Coming back to life?

[manycolors]

I got an sps coral frag from a friend, i dont know much about sps but i "think" i know the basics. the piece he gave me was laying on the bottom of his tank and he said i probably couldn't save it but give it a try. the piece is about 4 in. long and has bout 2 branches off the main piece, and a bunch of little polops? (those little points with the bud like things that come out) the whole piece was bleached accept the last 3/4 in. it was a beautiful purple. i put it up about 3 in from my P/C light and infront of the powerhead. i know my lighting isn't really acceptable but i'm just giving it a try in my tank because it was dieing in his. i got it about a month ago and since, the whole piece has turned brown accept for the tips of the branches and the piece started encrusting to the rock. so my question is, is this piece coming back to life? will it ever get purple again? (it looks like there is the same amount of puple as when i started accept it has spread to the 3 dif tips. but the whole piece looks like it kinda has a puple tint to the brown... again, i dont know much about these pieces accept that they need high light, flow, and calcium. so if anyone can point me into the right direction that would be great.
Thanks

 

[spanko]

Like to see a picture for a better response. However you said that it is encrusting to the rock. This is a good sign if it is truly happening. However again, the browning may just be algae taking up residence on the skeleton. Hence the need for the pic.
If it is encrusting and growing the brown will probably be the color that the pc. will take on, this because your pc lighting will not be enough to color it backup to the purple it was before.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Well, sps corals do need a lot of light, flow and calcium but they also need the proper alkalinity. Check your alkalinity and make sure that it is between 8 to 12 dKH. Also, your temperature needs to be constant, somewhere between 76* to 82* F.
Also, sps corals, since they do have smaller polyps, need smaller food. You really need to feed oyster eggs or try to dose a little extra DT's Phytoplankton in the aquarium. If the coral has just bleached, and the skin is not peeling back then you have a really good chance to save it.

 

[manycolors]

If it makes a difference, i said PC, i ment VHO but i dont know if it makes a difference, i have the Nova extreme... i checked the alk. and my chart isn't very accurate, it just has a low, high and acceptable range. it tests in the acceptable range. this test kit should do until i get a better one. i hope this helps, i'll try to get a picture up soon... not so sure how to post one though

 

[manycolors]

i'll try a pic...

 

[saltn00b]

well that does look alive, but light starved.

 

[manycolors]

i'll take another picture tonight after the lighting period, it tends to look a little "healthier"

 

[saltn00b]

well what it comes down to is that PC lighting really is insufficient for acros. no matter how high up in the tank they are. not saying the coral cant survive, but i am saying it wont be at full health and coloration, if it does.

 

[netimreefer]

+1

 

[nycbob]

it looks alive.

 

[manycolors]

look any better? under VHO's (i dont have pc,it was a typo) we'll se what happens.... if it does get better

 

[gatorwpb]

VHO may be ok. the purple tips appear to be new growth, which is a positive. but in all honesty, without MH or a high end T-5 setup, the coral will just survive and the color will be less then desirable. also, sps do NOT like direct flow, but prefer indirect flow. so if the powerhead is aimed directly at it, it may start to have some problems down the line.

 

[manycolors]

i turned the powerhead so it is still in high flow, but not direct. and someday i might get a MH but for now i guess i'll just see what happens

 

[jmick]

Looks like it's an a. valida/tricolor. I'd imagine in time it will brown out completely, which is a shame because under the proper conditions it's a very nice coral.

 

[murph145]

well it looks like u got a start on it see how it does u never know maybe u can keep some up in the high lite areas

 

[reefkprz]

I have some pretty nice SPS under VHO lighting. you have to keep your bulbs fresh, and your SPS near the top. not all SPS will brown out under vho lighting, I have a couple nice ones to back that up. I will certainly conceed that vhos are at the border of acceptable amount of light and not enough for some (seriatopra tends not do do well unless its right at the waters surface) but most acropora species will live just fine under vhos. again i'll admit you would most likley get better color under halides, and probably better growth too. but dont feel you have to go buy halides if you want to keep an SPS or two.