What causes polyp extension to decrease?

55semireef · #1 12/19/2006, 01:45 PM

So what causes polyp extension to decrease?

gobind · #2 12/19/2006, 01:54 PM

Wrong lighting. Poor water quality.

55semireef · #3 12/19/2006, 01:58 PM

Really? I thought it had something to do with calcium and Alklalinity levels. I am sure it does have to do with wrong lighting and poor water quality but not in my case. My lighting is very strong and I have good water quality. Its just my calcium and Alk. are slightly off.

Ti · #4 12/19/2006, 02:11 PM

check ur alk, ph etc.

TNTREEF · #5 12/19/2006, 02:13 PM

when did you put that flame angel in? i went through 3 of them before switching to a potters due to nipping on my sps. also if you have extention at night and not in the day then it is most likely the flame in my experience.

55semireef · #6 12/19/2006, 02:13 PM

Last I checked, my pH was 8.1, and alk was 4 meq/L. My calcium was a bit high though.

55semireef · #7 12/19/2006, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TNTREEF
when did you put that flame angel in? i went through 3 of them before switching to a potters due to nipping on my sps. also if you have extention at night and not in the day then it is most likely the flame in my experience.

I have seen my flame angel nip at my sps a few times but not a lot. They still don't extend during the night. Hmmmmmmm.

Horace · #8 12/19/2006, 02:31 PM

Do you guys notice that your cleaner shrimp decrease PE by walking over your corals as well? I have a coral beauty in my tank as well....I have killer PE at night and good PE on some corals while others is not so great. Not really sure why. My Chips acro has huge PE, as well as all of my Montis, but my tenius, ora tort, purple nana, and turqoise stag have pretty poor PE during the day. I have had RBs in the tank but I dont see any on most of the corals. I have done a couple treaments but I still have them. I think I need to up the dosage this time (my cleaner shrimp has lived through both treatments and I cant get the stuborn bastard out!).

55semireef · #9 12/19/2006, 02:52 PM

Oh I notice when my cleaner shrimp walks over my corals. I really hope sometimes that my blue Haddoni will catch this guy.

I don't feed my sps at all. Could that be the reason why?

ReefRockerLive · #10 12/19/2006, 03:48 PM

What are your phosphates at?

For food, fish poop is usually the best choice for SPS. I am dosing UltraMinS and have noticed an incredible increase in polyp extension. That may be something worth checking out.

HTH

Bugger · #11 12/19/2006, 03:52 PM

Its a lack of protien just feed more rotifers etc

55semireef · #12 12/19/2006, 04:44 PM

So my sps need more protein? Is their alternatives for Rotifers?

ReefRockerLive · #13 12/19/2006, 04:53 PM

Yes, if your colors are too light, just feed your fish more.

55semireef · #14 12/19/2006, 05:46 PM

fish waste eh?

fermaster · #15 12/19/2006, 06:18 PM

The polyp extension in my tank was very weak until I upped the flow. Millies that had weak polyp extensions went from flat top to hippies. All other parameters were the same.

55semireef · #16 12/19/2006, 06:21 PM

Thats good to hear fermaster because I am upgrading my mag drive. I am afraid to up it to much however because my Xenia and frogspawn get blown afround like crazy. Should I up it even more anyways?

I am upgrading the mag, but when I say up it more, I mean add another Rio powerhead to my tank. Should I?

jpierson77 · #17 12/19/2006, 06:36 PM

Dont worry about your xenia, mine "wilted" to almsot nothing when I drastically increased my flow. It will come back eventually I promise.

JER-Z · #18 12/19/2006, 06:48 PM

the angel would be a suspect most definitely...especially if you have caught him nipping a few time like you said.

ps: i have a cleaner shrimp, pepermint shrimp, emerald crab, hermits...and still get excellent PE

john f · #19 12/19/2006, 06:49 PM

My understanding is rotifers are too large for most SPS........

John

northbay-reefer · #20 12/19/2006, 06:53 PM

po4, and alk swing

cbonito · #21 12/19/2006, 06:58 PM

Two of the bigger mistakes I've made with poly extension was having the lights hung too low, and not enough flow.

twon8 · #22 12/19/2006, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by john f
My understanding is rotifers are too large for most SPS........

John

i have heard the opposite, they are in the right size for acros to capture.

fermaster · #23 12/19/2006, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 55semireef
Thats good to hear fermaster because I am upgrading my mag drive. I am afraid to up it to much however because my Xenia and frogspawn get blown afround like crazy. Should I up it even more anyways?

I am upgrading the mag, but when I say up it more, I mean add another Rio powerhead to my tank. Should I?

I think rock work and coral position would have to be taken into consideration when upping the flow. I run BB and I currently have 77x flow. That is up from 15x flow. I saw increased PE at 30x. I also have frogspawn and xenia and I've positioned them so that they sway gently in the current. I'm not saying to up your flow to 77x but I've found that sps do great with lots of flow as I'm sure many others have found.

55semireef · #24 12/19/2006, 07:24 PM

Alright well I am going to up my flow by about 350 gph. Its only a 55 gallon so that should help.

"po4, and alk swing"

^It might be an alk swing that I have had lately. What do you consider a swing time span wise? One day, two days, a week?

northbay-reefer · #25 12/19/2006, 07:33 PM

55semireef alk should be stable and should drop or raise too much it could be days or weeks ... how much is too much?, more than 1 point a day is probably too much of a swing such as going from 8-10 in 24 hours.

make your alk stable and get more flow you will see more extension