Ponape birdsnest help

[dzemo7]

i have a colony of ponape birds nest that is situated mid range in my tank and isnt holding its color very well. it used to be bright yellow and pink, but since then the yellow has faded and so has the pink. coral still has full polyp extension and seems to still be growing but isnt reaching its desired color. i have been told before to keep it lower in the tank or else it will bleach but it seems like that only makes it worse. also i dont want to put it to high as to kill it. i am running a full spectrum 6 bulb t5 light in a 65 gallon. i would apreciate the advice

 

[Jocko]

There are so many possibilities. Just to get the ball rolling, here's a few questions:

How long have you had it?
Just to be clear when you say "faded" you mean it got lighter in color, right? It's not browning out, right?
Assuming the colors are lightening: Do you do any sort of carbon dosing or anything that results in a very low nutrient system?
How long did you leave it at the lower spot in the tank?

 

[Aquaman_68]

What is your alk/KH? that coral is very sensitive to shifts in alk/kh....It likes a kh of around 9.0....go any lower than that & it will loose it's yellow coloration...Go too low too quick & it will start to rtn pretty rapid.... I would think with t5's you should be ableto go mid level right under the bulbs or a little higher under the cross bar..

HTH,
B

 

[kevinpratt823]

What is your alk/KH? that coral is very sensitive to shifts in alk/kh....It likes a kh of around 9.0....go any lower than that & it will loose it's yellow coloration...Go too low too quick & it will start to rtn pretty rapid.... I would think with t5's you should be ableto go mid level right under the bulbs or a little higher under the cross bar..

HTH,
B

Aquaman's right, didn't you just have a thread going about alk problems? Birdsnests seem especially sensitive to this.

 

[dzemo7]

the alk problem has been solved, but yes i did have a alk problem but there is no other filtration other than my refuge. the coral is now sitting mid range through the tank. it has been faded for a really long time before i was having the alk problem, it still keeps growing with full polyp extensions but the color sucks. also i went to a frag swap and some people had them there on the top shelf right next to the water line. right now i moved it up a little in the tank so hopefully it will start to color up

 

[kevinpratt823]

the alk problem has been solved, but yes i did have a alk problem but there is no other filtration other than my refuge. the coral is now sitting mid range through the tank. it has been faded for a really long time before i was having the alk problem, it still keeps growing with full polyp extensions but the color sucks. also i went to a frag swap and some people had them there on the top shelf right next to the water line. right now i moved it up a little in the tank so hopefully it will start to color up

Where somebody places it in a frag tank for a couple hours at a swap really has nothing to do with anything. On top of that, the same coral from two different people could be accustomed to very different light levels, it will take a long time for them for them to adjust and it must be done very gradually if so desired. Just about every nice ponape colony I have seen is at the bottom(or close to it). This is a sensetive coral, and it can take a month or two easily to get happy, and that is with stable consistently good parameters. Sorry, no quick answers or magic shortcuts.

 

[NeverlosT]

My suggestion is nutrient levels. I went through a period when my corals had pretty dismal color when the system was pretty new. It is probably recovering from ALK issues and just wants some time at a medium light level with some good fish poop/other coral food to eat and it will color up.

The secret to mine was time, having more fish, and feeding more. I started feeding a bit more (not to the point of food everywhere to cause algae problems) but the small increase in nutrients in the system seemed to lead to the corals deepening their colors (vs. the pastel look of very low nutrient systems). Stick with it and I am sure the color will return!

good luck!

 

[Aquaman_68]

most important thing...don't keep moving it around....when the PBN gets stressed at the very least it will shift it's color bigtime & quick... Once it fades it will take more than a month of stability to start to come back...mid level indirect light is the best position for that one!!

HTH btw...lots of sound advice from the others as well...
B