CR Member
Thanks for all the thoughtful feedback guys. I am perplexed by this. It is a very beautiful coral and I wish I could keep it.
The same source issue I would generally agree, but I have bought many Red Planet and ORA frags from them and never once an issue? So... not sure there.
It is a higher light species from what I gather, with lower to mid flow requirements from what I gather??
"We shouldn't think of an environment where livestock can survive, we should ensure an environment where livestock can thrive."-Rabidgoose
"If it's gonna be that kinda party, Ima stick my ........ in the mashed potatoes!"-Beastie Boys
i have mine not even under the light, let me explain. my lights are 24" on a 30" wide tank so the 3" on each side are not fully lit. i keep them in my frag rack right now encrust some and so far i have seen some starting to take off. they are just getting pretty much ambient light from my t5's so its not full blown directly under. they are also getting low-moderate indirect flow. ive had them for almost a month now and have not had a single issue yet. polyps are fully extended everyday and they seem to be doing just fine.Originally Posted by ReeferRob
i also use MB7 and Vodka, only other thing i dose is lugols with water changes every 2 weeks and every now and then i dose reef builder because my ph will get a little low. that is it.
one thing i might suggest would be what type of salt you are using? maybe they do not have the correct trace elements to keep it alive, stuff you are not testing for, i do use reef crystals but in my 29g tank there should be enough trace elements for everything. in bigger tanks that is not always the case. i will be switching to brightwell salt soon because reef crystals can never get their recipes exact. i do the exact water change every 2 weeks and it seems like something is always off everytime i do one which tells me their recipe isnt always accurate from scoop to scoop. a buddy of mine had the same issue with his calcium using reef crystals and has since changed to brightwell and hasn't had an issue since so i think that is the route i am going to go.
CR Member
Thanks for the input Justin.
The source I get mine from has been growing them under metal halide lighting. The frags are about 6 inches from the surface, and the halide itself is about 12 off the surface directly above.
Thus why I've tried to place mine in the top 1/3 of my tank under the T5's. about 8" or so below the surface with the light about 5-6 off the water level.
The salt I suppose could be a contributing factor since I use ESV 4 part and do mix it myself. But I haven't had a single other SPS loss, other than a purple monster.
"We shouldn't think of an environment where livestock can survive, we should ensure an environment where livestock can thrive."-Rabidgoose
"If it's gonna be that kinda party, Ima stick my ........ in the mashed potatoes!"-Beastie Boys
yeah i haven't really had loss but i can clearly tell it has affected my sps growth rate. i don't know why i would die. i have a frag that has 3 small branches on it if you want i can sell you a small 3/4" frag for $5 just for you because of your problems and you can see how that will do to prove it as a difference source but you will have to pick it up at my house in rockwood or i could meet you right off I-75. mine are t5's and at least they will be going from t5's to t5's so that would hopefully cut out the whole light intensity issue. just let me know
I had mine @ 10 inch from T5 lighting .
From my experience,
Usually if an SPS dies, its not because of lighting, because of lighting it might loose color and stays alive.
I would safely eliminate lighting and flow. ( these are contributers but are not the cause most of the time)
I think you should concentrate on pest, chemistry , stress on the coral as you got it in. GARF bonsai is not a sensitive SPS in general.
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