Should i relocate my coral for better growth

[coltin]

Got this acro a couple months back and I'm still waiting for it to take off. It looks healthy enough, I mean the polyps do extend at night and I'm seeing some blue tips when the blues are on. But what's got me confused is my buddy's got one from around the same time and it's just booming - spreading, growing, polyps always out. And the color on his is insane. Mine's just not doing the same thing, so I'm a bit stumped.

[coltin]

It's weird, I got this acro a couple months back and it's just stuck. It looks healthy, polyps come out at night, and I get some blue tips when the blues are on. My buddy got one around the same time, and his is just taking off - spreading, growing, polyps out all the time. His color is insane.

[Flowix]

What's your lighting setup like? You gotta break out the par meter and check those numbers.

[coltin]

I'm running metal halides, and by getting the meter out, I mean using a par meter to measure the light intensity at the coral's location. You're suggesting I move it closer to the light source, but I'm hesitant to do so since I had a similar experience a few months ago with another coral - I placed it right under the light and I think I ended up burning it.

[Flowix]

A par meter will give you a better idea of how well your light's performing at different distances, might be the tank's layout or the light itself that's the issue.

[coltin]

I'm gonna grab a par meter to see what's going on. Everything else in the tank is thriving, montiporas and birdsnest are growing like crazy, just this acro is being stubborn.

[Voyager2]

Your corals look like they're not getting enough nutrients, what's your phosphate and nitrate levels?

[coltin]

Don't know the exact numbers but I get my water tested at my lfs. They tested it last week and everything was fine except the alk was low, so I've been adding some buffer. The coral might look brown too because my t5s went out recently, that's probably why they're looking that way.

[Flowix]

Got this acro a couple months back and I'm still waiting for it to take off. It looks healthy enough, I mean the polyps do extend at night and I'm seeing some blue tips when the blues are on. But what's got me confused is my buddy's got one from around the same time and it's just booming - spreading, growing, polyps always out. And the color on his is insane. Mine's just not doing the same thing, so I'm a bit stumped.

I think you need to take a step back, reevaluate your tank. Your corals look stressed, and it's not just the acro. Everything looks a bit browned out to me. What's your maintenance routine like?

[dreamon7]

What's your lighting setup like? You gotta break out the par meter and check those numbers.

Don't be so discouraging... I'd take a few steps back and start by checking your water quality for yourself, see what kind of test kits your LFS is using - are they Hanna, Salifert, or something more basic like API? Get a handle on your Nitrate and Phosphate levels, high nutrients can really affect coral growth and color. If those levels are out of whack, it's no wonder you're not seeing the coloration you want.

If your water quality is on point, then I'd take a closer look at your lighting. MH lighting is strong, but it might not be providing enough PAR for your corals, which can cause browning or stunted growth. SPS corals are super demanding when it comes to water quality and lighting, and they also need good water movement - though I'm not sure that's the main culprit behind browning, it can definitely impact growth.