SPS No Growth
- Thread starter FullCircle
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FullCircle
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My LFS tested the SG in my water and it's identical to what my refractometer reads. I have to see if my LFS carry these fluid for future calibration.
ChuckG
New member
I wouldn't be surprised if they calibrated with fresh water too.. reading here it sounds like a fairly common mistake. Pinpoint Marine sells a salinity standard for calibrating their Salinity Monitor and it wll work just as good to calibrate a refractometer.
I am by no means an SPS expert, but im wondering how big are your pieces? i know that when i buy frags (1" or smaller) it takes a while for them to take off. if they are freshly cut, sometimes they will encrust downwards, before they grow up. How much growth are you going to see in 4 months? im not being sarcastic, i reallly don't know. I try to take Pics of my new frags when i get them, and compare them month to month. If i see a differance i am happy. Again just my $.02
~Dave
~Dave
FullCircle
New member
The frags range from 1-1.5 inches and small colonies from 3-4 inches. That's the other thing -- I'm not sure what sort of growth rate to expect in these corals, which are an assortment of acroporas. The acros that I purchased about 4 months ago are exactly the same size exhibiting zero growth. I know that species vary in growth rate, but on the average, what can we expect given all the right conditions?
Bigmike
New member
Are the SPS you purchased wild or mari? In a newer system especially... I have seen similar results to what you are describing... when people (newbies especially) see the pretty wild or maricultured colonies come in, it is so temping to jump start a reef with them.
But my original thought and I'm still leaning towards it... pests. Did you dip the corals before putting them in your system?
But for being new to SPS, you definitely know more about what you're doing than a lot of other experienced reefers! I commend you for all the research you have done. :beer:
But my original thought and I'm still leaning towards it... pests. Did you dip the corals before putting them in your system?
But for being new to SPS, you definitely know more about what you're doing than a lot of other experienced reefers! I commend you for all the research you have done. :beer:
FullCircle
New member
According to my LFS, the frags/colonies that they sold me are from 2 generations of tank raised corals. One LFS sells frags that he produced from his larger colonies. I dip the corals in API Marine Melafix. BTW, thanks for the comment. I don't think there's an archive article on reefcentral that I haven't read yet. Great site with great stuff!
^ +1! Xenia, Zoanthids, and other softies are known to inhibit SPS growth. Running GAC can really help with all the alleopathy.
I think a lot of people use BRS carbon. I personally use the Rox Carbon, but BRS has a nice comparison chart for all the different kinds. You can put it in a bag in a high flow area or use it in a reactor. It seems like there is mixed reviews about running them together. GFO requires a light tumbling and GAC should not move or the carbon will break.
Also, do you have a lot of Coralline algae? If you do, I think it's really weird that your parameters don't fluctuate. Coralline is a huge consumer of the ALK and CAL...
FullCircle
New member
Coralline algae is doing well on the LR and back glass, but is turning brown at the center overflow. It's probably due to a short period where the lights were changed out to a different spectrum. Hopefully, the coralline algae will recover. My calcium and alkalinity are reasonably stable after the many hours it took to dial in the calcium reactor. But, my magnesium depletes by 100-200ppm in 4-5 days. I dose magnesium weekly and try to maintain it at 1200-1300 ppm. I think calcium depletion is minimal, because magnesium is kept at an optimal level. BTW, good info on the BRS carbon.
ReeferJohn408
New member
My sps didn't do a thing after six months sitting in our 1 yr old tank. All parameters are dead on and so as nutrients. Your tank seems to be in the right path, you just probably need to wait for the sps to acclimate properly and start growing on their own.
Goodluck.
Goodluck.
epicurus84
New member
Try some easy sps (mainly monties). They should take off quite fast.
It also depends on the coral, i've had one growing the fastest now but never grew for the first 6 months.
Acro's tent to have some longer acclimatisation time.
If they colour ok, have decent polyp extention they will be ok. Also the tinier the frag the slower it will grow.
It also depends on the coral, i've had one growing the fastest now but never grew for the first 6 months.
Acro's tent to have some longer acclimatisation time.
If they colour ok, have decent polyp extention they will be ok. Also the tinier the frag the slower it will grow.
True. It could be for others, however.
It is certainly possible but usually it only dredges up outdated and erroneous information. There is plenty of that in this thread. I am hugely in favor of searching the forum for related issues, but usually pulling up an old thread isn't warranted as each of us have slightly different issues to contend with. Worse yet is it frequently confuses people and they try to help the original poster, without realizing at first that the thread is very very old and no longer relevant to the original poster.
