Soft Corals Not Growing/Thriving

[apurintun]

My mushrooms, nephthea and sarcophyton sp. are all surviving (most are between one and two years old) but have not grown and "thrived" the way many I see/read about.

I have a 50 gallon system w/ moderate (220w of compact fluroescent) light, moderate-to-strong circulation, and a smallish skimmer (CPR BakPak Reef-Ready). The system is two-plus years old and quite stable; I change about 5% of water volume every week; I replace most evaporation w/ kalkwasser; plenty of purple coralline algae grows on glass and rocks.

I have three small fish who get fed sparingly (mostly they graze), and a dozen red reef herimts and 20 astrea and cerith snails for clean-up.

I currently do no supplementing or feeding, other than very small additions of iodine weekly.

What should I be doing differently to help my soft coral/mushrooms "thrive"?

 

[cd77]

Do you have a magnesium test kit by any chance?

 

[apurintun]

No. I test for all the basics (Ca, carbonate hardness, nitrate, phosphate), but not trace elements.

 

[cd77]

Check out http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2003/chem.htm

Kalkwasser use can deplete both Magnesium and Strontium. Mind you, I'm fairly new to the SW game, but I have recently started using kalk and like to keep my eye on these sorts of things. Whether or not the amount of Mg/Sr depletion caused by kalkwasser over two years will noticeably effect coral growth is unknown to me.

 

[apurintun]

Thanks. Does anyone know if soft corals/mushrooms are sensitive to magnesium and strontium depletion? (or depletion of something else)

Also, I am interested to know if there are opinions as to whether I should be "feeding" these corals anything (and what).

 

[cd77]

No answer, just another resource:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/corlfeeding.htm

The page is a stub, but there are a lot of links to FAQs and additional information towards the top of the page. Bob Fenner, Steven Pro, Anthony Calfo and the likes contribute.

 

[apurintun]

Having perused the wetwebmedia link, I would say that I may be letting my Alkalinity (and Calcium) fall below optimal. Could this be problematic for soft corals/mushrooms? Would a couple of large water changes be in order? (to restore balance; followed by more careful monitoring/maintenance)

Also, after two years (with no real refugium - although I do have a 15 gal sump that generates a certain amount of pds, etc.) could it be a lack of micro fauna? If so, are there any good solutions to this (I can't add a refugium due to space constraints, but could make modifications (e.g., add some live rock???) to the sump -- other ideas?)

 

[unda_da_see]

how old are the bulbs? they shift in spectrum as they age and pc's need to be changed sooner than most.

 

[apurintun]

I change the bulbs every 8 or 9 months -- it really does make a difference in the way the corals look (colors), but I haven't noticed that they seem any "happier" under new bulbs.

 

[OmarD]

I would say way too much light for softies...

My best growing ones are in a 12 gallon nano with only 24w of light.

My 12 Gallon Nano

 

[apurintun]

Hmmm. They only get half the light (2 of 4 55w bulbs) for most of the day; all 4 bulbs are only on for about 3 hours at midday. So mostly they are getting 110w -- and my tank is much deeper than your nano. Still think it could be too much?

 

[OmarD]

12 Gallon NanoCube Pics

 

[apurintun]

What about flow? I know some say you can have too much flow for mushrooms, but what about nephthea and sarcophyton sp? My flow comes from a ~400 gph main pump that's on continuously, and three smaller submersibles on intermittently. Total flow must be roughly 1000 gph, but much of it is intermittent.

 

[apurintun]

Light (too much, too little, too old), flow (too much, too little), or water quality (esp. alkalinity, but also other parameters such as trace elements). Which of these is the most likely culprit? I understnd that of course it could be a combination of any or all -- but I want some advice on which to try to change first.

I lean toward water quality, but I can't say that these animals were doing better a year or 18 months ago, when, presumably, water quality was closer to optimal.

 

[Runfrumu]

same here with softies. my mag was way low when I had it tested (around 480) I've since got it up to a tad over 800 and plan to get it t0 1200 or so. my lps are all doing awesome and so are my zoa's. But my softies just look floppy. I may have mine under too much lighting.

 

[apurintun]

I am no expert, but yours does seem like a lot of light (for soft corals). Does anyone think 110-220w of PC is too much for a 50 gal soft-coral tank? (It's 110 w most of the day; 220 for a few hours at midday.)

 

[mfp1016]

Yeah, actually pretty much most mushrooms, zoas, and softies don't really require such intricate attention to trace elements. Strontium, magnesium, calcium, molybedenum, iodine, etc are really more for stony corals. Just my .02

Personally, I've had my mushrooms, zoas, and rics thrive sans trace element supplements. Of course once I ventured into SPS, and LPS I started adding and testing for them. Before and after results were about the same all the softies. I would be more concerned with their light and flow, IMHO mushrooms are one of the most fickle when it comes to light. With LPS and SPS its actually kind of easier because you already know that they need very high light (some LPS like plates want less, but generally speaking...). Mushrooms on the other hand come from all over the reefscape, from 50+ feet, or 2 feet, mushrooms really require a lot of patience+trial and error to get great results. I've had rics that loved! to be up on top and in the bright light, while I've had the same species want to be on the bottom, they were just different frags.

 

[apurintun]

My reading suggests you are probablt right about trace elements. And maybe even the gross parameters -- calcium and alk. Light and flow do seem to be mentioned a lot, esp. w/ mushrooms. I may try cutting back on the light a bit....

 

[K' Family Reef]

this might seem too simple but how are the phosphates in your system?

tried to get mine down for over 3-4 mos that i was aware they were high - finally purchased po4 reactor - since my softies have been growing/multiplying

just a thought.

regards

 

[SlowCobra]

Low magnesium will cause numerous different issues, including what you are experiencing. It will also make it difficult to maintain a steady Alk and Ca level.