PE = happy SPS?
 

Well since I have recently got into SPS; I am experimenting with my level of lighting. I am putting acros on the top and did not see any PE yet (put them in yesterday). I have put a monti cap a bit higher than the bottom and its growing crazy. I also have digitatas placed a little lower than middle and they have full PE. Does that mean atleast the digitatas are happy with the level and the flow?

I am waiting on the acros PE since I heard that it takes days for them to PE.

20 gallon long with 12" high and 2 T5HO lights (10,000k + actinic) 30" fixture resting around 3" above water level. I am getting crazy growth on monti cap (better than mushrooms LOL).

Advice and suggestions please :)

No, I put frags in my tank this morning that sat all night in bags after a trip from the mainland, they had PE within 20 minutes. It shouldn't take days at all.

I see many acros that doesn't have PE (or very microscopic PE). Like the branchy branchy one (tri color I guess). Plus I was looking through some forums (ah yah my curiosity :$) and saw that there are people claiming they see no PE but their corals grow.

My digitatas have great PE at like 2/3rd down from the top. So, I guess they are happy right?

I kept my acros at the top rock (picture in my signature but doesn't have the acros; was just added yesterday) with good flow. I am putting smaller pieces of SPS in different locations to note how they perform :P

Then again, an acro can have no PE and grow like crazy and be happy. Also bare in mind that in the wild many acros don't extend polyps until night time. Check you acros at night. I have some acros that never put out their polyps during the day but at night you can barely see the skeleton through the polyps.

But as a generalization, yes PE = happy SPS. I use PE as a windsock for how happy they are. I sit and move the flow around until I see a colony start to stick out its polyps. Happy. If it gets too much flow, they retract. Not happy.

Keep in mind that your tank is still very new. As long as the frags start to encrust the rock in a couple of weeks, don't worry about PE. Yes, they can grow fine without it. I'm not even sure happy acros have PE, or unhappy. A good sign is night time PE, so check with a flash light after lights out. That shows a feeding response typical in the wild.

Yah I have experienced the flow with PE relationship already. My green birdnest is the most sensitive I guess. I changed the flow a bit few days ago and it went all in and when I changed it back to its previous flow, its polyps were out.

New to SPS so loads and loads of questions. I just hope my lighting is good enough. Since the monti cap is growing crazy at the bottom so I am expecting enough lighting for acros at the top.

Yah the encrusting. I glued them yesterday to the rocks. How long does it generally take for acros to encrust? Birdnest and montis took like a week or something to cover the glue.

If everything is perfect for them, they can encrust in a week or so.

Hoping for the best :)

The parameters are ideal for them. I am more concerned about the flow and the light. I kept my birdnest at the same flow with xenia and the birdnest have crazy PE and is throwing out new branches too :P Still cannot figure out the flow equation :P

I never ever consider flow with SPS, I just put new frags wherever there's a free spot. I have pumps in each corner, plus return lines, so flow all over the place, but with a wave pattern. As long as a coral isn't getting direct flow that is too strong (peeling tissue off), they should be fine.

im almost positive birdsnest grows in stagnant dark water....but also does well in good water with light too...go figure:mrgreen:

Oh! That equation kinda matches mine. I got one koralia nano1 on one side and nano2 on the other along with AC110 + aqueon 20; and all these gives a good random flow (the torch and all other corals moves in a random way instead of just tilting in one direction). Now I guess only time will tell whether I got the right lighting :)

And they are very pretty :D

I guess I will have to start collecting birdnest and digitatas before really getting into acros!

sorry, been distracted lately. What have you got for lights?

Just a coralife 30" dual fixture (T5HO) (62watts). One 10k and one actinic. And tank's height is 12".

Guess I could just read the first post :) Hmm, I'd say you could probably use more light to get the best out of acros..

True that. But atleast not till Christmas for lights. I had taken steps to improve lighting (as you might have already noticed from few others posts of mine) but I backed off and aimed at getting something good at Christmas :)

I am not really expecting any crazy growth from acros particularly like my monti cap (impossible for my setup :razz: ) but atleast they will not brown out or loose color right?

Ya, I'd guess they will. Or at best, not be as good as they could be. You could even just add a second dual strip T5 and get a lot more. Personally, on that tank I would just find a nice 4 bulb T5 fixture. Would give really nice results.

Yah you have suggested that in a earlier post and I have my eyes set for quad fixture. But I am really worried about the upkeep of changing 4 bulbs ($80).

here you go merry christmas , more than enough light and at 60 bucks you cant go wrong:)

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=91373

Put aside $2.50 a week and after 10 months, you have your bulbs. It's not a lot. I know the latest greatest is LED, but you're going to have to spend money you don't have, and it's not necessarily the right light for what you want.
A nice T5 fixture will look nice vs a DIY LED unless you can build a nice housing, which is more time and money. Wait until you're done school and have some disposable income, then buy the fancy stuff. But IMO, T5 will give you nicer colors (once you figure out the right combo, which many here can recommend)

Oh yes I saw that but that thing is not going to cover my whole tank. Their specs says that they cover around 24" max.

And for this model, I have seen reviews that the clamp is really really weak for the weight of the thing.

Another prob is I won't be able to fit the clamp (my back is practically covered with HOBs and float switch)

Once I get a quad fixture, I will have a T5 light piggy bank :D

Yah I have given up on LEDs after finding out I have a BIG BIG misconception about the DIY costs :P

I will just keep my eyes open for T5s and hoping for a quad fixture instead of putting two dual fixtures; will save space :)

BTW Denny the PM! I am waiting on your suggestion about new addition :mrgreen:

plenty of light for what you have trust me , you only got a 20long dont you??

as for suggestions i mean every fish i can possibly think of hunt those things.... even clowns , best bet is to cut down on feeding , youll never eliminate them all ever i guarantee it....its just not possible......ever lol:)

Yah I do agree its plenty of light. Infact, I am worried about my mushrooms and zoas getting baked from that light since its 12" deep only. And yah its 20long. Thats gonna create shades at the corners isinit?

I just want more fishy! The pod hunting was just a thought. Chromis? A red star? I want more fishies! :mrgreen:

no they wont get baked in fact they will love the extra light, trick is too go slow so move them low and rise them when they are adapted.

i was running a 250w on my 25g cube so i think youll be fine, i also ran a 250w on my 33g zoa tank and a 250w on my 20g long like yours......all these tanks loved the light .


as for fish perhaps a blenny or a goby woud do depends on what you like really, keeping in mind you only have 20g

as for shadowing in the corners , by looking at your sig you dont have enough light demanding coral to be worried about shadowing just move the coral into the light , just because the light isnt as strong near the ends of your tank doesnt mean its barren waste land , alot of stuff grows in lower lights even sps.

hehe i find the dark sides of my tank the most interesting , i use nps corals to fill up those places and they have more color then anything in my tank.

it is what you make it man:)

Ok then what to do with all the Hobs I have. It has taken up all the space in my back. Infact the AC110 wont let me position the clamp at the middle. :razz:

I guess I should start getting nps then ;)

be creative theres no such thing as cant , and in this hobby its all about making things work , im sure if you really sat down and gave it some good thought you could figure something out:)

ive had lights on strings,boards,ceilings,gravity ,pins,tape and gum......youll do just fine :P

in all honesty , your lights are fine for what your doing , if you really do have big plans to go sps and put your all into it , it will take some more work and what helps when there more work?? better toys boy!! :P:P

with that happy note im am off to count my PE before bed and then maybe see if theres a way to stop it:)

Thanks Denny and Brad. Me off to bed too. Got a loooong day tomorrow.

I noticed today that two of the acros have tiny tiny polyps coming out. I guess they are acclimating well :D

That's a relief :D I am not getting into being SPS collector any time soon so till then, I guess I can hold onto the big gun unless something really good comes up :D