I’m having issues keeping SPS alive. I have almost zero growth on any of LPS. My Zoas are taking off and thriving, but that’s about it.
I’m frustrated and wondering… do I need to keep investigating ways to improve coral health and growth? Or do I just need to keep waiting around for this unmeasurable maturity people talk about.
I’ll start by giving a brief summary of where I am at in my new tank journey since I never did a tank built thread…
90 gallon tank started 6 months ago.
Mostly dry rock but seeded with some live Florida rock. Tank was cycled fairly quickly and I’ve slowly been adding fish and inverts.
I’ve been through the ugly stage. I never really had a major algae issue because the nutrients stayed so low during the whole process. In fact, I was dosing PO4 for quite some time to prevent bottoming out.
I have quality test kits and I test regularly.
My water parameters are fairly stable at the following numbers…
ALK: 9.5 (Hanna)
Cal: 450 (Red Sea)
Mag: 1400 (Red Sea)
PO4: 0.11 (Hanna)
NO3: 28ppm (Hanna)
Salinity: 1.025
Temp: 79F
I was dosing using the Red Sea foundation supplements at the beginning, but have since switched to using Kalkwasser in my ATO water. I have it dialed in and am only needing 3 tablespoons for 5 gals of water to maintain my levels. I assume most of the consumption of Alk and Calcium are due to Coralline algae which is currently exploding in my tank.
I do water changes every 2 weeks, 15 gallons at a time. All my ATO water is RODI from my LFS.
My lights are 2 Red Sea 90’s, and I have borrowed a Par meter from my LFS and mapped out the Par. I average 200/250 on the top of the scape, and 100 on the sand bed. Some spots have more shadowing than others, but I don’t believe the lights are too strong, nor too weak.
For flow I have 2 gyre pumps on the top. Pulsing and creating good surface agitation. Again, I don’t think flow is the problem.. not to say it is perfect, but it is certainly adequate for the current stage of my reef.
My hammer coral has been in there for about 3 months and I’ve seen zero growth. Duncan has been in for 2.5 months and I've seen zero growth.
Over the past few weeks I’ve tried a bird nest (died within a week), a stylo (died within 2 weeks), and a Monti Digitata (currently alive but doesn’t look happy).
If my parameters are steady, my lights and flow are good, why do these corals not stay alive?
I’d love to hear you all’s thoughts.
I’ll attach some pictures. For reference, these rocks were white when I bought them.
I’m frustrated and wondering… do I need to keep investigating ways to improve coral health and growth? Or do I just need to keep waiting around for this unmeasurable maturity people talk about.
I’ll start by giving a brief summary of where I am at in my new tank journey since I never did a tank built thread…
90 gallon tank started 6 months ago.
Mostly dry rock but seeded with some live Florida rock. Tank was cycled fairly quickly and I’ve slowly been adding fish and inverts.
I’ve been through the ugly stage. I never really had a major algae issue because the nutrients stayed so low during the whole process. In fact, I was dosing PO4 for quite some time to prevent bottoming out.
I have quality test kits and I test regularly.
My water parameters are fairly stable at the following numbers…
ALK: 9.5 (Hanna)
Cal: 450 (Red Sea)
Mag: 1400 (Red Sea)
PO4: 0.11 (Hanna)
NO3: 28ppm (Hanna)
Salinity: 1.025
Temp: 79F
I was dosing using the Red Sea foundation supplements at the beginning, but have since switched to using Kalkwasser in my ATO water. I have it dialed in and am only needing 3 tablespoons for 5 gals of water to maintain my levels. I assume most of the consumption of Alk and Calcium are due to Coralline algae which is currently exploding in my tank.
I do water changes every 2 weeks, 15 gallons at a time. All my ATO water is RODI from my LFS.
My lights are 2 Red Sea 90’s, and I have borrowed a Par meter from my LFS and mapped out the Par. I average 200/250 on the top of the scape, and 100 on the sand bed. Some spots have more shadowing than others, but I don’t believe the lights are too strong, nor too weak.
For flow I have 2 gyre pumps on the top. Pulsing and creating good surface agitation. Again, I don’t think flow is the problem.. not to say it is perfect, but it is certainly adequate for the current stage of my reef.
My hammer coral has been in there for about 3 months and I’ve seen zero growth. Duncan has been in for 2.5 months and I've seen zero growth.
Over the past few weeks I’ve tried a bird nest (died within a week), a stylo (died within 2 weeks), and a Monti Digitata (currently alive but doesn’t look happy).
If my parameters are steady, my lights and flow are good, why do these corals not stay alive?
I’d love to hear you all’s thoughts.
I’ll attach some pictures. For reference, these rocks were white when I bought them.