Strawberry Shortcake

Discussion in 'SPS Corals' started by arthur, Jan 23, 2015.

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  1. arthur

    arthur Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Hi 20150123_190314.jpg 20150123_190336.jpg . I have a question for you more experienced reefers. It is about Strawberry Shortcake. What you guys think its missing. I have that frag for about 2 Months. It is growing, encrusting on plug a lot and has polyp extension. Im concerned about color, just doll… I have my reef tank for 6 years but just for last year I'm converting more to SPS. Have a lot of small frags < except that crazy Stag that I have for last 5 years even when I didn't use RODI. Been thru a lot> Any opinions what could be wrong? Or maybe nothing, just the way it is… 125 MH-T5 combo. 2 WP-40. Dosing BRS 2 part manually. Sal.- 0.025 Cal.-440 Alk- 8.5 Mg-1350. Nitrate-10 Phosfate-0.01. I run GFO and Carbon just a little in sump. Thanks for all help in advance. ART
     

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  3. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
    It is a great looking tank.

    Nothing stands out to me other than the piece looks like it has lost a lot of tissue to one side, you may have started with a poor specimen and it will never thrive.

    Other than that how old are your bulbs. Is the frag getting too much flow? Have you checked for pest?

    I am looking to get a SSC piece soon so following, but basically it should respond just like any other sps in a tank with those chemistry values.
     
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2015
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  4. arthur

    arthur Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Thanks. Im trying my best. Bulbs are fairly new. 3 months.20.000K Radium in that part. I got Phoenix on other side. It has a lot of flow. If you would guess what should I do? Move it lover, less flow? Maybe put it under Phoenix? My frien sad that PO4 is too low. It should be between 0.03- 0.10. Is that true? I heard so many different opinions. And what is the highest acceptable level of Nitrate in SPS tank? Also confused…
     
  5. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
    My take on N/P values, try to keep the levels low when considering introduction to the tank, ie foods, water source, additives....I have kept nitrates between 10-20 with no significant algae issues or browning. Phosphates 0.05-.10 and sometimes a little higher with no algae issues.

    In my experiences my sps do better (color and growth) with detectable levels of N/P but that is just what works for me. I feed heavily once or twice a week.

    I love both bulb choices Radium and Phoenix so I can not really suggest one over the other. I will say I have burned the heck out of corals with new bulbs, to the point of an inability to recover. I try really hard to acclimate my corals to new bulbs and changes in fixture.

    If it were my piece I would make sure it's not getting blasted by a power head, provide some DOC, maybe amino acids. Other than that I would let it ride and see if it makes a come back.

    It's really hard not to make changes to a tank to make one unhappy coral happy, but you just end up chasing your tail when you do. If all other corals are looking good, maybe just let it be and try another piece of you lose it.
     
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2015
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  6. civiccars2003

    civiccars2003 Great Blue Whale

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    I think it looks okay. If you'd have had some growth and polyp ext, I'd venture to guess given some time, this coral will take off. I say that because you have a pretty impressive tank.
     
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  7. AnotherMike

    AnotherMike Fire Worm

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    I agree with Corailline on the N/P values, but with the caveat of running a higher alk with high(er) nutrients in an SPS tank. I'm not suggesting raising your alk, your tank is doing great and would not go messing with things to try to get one coral to color up.
     
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  9. arthur

    arthur Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Thanks for all help.
     
  10. oldfishkeeper

    oldfishkeeper Giant Squid

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    you really do have a beautiful tank
     
  11. arthur

    arthur Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Thank you. I really appreciate that. Years of learning and mistakes. Even now after 8 years still confused about so many things… ;)
     
  12. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
    Is this coral any better?