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Arati

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I just went through your build and its really nice.

I wouldn't change a thing stability is more then just a few #'s. everything in the system is included in stability. some thing simple as changing a bulb is the same as changing the sun, it takes all life time to adapt to a changing environment and that slows growth. just like a new power head , is like a tide changing and can literally kill corals if they aren't moved and again growth is slowed as they re adjust to there new home.

I think you have decent growth for corals in the time you have stated, also you have great color. corals grow exponentially and will seem to grown faster as they get larger.

it seems like you dose more then needed but ill bet its going to start to catch up fast so keep testing.

if you really want to spur growth I think kalk is the way to go over manual dosing. kalk in the top off. but beware once you start kalk and the corals take off it you stop it . say like you run out for a week.. you run a high chance of stn.

I think it looks damn good id wait 6 months and see how it looks.
 

Jarrett

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thanks guys, i want to do the kalk but i am cautious i know to many people that lost tanks to simple ato failures, i dont want to lose my tank that way. i did just change the flow and the bulbs a couple months ago so ill keep waiting for stuff to adjust. as far as the dosing i feel like i dose to much as well, but it has to be being used up somewhere i test once a week and its always the same cal 450 alk 8.4
 
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Jarrett

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i had the photo period at 10, but i read a bunch of articles that to long of a photo period stunts growth so i knocked it down to 8. i don't think i am expecting to much i have been to plenty of tanks where i see sps grow all new branches in months. i only have one sps coral that has grown new branches everything else just slowly encrusts. and i have 2 other corals that only one branch grows awkwardly long and the other branches have stayed the same for 5+ months.
 
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no idea, that is the ati white bulb, is there another bulb specific brand you would recommend? i have only used ati so i don't know any other good recommended brands.

just checked out the bulb a bit the ati aquablue special is about 15k...im not positive on brands im sure someone else will chime in for that but the closer to 6500k the better the growth however the more yellow/white it looks, usually a good compromise on growth and color is a 10k bulb

also whats your light schedule like....you can also try extending your photo period a little longer a little at a time....maybe ad on 30 minutes per week until you are at a max of a 12 hour schedule
 

Jarrett

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well i was at a 10 hour photo period, didn't really see an improvement, read a lot of articles about people lighting there tanks for to long and that stunting the growth of the coral. so i shortened it to 8 hours along with the 10 gallon weekly water changes instead of 15 and feeding every day instead of every other day and the colors are much much better then previously but like i said growth in my opinion is lacking. i could possibly throw another white bulb in the mix but i honestly hate a white tank i might deal with the slow growth as opposed to sacrificing color.
 
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well i was at a 10 hour photo period, didn't really see an improvement, read a lot of articles about people lighting there tanks for to long and that stunting the growth of the coral. so i shortened it to 8 hours along with the 10 gallon weekly water changes instead of 15 and feeding every day instead of every other day and the colors are much much better then previously but like i said growth in my opinion is lacking. i could possibly throw another white bulb in the mix but i honestly hate a white tank i might deal with the slow growth as opposed to sacrificing color.

thats an option, you could also try throwing a white bulb in the mix and adding a stunner strip or something to balance out the color still with the advantage of more in the photosynthetic spectrum
 

Jarrett

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ill give that a try thanks bruno, and since i have peoples attention on this thread instead of starting a new one i have a quick question i have one lyretail anthias that i believe turned to male. i am about to go to the fish store i want to pick up 2 more different types of anthias is this possible?
 
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If its in the tank alone and started out as a female then it probably has turned into a sub male, I'm not 100% but from my understanding I believe you can add in other species of anthias with similar aggression levels I'm not sure if males of different species will bother one another so your safest bet would probably add 2 small females of similar aggression
 

BaaMNYC

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Sucks to hear about the slow growth, I remember when i had all frags and staring at everything waiting for it to growth is torture. I was trying to look over everything thats been written. and hope i can help with some two cents.

i use all ati bulbs also. I feel i have tremendous growth and very fortunate. I don't know if i stumbled on something right and lucky or what. I only use ati bulbs as well (except one).
8 bulb - 2 aquablue special, 3 blue plus, 2 purple plus and 1 geissman red.

But recently switched to : 2 coral plus, 4 blue plus and 2 purple plus but growth still seems strong. I felt the 2 aquablue specials was too much and i wanted a more blue look
Photo period has been 11 hours with 1 coral plus 2 blue plus and 1 purple. and in the middle of the photo period for 7 hours the other 4 bulbs.

lastly, i saw that all your params you listed are great but what temperature is your tank? I read that a little higher temp results in a higher metabolic rate for the corals and more growth maybe?

Maybe its the corals I have that are fast growers.
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/general-discussion/128694-before-after-photos.html
 

TheSherm

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Hey Jarrett, the tank looks good man, let everything encrust, thats when it'll finally start to take off. Try testing your parameters at different times throughout the day, esp since you are manually dosing. With manual dosing there is an immediate spike in alk and cal when you add them in the morning which could effect coral growth because they get a small quick shock every morning.

also, I absolutely agree with everyone on the GE6500k bulb. I switched away from it to get a bluer look but will definitely be going back because i believe it is great for growth, put it in the middle of the fixture. As far as supplements go, I have tried Pohl's and am not impressed especially for the price.

One thing to consider is that it sometimes takes a tank a little while to bounce back from any slight inconsistency or problem that may have arisen. The tank may be 1.5 years old and husbandry may be almost perfect, but one day maybe you moved a rock which released some decaying material which raised your phosphates a bit, then a month later you forgot to dose for a couple of days, or there was the two weeks of the hurricane! It takes time for the tank to get back to normal after any slight change. SPS is maddening. We are all nuts.
 

Jarrett

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thanks man. is there a better way to dose? what could be the cheapest doser just for dosing cal and alk. everything i have researched its always the big machines that dose 4 things i don't really need that. or if not that maybe break it up half in the morning half at night?
 
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