Too much par???

[Acro Junky]

I have a birds of paradise coral. It has been doing well. As of recently I have noticed it is starting to whiten on it’s tips. It’s not as fluffy as it used to be. I finally was able to get a par reading and it is at about 177 par. I have been reading that these might do better in a lower lighting is that true?

All the rest of my sps are doing flawlessly and I actually plan on slowly bumping my radions up from 55% to 70% just to reach that 300-350 par as I am at 250-300 so I may need to move the birds of paradise in a spot that only gets about 120 par... any help would be great.

My tank paramters as of now
Alk: 8.5
Cal: 410
Mag: 1350
Nitrate 10-25 (hard to read on salifert)
Phospahate .03

 

[AngryMike2016]

White on the tips can often simply be new growth, but yeah, those polyps are quite retracted. I have a rose bird's nest in ~120 PAR that is doing well.

I would try moving your BoP to somewhere around 100-120 and give it a month or so to adjust before doing anything further with it.

 

[Acro Junky]

White on the tips can often simply be new growth, but yeah, those polyps are quite retracted. I have a rose bird's nest in ~120 PAR that is doing well.

I would try moving your BoP to somewhere around 100-120 and give it a month or so to adjust before doing anything further with it.

Okay I figured as much I already have it at the bottom of the tank but being that I am aiming sps dominate I am utterly blasting par to the very bottom so I my loom for a lightly shaded area

 

[AngryMike2016]

Good call. Please let us know how it is doing in a few weeks.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Sorry to give conflicting advice but I don’t agree the par is too high. I’ve kept this coral directly under a 400 watt radium before and it grew like a weed. 170 is nothing. The white tips are probably new growth and the polyps may be from something else irritating it, but Polyp extension is not a direct relationship to coral health either.

 

[Sailfinguy21]

Depends what the tips look like.. sometikes tips being white can mean its skin is melting.. butyoull see it coming off.

So its white like this pic, see the white tips on my green slimer.. then its just new growth