Coral Growth

[MiataRacer]

So everything's been going well for my 40B reef tank, except for one problem: I'm not seeing much, if any, growth from my coral frags. The only coral I have that's grown is one of my zoas a little bit, and although it's opening up, it's only opening partially. I keep my nitrates between 5 - 10 ppm, calcium about 440 to 450 ppm, alkalinity about 9 - 10 dKh, and salinity 1.024 - 1.026. I make sure to dose Aquavitro Fuel twice a week. My corals are 3 zoa frags, a candy cane frag, 2 acan frags, a mushroom frag, and a blasto frag. The mushroom and zoas have been in the tank for about 4 or 5 months, with the others added over time. One of the acans, one of the zoas (sometimes two) and my blasto don't open fully, although they open partially. Is this growth normal? The only problems I can potentially see are my weak lighting (a Coralife Aqualight dual T5 unit, not the high output version) and that I top my tank off manually rather than with an ATO.

 

[mcgyvr]

Probably lighting but corals can/do grow fairly slow and sometimes you just don't notice the slow growth.. I run 4 x T5 HO on my 40B now

 

[BlackTip]

How old is your tank?

My coral started to show growth after the one year mark. Some corals grow very slowly and other quite fast. I started dosing Fuel 2 months ago, and I believe it helps. Polyps are very extended, since I started dosing.

 

[MiataRacer]

Ahh okay, I kind of figured I should replace my lighting. I bought it when I was planning on just having a FOWLR tank, and it works for keeping lower and medium light corals alive, but they don't seem to really be thriving. The bulbs are due to be replaced next month anyway, so I think I'll just replace the lighting instead. What kind of lighting did you have before? I'm just curious as to whether replacing the lighting will cause a heat increase. My tank already runs at about 77 degrees thanks to the lighting and my Remora Pro's Mag 5 pump; my heater rarely even comes on anymore.

 

[MiataRacer]

How old is your tank?

My coral started to show growth after the one year mark. Some corals grow very slowly and other quite fast. I started dosing Fuel 2 months ago, and I believe it helps. Polyps are very extended, since I started dosing.

My tank's 7 months old. The corals that are closer to the lighting tend to extend their polyps and open up decently, but the ones that are further from the lighting (except my mushroom) don't extend much.

 

[mcgyvr]

Sorry.. wrote 4 bulb but its a 6 bulb.. (blonde moment)
So yes your 2 bulbs are looking even "weaker"

I had 2 x OceanRevive S026 fixtures on it..
The T5s do put off heat but I haven't noticed any difference in water temps/heating needs (but its winter now too) and I keep my house at ~68-70... tank at 78
and I just have it raised 6" off water with no closed canopy so the heat just blows right on by right out the one side exhaust..

I love this dimmable ATI 6 bulb 24" for this tank.. Its perfect and I'm really happy with it.. Threw it on and its set to ramp to 90% during the times and no problems with the switch from the LEDs..

 

[MiataRacer]

Sorry.. wrote 4 bulb but its a 6 bulb.. (blonde moment)
So yes your 2 bulbs are looking even "weaker"

I had 2 x OceanRevive S026 fixtures on it..
The T5s do put off heat but I haven't noticed any difference in water temps/heating needs (but its winter now too) and I keep my house at ~68-70... tank at 78
and I just have it raised 6" off water with no closed canopy so the heat just blows right on by right out the one side exhaust..

I love this dimmable ATI 6 bulb 24" for this tank.. Its perfect and I'm really happy with it.. Threw it on and its set to ramp to 90% during the times and no problems with the switch from the LEDs..

You didn't like the LEDs? I was hoping to maybe switch to LEDs (mostly because of bulb replacement cost for T5HO bulbs). Did they not work well for the corals?

 

[ncaldwell]

My wife had one of those Coralvue dual lights over a 40 breeder. Nothing grew except a couple mushrooms but slowly. My vote is with the light

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[MiataRacer]

My wife had one of those Coralvue dual lights over a 40 breeder. Nothing grew except a couple mushrooms but slowly. My vote is with the light

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Well that's two votes for the light, looks like it's getting replaced. I was going to replace the bulbs next month anyway, so that would be the perfect time to do it. What light did your wife get as a replacement? I'm trying to get decent options for a new light that aren't super expensive (I'd prefer something close to $200 or $300 or less, and I'm not opposed to buying used).

 

[Ron Reefman]

leds will grow coral just fine. But there are other advantages and disadvantages to both leds and t5. I don't know why mcgyvr switched, but some don't like the darker shadows, or the red/green edges on the shadows (disco effect). And his t5 fixture is about the only t5 that is dimmable. mcgyver, is it controllable (sunrise/sunset)? But leds don't need replacement bulbs, have some (2 channel) or lots (6 or 7 channels) of color control without replacing bulbs and very little heat.

 

[MiataRacer]

leds will grow coral just fine. But there are other advantages and disadvantages to both leds and t5. I don't know why mcgyvr switched, but some don't like the darker shadows, or the red/green edges on the shadows (disco effect). And his t5 fixture is about the only t5 that is dimmable. mcgyver, is it controllable (sunrise/sunset)? But leds don't need replacement bulbs, have some (2 channel) or lots (6 or 7 channels) of color control without replacing bulbs and very little heat.

Yeah, I didn't think about the shadows, I don't think I'd mind much though. I looked into his T5 fixture, and that thing is nice but way beyond my budget. I'm leaning in the direction of LEDs. Does anyone use the Current Marine Orbit? I found that it seems to be a really good deal as long as it's a decent light, a lot of customizability with it.

 

[crocogator106]

Just my .02 but I've got LEDs and love them. They seem to keep all my corals happy and growing just fine.

 

[Lsufan]

For lps I would think u would need atleast a 4 bulb t-5 so I agree that the light may be a problem, but in new tanks a lot of times it can take coral a while before they really start to take off. I don't get the fastest growth in my 40 breeder because I can't keep any nutrients in the tank & some of the corals are starving. Every time I test I get 0 pO4 & nitrate. Because of this I feed my corals & I do get growth just not the fastest. Nothing really grew for seemingly like the first year but when I hit the one year mark they started growing pretty well.
One example is a acan I bought with 6 heads. It took about 8 or so months to grow to about 12 heads, but over the next year it went from 12 to about 50 now.

 

[rjjr1963]

Yeah, I didn't think about the shadows, I don't think I'd mind much though. I looked into his T5 fixture, and that thing is nice but way beyond my budget. I'm leaning in the direction of LEDs. Does anyone use the Current Marine Orbit? I found that it seems to be a really good deal as long as it's a decent light, a lot of customizability with it.

I use the Current Orbit Marine. I've had very good luck growing SPS almost immediately when I put them in the tank. My tank is a 40 breeder and only 16" deep. The SPS need to be placed closer to the surface to get good growth so I'm thinking the PAR drops off quite a bit down low. I wouldn't use it for anything deeper than 16" for that reason. Maybe the Marine Pro would be better but it's quite a bit more expensive. The four preset modes are good for a beginner like me because I have no idea how to adjust the lights yet.

 

[MiataRacer]

I use the Current Orbit Marine. I've had very good luck growing SPS almost immediately when I put them in the tank. My tank is a 40 breeder and only 16" deep. The SPS need to be placed closer to the surface to get good growth so I'm thinking the PAR drops off quite a bit down low. I wouldn't use it for anything deeper than 16" for that reason. Maybe the Marine Pro would be better but it's quite a bit more expensive. The four preset modes are good for a beginner like me because I have no idea how to adjust the lights yet.

Glad to see you had a positive experience with these. I've been reading about them online and a lot of people have mixed opinions on them. They seem somewhat weak in general, and a lot of people seem to have problems with them, but I also see some people like you who say they work great. I talked to the owner of my LFS (Before anyone says anything, I've been going there for a while and mine doesn't try to sell me overpriced crap I don't need or unhealthy fish, and I haven't been given bad advice) who I do trust, and he recommended the new Kessil A80s, which I really do like but they're just so expensive.

 

[rjjr1963]

Glad to see you had a positive experience with these. I've been reading about them online and a lot of people have mixed opinions on them. They seem somewhat weak in general, and a lot of people seem to have problems with them, but I also see some people like you who say they work great. I talked to the owner of my LFS (Before anyone says anything, I've been going there for a while and mine doesn't try to sell me overpriced crap I don't need or unhealthy fish, and I haven't been given bad advice) who I do trust, and he recommended the new Kessil A80s, which I really do like but they're just so expensive.

Kessil makes a very good light. If this is your DT and you plan on keeping it a while I'd spring for the Kessils.

 

[ca1ore]

Don't think the A80 is the right choice for a 40B though. I'd think the 160 is the better choice.

 

[MiataRacer]

Don't think the A80 is the right choice for a 40B though. I'd think the 160 is the better choice.

Yeah, I just looked the A80 up and it's meant for nano tanks. I know the 40B is technically a nano tank but I don't consider it much of one. I also found some opinions that the A80 is a weak light too.

 

[Dapg8gt]

Yeah, I didn't think about the shadows, I don't think I'd mind much though. I looked into his T5 fixture, and that thing is nice but way beyond my budget. I'm leaning in the direction of LEDs. Does anyone use the Current Marine Orbit? I found that it seems to be a really good deal as long as it's a decent light, a lot of customizability with it.

Def agree that it's the lights.. Non HO T5 is not designed for coral health at all over the long haul.


IMO I would stay away from mainstream "budget" led systems. I haven't heard of anyone who loves the light and most people say they wish they would of just spent the money on a better light. They may work but your paying decent money for a name brand on an inferior product that is most of the time just rebranded Chinese budget stuff. Like aqua medic and current is basically all jebao pumps with a few cosmetic changes just double the price. Basically aqua medic's whole line up from the pumps, top off, rodi is double the price of the exact same thing directly from fishstreet. Marineland's "Reef" light is from aqua traders etc..I Probably could go on fishstreet and find current and aquamedic's lights as well. Think you get the point though =).

All just my opinion but If your on a budget and need LED my opinion would be go with reef breeders or the ocean revive etc.. Basically a Chinese product backed by an American business with the proper CL certificates. The budget Chinese boxes work well especially if you are just in it to grow coral.. If your gonna be an SPS color nut it may be a harder to fine tune it being new to the game.. Not saying it doesn't work cause there's a few great tanks all SPS that I know about running ocean revive, reef breeders etc so it's a single investment vs needing to upgrade when you realize it's crap. .

All just my opinion though I tried the LED wave but it wasn't for me. I'm a T5 and radium guy .I'm actually about to sell the last of my led hoard Gen 1 radion xr30 and a Gen 3 Xr15 pro lol..



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[Ron Reefman]

I've used lots of inexpensive leds in the past, and still have one, an OceanRevive T247, over my frag tank (2'x2'x10") and the corals do great. We have a pretty good size local club here in SW Florida and because I have a PAR meter, I get to go measure PAR for a lot of members tanks. The $100 to $200 basic 2 channel, manual dimmer led fixtures (most or all made in China) work just fine. I've been in the hobby for 12 years and used compact fluorescents, 150 watt and 250 watt Metal Halides, 4 bulb and 6 bulb t5 fluorescents and $100 to $750 leds. They all make light and they all can grow coral. It's more about what you want in the way of the look in the tank, the features of the fixture and the cost.

I loved my MH/t5 combo fixtures, but in SW Florida that meant a big chiller as we keep the house at 82F for 7 to 9 months of the year and my house A/C and chiller used a lot of electricity to control the heat. So I switched to leds 5 years ago and my fixtures have paid for themselves in electricity and bulb replacement savings in 2 years. For those of you up north, the heat is probably a LOT less of an issue. But besides operating cost and heat savings, I like the color control (2 channel is good, 6 channel control is really nice but a luxury IMHO). Sunrise/sunset control is also nice, but again, a luxury that your corals really don't give a crap about. It's for us to have fun playing with!

Look at MarsAqua, OceanRevive, Reef Breeders and a few others for decent quality fixtures in the $100 to $200 range. They all use 3 watt leds and work well over 24" and even 30" deep tanks. The 0.25 to 0.35 watt Current Orbit is much better suited for a fish only tank or a 12" deep tank.