Coral and Coralline not growing

[sunil6784]

Hi guys,

Was hoping for some help...

Nothing grows in my tank. Very poor coral growth (and color) and very poor coralline growth. SPS have poor PE, LPS do ok (hammer, frogspawn, duncan). Ricordea are slow growers. I have very little nuisance algae growth, and very little coralline growth (only on overflow box and a little on rock). Tank has been set up for almost 2 years. Tank was started originally with BRS pukani rock which I gave a Muriatic Acid bath to.

Tank:
30g (24" x 24" x 12") frag tank w/ 20g sump
Reefbreeders LED (ramps up to 35% max) 13" above water
Chaeto in fuge
SC65 skimmer
2 part through dosing pump (9ml of each daily)
1.3 ml daily of vinegar (began 11/30/14)
2 Vortech MP10s @ 40% (Tidal Swell Mode)
Bimonthly 5g water changes with instant ocean salt

Tank paramaters:
SG 1.024 (just moved tank - am working on bringing up to 1.026)
ALK: 9.2 dkh (RedSea)
CA: 480 ppm (RedSea)
Mg: 1580 ppm (RedSea)
Nitrate: 0 (API)
Phosphate: 0 (Hanna 713)

I began dosing vinegar because I was convinced my PO4 was high which was inhibiting calcification - but I just tested PO4 for the first time and it was 0. All water changes and top off water is with a BRS RO/DI - 0 TDS.

On average, I feed the tank once a day. Occasionally I switch a day.

Stock list:
1 Oscellaris clown
1 Royal Gramma
1 Coris Wrasse
1 yasha goby with a pistol shrimp
Various CUC

One thing to note - I don't run carbon. I am going to begin runnign it passively in sump today to possibly remove any toxins. Water clarity has been fantastic.

I must be msising something?

 

[bertoni]

Those numbers are all acceptable. I might back off on the vinegar slowly to see what happens. Getting a second opinion on the salinity, alkalinity, and calcium numbers might be useful, if that's easy to do.

 

[mcgyvr]

many seem to report problems when nitrates/phosphates are "too low/zero" and dose to increase nitrates and report improvements..

if you are dosing 9ml of each 2 part in a 30G tank something is obviously consuming it.

your mag is a bit high too I think.. should be like 1250-1350

stop water changes.. start overfeeding and get that water dirty man :bounce1:
.. no really

 

[sunil6784]

Those numbers are all acceptable. I might back off on the vinegar slowly to see what happens. Getting a second opinion on the salinity, alkalinity, and calcium numbers might be useful, if that's easy to do.

Thanks, I'll test the alk and can with API and see what I get. I am going to discontinue dosing vinegar knowing my phosphate is 0.

 

[sunil6784]

many seem to report problems when nitrates/phosphates are "too low/zero" and dose to increase nitrates and report improvements..

if you are dosing 9ml of each 2 part in a 30G tank something is obviously consuming it.

your mag is a bit high too I think.. should be like 1250-1350

stop water changes.. start overfeeding and get that water dirty man :bounce1:
.. no really

I only have to clean my glass once a week (approx), so theres gotta be something in the water, no ? Or should I have to clean it more than that ? Or is that not a good indicator?

 

[bertoni]

Hmm, I'd expect at least some coralline growth if algae is growing on the glass. I might add a snail or two to clean the glass, if there aren't any currently.

 

[sunil6784]

There is some on the overflow box, mostly up high where the water enters.

 

[swk]

Thanks, I'll test the alk and can with API and see what I get. I am going to discontinue dosing vinegar knowing my phosphate is 0.

Ime vinegar is more directly responsible for nitrate than phosphate. At nutrient levels that low, I'd keep the big 3 closer to NSW levels.

Have you had success with those lights before? I ran a different brand of cheap led and struggled until I switched to ati t5s.

How new is the tank? Maybe more time needed to stabilize? Other than the above things I agree with the others about getting some more nutrients in the water. Maybe add some aminos? Oyster feast works well and maybe consider turning off the skimmer for a couple hours a day?

 

[sunil6784]

Tank has been set up almost two years, and I've had the light ever since. I've never had success with the tank in general, though I can't blame that directly on the lights.

 

[jimmcwibb]

I wonder if your lights are simply not bright enough. You say corals are growing poorly too, so that would fit. You also say there is some coraline up high, presumably where the light is a bit stronger. Your lights are only at 35% so there's plenty of room for increasing them. Even a bad LED will grow coral to some extent, if it's bright enough.

I also notice you're dosing 9ml of 2part each day. What's consuming Ca and alkalinity if you don't have much growth?

 

[saltyair]

What kind of water moment do you have?
Flow is very important - made a huge change in my reef in terms of growth.
Try feeding the corals or adding reef fuel aquivitro (or something like it)

 

[inetmug]

I was under the impression that the carbon dosing was mainly for nitrates, and phosphates are better treated with a GFO? I am asking for my own education.

BTW, if you want nitrates, I can ship you some of my water... .... low Po4, but high 'trates.

Maybe that is my new business.... "Nitrates R Us"

 

[swk]

I was under the impression that the carbon dosing was mainly for nitrates, and phosphates are better treated with a GFO? I am asking for my own education.

BTW, if you want nitrates, I can ship you some of my water... .... low Po4, but high 'trates.

Maybe that is my new business.... "Nitrates R Us"

That would be correct

 

[sunil6784]

I wonder if your lights are simply not bright enough. You say corals are growing poorly too, so that would fit. You also say there is some coraline up high, presumably where the light is a bit stronger. Your lights are only at 35% so there's plenty of room for increasing them. Even a bad LED will grow coral to some extent, if it's bright enough.

I also notice you're dosing 9ml of 2part each day. What's consuming Ca and alkalinity if you don't have much growth?

I was wondering this too. Because the tank is so shallow (12" tall) I've had a hard time figuring out what % to run the LEDs. How high should they ramp up to?

 

[sunil6784]

What kind of water moment do you have?
Flow is very important - made a huge change in my reef in terms of growth.
Try feeding the corals or adding reef fuel aquivitro (or something like it)

I have 2 MP10s in the tank running various modes.

 

[acabgd]

I was wondering this too. Because the tank is so shallow (12" tall) I've had a hard time figuring out what % to run the LEDs. How high should they ramp up to?

Why don't you try increasing 15-20% and seeing if it does any good...

 

[bertoni]

I wonder if your lights are simply not bright enough.

I think that's a very good point.

 

[sunil6784]

I wonder if your lights are simply not bright enough. You say corals are growing poorly too, so that would fit. You also say there is some coraline up high, presumably where the light is a bit stronger. Your lights are only at 35% so there's plenty of room for increasing them. Even a bad LED will grow coral to some extent, if it's bright enough.

I also notice you're dosing 9ml of 2part each day. What's consuming Ca and alkalinity if you don't have much growth?

Can corals bleach if there isn't enough light ?

 

[jimmcwibb]

Can corals bleach if there isn't enough light ?

People report bleaching in very dense colonies of acros and other SPS, where the base and crevices don't get any light.

 

[jimmcwibb]

In any case, the description was poor colour. Low light can definitely cause poor colour.