Cali tort not growing..help plz

[saltyh20]

I've had this cali tort for over 2 years and it has grown maybe 1/2 inch.
whats the deal? Stable tank everything else seems to be ok.
do they like more nutrients? should I move it? It is one of 2 blue corals I have in mt tank. the oregon tort I've only had for 2 months seems to be doing ok. where has everyone had success with this beautiful tort? It's located top right.

alk 10
cal 450
mag 1350
nitrates 0-.75
phos .03
temp 79-80
6 t5 lights
200gal rated skimmer
alk w/ top off
cal on doser

 

[Bugger]

The amount of par that can reach your corals with your lighting set-up is probally at 400 tops but it could be as low as 200. maybe buy more rocks and change your bulbs

 

[Finland]

I have noticed that my cali tortes grows noticably faster under higher light. I have a few in my tank(due to tangs making frags for me) and the ones off to the sides barely grow, but the ones under the fixtures grow great. Tank is lit with 250w halides, lumenbright reflectors. I do have higher nitrates also, but even when the trates were lower the growth was good under higher light.

 

[saltyh20]

so t5 bulbs all ati 6 months old

back to front
bl +
bl+
pur+
spez
atin
bl+

take out the bl+ add coral+ or spez+? I had 2 spez in there and it was kinda pink and washed out. will I get more par if I take out the bl?

Thanks for the help

 

[mushroom head]

I blast my cali with light..a foot away just off centre of a 250 20k hqi.Mine has tripled in size in under a year.

 

[JPerkins2]

Get more live rock and build a structure that allows you to place the tort closer to the light?

 

[Big E]

You have plenty of par for acros with your T5's. I run 4 over my 75g powered by an Ice cap ballast twp blue+ & two coral+. My bulbs are overdriven so I don't get more than 6 months out of them.

ATI T5's 5" off the surface..........not my tank but just a pic I have saved for reference.

[/IMG]

 

[divewsharks]

so t5 bulbs all ati 6 months old

back to front
bl +
bl+
pur+
spez
atin
bl+

take out the bl+ add coral+ or spez+? I had 2 spez in there and it was kinda pink and washed out. will I get more par if I take out the bl?

Thanks for the help

The B+ are high par bulbs. Actinic is low par.

 

[sponger0]

Well first off your bulbs are 6 months. IMO its time to change them

Secondly, ATI's Blue Plus have one of the highest par values of any T5 bulb

No what is your flucuation of the alk throughout the day?

BTW Oregon tort is one of the slowest growers. If you have gotten any growth your doing good.

 

[saltyh20]

Alk is tested once a week. I get 9.5 and 10 readings. I never test the same time everytime. It's random.

I will test one in the morning and one at night and see what I get. I put reefbuilder in my ATO to keep alk in check. I add 30 tbl spoons to 5gals of water every 8-9 dys or so.

Ya, I'm thinking its time to change some bulbs. But it didn't grow when the bulbs where new. I don't think they are being overdriven.

The oregon is in the middle of the tank and looking good. It is a slower grower but I've seen it rip in tanks before.

Now i'm thinking I have a stability problem in the tank? will a fluctuation of alk @ 1pt really have such a neg effect on a coral(s)?

COuld it be that blue corals don't grow that well in my tank. I have a voodoo blue that was just an encrusted peice of rock that was broken of the bottom of a colony a buddy gave me to try and grow out and it is also, for lack of better word "chillin".

Thanks for your input guys!

 

[sponger0]

Maybe the bulbs? I doubt it but the type of bulbs youre are using.

As for your alk, it should not swing more than 1 point a day. Just take a day and test it in the morning, midday and after the lights go out. See what the alk is doing throughout the day. SPS like a very stable alk. It's one of the most important things IMO

 

[saltyh20]

You have plenty of par for acros with your T5's. I run 4 over my 75g powered by an Ice cap ballast twp blue+ & two coral+. My bulbs are overdriven so I don't get more than 6 months out of them.

ATI T5's 5" off the surface..........not my tank but just a pic I have saved for reference.

[/IMG]

BTW this is what i'm going for. how do I copy this set up?? haha
Killer Tank!
looks like a 120gal?

 

[jtmbtech]

I have heard one of the most overlooked elements that impede coral skeleton growth is high phosphates. Your test kit does not test low enough to know if it is a problem. A Hannah or red see pro test kit can go low enough anything over .08 is bad I have noticed major loss in growth when mine goes over .16 I have the red see pro kit it is easy to use. I know many others that love the Hannah tester it is easier because it gives you the exact number.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

 

[saltyh20]

Maybe the bulbs? I doubt it but the type of bulbs youre are using.

As for your alk, it should not swing more than 1 point a day. Just take a day and test it in the morning, midday and after the lights go out. See what the alk is doing throughout the day. SPS like a very stable alk. It's one of the most important things IMO

so you dont think it is the bulbs because I use ati or the combo or both?

I will test the alk today.

 

[saltyh20]

I have heard one of the most overlooked elements that impede coral skeleton growth is high phosphates. Your test kit does not test low enough to know if it is a problem. A Hannah or red see pro test kit can go low enough anything over .08 is bad I have noticed major loss in growth when mine goes over .16 I have the red see pro kit it is easy to use. I know many others that love the Hannah tester it is easier because it gives you the exact number.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

Just tested it with hannah= .04

 

[sponger0]

I have heard one of the most overlooked elements that impede coral skeleton growth is high phosphates. Your test kit does not test low enough to know if it is a problem. A Hannah or red see pro test kit can go low enough anything over .08 is bad I have noticed major loss in growth when mine goes over .16 I have the red see pro kit it is easy to use. I know many others that love the Hannah tester it is easier because it gives you the exact number.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

I dont think it's overlooked at all. I think it's overly looked at. And people arent willing to pay $50 for the checker but cant tell you an accurate reading on PO4

so you dont think it is the bulbs because I use ati or the combo or both?

I will test the alk today.

I was curious what bulbs you are using. If you are using all ATI bulbs, I dont think thats an issue.

And dont just test the alk. Track it. See what it is doing in a 24 hr period of time to see if its rising and falling or what not.

 

[stevedola]

Well first off your bulbs are 6 months. IMO its time to change them

Secondly, ATI's Blue Plus have one of the highest par values of any T5 bulb

No what is your flucuation of the alk throughout the day?

BTW Oregon tort is one of the slowest growers. If you have gotten any growth your doing good.

bulbs dont need to be replaced after 6 mths unless you over drive them and even then you can get a couple more months. normally driven bulbs can be run for 10 mths at 8-10 hrs a day.

I would definitely switch out the actinic for a blue plus (blue) or coral plus (white) or aquasun (more yellow) to give you more par. actinic basically has no real reason to be in a T5 fixture since B+ gives you a blue color and par.

 

[sponger0]

bulbs dont need to be replaced after 6 mths unless you over drive them and even then you can get a couple more months.

I would definitely switch out the actinic for a blue plus (blue) or coral plus (white) or aquasun (more yellow) to give you more par. actinic basically has no real reason to be in a T5 fixture since B+ gives you a blue color and par.

Buzz....wrong. With regular 10 hrs a day of usage (8 hrs white), you can wear them out. At 6 months I can stare right into mine with out squinting my eyes.

They say 9 months, but by the time they are 6 motnhs old, they really start to lose their power. Now this is fine with lower light corals, but we are talking about SPS.

 

[divewsharks]

Buzz....wrong. With regular 10 hrs a day of usage (8 hrs white), you can wear them out. At 6 months I can stare right into mine with out squinting my eyes.

They say 9 months, but by the time they are 6 motnhs old, they really start to lose their power. Now this is fine with lower light corals, but we are talking about SPS.

You should be able to get more than 6 months out of the ATI bulbs. there are other variables at play such as if they are actively being cooled to run more efficiently. I would use PAR meter would determine when to change bulbs. I run mine 8 to 9 months over a SPS tanks without issue.

 

[sponger0]

You should be able to get more than 6 months out of the ATI bulbs. there are other variables at play such as if they are actively being cooled to run more efficiently. I would use PAR meter would determine when to change bulbs. I run mine 8 to 9 months over a SPS tanks without issue.

I typically change mine at 6 months but currently on month 8. And there is a significant difference in their brightness and color.