Acropora/ SPS growth with No Dosing

[IntrinsicReef]

It is an interesting conundrum that nearly all tanks could benefit from faster growth early on, then when nearing fullness, could often benefit from slow growth.

It is a situation I run into frequently. Clients want full tanks immediately. This is fulfilled by adding fast growing coral that after a few years becomes a problem. I then spend valuable time settling territory disputes by trimming and replanting coral. There is a "bonsai" type art to keeping coral and fish healthy without them overgrowing limited space and life support capacity of the closed system. I can't just let things get out of hand then reset every few years.

 

[fish farmer]

It is a situation I run into frequently. Clients want full tanks immediately. This is fulfilled by adding fast growing coral that after a few years becomes a problem. I then spend valuable time settling territory disputes by trimming and replanting coral. There is a "bonsai" type art to keeping coral and fish healthy without them overgrowing limited space and life support capacity of the closed system. I can't just let things get out of hand then reset every few years.

I noticed you have similar striped discoma mushrooms like I have. Have they been a nuisance over the years? They seem to pop off and land everywhere in my tank.

 

[LordsReef]

Beautiful, it goes to show you can do this hobby how you like it, I do like me some gadgets lol so I have a few (I do understand I don’t necessarily need them) you got great results! Really nice tank!

 

[IntrinsicReef]

I noticed you have similar striped discoma mushrooms like I have. Have they been a nuisance over the years? They seem to pop off and land everywhere in my tank.

Oh yeah. They reproduce like crazy and will smother most other coral if given the chance. They crawl up the dead skeleton bases on SPS/ LPS and wage war from the inside. I am not sure if it's chemical or the mesenterial filaments, but they actively kill things around them besides just smothering.
I scrub them with a stiff brush to keep them controlled, but sometimes they win.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

Beautiful, it goes to show you can do this hobby how you like it, I do like me some gadgets lol so I have a few (I do understand I don’t necessarily need them) you got great results! Really nice tank!

Thank you. I really appreciate the feedback.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

With a salt mix containing 11 dKH and 450 ppm calcium, the alk will likely be the limiting factor during consumption initially, but calcium may become limiting long term.

At 15% changes per 2 weeks, and alk down to near the floor around 6 dKH or a bit lower, it is adding (11-6)/14 =0.36 dKH per day.

For comparison, calcium would initially decline from 450 to 414 ppm the first 2 weeks, then be boosted back to 420 ppm, then keep dropping back until some calcium bottom is reached.

I tested the aquarium before and after the water change today, and the results were interesting. I used the Red Sea Foundation Pro test kit, expiration 9/25. This Is a test kit I use several times a week on systems that I dose and monitor.
Before the water change Calcium was 380ppm. The alkalinity was below registering on the chart. I added .36ml to achieve color change. It looks to me like for every .1ml added, 1.4dkh is calculated. So this give me 5dkh, I think.
After the water change the Calcium was 390 and the Alkalinity registered at 5.9.
So, it looks to me that alkalinity is the limiting factor here?

 

[IntrinsicReef]

Honestly the alkalinity test was hard to gauge, because it initially turned such a light blue, that the transition was faint. I just know this is one of the lowest alkalinities I have ever measured on a reef tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

After the water change the Calcium was 390 and the Alkalinity registered at 5.9.
So, it looks to me that alkalinity is the limiting factor here?

Yes, I’d agree with that.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

How much does alk fluctuate in 2 weeks?

I tested the tank during service today. The results are above.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

I’m thinking corals can survive and thrive at levels of calcium, Alk, and mag well below natural sea water levels?

That's what it looks like after I tested today. The alk test lines up with what Randy said:

I’m not sure where the bottom end is where corals cannot take up any, but it may not be much below 5.5 dKdKH.

It was around 5dkh before the water change, and around 6dkh after the water change. I'm assuming the stony corals calcify after water changes until they can no longer take up alkalinity. I'm not sure if they take the alk up quickly and biologically function without calcifying between visits. Or they take it up slowly since they have been raised in this restricted environment.

 

[Danroo]

That's what it looks like after I tested today. The alk test lines up with what Randy said:

It was around 5dkh before the water change, and around 6dkh after the water change. I'm assuming the stony corals calcify after water changes until they can no longer take up alkalinity. I'm not sure if they take the alk up quickly and biologically function without calcifying between visits. Or they take it up slowly since they have been raised in this restricted environment.

How do you manage your clients phosphates? (I did a deep dive on lights and got my answer). How much and what do they feed? Did they have cleanup crew in the tank? I want to get a robust clean up crew but they usually die on starvation.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

How do you manage your clients phosphates? (I did a deep dive on lights and got my answer). How much and what do they feed? Did they have cleanup crew in the tank? I want to get a robust clean up crew but they usually die on starvation.

I have used ferric oxide on this tank in the past. I stopped using it years ago when the corals covered all of the rocks and there was almost no algae growth. This is a lightly stocked tank and it is fed two cubes of frozen food on the weekdays. No feeding on the weekends or holidays. There were urchins and hermits. But once the coral covered the rocks, the algae stopped growing and they died off. There are a couple sand sifting Starfish that have been in there a long time.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

Very nice tank. Actually you are dosing though by doing water changes. :winking-face:

I originally thought of your comment as a terminology critique. But after thinking about it more, and testing the tank, I think your comment gets to the heart of the matter. And speaks to my intention in posting this aquarium. There has been a lot of discussion around water changes in regards to mineral and trace element replacement. I have seen it said many times recently that corals in aquariums that don't receive supplementation outside of water changes will suffer. Water changes just can't keep up with coral growth, crucial elements will be used up, and coral health will suffer. As a budget reefer from the late 90s, I know that corals can grow on water changes only. Maybe you are not going to grow a tank of the more delicate Acroporas, but you can fill a tank with coral. I really wanted to show some of the newer reefers that it doesn't have to be complicated. Just some restraint in animal selection, a solid maintenance routine, and reefing can still be easy and rewarding.

 

[Reefer Matt]

As a budget reefer from the late 90s, I know that corals can grow on water changes only. Maybe you are not going to grow a tank of the more delicate Acroporas, but you can fill a tank with coral. I really wanted to show some of the newer reefers that it doesn't have to be complicated.

Yeah, I think it depends on the size of the tank, amount and type of coral, and factors like ph and alk, that can dictate the need for trace element dosing. Maybe I am lucky, but I have never tested for trace elements, or intentionally dosed them to get a specific result. I have to dose 2 part (Seachem Reef Fusion) because of the alk draw of my sps tanks. I do 40% monthly water changes to help keep nitrate in range, not to replenish trace elements. But my main tank is only 75 gallons also. If the others are right, and my coral are suffering, I’d love to see them flourish.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

Yeah, I think it depends on the size of the tank, amount and type of coral, and factors like ph and alk, that can dictate the need for trace element dosing. Maybe I am lucky, but I have never tested for trace elements, or intentionally dosed them to get a specific result. I have to dose 2 part (Seachem Reef Fusion) because of the alk draw of my sps tanks. I do 40% monthly water changes to help keep nitrate in range, not to replenish trace elements. But my main tank is only 75 gallons also. If the others are right, and my coral are suffering, I’d love to see them flourish.

Seachem Reef Fusion is like B-ionic or C-Balance and has minor and trace elements in it, right? But yes, I dose two part on majority of my client's systems, and it is a great method for growing coral.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Seachem Reef Fusion is like B-ionic or C-Balance and has minor and trace elements in it, right? But yes, I dose two part on majority of my client's systems, and it is a great method for growing coral.

It has some according to their labeling, but I have never tested the levels. This is from their website.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It has some according to their labeling, but I have never tested the levels. This is from their website.

It does not mention being ionically balanced like ESV or C-balance.

 

[Bohemian Waxwing]

Another win for the low-tech low-maintenance gang

 

[Reefer Matt]

It does not mention being ionically balanced like ESV or C-balance.

Yeah, I don’t even know what to believe with their labeling. But I’ve been using it for four years now on my main sps tank, and have never tested trace elements or done an icp test. I haven’t had a reason to. Maybe ignorance is bliss in this case?

 

[IntrinsicReef]

It does not mention being ionically balanced like ESV or C-balance.

Can I bother you for a quick layman's explanation of why this would be important for a reef aquarium?