Acro growing or to much light?

[Wick]

Just getting thoughts and learning. This is about 3/4 high in tank. Is it growing or to much light? Was thinking about lowering it some in the tank. I am just learning about sps and across. Thank you all in advance! First pic is with whites only and newest. 2nd is with blues and orange filter.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Looks a bit pale. I'd lower your light intensity or place the acro lower in the tank.

 

[jblasi]

If the base of the frag has normal color and you are still getting polyp extension. Your probably experiencing new growth. But if you start seeing the piece lose color throughout or on the side with more light chances are it needs to go into lower PAR.

 

[bobby.w.hodges]

I'm basing my opinion on the fact that the frag hasn't encrusted the plug, I would say that it's getting too much light. In my experience frags grow outward before upwards.

 

[Wick]

I'm basing my opinion on the fact that the frag hasn't encrusted the plug, I would say that it's getting too much light. In my experience frags grow outward before upwards.

Perfect thank you! I lowered it to mid tank and hope that it does better

 

[IslandLifeReef]

@Wick, though these answers may be correct, we don’t know how long you have had the frag. If you have only had the frag for two weeks, then lack of encrusting could be that it is just too new. If you have had the frag for two months or more, then yes, you should try moving it. The best way to know about your lighting is to rent a PAR meter and take a full set of measurements throughout your tank so that you have an idea where to put future frags. This will save you a lot of trial and error in the future.

 

[Wick]

@Wick, though these answers may be correct, we don’t know how long you have had the frag. If you have only had the frag for two weeks, then lack of encrusting could be that it is just too new. If you have had the frag for two months or more, then yes, you should try moving it. The best way to know about your lighting is to rent a PAR meter and take a full set of measurements throughout your tank so that you have an idea where to put future frags. This will save you a lot of trial and error in the future.

The par meter would definitely help out for sure! I've only had it for about 3 weeks and I have no idea when it was cut.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

The par meter would definitely help out for sure! I've only had it for about 3 weeks and I have no idea when it was cut.

@Wick Looking at your pictures, it looks like the frag was cut just before you got it. I say this because the frag has just begun to encrust over the epoxy ball that attaches it to the plug. You can see were flesh is starting to grow on the round ball just before the plug.

If you have only had the frag for 3 weeks, the best thing you can do is leave it in one spot as long as you don't see any signs of STN/RTN.

In the long run, not enough light will slowly starve your coral.

Now, the questions that no one asked. First, what type of light are you using and how many?

What size tank is the coral in?

How far above the surface is the light mounted?

How far below the surface is the frag?

Without knowing these items, people are just guessing. They have no idea if it is in to much light or to little light.

Rent a PAR meter from BRS. You get to use it for a week and can twerk your light to make sure you are getting the best coverage in your tank. You can also map out the PAR in various parts of your tank. With SPS, you want them to be in an area that gets at least 200 PAR. I would also try to initially keep the coral in PAR of no more than 400.

 

[Wick]

@Wick Looking at your pictures, it looks like the frag was cut just before you got it. I say this because the frag has just begun to encrust over the epoxy ball that attaches it to the plug. You can see were flesh is starting to grow on the round ball just before the plug.

If you have only had the frag for 3 weeks, the best thing you can do is leave it in one spot as long as you don't see any signs of STN/RTN.

In the long run, not enough light will slowly starve your coral.

Now, the questions that no one asked. First, what type of light are you using and how many?

What size tank is the coral in?

How far above the surface is the light mounted?

How far below the surface is the frag?

Without knowing these items, people are just guessing. They have no idea if it is in to much light or to little light.

Rent a PAR meter from BRS. You get to use it for a week and can twerk your light to make sure you are getting the best coverage in your tank. You can also map out the PAR in various parts of your tank. With SPS, you want them to be in an area that gets at least 200 PAR. I would also try to initially keep the coral in PAR of no more than 400.

This is all true and will check out brs! I have the viparspectra 165s blues on 12 hours whites on for 5. Blues I think around 65ish and whites around 20 if I remember. But the par thing would be a great benefit to adjust where I want and should be. I have a 125 gallon 6 ft long.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Looking at that light and what I believe your 65 blue and 20 white setting means, unless the frag is directly below the light, it probably isn’t getting too much light. If you only have one of those lights, you are going to have trouble keeping a full tank of coral. You probably need at least three, and would be better with four of those lights on a 6 foot tank.

 

[Wick]

Tank