine is mid way under ATI T5. Reason I asked is that when I ran it with high nutrient, polyps on the body would be green and the tips would be white. But under lower nutrients then all the polyps would be white and body would be lighter purple. I like the deeper color look with higher nutrients on this one. You can also see the sheen green looking on the body too depending on lighting which is kinda cool. Especially is it's straight actinic LEDs.

Interesting observation !! The reason I started this conversation
Room is because of my PM being browned out but showing slight green sheen as you described . Also I am running reef britebtech leds for longer duration which might be contributing to the green sheen as you described .
I should reduce that reef brite duration and see if it makes any difference .
Also need to lower nutrients to see any effect and get purple coloration now I believe .

Regards,
Abhishek

Abhishek · Jul 10, 2017

Ibn said:
OG PM acquired in January of this year. Came from a ULNS with no fish in it. Nice white polyps on the terminal tips.

Here it is taken in late June, so about 5 months of growth in total. Lost the white polyps. Hopefully it comes back once this frag grows larger.

What par and nutrient levels are you keeping ?

Ibn · Jul 10, 2017

It's sitting in 275 PAR (measured via Apogee MQ-200) in its current location. Haven't checked nutrients in awhile but I do feed heavily, 4-5 cubes daily, with the large amount of fish in the tank.

Coronus · Jul 10, 2017

Is it the consensus that Unique Corals does not have the original PM?
They advertise it to be but then say they obtained it from someone and they are not sure ofcthe lineage.

Dana Riddle · Jul 10, 2017

We had no problem maintaining the PM at Aquatic Wildlife, but we blasted it with light (PAR - 900, using Iwaskai 400w DL lamps) and had surge flow (dump bucket.) We bought a fist-sized colony for $40.

Mattrg02 · Jul 10, 2017

Dang, I had a mini colony of this years ago when I first got into sps corals. Had no idea what it was and got it super cheap, like $20. It sure was hard to keep alive...Browned out after a few weeks and then pulled a rtn months later.

Never cared much for it. Had I known what this was...

Matt

Dana Riddle · Jul 11, 2017

I posted this link in the Lighting Forum the other day, still pertinent although it was published 10 years ago. Some lighting info on the Purple Monster...
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/10/aafeature2

Big E · Jul 11, 2017

This is about 375 par under T5

Too high and it can get pastel & lose the purple velvet sheen. The colors don't really shine till you get a good growing colony.

Abhishek, your growth looks good to me, I'd leave it where it's at.

Abhishek · Jul 11, 2017

Big E said:
This is about 375 par under T5

Too high and it can get pastel & lose the purple velvet sheen. The colors don't really shine till you get a good growing colony.

Abhishek, your growth looks good to me, I'd leave it where it's at.

I was hoping you would chime in Ed. It's amazing the colors you can pull of it .
Regarding PAR , it's receiving currently 400-450 and slowly encrusting .
I am in the midst of changes in my halides but will follow your suggestion and leave it as is .

Regards,
Abhishek

OrionN · Jul 12, 2017

My two Purple Monster. The one in the back, in front of my Red Dragon is the OG PM.

Abhishek · Jul 12, 2017

OrionN said:
My two Purple Monster. The one in the back, in front of my Red Dragon is the OG PM.

Love it !! Could you share some details how long you had it, what parameters are they kept in ?

Regards,
Abhishek

OrionN · Jul 12, 2017

I don't measure my water much. Salinity is at 35 ppt. I try to keep Mag at 1400+ and Ca at 400+ Alkalinity at about 3.75. These buys are under very high light. Right under my Radion G3 Pro at 100% for 10 hrs per day and under very good flow. My other Acro grow fast but the PM grow very slow. 6 month ago they barely have any branches, now, as you can see they start to branch out.

vonjankmon · Jan 30, 2018

I've been growing mine out for close to 2 years now, half killed the initial frag with super glue because I'm an idiot but it recovered and has been steadily growing since.

I don't use super blue light on my tank so it's not as "purple" as it could be but it is still an impressive center piece to my tank.

OrionN · Jan 30, 2018

vonjankmom PM is not like any PM I have seen. IME, which is not great, they never have polyp extension like that. It is a very nice coral however.

nashorn · Jan 30, 2018

Here mines in the wrong location I believe since it hardly grows. Bottom of tank in low flow.
Had it 4 yrs ,survived Disney 2014 and Alaska 2016 tank crash.
Suppose to be be the real deal. From mr Pluto on RC.
Pops in light over 15k more pale in less

View attachment 38588360055_055fc5c295_o.jpg

jda · Jan 30, 2018

I have found that the more daylight that this coral gets, the better that it grows and the more purple that it gets. IMO, this is not a good coral under blues only. This is a very shallow water coral, which is strange since it is smooth skinned. I give away and trade about 25 frags locally and all but one under stand-alone LEDs has died. The MH and T5 ones do fine and the hybrid ones have 50/50 success. I keep them under 400 PAR or else they fade in color a bit, but they will take every bit up to that number. They do not grow for me at all until it gets 325-350 PAR.

I also have the UC Purple Monster. It is not the same coral at all. When they get larger, the tips of the UC PM get more square and are not as rounded. The color is not as deep. It is a great coral, but it is not quite the same.

Mr V · Jan 30, 2018

This is what I called Purple monster in my tank.

Abhishek · Jan 30, 2018

Mr V said:
This is what I called Purple monster in my tank.

Beautiful specimen Mr.V !!! Not OG but very beautiful nonetheless .
It's similar in coloration to the Solomon Islands one from UC .

Regards,
Abhishek

Scorpius · Jan 30, 2018

I have the OG unique coral one. Grows very slowly with hardly any polyps to be seen.

Abhishek · Jan 30, 2018

Scorpius said:
I have the OG unique coral one. Grows very slowly with hardly any polyps to be seen.

I can see the white polyps but only at night with a flashlight . Also the color becomes more prominent and purple as it grows . Problem is it grows so slow aand the first one to brown out always when I have an alk swing !!

Regards,
Abhishek

larangcon · Jan 30, 2018

The OG PM has white polyps, very difficult to keep and the purple color hard to maintain. With my experience with the PM high light and moving it around will tend to - brown out easily, not sure whether the deep water type body, but mine always liked the mid range and sand level in a 24" high tank. Also very sensitive to low alk swing which will easily RTN. I also had the UC PM which is different but more hardy than the original.

Scorpius · Jan 30, 2018

Abhishek said:
I can see the white polyps but only at night with a flashlight . Also the color becomes more prominent and purple as it grows . Problem is it grows so slow aand the first one to brown out always when I have an alk swing !!

Regards,
Abhishek

I've found my piece to be hardier the longer I have it. The first six months or so were touch and go though.