My SPS won`t grow HELP guys !!!!

A

andyITA

New member
Hello, I have got some Montipora Digitata and Montipora plate (blue, green and red) and in 3 months none of them have grown 1mm !

My tank specs are:
Aqua Zonic T5 Lamp 4x24W (with JBL bulbs: 15000kx2 marine day and 2x20000k actinic blue) 6H/day (all 4 bulbs) and 12H/day (just 2 bulbs on)

Skimmer NAC3 Bubble magus
2reactors for Seachem Matrixcarbon and Seachem Phosguard
60x45x45 (120L) display with 50L sump
1xwave pump 3000l/h
etc....

Here are my water parameters:
Salinity 1025
PH 8.6
KH 8.5
Ca 440
Mg 1260
Temp 26 degrees Celsius
Phosphate 0.00 (tested with Hanna Digital)
NO3 = 5 (tested with Salifert)
Salt used: Red Sea Pro Salt. 10% weekly change.
Tank started 5 months ago. I only have 1 fish: mandarin.

Could you tell me what can be the problem ? I can`t get my SPS corals (montipora) to grow....the red one is bleaching out....and the blue one is brown with hyper extended polips.

Should I change my JBL bulbs with ATI bulbs ? (JBL bulbs are just 3 months old)
Should I add more light ? like a metal halide ? or should I test for some trace missing from my water that inhibits growth (like potassium)

HELP GUYS....I invested so much time in this hobby and I am on the edge of quitting because I cannot see how is it possible that my sps won`t gro...and some friend that got 0.58 PO4 and does no water changes at all has good growth on montiporas ?

here is a pic of my tank (side view)
and a movie



Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 
Hmmmm well you should be very happy imo many many people who have been at this a very long time settle for not dyeing but alas I understand your thoughts. do you even see a lighter color on the edges of the monti plate? ime they can be very slow to get started growing if at all
 
I would try getting LED's or halid lights. I have LED's and my monti cap is growning pretty fast.
 
I used to feed my corals with JBL Koralfluid + frozen arthemia (for LPS) daily in small quantities.
NOW I use Red sea ENERGY A+B daily
I have also added today a beautiful firefish (purple)

regarding colors....yes on the green one I see green coloration on the edges but going to the center it fades away.

The odd thing is that I used to have KH = 6.2 and PH = 7.6 and immediately after testing I added 3 teaspoons of sodium bicarbonate (pure) in RODI water and that week I had huge growth from all SPS corals. After my KH reached 8+ and my PH 8+ they stoped growing even if I still added 1teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in the RODI water to maintain these water values.

So ....since my corals have made it to grow like 1cm in 1 week after that shock increase of KH I think it-s not the light`s fault

Also I have read that there is a balance needed for my lvl of calcium = 440...so my KH should be around 11 is that true ?
Another issue is that I found out that potassium is a trace element that is crucial in coral growth but here in my country I do not have access to potassium tests or other trace elements....

any ideas ?
 
How long have you had your bulbs? It is generally a good idea to replace the bulbs every 6 months.

Maybe you should raise the temp to 28-30C and feed more often.
 
Are they stable? SPS don't like to wobble in the current. Your mg is a teeny bit low 1300 would be better. My sig line has a good balance. And I'd suspect you might be a bit too nutrient poor. I've always run a pretty rich tank, with fish, and bristleworms to break down the poo, and I've had fair luck with montis. I've also had them closer to the light: a 14000 MH at about 9" elevation, with montis about 5" under the surface. Other SPS is less happy with higher nutrients, but I've found montis pretty happy mixed with lps.
 
Sk8r said:
Are they stable? SPS don't like to wobble in the current. Your mg is a teeny bit low 1300 would be better. My sig line has a good balance. And I'd suspect you might be a bit too nutrient poor. I've always run a pretty rich tank, with fish, and bristleworms to break down the poo, and I've had fair luck with montis. I've also had them closer to the light: a 14000 MH at about 9" elevation, with montis about 5" under the surface. Other SPS is less happy with higher nutrients, but I've found montis pretty happy mixed with lps.
Click to expand...

I have fixed them with reefbond....got tons of brittleworms ....because 90% of my rock is live....
the bulbs are new ...only 3 months old.

so there are 3 things that could miss in my tank: nutrients (that would be odd because I feed quite often the LPS with frozen shrimp + the JBL Koral fluid adition I used to do)
Light (maybe JBL bulbs are total crap or I simply need some power leds to help or even MH)
Some Trace element that my other corals (soft) consume before SPS get even a chance to get it and grow....
 
I think I found the PROBLEM !!!
I did not change the Seachem Matrixcarbon for about 4 months !!! should it be a factor that inhibits coral growing ?
 
Not sure if the carbon would be a factor in it. If anything it would be leaching nitrates back into your water. Based on your above params I would try and lower your pH to 8.2-8.4 range and raise the alk up a tad more (9-10) along with the magnesium (1320-1360). Just add baking soda, that should raise your alk and slightly lower your pH at the same time. Also see if you can raise you phosphat to .02-.04. Just sounds like your tank is nutrient poor overall.
 
I would probably change out your bulbs for ATI, you'd be surprised at the par difference. Your parameters look pretty good, but something is definately off. Montis are very fast growers and you should have seen more growth in that amount of time.
 
Montiporas love the light and you are just a tad short of the recommended 4 lumens per gal. Need to suppliment the T5s w/ some Leds (30 40 watts) to get you to 4 lumens per gallon. I would get my Alk up to 10 - 11 using a good reef buffer and in the long run this will stabalize your pH at around 8.3. But buffering will pull your calcium down so first up your calcium to around 475 then next day start buffering Alk. Reef builder 1/2 teaspoon to start and then measure. Alk can be one of those things you really have to dose and is as important if not more important than any other nutient including calcium. And even though you do water changes I would expect a need for regular dosing of these and all essentials. I would use an all in one suppliment like Salifert on a weekly dosing schedule which will build calcium and Alk and all other essentials except Iodine. Then measure next day and redose calcium and Alk as needed but not at same time. Also a monthly dose of Iodine is needed for SPS. This is something that is hard to accurately or cheaply test for levels, so stay on the safe side with a single monthly dosing of 1 ml per 25 gallons of water.

Happy Reefing
 
coralsnaked said:
Montiporas love the light and you are just a tad short of the recommended 4 lumens per gal. Need to suppliment the T5s w/ some Leds (30 40 watts) to get you to 4 lumens per gallon. I would get my Alk up to 10 - 11 using a good reef buffer and in the long run this will stabalize your pH at around 8.3. But buffering will pull your calcium down so first up your calcium to around 475 then next day start buffering Alk. Reef builder 1/2 teaspoon to start and then measure. Alk can be one of those things you really have to dose and is as important if not more important than any other nutient including calcium. And even though you do water changes I would expect a need for regular dosing of these and all essentials. I would use an all in one suppliment like Salifert on a weekly dosing schedule which will build calcium and Alk and all other essentials except Iodine. Then measure next day and redose calcium and Alk as needed but not at same time. Also a monthly dose of Iodine is needed for SPS. This is something that is hard to accurately or cheaply test for levels, so stay on the safe side with a single monthly dosing of 1 ml per 25 gallons of water.

Happy Reefing
Click to expand...

You do realize that a single 24watt T5HO puts out roughly 2900 lumens, multiply that by 4 and you get 11600 candle lumens for 4 bulbs. Acording to your "lumens per gallon" he has about 386.7 Lumens per gallon. Figuring your lighting based on total tank volume is absolutely ridiculous be it Watts per gallon or 'lumens per gallon'. The only variables that matter are A. light source B. distance the light has to travel (IE tank depth) and C. what the light has to travel through. Watts and lumens are also archaic terms when measuring light for photosythisis, PAR is the only feasible way to go.
Graphs:
http://i573.photobucket.com/albums/ss176/Hoppycalif/PARvsDistT5.jpg

http://i573.photobucket.com/albums/ss176/Hoppycalif/PARvsDistVariousBulbs2.jpg


Why not just get a salt mix with higher base alk, calcium and magnesium. Then you wouldn't have to dose as much. And why would you not dose magnesium if you are dosing calcium. The whole reason why dosing calcium drives down your PH is because it causes calcium carbonate to precipitate; magnesium prevents this precipitation therefore your alk wont crash and your calcium will be accessible to your organisms. Telling someone to go out and pour buffer in their tank when what they really need is Mg is like taking Tylenol to relieve the pain of a brain tumor, you may feel fine but you still have a tumor. Not to mention that he already has 2 reactors so as long as he keeps them full of aragonite/crushed coral he would have all the calcium carbonate he would ever want.
 
From a fellow European, I would say your main problems are light and Mg. I'm not sure these JBL lights are putting out enough light for a sustained growth. Also, you should up your Mg, which will in turn keep Alk and Ca in check and stabilise your Ph.
 
Ever since I switched salt mixes from kent to red sea I've seen my mag and calcium stable out but till have to dose alk a little on the side to keep up with my corals growth.
 
There is something very strange !
I just bought Salifert Mg Test and after 4 tests correctly done I get that my Mg is 1500 !!!
how is this even possible since I do not dose Mg...never did. I just do a 10% water change weekly....
My JBL test shows my Mg = 1260 - 1300 max ......... what is wrong with these tests ? anyone got any idea?

PS I am 100% sure I do the test correctly ! I have asked other pple how they do it + read the instructions several times.

ANY IDEAS?
 
Montis grow like weeds in my tank. You params sound good, mag is a tad low. Do you have pics of when you first got the frags? Fast growing is a relative term, so it's hard to appreciate growth of stonies at times. Fwiw, they grew in my tank under pc and Alk around 6-7. Now I have LEDs annd Alk of 8 an they just grow faster. Maybe increase light or raise them up?
 
rovster said:
Montis grow like weeds in my tank. You params sound good, mag is a tad low. Do you have pics of when you first got the frags? Fast growing is a relative term, so it's hard to appreciate growth of stonies at times. Fwiw, they grew in my tank under pc and Alk around 6-7. Now I have LEDs annd Alk of 8 an they just grow faster. Maybe increase light or raise them up?
Click to expand...

I have no pics but I got the frags of monti and milka 3 months ago and they did not grow 1 mm in all this time !!! it-s simply retarded :(

They are near the water surface.... :|

I think either the JBL bulbs are a total junk and I need some more light...or there is simply something wrong with my tank ...I mean terribly wrong ! :deadhorse:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
AI Blade Grow and Glow help
Replies
5
Views
224
Sermanley
S
J
Calcium very elevated
Replies
3
Views
198
jcarlilesiu
J
NancyT3
Display tank - algae bloom - (19 wk old 140 gal)
Replies
12
Views
464
CharleyDavis
C
J
Back into the Hobby
Replies
15
Views
512
griss
griss
K
Need help with Diatoms?
2 3
Replies
53
Views
2K
Kozman61
K
Back
Top