3 Month SPS growth

[gnorman]

Hey Everyone, I’ve been reefing on and off for 10 years or so, but recently in Feb I added an apex to my system. With my job and how much I travel it was a game changer for me. It’s allowed me to really get into the SPS realm of this hobby. I’m now “stick” obsessed.

Let me know your thoughts and opinion on the growth and coloration from my SPS. The photo of the 6 SPS corals on the frag rack were purchased here on Reef2reef from someone. First photos are when these corals were added to my system on Feb 1st, 2025.

The last photos were taken tonight, July 10th, 2025 during a WC.

Corals shown on frag rack:
Carolina Reaper
AV99 orange crush
TSA Daysream
Merlin’s Staff
Rainbow pc (haven’t gotten much growth)
Pink Cadillac (not much growth, was low and too shaded)

Other corals in tank I already had:
Bali green slimmer
Bubblegum Digi
Green birdsnest
Green elkhorn Monti
Yellow tip acropora
ORA red planet
Some type of red Mili
Red Mili with green polyps
Red Monti

Thanks everyone!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

stunning! im envious! looks like you got something figured out!

 

[gnorman]

Thanks! I feel like it’s been going really well. Now to keep it up month after month.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Now to see what the sps looks like a year from now! Are you doing anything special to help them grow faster?

 

[gnorman]

Main things are the following.

I added a AF co2 scrubber to help keep ph raised. Before I added it ph would be 7.4-7.7. Now I’m getting 8.0-8.4. I feel like this has substantial helped growth.

I dose brightwell reef code A/B for Cal and Alk and also their mag.

I’m running the Red Sea reef mat, and fuge with cheato on oppose DT light cycle.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Great stuff. Keep that ph up and system stabilty, esp the alk. Good luck and ty for sharing

 

[gnorman]

Great stuff. Keep that ph up and system stabilty, esp the alk. Good luck and ty for sharing

Thanks for the advice! It’s made a difference for sure. And that’s the goal pushing forward.

 

[backbayreef]

Very cool SPS selection and great growth - congrats!

I've finally discovered an even better method for faster SPS growth and would like to share it with everyone. Forget feeding air from outside, air handler, recirculating CO2 scrubber, 2-part dosing, kalkwasser, maintain stability, Moonshiners, etc. The real secret to noticeable SPS growth is vacation! That's right - simply stop looking at them and go away for a week / two. I guarantee that you will notice a huge difference upon your return!

 

[gnorman]

Very cool SPS selection and great growth - congrats!

I've finally discovered an even better method for faster SPS growth and would like to share it with everyone. Forget feeding air from outside, air handler, recirculating CO2 scrubber, 2-part dosing, kalkwasser, maintain stability, Moonshiners, etc. The real secret to noticeable SPS growth is vacation! That's right - simply stop looking at them and go away for a week / two. I guarantee that you will notice a huge difference upon your return!

Ha! I’ve seen plenty of videos and comments of people saying that once they stopped messing with the tank everyday, it started to look way better after a few weeks.

 

[bobnicaragua]

Once no one is breathing in the house, CO2 levels drop. PH goes up and acros take off.

 

[bobnicaragua]

Op the acros look great. My tank is all sticks, and I’d be happy with those results!

The only thing I can think of that would make a noticeable difference is dosing kalkwasser at night. Kalk minimizes the nightly PH drop and you can see a difference in your sps.

Great work, I love to see happy acros!

 

[gnorman]

Op the acros look great. My tank is all sticks, and I’d be happy with those results!

The only thing I can think of that would make a noticeable difference is dosing kalkwasser at night. Kalk minimizes the nightly PH drop and you can see a difference in your sps.

Great work, I love to see happy acros!

Thanks for the comments and more input on how to make things better.

How do you go about dosing kalmwasser at just night? Do you have it on a separate reservoir and doser than your ATO?

 

[bobnicaragua]

Thanks for the comments and more input on how to make things better.

How do you go about dosing kalmwasser at just night? Do you have it on a separate reservoir and doser than your ATO?

I dose about 90% of my evaporation with kalkwasser at night using a versa and have a small ATO that runs during the day.

 

[gnorman]

Beautiful tank! Thanks for the photos and all the info. I used to have the avast marine mall stirrer and my ATO ran through that but I didn’t see huge ph increase. Maybe I’ll give this another shot and just dose the way you are at night.

 

[Lavey29]

Tank looks like it is nicely in the zone with all that coralline growth also. What lighting are you using?

 

[gnorman]

Tank looks like it is nicely in the zone with all that coralline growth also. What lighting are you using?

Thanks! My back walls are completely covered in coralline, and I’m constantly scraping it off the glass as well.

I thought about scraping it all off of my back panels and overflow, with the hope of it lowering how much Alk and Cal I need to dose each day. Do you think that would lower the intake?

I’m running the radian G5 blue I believe. Bought them used with the RMS included for a good price. And they were only ran for a few months before I got them.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

I wouldn’t bother with the back but that’s just me.

 

[gnorman]

I wouldn’t bother with the back but that’s just me.

Okay thanks for the info.

 

[bubbgee]

Beautiful tank! Thanks for the photos and all the info. I used to have the avast marine mall stirrer and my ATO ran through that but I didn’t see huge ph increase. Maybe I’ll give this another shot and just dose the way you are at night.

That should work. My pH was handled by the kalk stirrer (avast K1). Did you measure the kalk dose correctly? I started with 1/3 cup and then 1 tsp nightly with my current rate of evaporation. My pH is now from 7.8 to 8.4 daily.

 

[gnorman]

That should work. My pH was handled by the kalk stirrer (avast K1). Did you measure the kalk dose correctly? I started with 1/3 cup and then 1 tsp nightly with my current rate of evaporation. My pH is now from 7.8 to 8.4 daily.

I ended up getting rid of it. I was running my ATO through it, and I just never say much of an increase.