SPS placement, coloration question

So my first 2 frags of SPS are still alive after 45ish days... thats good. One of the frags is a dark pink, almost purple coloration when the lights are out, however when the lights come on it appears green. I am guessing this is because of the zooxanthellae in it? Is this because I did not light acclimate it properly? It started as about half of the frag, so I moved it up thinking it wasn't getting enough light. Now it is almost all of it, so I am thinking of moving it down. My light is a 6-bulb Nova extreme.

Also, while I have your attention, can someone explain about polyp extension for sps? My 2 frags show minimal PE. Is it that some SPS have polyps that are THAT small? The bases of the frags are encrusting and there seems to be growth from the tips. I am thinking of rearranging my flow to put the SPS in an area of higher flow, but I want to wait until the first question is resolved. Currently I run 2 Koralia Evo 750's and 500ish thru my return pump.

This is my first run around with SPS so sorry if these seem like N00B questions...

Oh, parameters, almost forgot:
Amm: 0
Trite: 0
Trate: 5
Phos: Undetectable(cheap API kit)
Cal: 460
Mag: 1500
Alk: 8
Ph: 8.2

 

I moved them both to areas of higher flow and the one one with the weird coloration to a lower spot. I immediately noticed more PE, so disregard.

 

PE is a function of how strong the flow is, if the coral is currently having a feeding response, if the polyps are being picked on by other organisms, and how happy/adjusted the coral is in a particular tank.

Your color issue is most likely due to the types of lights you have them under... What bulbs do you have in your fixture? I doubt your acro is being burnt from your lights unless it came from a very low light tank. Most acros can withstand very high lighting with only minimal acclimation. However, for them to adjust their colors for a specific tank and it's lighting it can take anywhere between 2-4 weeks.

 

You need to know the phosphates cause just the slightest phosphates above about .05 will make the color brown. It can be a bleaching problem too if it is too high in the tank and has too much light!

 

2 ATI Blue+
2 UVL Actinic/White
2 UVL Super Actinic

I run the 2 actinic for 12 hours and all bulbs for 10. I think the tank they came from was a 48"X48"X12" frag tank at my LFS and he was running an 8-10 bulb T5HO unit, however it was quite high off of the water(probably to account for the width of the tank). They have been in my tank for almost 2 months now.

Thinking about this some more, I am thinking my flow is low. I have about 2000gph turnover so its around 30X my DT. I might have to upgrade to Evo 1050's or even 1400's in the future.

Edit: I have a fuge with chaeto that has kept my DT algae free for a while now. Do you recommend a test kit for phosphates that is super sensitive?

 

I think you will find that if you increase the flow you will see better PE.

You may also consider cutting back the photoperiod an hour. In nature yes they get a long photoperiod but that is broken up by clouds, altered by angle of the sun and may be affected by the depth of water in relation to tides. It is not constant and high intensity.


Lately pictures really help and always check for red bugs. I am sure in a couple more months you will get it dialed in and see the rewards.

Good Luck.