New to the SPS

[SaltyDog08]

I've just recently purchased my first metal halide fixture for a 75 gallon reef aquarium. I have a bunch of soft corals like xenia and many zoanthids. I just got into all the hard corals and stuff so I'm still learning. So far I have a little frag of milipora that's doing good I guess? I'm not really sure how to tell if it's doing good or not. So that's my first question. How can I tell if it is doing good or not. My second question is about monti caps. I bought a decent size peice of orange monti cap and I was curious to how fast it grows under 2x250watt halides.

 

[luke33]

It depends on how healthy your tank is. Some will grow fast (few inches a month) and some will take some time. The larger they get the faster they seem to grow for me. It varies from tank to tank. If they are doing well you will see growth and good polyp extension. If they are not doing well you will see that quickly with no PE and fading colors.

 

[sandswhitson]

PE is not an indicator of health. Corals in the wild do not have PE during the day only at night when it is time to feed. Keep an eye on any tissue recession and color. But color can change so much from one tank to another due to placement and bulb color.