coral growth secrets

[SanmanReefer]

Again no secret for grow coral

I disagree with you on that. While there isn't secret recipe for better colors I believe that lower nutrients, high swings either in Alk, temp, etc can affect the growth and color of corals. Stability and patience is key for sure, I learned not to tinkle to much with my tank, just water changes every 2-3 weeks, consistent temp and diligent changes of filter socks, cleaning skimmer etc. hope this helps.

 

[Ledreef]

Look if u can feed your corals 24 hr per day like in the ocean I believe that is the secret . You would pollute water.

 

[Ledreef]

Look is my tank o use only seawater. For water changeevery week the is the secret

 

[SanmanReefer]

Look if u can feed your corals 24 hr per day like in the ocean I believe that is the secret . You would pollute water.

Good point but you could pollute your water while feeding only once per day if you don't have the right equipment a/o your tank is not stable enough. I feed 3 times per day and still have a low nutrient system. I also have Cheato, sea grass, green Glacinaria, dragon breath and mangroves in my refugium so that could also be the reason why I'm able to feed on the heavy side. I clean the front and side glass about every 7-10 days now also.

 

[SanmanReefer]

Look is my tank View attachment 147442 o use only seawater. For water changeView attachment 147443every weekView attachment 147444 the is the secretView attachment 147445

Your tank is gorgeous but I'm sure it didn't get there overnight. Do you run reactors like GFO, carbon? What skimmer are you using? Feeding schedule, maintenance, etc..?

 

[NYreefNoob]

ledreef a tank filled with frags and colors that arent real isnt impressive.
stability and stability is one of the biggest keys to having a tank thrive, keeping your hands out also makes a huge differance. most of the time people over think this hobby, it really isnt that hard,

money how do you know how much you should be dosing alk, cal and mag ? what test kits are you using. as for the lights how long have you had them ? and i would say pending how long they are on they might be on to high of a setting. dont go by eye appearance with leds, trust me. some corals grow faster then others also, or you could move placement and it takes off in growth.

 

[Ledreef]

No reactor no dose 1 skimmer reef oct. Feed 1 cube of brine shrimp per day

 

[Moneymaks24]

money how do you know how much you should be dosing alk, cal and mag ? what test kits are you using. as for the lights how long have you had them ? and i would say pending how long they are on they might be on to high of a setting. dont go by eye appearance with leds, trust me. some corals grow faster then others also, or you could move placement and it takes off in growth.

My LEDs are 5 months old. On from 9 am to 7 pm on Bali mode ( I can't change time when in this mode) light used to be on from 11am to 8 pm on manual mode on 120 minutes rev up for sunset and sundown

Test kits used: elos for nitrate, API for calcium seachem for Alk and Mag.
For those who say API is no good( I tested this theory and always got same results w more expensive kits).

Lights on 60% full spectrum.

 

[duke62]

There is a reason the more expensive kits are sold. If they were not close to being accurate they wouldntbe around. The cheap PO4 kits are very inaccurate so are the nitrate but not as off as the po4 kits. I dont use the salifert for po4 because I know it is not accurate. What test kits did you check with to compare to API?

 

[lnevo]

Api is no good because my nitrates were 80 and it said 0.

 

[thirty6]

the pics you posted dont look bad, maybe im missing something and only you are really seeing the tank and can measure how its doing.
I would def. remove the paver stone from the tank as a few have suggested,

 

[Moneymaks24]

I compared my API nitrate results ( 20 ) with Elos test for Nitrate ( also 10-20). I've had the same nitrate reading (20) for almost 2 years since my last tank

I forgot which phosphate kit I used I'm not home now but it was pretty expensive. I know ph4 kits are not a true indication of presence of phosphates

 

[Moneymaks24]

As far as mature tank goes and it's connection with chalice coral:

First time I heard to not get a chalice when a tank is not "mature" was in a manhattan LFS when I went to get my first coral( I picked out some chalices $100 worth and they recommend I didn't get them yet ( why would they lie, they could of just made $100 from me but they warned me not to). I also read about a less talked about CYCLE our tank goes threw for almost a year ( developing all types of bacteria and food that corals can use 24 hrs a day from the water column).
The ammonia cycle is only part of a true cycle. The tank will o through several phases of algae and also different phases of chemical stabilization as different life forms come and go. It can take around a year.

Some people will have these beneficial critters and bacteria sooner depending on many things according to my research and will have a " mature" tank in less time ( roughly 6 months).

 

[thirty6]

You would have to be happy with that sort of advice from a Lfs

 

[Moneymaks24]

Ok so I just removed my paver stone., to say it was a pain is an understatement. Lots of detritus build up above it. I'm really thinking of going bare bottom slowly vacuuming out the sand with every WC.

 

[Ledreef]

You guys really believe it's a secret for grow coral ?

 

[d5332]

I dont think he meant secrets literally

More like tips

 

[Ledreef]

More like help ? Right

 

[NYreefNoob]

money ive used about all of the test kits, personally i use the redsea kit which was on par with the salifert kits in reading, for phos a meter is only way to really tell
i think your running your lights for too long as well especially if it is at 65% that whole time. your tank is still very young and will continue going through mini cycles ive found them to come about every 6 months then after a year or two not as much. i cannot stress enough about keeping your hands out of the tank. and stability. your always going to find some corals just dont want to grow for you and will for others.

ledreef how long have you been in the hobby ?

 

[KathyC]

As far as mature tank goes and it's connection with chalice coral:

First time I heard to not get a chalice when a tank is not "mature" was in a manhattan LFS when I went to get my first coral( I picked out some chalices $100 worth and they recommend I didn't get them yet ( why would they lie, they could of just made $100 from me but they warned me not to). I also read about a less talked about CYCLE our tank goes threw for almost a year ( developing all types of bacteria and food that corals can use 24 hrs a day from the water column).
The ammonia cycle is only part of a true cycle. The tank will o through several phases of algae and also different phases of chemical stabilization as different life forms come and go. It can take around a year.

Some people will have these beneficial critters and bacteria sooner depending on many things according to my research and will have a " mature" tank in less time ( roughly 6 months).

For most it is more around a year for a tank to be considered 'established'.
Husbandry, how healthy the live rock was when the tank was started, reasonable bio-load and a number of other factors may help a tank mature a little sooner, but not by much.

As far as test kits, I (may be the only one) have no issue with API kits. The company has been around a long time, the ones I have used over the years have proven to be accurate (again, nobody makes an accurate phosphate 'test kit').

As far as you lack of coralline growth - that takes time and it also needs to come from somewhere..best to 'seed' the tank with scrapings of coralline in a color that you like. Combine with spot on parameters (and no snake oil) and it will grow in time.

Regarding you lack of success with the chalices..I still think your low alk issue played a large part in the tissue falling off of them. Wait until after you have stabilized this tank for a number of months before you try again.

I also agree you run your lights for too long a photo-period.