Cali Kid Corals

Cyphastrea Care

Hey Theo, I have the one that is powder blue w/ orange polyps and i keep it on a rack about 14" below water level. The lighting is a 175w XM 20k in a L-3 reflector. Bare bulb is approx. 12 inches above the water level, no cover glass and the coral is a few inches off-center of the reflector hot spot. The coral seems very happy. HTH.-Jim
 
For me my cyphastreas all seem to like lower light. I guess it depends on the tank. Most of my chalices seem to be able to handle more light.
 
Mine turned brown and did not extend it's polyps when I had it near the top of my tank. I moved it mid-way down in a slightly shaded area. It got all of the color back, extended polyps, and has now grown on to the adjacent rock. I have 150 mh bulb on the tank.

Nick
 
I've had two Meteor Shower cyphastreas. They seemed to thrive at the top of the tank but declined when I turned up the current for the SPS. In a tank with lots of current, it appears the little polyps don't like to get knocked around much. This opinion is based on my limited observations over 6 months or so. BTW, one declined to gonner status and the other seems to be coming around. It was my original purchased from Vivid in LA. It has spread nicely onto the disc. It's like a miracle to watch the little pink polyps develop on the new growth. The bright turquoise background takes a little while to develop on the new growth but when everything is cooking, the polyps expend far out and wave in the current.
 
Mine (meteor shower survivor) seems to like more the bottom of the tank, moved it from the top and opens way more under T5 also the growth seems to have increased.
I found a tiny frag of one chypastrea which I believed lost in the tank it was red and blue, is all bleached but seems alive. I lost the super tiny frag when the clowns decided to make room and clean for their nesting site.
 
patchin said:
Jim, Is that XM your favorite 175 watt bulb? Good bulb color and growth with it? Thanks, Steve
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Hey Steve, it is my favorite stand alone bulb. But it's probably too blue for most ppl's taste. If I could have actinic supplementation, I'd prefer to go with the Radium 20k's which ave a nice crisp white to them. Unfortunately, coral growth rates are slower under the very high Kelvin bulbs, but the colors are phenomenal! Just another of life's little compromises I suppose. For my purposes, and the shops, faster growth is actually a negative thing.
 
The "new" tank has a 9" canopy. The last guy used spider reflectors with 250 bulbs. I wanted to get away with 175s, but now i'm leaning toward t5s because of the lack of clearance in the hood. Wouldn't have room for luminarcs. Marine Depot has a 6x54 fixture on sale for $313, which sounds pretty good. Would retro kits be much less than that?
 
Here's what it says
The polished aluminum is bent into 4 parabolic shaped reflectors

Sounds like they aren't ind. reflectors. What do you think if they aren't individual reflectors? Still a good deal?
 
I called Marine Depot and these are the typical Tek fixtures. So the reflector for each bulb is bent out of a single piece of aluminum. Sound right. He suggested not putting a fixture in a hood though. Sound right? Heat problems, he said. Would fans solve that. He suggested retro kits which end up being $70 more.
 
I had a tek fixture in a hood for about 2 years. i had to have 2 fans blowing to not have any heat issues. but it will work and you'll love the color of your coral under t-5's
 
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