Star Polyps and Lighting

Question
I have a 90 gallon marine tank which is 36 inches across and 3.5 feet deep and one foot in depth.

I have poor lighting (just one actinic and one florescent) and need an upgrade.  What would you recommend without breaking the bank?  do you have a used one for sale?

And my star polyps aren't doing as great as they were in the store.  They are near the light (top of the tank) but aren't opening as well.

Is that a water change or something else?

Answer
Ryan,
Does your aquarium have a canopy over it or just the glass hoods and striplight?  If it has a canopy then I'd strongly recommend putting the JBJ 4 x 96 watt power compact retrofit fixture over the tank.

If you don't have a canopy then I'd go with the JBJ Formosa DX fixture with 2 96 watt power compacts in it.  It's not ideal, but it'll get you a lot closer to where you need to be.  Generally we recommend no less than 4 watts of light per gallon of water in reef aquarium.

That being said, even though your star polyps are a lower light species I'd recommend getting them within the upper half of the tank.

Testing the water will prove if there is anything in the water chemistry that is causing them stress.

Are you adding the proper additives to keep you trace element levels correct?  I recommend Two Little Fishies C-Balance as a calcium and alkalinity buffer and finally SeaElements for everything else (iodine, strontium, magnesium, iron, etc.)

What are you feeding them?  I'd recommend picking up some variety of phytoplankton diet to feed your corals.  I like Two Little Fishies Marine Snow and PhytoPlan.  Great as individual products even better when used together.

Those are the primary reasons why a coral might not do well.  If all of those things are fine then you may want to consider some animal in the tank might be picking on it.

All of the products I mentioned above are available via our online catalog at www.aquariumcrazyfish.com Go there for more information or to try them out.

Thank you for your time and best of luck with your tank!

Regards,
Scott Johnson
Aquarium Crazy Fish
www.aquariumcrazyfish.com