no growth

[firehazard]

hello all i have a 55 gallon reef. couple mushrooms, gsp, kenya tree zoos and palys. t5 lighting 4 x 54. diy 29 gallon sump, seaclone skimmer. running carbon. and full front fuge in the 29 gal. im using coralife salt.
my question why no growth. all the corals are open. i know people whos running pc and the same skimmer and their having more growth than in my tank. im using kent trace elements.i also use phytoplankton. coralline algae is constantly spreading. could it be the salt im using? im planning on setting up a 25w uv. and a phosphate reactor. any input or ideas are welcomed thank you.

 

[DonCisco]

I am fairly new here, but I think that for anyone to give you a better answer you need to give us your parameters. Ammonia, Phosphate, PH, KH, Calcium, Nitrites, Nitrates, etc. There is a relationship between the calcium concentration and the growth of corals. Also what kind of water do you use? Tap, RO/DI, pre-mixed. Now, we know the size of your tank the Wattage of your lighting system, and the equipment that you use. That combined with the chemical parameters that you've measured will give some of the experts here a better idea, of what could be happening.

Best of luck

 

[deelucky]

well i can only say that i have somethings that grow at a fast rate and somethings that grows slow.for instance my hammer is growing faster than my frogspawn.i also have t-5's,seaclone in my 29gal.but you have to reasearch what could be in the water that can hinder growth.

 

[LeslieS]

for a good comparison, you would also have to know the parameters of the fast growing tank.

 

[Craig]

how's your flow? how old are your bulbs? what type of bulbs do you have? do you aerate your salt h20 before putting it in? do you test salinity with a refractometer? need tank parameters and what test kits your using. what are you growing in the fuge? how often do you change your water? why add trace elements if using coralife salt? how much liverock/livesand? what are your expectations for growth?

 

[firehazard]

ph 8.3, salinity 1.026, nitrates 0, nitrites 0, ammonia 0. i havent tested for calcium due to its only softies in my tank. using seachem and The Saltwater Master Liquid Test Kit. i can also say i have enough lr and ls. deep sand bed in fuge.

what do you mean by aerate the water b4 putting it in tank? flow is like 800gph. not sure if this is enough though.

 

[deelucky]

ph 8.3, salinity 1.026, nitrates 0, nitrites 0, ammonia 0. i havent tested for calcium due to its only softies in my tank. using seachem and The Saltwater Master Liquid Test Kit. i can also say i have enough lr and ls. deep sand bed in fuge.

what do you mean by aerate the water b4 putting it in tank? flow is like 800gph. not sure if this is enough though.

to aerate your water is simply place a powerhead in the same container that your mixing your solution.i make my water a day or two before i do my WC and i have a tube in the powerhead to put air in to the water as it circulates

 

[firehazard]

i too mix my water a day in advance but no i dont aerate it. i just put a powerhed in to mix overnight.

 

[deelucky]

thats ok to as long as its mixing,but i think agitating the water surface builds up oxygen level.

 

[firehazard]

ok but if i put the water into my tank shouldt it aerate in the tank. i have a spray bar and the drain to the sump is not under water level so it does have contact with surrounding air. what else would be possible problems?

 

[fishguttz]

Corals look better under lamps with higher color (8000?) temperature but they grow faster under lamps with lower color temp(6500?).

I believe T5 lamp only describes the size of your lamps not the color temp.

What is your color temp?

http://www.marinedepotlive.com/lighting-a-reef-tank--part-2--by-mike-paletta--.html

 

[firehazard]

is coralife salt good for reefs? does anyone else use this brand of salt?

 

[inline6]

is coralife salt good for reefs? does anyone else use this brand of salt?

I use this brand, but only cause that is the cheapest salt my LFS carries.
haven't noticed anything bad (I keep mostly corals in a mixed reef).

 

[fritz]

I only aerate my new water for 10 minutes before it goes into my tank. Once the salt seems gone and test ok, I dump it in. Haven't had any problems doing this tank and I've been doing that for 2 years. (I;M NOT SAYING THAT IS A GOOD IDEA. IT'S NOT IT'S VERY FOOLISH OF ME, but it's what I do)

When you say "no growth" over how long a time are we talking? Do you reaquascape your tank often? I find that when I move stuff around alot nothing grows. If I leave everything alone and keep my hands out of the tank, things start to spread.

 

[firehazard]

i try not to move around corals often. and i notice a difference in coloration. but still no growth. as a time frame of my tank and no growth is approx 4 months. as per color of bulbs i will have to check. i have 2 days and 2 actinics. but will check asap

 

[fritz]

i try not to move around corals often.

I think this may be your culprit. What do you consider "often"? Mushrooms HATE to be moved and it takes them weeks (IMO) to settle in once moved. Zoanthids also won't spread unless left in the same spot for a month or so. It takes time for them to outgrow the rock they're on and for the stem of the "fringe" zoanthids to attach to nearby rocks. Break off a piece of one of your zoanthid rocks and glue it onto another rock. You'll find that it spreads quickly. Same thing with the GSPs.

It sounds weird but trust me, if you glue your corals in place so that you can't move them, they'll grow very quickly. Your lights are plenty enough for this type of corals and you're feeding. Make sure you stay up on your water changes and you're rock will be covered in no time.

It might also help to photograph your tank twice a month. Sometimes I think that certain corals haven't grown but when I look back a month or two I see that they have indeed grown and sometimes by quite a bit!

 

[fishguttz]

two days and two actinics are pretty normal, so it probably isn't your problem. The total wattage, though, could be insufficient.

 

[fritz]

Assuming your T5s are either a Tek light or DIY and you have individual reflectors your wattage is enough for some SPS even. Your corals are, for the most part, low light. I wouldn't look at lighting as your problem. I had a similar setup to yours and I grew those corals under 110 watts of VHO. VHO can only penetrate a few inches into the water and then it's mostly useless to corals. T5s (with individual reflectors) have a far greater punch, almost that of MH in fact.


If you're not seeing growth it's because you keep messing with stuff! Pick a spot and leave it there, it will grow.

 

[firehazard]

im goin to try adding more flow. and thank you all for your help. greatly appreciate it. i'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Josh]

I think a photo of your tank during its normal daylight period will help a LOT. We can diagnose flow, lighting, design, and even water chemistry from a few moderately focused photos of the tank and equipment.

I would borrow a camera and upload some pics before changing the flow.