1 year on my 75 SPS

[kevensquint]

I am happy with the results. My favorite view is the peninsula view.

All the coral frags in pic 1 are the same as in pic 2. Minus 2 that died in a diatom bloom. No corals where added over the year.

 

[HaWrasser]

that looks like some nice growth man! what do you keep your parameters at?

 

[kevensquint]

Well I have OCD when it comes to my tank. So the params are tested nearly daily and solid.
If I may, I have come to believe its not the precise parameters you keep. But which you keep in relation to your lighting and nutrients levels.
Just the same mine are : Alk 7.5 DKH Ca 420ppm Mg 1250ppm K 410ppm PO4 0.02 NO3 1-5 ppm

 

[hawkinsrgk]

That is really good growth especially for 1 year. Can you give us some info on your setup

Thanks
Randy

 

[kevensquint]

Well the key is being dynamic. Over the first year, there are ups and downs so I adjusted my lighting accordingly. At first my nutrients where too low since the tank was sterile. So I kept a reduced photoperiod. When I got some readings on NO3/PO4 I jacked up my lighting hrs and bulb choice with higher PAR. I adjusted my Kamoer dosers in regard to daily testing. And I estimated my corals photosynthesis by my peak Ph in the afternoon. If I hit 8.4 everything was growing and happy. If I stopped at 8.2 I had too much light/PAR

This is my DIY lighting, but before you freak out, I have all those lights for flexibility. They are not run together. In fact I light 1 MH per side for 4 hours each only. They are not on at the same time.

 

[gacolt]

wow great growth.where these frags or did you buy mini colonies?need more before and after pics

 

[ritter6788]

Looks great. Glad to see another 75 gallon out there.

 

[Artisan]

Well the key is being dynamic. Over the first year, there are ups and downs so I adjusted my lighting accordingly. At first my nutrients where too low since the tank was sterile. So I kept a reduced photoperiod. When I got some readings on NO3/PO4 I jacked up my lighting hrs and bulb choice with higher PAR. I adjusted my Kamoer dosers in regard to daily testing. And I estimated my corals photosynthesis by my peak Ph in the afternoon. If I hit 8.4 everything was growing and happy. If I stopped at 8.2 I had too much light/PAR

This is my DIY lighting, but before you freak out, I have all those lights for flexibility. They are not run together. In fact I light 1 MH per side for 4 hours each only. They are not on at the same time.

I'd be interested in seeing your filtration, but I'm even more interested in learning about Ph in relation to coral photosynthesis. Can you please go into more detail about that?

 

[mcarroll]

Not to butt in on the OP's anwer, but....

Check out Randy's articles on high and low pH.....in a nutshell, once photosynthesis by corals uses up the available CO2 in the water (besting the gas-exchange rate of the tank), pH in the water will rise to a point. More or less light = more or less photosynthesis.

 

[kevensquint]

My filtration is a DIY 30 gallon sump with cadlights cone skimmer/DSB/chaeto. That's all. I don't dose expensive boosters, only some acropower now and then. I also feed corals 2 nights per week. Here are a few pics of the frag to colony comparison. TBH, these particular pics are about 14 months of growth, not 12 since I started them out before upgrading to my 75.

 

[Chameleon]

very nice!

 

[kevensquint]

The two stags were junk frags from a friends tank...broken bits half under a rock. Just goes to show, what a small scrap can turn into with TLC.

 

[K_red_raider]

Wow great growth...I guess im gona have to read up on the photosynthesis....

 

[Reef Man]

Can you explain more about your lighting? Number of bulbs, watts, cycle, etc.....

 

[kevensquint]

1-250w Radium/ 1-250w Phoenix and 6 T5's actinic/purple+/blue+/blue+/coral+/actinic.
The halides are on phoenix 4hrs morning/Radium 4hrs afternoon. During the 8hrs total of MH, 2 T5's are on coral+/blue+. The 6 T5's are one about an hour and a half before and after the MH's. So about 11 hrs photoperiod with 8 hours of MH in the middle.

 

[kevensquint]

This gives the corals a break from straight full on lighting all day. My tank is ulns, ( I don't want that its just how it is) so if I did the 8 hrs dual MH's with 4 T5 blues my corals look too pale. Tried it, no good for myvtank.

 

[Reef Man]

Very interesting. I will try that.

 

[macscale]

Wow... Stunning tank!

So when you say you don't dose anything fancy, does that mean your relying heavily on water changes? And Acropower but no Calc/Alk/Mag supplements, if I read that correctly.

 

[eliramos]

This growth is amazing!

 

[kevensquint]

I use cooked arm&hammer and BRS CaCl2 plus the mag part. A bit of acropower and I test and maintain K. I also try to maintain Sr based on Ca uptake. But nothing else really. WC's...I can't do them too often because my nutrients are already low. Maybe 5% every 2-3 weeks.