Goniporia?

[hubbard_shark]

So I bought this coral from my LFS and they claim its a goniporia, but it doesnt seem to be. i cant figure it out, heres the pics maybe someone with better knowledge knows let me know.
thx for the help

 

[SkiFletch]

Heh, those are star polyps, not goniopora. Here's a shot of my own, although mine are green and pink whilst yours are more purple

Those are classic star polyps. This is a goniopora. Note the much thicker stalks and the more close bunching of them.

 

[hubbard_shark]

Ok cool, yea the LFS had some sketchy guys working that night, probab y they didnt know wat they were doing.
quick ? for polyps, wat is the best lighting wattage? especially for a tank like mine that is more deeper than most, more of a show tank, 37 gallon.
and also: wat is the best water flow system or flow head?
thx

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, to give you some prespective, my star polyps are on the bottom of my tank which is 24" deep. They are underneath two Power Compact (PC) bulbs that span the length of my tank. They're in a pretty low flow area and I will need to prune them probably 3 months after putting them in my tank.

As for powerheads, I would reccomend Seios or Tunze Streams. Alternatively if you want the cheaper now option go with maxijets. Seios and tunzes are expensive to buy, but use less power and end up saving you $$ on energy costs later. From a longevity standpoint they're all very good pumps. You pretty much want 20x flowrate in gallons in the tank. So for a 37gallon tank you're shooting for 740GPH of total flowrate among powerheads. Probably most easily acheived by two smaller powerheads.

 

[hubbard_shark]

well if u saw the pic of my tank in the fish forum u see my filter system? u think its good enough flow for my polyps, or is more needed?

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, I did, and probably not enough flowrate. You're prolly talkin around 200gph off of that filter. Most of those pre-made ones dont have much flow at all, and 200gph is probably where I'd peg it. So you'd still need some powerheads. Its also wise to get some at different heights in the tank. Having one pushing water around the bottom of your rockwork will help a lot and prevent "dead spots"

 

[hubbard_shark]

on powerheads do they just attach to ur filter system or do u need to re-hose the whole thing?

and to reply to this, i notice my star polyps tend to not stay out all the time, they like almost look as if "welted up", is this not enough waterflow?

 

[SkiFletch]

on powerheads do they just attach to ur filter system or do u need to re-hose the whole thing?

and to reply to this, i notice my star polyps tend to not stay out all the time, they like almost look as if "welted up", is this not enough waterflow?

Wilted polyps can be a LOT of things. Low light, too much light (probably not your case), very very low flow, way too much flow, any ammonia or nitrite present in the water, excessive nitrates (40ppm +), nipped or stung by livestock or other corals, bulldozed by hermits or snails, calcium too high/low, alkalinity too high/low, salinity too high/low, temp too high/low. wilted polyps are not the end of the world, the things are pretty resillient. how long do they stay wilted? a real long time, or jsut every now and again?

Powerheads are small pumps (usually fist sized or smaller for the flowrates we're talking) that stick to the glass either with suction cups or magnets. You submerge them, stick them to the glass, orient the outlet how you want, and then plug them in.Very simple inventions...

 

[hubbard_shark]

they do it in sections. im thinkin its low flow rate and lighting
i only have one 20 wat light, which is probably not even close to enough.

tom im goin to my LFS wats a good light wattage to purchase, and u say the maxijets is a good choice?

i didnt know u just plug them in and its set, kinda like a heater is this correct?

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, powerheads are on all the time. They're little electrically isolated pumps. Water flow is required for gas and nutrient exchange in your tank. Without it, your liverock wont filter well, and your corals will suffocate and die. Powerheads should ONLY be plugged in when under water. Running them dry will burn them out VERY quickly. Maxijets are good pumps, but if your LFS has Seio or Tunze pumps I'd go with those.

Sadly, lighting isn't as simple as purchasing a wattage. If you want to ultimately keep SPS (smal polyped stony) corals, anemones, and/or clams, you'll need to go with Metal Halide lighting. Probably looking at a 150watt, 175watt, or even a 250watt unit. If you are not intending on keeping those animals, T5 or Power Compact flourescents will be fine. If thats where you're going, look at getting tubes that span the length of the tank (wattage is directly proportional to length). If they're T5, try to get 4 tubes minimum, and if they're power compact try to get 2 tubes minimum. Generally a mix of color temperatures (10k daylight and 20k actinic) is what people find works best for corals longterm.

 

[hubbard_shark]

Ok so Im gonna go with the 175 watt, how many should be sufficient? and wat would be a good setup if i was to use the day/night lights? just b/c im gonna do some purchases today to keep my tank where it needs to be

but also, its probably more important to get powerheads first, how important is better lighting especially how mine is?

 

[SkiFletch]

Powerheads and a little more live rock are way more important at this juncture. You can spend a week or two deciding lighting using just what you have now. When deciding lighting there are 3 main things to consider.

1 - Dimensions of the tank
2 - Livestock you want to keep now and in the future
3 - Any horizontal bracing across the top of the tank

A 175watt metal halide can cover an about 2x2x2' area of the tank. So, center braces and dimensions come into play here. I'm very unfamiliar with a 37gallon tank size (pretty non-standard I think) so if you could list dimension that would be great