A couple of Q's

[onux20]

Good evening everyone,

I have two questions for you all.

 

#1. I have one 150W 14K HQI over a 34 gal tank. Right now I have the light cycle from 1130-830. Do you think the cycle is long enough?

 

I have the following frags, Candy Cane, Acro, montipora, and a toadstool, also have a couple of ricordia. Also have some type of cynarina or possibly scolymia, once I moved him out of the direct light he looks MUCH better.

 

The reason I ask, the acro and monti are placed at the top but have not shown much growth over the last month. The monti is either receding or growing hard to tell, but the edges look a bit lighter than the rest. I know there are a GRUNCH of variables in coral growth but I want to start somewhere and make changes from there.

 

#1a. Should I consider a different Kelvin light? 20K?

 

#2. My Pulsing Xenia is now just a Xenia. :( I can

[tonkadawg]

Good evening everyone,

I have two questions for you all.

 

#1. I have one 150W 14K HQI over a 34 gal tank. Right now I have the light cycle from 1130-830. Do you think the cycle is long enough?

 

I have the following frags, Candy Cane, Acro, montipora, and a toadstool, also have a couple of ricordia. Also have some type of cynarina or possibly scolymia, once I moved him out of the direct light he looks MUCH better.

 

The reason I ask, the acro and monti are placed at the top but have not shown much growth over the last month. The monti is either receding or growing hard to tell, but the edges look a bit lighter than the rest. I know there are a GRUNCH of variables in coral growth but I want to start somewhere and make changes from there.

 

#1a. Should I consider a different Kelvin light? 20K?

 

#2. My Pulsing Xenia is now just a Xenia. :( I can

[steveoutlaw]

These are just my opinions and they are based on my experience, but......

 

Lighter areas on the edge/tips of an SPS usually means growth. It's kind of hard to tell if a coral is growing (or how fast it's growing) that you look at everyday. The only way that I can tell is through pictures.

 

My experience with xenia is that nobody knows what makes it grow. I couldn't kill it in one of my tanks and then had trouble getting it to grow in another tank. I also know people who have tanks with softies, sps and lps thriving.......but the xenia won't grow. Try moving it out of the light a little and see if that works.

[Brian Ward]

For the first month you'll see almost no growth on your SPS - leave them alone, do not move them. Once they feel settled in, they'll take off. I think the lighter areas on the tips are growth as well - SPS grow very slowly and you'll need 3-6 mos to notice a difference.

 

9 hrs is probably a bit long for your MH but if you're not having algea problems then don't worry about it. Definitely not any longer. 14k is a popular choice esp if you don't have actinic supplementation. There is a lot of debate but most people say corals grow fastest under 10k, but if you prefer the look of the 14k there's no reason to switch. Lighting is about asthetics as much as it is about keeping things alive.

 

Pulsing xenia is a weird animal. They actually tend to pulse more in water parameters that are worse for other coral growth. Mine have also stopped pulsing most of the time - which is annoying - but lower flow seems to help.

[onux20]

how high of the water is the light? IMO 9 hrs is a bit long to be running MHs. But how do your corals look? I know it's not the best answer, but I try to let the corals 'tell' me things are good or bad. If everything looks good, but you're not getting much growth, I'd save give it some more time. If things look bad or not as good as they once did, it's time to make small adjustments till you can figure out what's out of whack.

 

sorry no experience with xenia.

I would have to guess the bottom of the fixture is about 4-5" above the water. With the bulb about 4" higher. Also I will start to trim the light cycle back to 8hrs this weekend.

Thanks Ron

Edited April 25, 2008 by onux20

[reefhunter]

I wasn't seeing any substantial growth under my 10k halides so I started checking water parameters. My MAGNESIUM was low. I bought some magnesium from bulkreefsupply.com and added it to the tank. Everything is growing alot more than before. Turns out corals need magnesium along with calcium and alk to deposit calcium to their skeletons. Low magnesium actually prevents corals from growing.

 

I dont have any supplement lighting (actinics), only metal halides. I run them for 10 hours per day with no negative effects.

 

Hunter

[onux20]

For the first month you'll see almost no growth on your SPS - leave them alone, do not move them. Once they feel settled in, they'll take off. I think the lighter areas on the tips are growth as well - SPS grow very slowly and you'll need 3-6 mos to notice a difference.

 

9 hrs is probably a bit long for your MH but if you're not having algea problems then don't worry about it. Definitely not any longer. 14k is a popular choice esp if you don't have actinic supplementation. There is a lot of debate but most people say corals grow fastest under 10k, but if you prefer the look of the 14k there's no reason to switch. Lighting is about asthetics as much as it is about keeping things alive.

 

Pulsing xenia is a weird animal. They actually tend to pulse more in water parameters that are worse for other coral growth. Mine have also stopped pulsing most of the time - which is annoying - but lower flow seems to help.

Brian,

Thanks for the info. Too late on moving the corals. Unless the fish gods smile on me, I will have to disassemble the tank this weekend to catch an oversized Coral Beauty. But once I get the tank back together I will be sure to avoid moving them again.

 

Thanks again,

Ron