Need help with placing various sticks...

Daniel@R2R · Apr 12, 2017

Hey guys, I picked up several really nice pieces in the @FraghouseCorals live sale, and now I'm trying to decide on best placement for growth and color. So here are the ones I'm particularly curious about:

TCK Pikachu
Inland Corals Poseidon
Paletta Pink Tip
WT Fiji Rainbow

Where are you guys getting best growth and color on these?

Daniel@R2R · Apr 12, 2017

I'm also curious about placement for an echinata, tort, and humilus that I also picked up in the sale, so any general tips on placing those would be welcome also. :D

Daniel@R2R · Apr 12, 2017

Btw, here's a pic of the pack I got in the live sale. :D

NCreefguy · Apr 13, 2017

Very nice group of corals you've got there!

All of my acros are in the top 3/4 of my tank. I think the lowest par that I've got any of them in is 280-300. Some of them like as much light as I can throw at them. Hopefully someone will chime in with the specific ones that you have but I would suggest moving them up in your tank slowly and not making any location permanent until you see how each one reacts to it's placement. 400-450 par in my tank may be different in yours due to alk and nutrient levels.

Abhishek · Apr 13, 2017

Am horrible at suggesting placements for acros as most of mine always brown out for months in the beginning and then start to color up .
Its kind of complicated to suggest placement unless you can tell what PAR do you cover in the tank.

Echinatas will do fine in a little lower PAR of 200-250 (mine is currently browned out , not sure why .. may be because I keep moving it )and humilus will love lots and lots of flow .
Pikachu loves getting blasted with light . Mine is at the highest point with ORA Pearlberry and Oregon tort receiving around 600+ PAR from radium halides..
Paletta Pink Tip - well I scorched mine in too much light .. If you want green body, better to keep it lower .
Torts - If oregon, blast it with light but all very very slowly.

These are just my experience .. I have seen echinatas amazing blue in high PAR of 400-500 + .

Light is only 1 small part of the equation . I think , flow placement is as important if not more especially for acros like Humilus .
Also nutrients and alk - how high do you run your nutrients and Alk?

Regards,
Abhishek

Daniel@R2R · Apr 13, 2017

Thanks for the help so far! Bump for more ideas! :D

pirate2876 · Apr 13, 2017

I've had two of the frags on your list and this is what worked for me. Pikachu needs high light to keep the yellow. Be prepared for it to be green for a long time. The Paletta pink tip didn't be blasted with light. It is mid tank and slightly shaded by a rock overhang. I would say bottom half of the tank for it.

FraghouseCorals · Apr 15, 2017

Lol ^^^^ he's totally right!! Wet thumb Fiji can tolerate pretty high light as wells as Poseidon.

MrD · Apr 15, 2017

One key element of the equation is to first let the corals adjust to your tank. Whenever I get new corals I always turn the lights down to a bit and place the corals at the bottom of the tank. Nothing in my experience agrivates stress more than adding intense light to the equation. Acros and other corals will survive a remarkably long time with minimal light and slowly, slowly perish. On the other hand, you can roast one in too much intense light and cause RTN in a matter of hours. Moral of my story, allow your corals to adjust to your tank and recover from shipping stress before you put them in full light.

pa1ntbru5h · Apr 15, 2017

+1 on the Pikachu being neon green for awhile. I've had mine for a few months and it's just starting to turn yellow and the polyps are currently brownish instead of red