Some corals open and one doesnt

[Smoshposh]

I have about 6 corals in my tank right now and all of them open except for 1 duncan. I have literally no idea why that one in particular doesnt want to open because i have 2 other duncans in the tank and they open fine but just that one doesnt for some reason. Im very confident that my water quality is good because i do a 40% water change every week. I am just worried since it closes very often that it might soon die. Also, is there an accurate test kit for testing water quality, i have the api master reef test kit but its not accurate because on my other stick test strips (i know aren't the best either) it shows complete opposite values?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

API and test strips are not accurate enough for our hobby, salifert and hanna are the 2 most recommended brands IME. Alkalinity is the most important parameters if you want to keep lps and sps corals. (Duncan is an lps)

But in order to offer suggestions, we do need to know the parameters. Changing 40% of water every week might actually be bad for your system, there is such a thing as "too clean".

Also wondering what type of light you have, the corals look sort of brown and I see no algae anywhere, to me these are possibly indications of low light.

What do you have for water movement in the tank? Duncan coral likes to sway back and forth.

Thats a nice looking tank! We just need a little more info to help you

 

[Smoshposh]

API and test strips are not accurate enough for our hobby, salifert and hanna are the 2 most recommended brands IME. Alkalinity is the most important parameters if you want to keep lps and sps corals. (Duncan is an lps)

But in order to offer suggestions, we do need to know the parameters. Changing 40% of water every week might actually be bad for your system, there is such a thing as "too clean".

Also wondering what type of light you have, the corals look sort of brown and I see no algae anywhere, to me these are possibly indications of low light.

What do you have for water movement in the tank? Duncan coral likes to sway back and forth.

Thats a nice looking tank! We just need a little more info to help you

Ok thanks for telling me and i just ordered the salifert master reef testing kit. it is just really clean because i cleaned the acrilic before taking the picture so it didnt look too bad but algae grows really fast and out of hand within a couple of days actually. I also have 2 powerheads that move the water above the corals but not directly at them because they are really powerful (marineLand maxi-Jet 1200). I also use a hygger programmable led light.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Ok thanks for telling me and i just ordered the salifert master reef testing kit. it is just really clean because i cleaned the acrilic before taking the picture so it didnt look too bad but algae grows really fast and out of hand within a couple of days actually. I also have 2 powerheads that move the water above the corals but not directly at them because they are really powerful (marineLand maxi-Jet 1200). I also use a hygger programmable led light.

How many watts is your light, and what size is the tank?

 

[Smoshposh]

How many watts is your light, and what size is the tank?

its 72Watts, 48 - 55 inches long and the tank is 65 gallons

 

[BryanM]

parameters are very helpful, as has been said.

That said - there's probably 100's of members here, certainly me included, that have a dozen thriving corals, with one thats just wonky. The answer to this is usually hard to find, but it seems most often it comes down to lighting or flow, or a pest or predator that is bothering it.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

its 72Watts, 48 - 55 inches long and the tank is 65 gallons

It will work for some lower light corals, but other corals will struggle and might not get the best coloration of the corals. IMO 150-200 watts will be provide much better results on your size tank.

 

[Smoshposh]

It will work for some lower light corals, but other corals will struggle and might not get the best coloration of the corals. IMO 150-200 watts will be provide much better results on your size tank.

is there a certain brand you would suggest that isnt too pricey but also is good too?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

is there a certain brand you would suggest that isnt too pricey but also is good too?

nicrew, vivarspectra, noopsyche, I think are the most recommended "low budget" lights on this forum. Personally I use the nicrew 100watt on my 32 gallon, I'm very happy with it and with the color it produces. If you type these 3 into the forum search, you'll see a lot of threads about them for some extra info. Good luck