How to successfully grow gorgonians

[Mortgaged Reefs]

Gorgonians are a unique and fascinating creature. They're not only beautiful, but also require some special care to keep them happy! To start out with your colony you'll want healthy adults that have encrusted their base rock. I have never had a Frag make it therefore, I do not recommend them.
They love a strong random flow in order for the best polyp extraction and catch all the food they can get. Make sure they get enough food. I love to feed mine daily. A well balanced light is best. I am not a fan of the intense focused lights therefore i went with the Reefbreeder Photon V2 with way dialed back settings. They are best firmly mounted on base rock big enough to not rock in the current. Think about in the wild, they latch to a rock in high currents and usually not blasted by the sun (although some are). Lastly don’t move him around much after they open. They usually will open within a day or so and they will tell you when they are happy. They love a heavily fed tank with high nutrient levels.
Here are my parameters I have found most successful. They love elevated Mg, Alk and Iron.
Here's my youtube video on them


Tank: innovative marine nuvo 20gal peninsula (I love the 30" wide display)
Light: reefbreeders photon v2 - 12" off water. 25% settings
Calc: 480
Mg: 1500-1600
Alk: 11-12
Ph: 8.3-8.4
Pumps: Jaebo slw 20 & 5. lowest setting. sine wave
Return pump: maxjet factory. full power. Rotating deflector


Supplements: Chaeto gro for trace elements + i add a little extra iron, seachem buffer, alk, Mg. Will be switching to Kalkwasser to test it.
daily feeding: phytoplankton, reef chili, red sea AB+

 

[CanuckReefer]

Gorgonians are a unique and fascinating creature. They're not only beautiful, but also require some special care to keep them happy! To start out with your colony you'll want healthy adults that have encrusted their base rock. I have never had a Frag make it therefore, I do not recommend them.
They love a strong random flow in order for the best polyp extraction and catch all the food they can get. Make sure they get enough food. I love to feed mine daily. A well balanced light is best. I am not a fan of the intense focused lights therefore i went with the Reefbreeder Photon V2 with way dialed back settings. They are best firmly mounted on base rock big enigma to not rock in the current. Lastly don’t move him around much after they open. They usually will open within a day or so and they will tell you when they are happy. They love a heavily fed tank with high nutrient levels.
Here are my parameters I have found most successful. They love elevated Mg, Alk and Iron.
Here's my youtube video on them

Tank: innovative marine nuvo 20gal peninsula (I love the 30" wide display)
Light: reefbreeders photon v2 - 12" off water. 25% settings
Calc: 480
Mg: 1500-1600
Alk: 11-12
Ph: 8.3-8.4
Pumps: Jaebo slw 20 & 5. lowest setting. sine wave
Return pump: maxjet factory. full power. Rotating deflector


Supplements: Chaeto gro for trace elements + i add a little extra iron, seachem buffer, alk, Mg. Will be switching to Kalkwasser to test it.
daily feeding: phytoplankton, reef chili, red sea AB+

Nice post.... we are referring to non photo gorgs I assume? I had luck for about 6 months with the non photosynthetic variety, alk 12 , mag 1500, iron no idea....it was the feed, I couldn't keep up and my Orange gorg perished eventually...I don't have the filtration to get rid of any heavy excess....top notch filtration is a must it seems in my experience....

 

[Mortgaged Reefs]

Nice post.... we are referring to non photo gorgs I assume? I had luck for about 6 months with the non photosynthetic variety, alk 12 , mag 1500, iron no idea....it was the feed, I couldn't keep up and my Orange gorg perished eventually...I don't have the filtration to get rid of any heavy excess....top notch filtration is a must it seems in my experience....

Yes, I should have specified photosynthetic. I have tried non-photosynthetocs never had much luck. They require a very low light, high flow and heavy feeding. I have never been able to provide that for them to survive. I had a yellow finger last about 6 months but I was glad to pull him tbh.

 

[nano reef]

I have had one in my tank for years and has never grown! Its lost some of his flesh and it wont grow back either! I have no idea what kind it is but its purple with purple polyps and a very slender body I read they like high flow so I moved to high flow and still the same!

After reading what you said it could be many things but Its in a tank with lps and softies so I dont want o change everything to please this gorgonian! I may just sell it but actually just realilized I cant with the tissue missing. Maybe I can cut that part off!

I bought a huge redish orange sea fingers I think its called and now I am thinking I shouldnt have done that if it requires such special care. I guess i'll keep it though since its huge compared to my other one. Its about 7 inch tall 5 inches wide.
Just hope I can keep it alive!

My alk is about 9.5
calcium 500
magesium about 1350
nitrates 15
po4 varies but right now its at .004

I

 

[Mortgaged Reefs]

Lets see a picture of it. They Can't get enough flow. Has it always been in a high flow area? High light usually isn't necessary but they also don't seem to mind it. Are you dosing? How stable are your current levels? What's the reason for the high nitrates?