Coral Growth

[evoIX_Reefer]

Hey guys,

I seem to be stumped on how slow all my other corals grow besides z&p. I can get my Z&P to spread like weed but my montis, brain, and chalice seem to be on a downhill spiral.

So I can see new growth on my Z&P in less than a month. I mean they sprout like 3-5 heads a month.

All my other corals see little to no growth and recently show a decline in health.

I don't feed my tank anything specific for them so is that a problem?

Parameters:

pH range - 8.17-8.4
SG: 1.025-1.027
temp 77.8
Nitrate - 0ppm tested within last 2 weeks
phosphates - 0.02ppm tested this past weekend
CA - 470-490 tested this past weekend (RC salt)
ALK - 7.7 tested this past weekend

Water movement by 2 rw8s.
Light - hybrid T5 + LEDs

RO/DI just changed filters + DI.

 

[arnaldolex]

wheres your mag at when mine was low my caps and stony stuff wouldn't grow and when its on point everything grows theres some kind of relationship with the mag and alk and calcium I keep my cal at about 500 and alk at 9-10 some people might say my calcium is high but for me that works

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

Sorry, I knew I was forgetting something.

Mag - 1440

I am for ALK around 8 instead of aiming anything for CA, as long as it's not way above. I think the top "range" for CA is 450 but RC salt comes around 490-500 so I don't do anything with it.

These tests are done with Hanna kits that were recently purchased. I probably performed only 3-4 tests so far with the kits.

I know they may be off by a little (accuracy deficiency) but look like good numbers for within range +/-.

 

[salpet]

its totally odd i am getting totally opposite results i grow lps and sps but z&p will not grow in my tank except for some gold colored zoas that grow incredebly but my other zoas just kind of hang in there and all my other corals are doing great can't figure it out.

 

[sgdcover]

What's the "p" in "z&p"?

 

[cybermeez]

Your Alk is on the low end. SPS can be kept with an Alk ranging from 7-11. I've found that closer to the upper end of the range gets better results. It will increase and help stabilize your pH. Keep your calcium and magnesium up because they are all related.

I have a lot of CO2 in may apartment so I'm running a kalkwasser reactor as my daily top off. The only other thing it requires is that I dose magnesium pretty regularly. With this set up (and a Co2 scrubber) I'm able to keep the tank pretty stable at:

pH: 8.15-8.3
Calcium: 450-500
Alk: 11
Magnesium 1350-1400

My softies don't do quite as well in these conditions but the SPS are happy.

P.S. Nobody's nitrates are ever really 0. There's always some in there.

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

Correct. Nitrates are always there but "undetectable"/near zero for a better choice of a word.

With dosing I raised alk over to 9.8~ and I did not see a positive reaction. This is when I really saw my corals health degrade.

I was dosing only 12ml of BRS alk via BRS 1.1 ml dosers over 10 hours at night. 3 times a weeks. It kept my Alk at 9.8 for 1 month and as mentioned that's when I saw my corals not so happy and decided to turn off my dosers to get it back down to my normal 7.7-8.0 range.

Would those corals really be effected so negatively by an alk range of -1ppm but still in "desired" range?''

Honestly, I feel it is the need to dose or feed my corals to make them grow better. I just don't "overfeed" my tank because I don't have an efficient skimmer to remove the extra crap I am feeding the tank. I plan to get a more efficient skimmer as my next item to upgrade.

Who doses what for extra coral growth??

 

[sgdcover]

I boost strontium and molybdenum and does Iodine, Iron, Manganese (lightly for those last ones. I keep Dkh ~10, calcium no lower than 450. PH between 8.35 and 8.44.

Never used a skimmer only Chaeto and dee sand bed. Corals do great and grow well. Phosphates and nitrates undetectable.

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

So trace elements and higher alk range?

Only reason I don't buy into the trace elements right now is due to amazing tanks without the need to dose specific trace elements. I know a recent thread posted about "replacing" trace elements with water change has been subjected to false information. I just don't see that they are vital to growth as much as other aspects.

Again, everyone has their own belief systems in this hobby and if it works for you then awesome. I just like doing things that have shown a decent success rate or bang for buck items that work in this hobby.

sgdcover - do you feed your tank anything in particular? Do you spot feed or use something like LRS food?

 

[sgdcover]

Hey just checking in. Did you decide on trying anything new?