MammothReefer
Active member
Ah, so 7.5 w/an ELOS isn't that low. I used ELOS kits for a long time, I found my elos kits to always be about 2dkh lower then my Salifert/Hannah.
Discouraged as why corals aren't growing
- Thread starter SolarEclipse
- Start date
Ah, so 7.5 w/an ELOS isn't that low. I used ELOS kits for a long time, I found my elos kits to always be about 2dkh lower then my Salifert/Hannah.
tankaddict
New member
My tanks natural alk is about 7 with API. When you find what your tank likes to stay at then leave it alone. I heard about how people keep their alk high in the 10-12 and got incedible growth. I tried it...sps started to look bad and my alk would drop so much everyday that i had a hard time keeping it up. Now i left it to where it wants to be and im getting great growth.
gon08
New member
The number is not what is important it's stability although it is possible to be too low or too high. The Original Poster however is complaining of no growth, and if all is in order but his alkalinity is low then that is a very viable possibility. Also he doesn't test for PO4 which may also inhibit calcification.
Bottom line is stabilize your Alk (whatever number that may be for you), lower your PO4 and give the coral time to readjust and all be fine. Also not sure about the lighting, what exactly is in the fixture.
SolarEclipse
New member
The light is the Elos Planet II. Took out two of the t-5s in the middle and added the Elos LED E-stripes. 30 LEDs total + 4 39w t-5s
SolarEclipse
New member
Okay here's an update. Since about a week ago my kh has been crazy stable. Testing every day and been spot on 8.5. Of course there might be swing, but my tests show none. Today it dropped to 8. I'm going to add more kalk to ATO and see if it can keep it at 8.5.
OneReef
Reef Guru
I agree with some of the earlier posts. Stability is more important than the level itself. I keep a lower alk because lower alk is supposedly better with biopellets. Some say a high alk with biopellets can cause pale colors or bleaching. If you can keep around 8-8.5 consistently, you should be good. If corals don't look good after that, it is because of a different issue.
SolarEclipse
New member
When my kh was stable for a week @8.5 then went to 8. I was under the impression that a week later it would be at 7.5. Is that a bad assumption or is there a level off period?
OneReef
Reef Guru
It should bottom at some point. I used to worry about alk being high enough and was constantly adding buffer and stuff as I thought I needed higher levels. I finally gave up trying to keep it up, and let it sink down to around 8. It stayed there and I left it, but it was stable. Everything grew and looked fine at the lower level so I just left it.
SolarEclipse
New member
Is 10 dkh to high? I checked today after a week of raising my kalk. Will it promote better growth? I'm also vodka dosing with MB7.
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SolarEclipse
New member
One more question. So after a water change, depending what salt I use my parameters can either go up or down. My question is since I use Kalk, if after my WC my dkh goes down, will the kalk raise it back up to where it was before the WC, or will it maintain the number after the WC?
Basically if after all I do to get my tank running smoothly, after doing a WC it throws it all off, by a little, so if I keep doing WC it will eventually be out of whack. How do you correct for the salt mix throwing your numbers off? ahhh so frustrating.
Basically if after all I do to get my tank running smoothly, after doing a WC it throws it all off, by a little, so if I keep doing WC it will eventually be out of whack. How do you correct for the salt mix throwing your numbers off? ahhh so frustrating.
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Neoferdina
New member
Ok, I'm gonna have to say that you're barking up the wrong tree here. Stability is key; I agree with that. But I don't believe that's the issue for things not growing. You said two important things: vodka and mb7. Together they work magic but with ULNS you are effectively starving your colonies, which eventually slows growth. Either try cutting back on your dosing a bit or feed more (or try feeding aminos). You do have a number of fish but if you are dosing heavy it doesn't matter that you have many fish to feed the corals.
SolarEclipse
New member
Coraline is great, since I got my dkh up to 10. I do see some corals encrusting, some are recovering previous tissue damage.
About the starvation, I don't see the pale colors on my coral.
About the starvation, I don't see the pale colors on my coral.
SolarEclipse
New member
x1 GE 6500k (T-5)
x3 ATI Blue+ (T-5)
x1 10k Elos E-Stripe (15-3w Cree LEDs)
x1 20k Elos E-Stripe (15-3w Cree LEDs)
x3 ATI Blue+ (T-5)
x1 10k Elos E-Stripe (15-3w Cree LEDs)
x1 20k Elos E-Stripe (15-3w Cree LEDs)
jimrawr
New member
On a 4 foot tank have 32 XPE LEDs will give very low par unless you have focused optics. My 4 foot tank had 64 XPGs without optics and the par was very poor. Do you notice more growth in your higher sps? That would indicate what I think is the problem. 7.5dkh isn't too low so long as it's stable, I don't think that is your issue. Stability is far more important than chasing the perfect numbers
SolarEclipse
New member
The LED's are not focused optics. I assure you, it is enough light, but I do only run my total light photoperiod for 7 and a half hours. Had an issue with some algae so I cut it back. Do you suggest bumping it up? Say another hour?
SolarEclipse
New member
Might have some part of the puzzle: mixed up a new batch of saltwater and decided to test the alk in it. It was at 6! I'm using Seachem Aquavitro. The guaranteed analysis says 3.5 meq/l which is around 10. I'm just seriously thinking of not getting that salt again.
