White Duncan Heads

[esquare]

System
120 gallon tank, 130 gallons total volume
Tank has had water in it for about 10 months but I have been going slow with adding fish/coral
Fish are 2 Clowns, 1 Ruby Longfin Wrasse and 1 Marine Betta
Alk: 8.84
Cal: 416
Mag: 1464
PH: 8.09
Temp: 77.1
PO4: .01
NO3: .2
Corals fed twice a week with Reef Roids, Coral Amino and LPS Grow+Color Pellets

I have a Duncan that I added to my tank on 12/28/23 and it looked like this

It now looks like this

FTS

My question/concern are the white heads under the green ones. Is it normal to have these?

 

[Jesse Sunday]

I can't comment as to good/bad, but it looks kinda cool!

Great growth over the past few months - what are you feeding it?

 

[twentyleagues]

Thats crazy never seen that before.

 

[esquare]

I can't comment as to good/bad, but it looks kinda cool!

Great growth over the past few months - what are you feeding it?

Thanks, Yeah, I was surprised with the growth when I looked up the old pic.
I normally feed it twice a week with Reef Roids, Coral Amino and LPS Grow+Color Pellets

 

[esquare]

Thats crazy never seen that before.

Same here, it appears to be healthy, just some albino heads.

 

[esquare]

I forgot to mention that it is supposed to be an ORA Duncan, not sure if that matters. I also noticed that it is not as dark green as when I first got it. I suppose that could due to lighting or low nutrients, I've been trying to get them up.
That reminds me it gets between 50 to 75 par as my lighting schedule progresses throughout the day. The 75 par is only about 3 hours a day.

 

[JayM]

Perhaps they aren’t getting sufficient light?
50-75 seems a bit on the low end.

 

[esquare]

Perhaps they aren’t getting sufficient light?

I thought that as well, especially since they are shaded by the ones above. I certainly have room to increase my light intensity, they only hit 40% for about 3 hours. I believe I can take that spot up to 174 at 100%. I can also move them to a different spot in the tank and get them to 115 at the current intensity.

 

[JayM]

I thought that as well, especially since they are shaded by the ones above. I certainly have room to increase my light intensity, they only hit 40% for about 3 hours. I believe I can take that spot up to 174 at 100%. I can also move them to a different spot in the tank and get them to 115 at the current intensity.

I’m definitely not an expert, but if it were me I’d probably start with keeping par the same for now, but increase the time that it’s at the highest intensity and see what happens. Other than the coloration it appears healthy. Blasting it with higher par than it’s accustomed to might change that.

 

[esquare]

I’m definitely not an expert, but if it were me I’d probably start with keeping par the same for now, but increase the time that it’s at the highest intensity and see what happens. Other than the coloration it appears healthy. Blasting it with higher par than it’s accustomed to might change that.

Good point.

 

[twentyleagues]

May be nutrients....
I was thinking also too much light but no. Duncans can handle quite a bit of par if acclimated to it, but I wouldnt go over 200 at the most. Usual lps range is good low 100s so it may be a bit to low so may be the zooxanthellae isnt reproducing as fast as the coral puts out flesh.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I think 50 par is kind of low, and the polyps on the bottom will get less than 50 par. I used to have my duncan under hallides and it grew so fast I had to get rid of it.

 

[esquare]

May be nutrients....
I was thinking also too much light but no. Duncans can handle quite a bit of par if acclimated to it, but I wouldnt go over 200 at the most. Usual lps range is good low 100s so it may be a bit to low so may be the zooxanthellae isnt reproducing as fast as the coral puts out flesh.

I have cut back the amount of time my Red Sea ReefMat is on significantly. When it is turned off, the fleece gets clogged up and it overflows effectively bypassing the fleece. That's how I got the nutrients to where they are now, they used to be 0. I have also, been feeding heavy to get the numbers up so hopefully, it will help

 

[esquare]

I think 50 par is kind of low, and the polyps on the bottom will get less than 50 par. I used to have my duncan under hallides and it grew so fast I had to get rid of it.

I'm hoping they color up as they grow and get more exposed to the light. I may extend the peak par time as JayM suggested. I just want to get some input from the community first, then develop a game plan and move forward.

 

[twentyleagues]

Try bumping the par. Id say you could move it but other then the white polyps seems happy where it is.

 

[esquare]

I have been very happy with these lights, Radion xr15 Gen 6 Blue. They provide a very good, relatively even spread. I have a par map on my Build Thread, page 2 I believe. I initially got 2 with the idea that I could add a 3rd if needed.

 

[esquare]

Try bumping the par. Id say you could move it but other then the white polyps seems happy where it is.

I think that's going to be the route I take, probably extend the peak time first then maybe bump it to 50%. That spot will hit 110 par at 50%.

 

[esquare]

I have roasted coral in the past with high par so, on this build, I decided to go on the low side. While expensive, a par meter has been my best investment.

 

[twentyleagues]

I got one because I've been out for 12+ years and everything changed....lol. It does help.

 

[esquare]

I got one because I've been out for 12+ years and everything changed....lol. It does help.

I was out a few years after a move and was amazed at the changes