SPS have good color and are clearly growing but...

[92Miata]

Then you gotta get the nipper outta the tank. I get your point I would be bummed too if my hairy acros had no polyps out in the day.

Sometimes its not a nipper.

I've got an ORA tricolor Valida that never has polyp extension because my cleaner shrimp likes to hang out in it - and his walking all over it is clearly an irritant.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I agree that the nipper “may” be the cause. Did you use a par meter? A hydra 26 is not very “par”erful unless you have it close to the water (Hot spotting) and crank up the whites, which could be causing the polyps to retract. I have 2 hydra 52hds over my 50g cube filled with Tenuis btw.

 

[TexAgReefer]

I agree that the nipper “may” be the cause. Did you use a par meter? A hydra 26 is not very “par”erful unless you have it close to the water (Hot spotting) and crank up the whites, which could be causing the polyps to retract. I have 2 hydra 52hds over my 50g cube filled with Tenuis btw.

Love the corals.

Yes, I did use a PAR meter. If anything, I figured if they weren't getting enough light they would extend their polyps even more to try and get more food from the water column. Maybe that's flawed logic.

I am going to be installing a T5 hybrid fixture soon to increase output a little and reduce shadowing since I'm only running the 1 Hydra 26 HD at the moment.

 

[Coronus]

What are your test results on
No3?
Po4?
Have you had any alk swings upward?

 

[TexAgReefer]

What are your test results on
No3?
Po4?
Have you had any alk swings upward?

No3 - 4-8 ppm
Po4 - 0.02 - 0.04 ppm
Alk steady at 8.1-8.4 dkH

I dose trace elements, Brightwell coralaminos, KZ flatworm stop/coral booster/acro glow/sponge power

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Love the corals.

Yes, I did use a PAR meter. If anything, I figured if they weren't getting enough light they would extend their polyps even more to try and get more food from the water column. Maybe that's flawed logic.

I am going to be installing a T5 hybrid fixture soon to increase output a little and reduce shadowing since I'm only running the 1 Hydra 26 HD at the moment.

How close is your 26 to the water? And what is your schedule? I have 2-26 HD’s over my 29 gallon bio cube frag tank, mounted 15” above the water.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

No3 - 4-8 ppm
Po4 - 0.02 - 0.04 ppm
Alk steady at 8.1-8.4 dkH

I dose trace elements, Brightwell coralaminos, KZ flatworm stop/coral booster/acro glow/sponge power

Po4 is too low. Are you using gfo or other media? Vibrant?
Here’s mine

 

[Potatohead]

Po4 is too low.

Agree

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Agree

I said po4 is too low but I mean there’s not enough fish poop or the water is being over stripped

 

[Neoalchemist]

I do have a Potter's Angel. I watch the tank closely and often. I've never seen him nip at any corals or polyps.

Id be willing to bet its the Potters angel. I have one also in an sps tank and although he doesn't obviously nib and hes never caused any visible damage. When browsing if he sees something move he will test it to make sure its not a pod. He also loves to eat coral slime. So if I do any work in the tank that causes the acros to slime he will spend the rest of the day eating coral slime.
I just hope he doesn't realize that he can cause the coral to slime by picking.

 

[Neoalchemist]

It only takes one brief attack by a fish in the morning to cause the acro to pull in tentacles. On the reef corals only extend tentacles at night when the fish are asleep.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

It only takes one brief attack by a fish in the morning to cause the acro to pull in tentacles. On the reef corals only extend tentacles at night when the fish are asleep.

OP doesn’t have PE at night either

 

[TexAgReefer]

How close is your 26 to the water? And what is your schedule? I have 2-26 HD’s over my 29 gallon bio cube frag tank, mounted 15” above the water.

Light is 12" above the water. PAR is 200-300 measured with PAR meter for each frag.

Po4 is too low. Are you using gfo or other media? Vibrant?
Here’s mine

No GFO. Just carbon, skimmer, and filter socks. I feed heavy with pellets around noon and then a lot of frozen with reef chili every evening (8 fish).

Id be willing to bet its the Potters angel. I have one also in an sps tank and although he doesn't obviously nib and hes never caused any visible damage. When browsing if he sees something move he will test it to make sure its not a pod. He also loves to eat coral slime. So if I do any work in the tank that causes the acros to slime he will spend the rest of the day eating coral slime.
I just hope he doesn't realize that he can cause the coral to slime by picking.

This may very well be it... I've never seen him nip at a coral or its polyps but I guess that doesn't mean he's not doing it. I was having similar polyp extension problems before I got him, but I had some water quality issues at that time. I love this fish, I hate to pull him out and it not be the problem. Would he be ok in a 13g for 2-4 weeks to see if PE changes without him in there?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Light is 12" above the water. PAR is 200-300 measured with PAR meter for each frag.


No GFO. Just carbon, skimmer, and filter socks. I feed heavy with pellets around noon and then a lot of frozen with reef chili every evening (8 fish).


This may very well be it... I've never seen him nip at a coral or its polyps but I guess that doesn't mean he's not doing it. I was having similar polyp extension problems before I got him, but I had some water quality issues at that time. I love this fish, I hate to pull him out and it not be the problem. Would he be ok in a 13g for 2-4 weeks to see if PE changes without him in there?

What are your whites set at?

 

[Neoalchemist]

If there truly is no better extension at night (which is kind of hard to prove or disprove since things change from one hour to the next).
Sps in a tank with a nipper will just get used to living with thier polyps retracted, night or day.
If not the fish, I think it more likely to be some kind of treatment or other water condition.
Someone mentioned Vibrant, I tried it and found it did cause low or no pe for a long time.
Dinos or exccessive cyano, chrysophytes or any other irritants.
Chem warfare from softies.
But again I fall back to the angel.
Potters are known nippers.

 

[TexAgReefer]

What are your whites set at?

I use the Saxby light schedule with has CW bouncing between 50% and 65% for several hours at the peak of the photo period.

If there truly is no better extension at night (which is kind of hard to prove or disprove since things change from one hour to the next).
Sps in a tank with a nipper will just get used to living with thier polyps retracted, night or day.
If not the fish, I think it more likely to be some kind of treatment or other water condition.
Someone mentioned Vibrant, I tried it and found it did cause low or no pe for a long time.
Dinos or exccessive cyano, chrysophytes or any other irritants.
Chem warfare from softies.
But again I fall back to the angel.
Potters are known nippers.

No vibrant, dinos, or cyano.

Ugh... you're going to talk me in to pulling out my Potters aren't you?? lol

 

[Neoalchemist]

Light is 12" above the water. PAR is 200-300 measured with PAR meter for each frag.


No GFO. Just carbon, skimmer, and filter socks. I feed heavy with pellets around noon and then a lot of frozen with reef chili every evening (8 fish).


This may very well be it... I've never seen him nip at a coral or its polyps but I guess that doesn't mean he's not doing it. I was having similar polyp extension problems before I got him, but I had some water quality issues at that time. I love this fish, I hate to pull him out and it not be the problem. Would he be ok in a 13g for 2-4 weeks to see if PE changes without him in there?

Yeah, stick him in the 13 for a while. I think it will solve the problem.
Ive totally been in the same boat for like three years.
It has taken a long time but my potters has decided which acros he is interested in and which he is not. I had very little pe tank wide, but in the last year the corals he isn't interested in have gotten their pe back.
The ones he is interested in have gotten used to him too. They will pull polyps in part way when he is browsing and go back to at least somewhat normal.
Keep in mind. This took like 3 years. Potters dont attack coral, they browse, and every once in a while take a little sample. Its like they are intentionally being sneaky

 

[Neoalchemist]

I use the Saxby light schedule with has CW bouncing between 50% and 65% for several hours at the peak of the photo period.

No vibrant, dinos, or cyano.

Ugh... you're going to talk me in to pulling out my Potters aren't you?? lol

If your 13 is stable, maybe try the other way around. Transfer a frag and see if it does better in the 13.

 

[Neoalchemist]

Or you could put the Potters in a breeding enclosure or something for a while

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I use the Saxby light schedule with has CW bouncing between 50% and 65% for several hours at the peak of the photo period.

No vibrant, dinos, or cyano.

Ugh... you're going to talk me in to pulling out my Potters aren't you?? lol

I don’t have any angels but I do have a ton of hermits that crawl all over my Tenuis and the PE returns within minutes, but idk, maybe angels cause more damage. I don’t like the saxby program. My Tenuis don’t like AI whites above 25, but that’s probably the only way you can get enough par with a single 26. I bet your stuff will be a lot happier after you get add the T5’s. Ditch the saxby after though. I would max out the blues,Uv and V and add a little white to make the tank look right.