I cannot seem to get my reef stable

[SOGavity]

I cannot seem to make things stable. My tank has been set up for over a year. And though I started testing before making this table, I didn't start documenting until the first date. Maybe I'm taking it too far, but I just want to succeed. The only thing I dose is Alkalinity. I use RS Coral Pro salt. I don't always test before or after a water change, but I change 15 gallons on every Sunday. Test Salinity with a refractometer. Magnesium and Calcium are tested with Salifert. The rest are tested with Hannah checkers. With the magnesium in the chart where is says 1500 usually means its way beyond the tests capabilities.

Other than a flowerpot coral which recently died, all other corals and fish are doing well. I'm not seeing the growth I want with my corals, especially after a year. There is growth, it's just very slow. (I know corals are super fast growers, but I read about the success others reefers have after a year and I feel like I should be seeing more growth. Any advice, tips and tricks would be appreciated.

Date	Nitrate PPM	pH	kH PPM	Phosphate PPM	Calcium	Magnesium	Salinity
3/3/2025	1.8	8.4	169	0.052	596	1500	1.025
3/21/2025	6.9	8.5	161	0.043	390	1500	1.026
3/24/2025	7.1	8.2	162	0.055	600	1500	1.026
4/7/2025	3.8	8.1	152	0.046	562	1440	1.024
4/13/2025	1.5	8.4	138	0.018	593	1500	1.027
5/9/2025	6.8	8.2	135	0.156	410	1440	1.025
5/20/2025	1.3	8.6	131	0.12	440	1440	1.025
5/22/2025	3.7	8.5	143	0.024	455	1500	1.024
5/28/2025	2	8.2	140	0.049	460	1380	1.025

 

[Tahoe61]

What brand of the lighting fixtures are you using?

 

[Rocks reef]

Your corals look healthy. I noticed your NO3 and PO4 are on the low side. You could raise NO3 to 5-10 and PO4 closer to 0.1. That would increase nutrient availability for the corals which would increase growth rate.

 

[SOGavity]

What brand of the lighting fixtures are you using?

Popbloom RL60

 

[SOGavity]

Your corals look healthy. I noticed your NO3 and PO4 are on the low side. You could raise NO3 to 5-10 and PO4 closer to 0.1. That would increase nutrient availability for the corals which would increase growth rate.

I have a current hair algae outbreak, so I just figured that's where all the phos and nitrates are going and don't want to fuel the fire. My low readings there have not always been that low. It wasn't until the algae started to grow did they dive.

 

[Aaron Stone]

I am not seeing any real issues with stability as far as the parameters are concerned. Maybe the PO4 from 5/20 to 5/22, but otherwise nothing really pops out. Remember there are error bars on either side of those values, in some cases significant ones.

How are you dosing Alk?

 

[Tahoe61]

Popbloom RL60

What % are you running them?

Popbloom RL60 run at a low percentage might not provide a high enough par.

I run a Popbloom RL90 at 50% to support clams and sps in a shallow tank.

 

[SOGavity]

I am not seeing any real issues with stability as far as the parameters are concerned. Maybe the PO4 from 5/20 to 5/22, but otherwise nothing really pops out. Remember there are error bars on either side of those values, in some cases significant ones.

How are you dosing Alk?

So, you think things are pretty stable? Does that mean I'm overreacting because I can totally deal with that. I'd rather be overreacting than actually facing an real issue.

I use Seachem Reef Carbonate. Seems to do the job. Unfortunately the one piece of equipment I have yet to purchase is an auto-doser so I just add to the tank when needed. I try to keep it around 141 which means I dose the tank about once a week.

 

[SOGavity]

What % are you running them?

Popbloom RL60 run at a low percentage might not provide a high enough par.

I run a Popbloom RL90 at 50% to support clams and sps in a shallow tank.

Yeah, no they're doing a really good job IMO. It's the first time (since adding them) have I seen any real growth. But it's also why I have low light corals. The SPSs that I have are birdsnests and montipora. The rest are hammers (which is also why I can keep them on the top of my rock work) trumpets, duncans, GSP, blastos, acans, favias, etc.

I run whites at 20%, cyan at 50%, blues and purples and 100%.

 

[Aaron Stone]

So, you think things are pretty stable? Does that mean I'm overreacting because I can totally deal with that. I'd rather be overreacting than actually facing an real issue.

I use Seachem Reef Carbonate. Seems to do the job. Unfortunately the one piece of equipment I have yet to purchase is an auto-doser so I just add to the tank when needed. I try to keep it around 141 which means I dose the tank about once a week.

Things seem mostly happy in the tank. No wild swings. Keeping Alk a little more stable may help. So an auto doser may not be a miss. And as @Tahoe61 said, PAR may be a little low, but you will feed more than just coral growth when you bring the lights up, so be prepared for that as well. Nothing to fear though.

A big, full reef tank takes time. Enjoy the journey. Don't worry about what you see from others tanks, enjoy YOUR tank and understand that each tank is different as well as each hobbyists experience level.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Honestly, your water parameters don't look bad if you ask me. I'm wondering if you upgraded to a stronger light, if that would make a difference.

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

Don’t get social media envy. Just enjoy the journey.

A lot of your corals just aren’t fast growers in my experience. Trumpets, blastos, acans, favias don’t grow particularly fast. Especially if you aren’t feeding them directly.

Digis, acros, other SPS, etc can and often do.

My recommendation is get a hold of a par meter and see where you are sitting. You may be surprised how low the par is.

 

[CHSUB]

So, you think things are pretty stable? Does that mean I'm overreacting….yes!

Yes, tank looks good! Corals grow faster with lower inorganic nutrients, while still obtaining the desired nutrients through capture. So maybe feed them directly, while still maintaining low inorganic nutrients.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Don’t get social media envy. Just enjoy the journey.

A lot of your corals just aren’t fast growers in my experience. Trumpets, blastos, acans, favias don’t grow particularly fast. Especially if you aren’t feeding them directly.

Digis, acros, other SPS, etc can and often do.

My recommendation is get a hold of a par meter and see where you are sitting. You may be surprised how low the par is.

This is a good suggestion, too! Everyone goes at their own pace, I wouldn't compare your tank with others'.

 

[SOGavity]

Things seem mostly happy in the tank. No wild swings. Keeping Alk a little more stable may help. So an auto doser may not be a miss. And as @Tahoe61 said, PAR may be a little low, but you will feed more than just coral growth when you bring the lights up, so be prepared for that as well. Nothing to fear though.

A big, full reef tank takes time. Enjoy the journey. Don't worry about what you see from others tanks, enjoy YOUR tank and understand that each tank is different as well as each hobbyists experience level.

Thank you. It's been a long time since I've had a coral die in my tank except for the flowerpot. But when it comes to any flowerpot, 1 death out of 3 doesn't seem like terrible odds. The other two have beautiful extensions and have grown. I definitely plan on getting an auto doser, but I didn't really want to spend that kind of cash until I needed to dose more than Alk. As we all know, reefing is expensive and I've been buying it piece by piece for three years. I didn't set it up until last year when I finally had almost everything. The lights came last about five months ago. My tank is my pride and glory. Thanks for the words of support. I think I needed that.

 

[SOGavity]

Yes, tank looks good! Corals grow faster with lower inorganic nutrients, while still obtaining the desired nutrients through capture. So maybe feed them directly, while still maintaining low inorganic nutrients.

I do :). They receive trace elements and ammonia acids, reef roids, vitalis pellets, and meaty foods like mysis shrimp. I also add Phytoplankton for copepods and to help fight nuicence algae (although currently its not working too well. Hair algae is a menace.)

 

[SOGavity]

Don’t get social media envy. Just enjoy the journey.

A lot of your corals just aren’t fast growers in my experience. Trumpets, blastos, acans, favias don’t grow particularly fast. Especially if you aren’t feeding them directly.

Digis, acros, other SPS, etc can and often do.

My recommendation is get a hold of a par meter and see where you are sitting. You may be surprised how low the par is.

Totally agree. I would love a par meter. It's definitely on the list.

 

[Tahoe61]

Your LPS do look great.

Popbloom RL60 according to their own site the PAR at 20 inches is 100. That's probably good for the Euphyllia.

Have you thought about dosing AFR manually? Bump up the alkalinity just a tad and then maintenance dosing with All For Reef?

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

I do :). They receive trace elements and ammonia acids, reef roids, vitalis pellets, and meaty foods like mysis shrimp. I also add Phytoplankton for copepods and to help fight nuicence algae (although currently its not working too well. Hair algae is a menace.)

Amino acids, reef roids, pellets are all contributing to your hair algae problem.

All dry foods have way more po4 than frozen foods.

I would cut all that stuff out and just feed the fish. If you really want to feed the corals do it sparingly and feed them a few small mysis shrimp.

Totally agree. I would love a par meter. It's definitely on the list.

Don’t buy one. Rent from an LFS, borrow from someone local, or even rent online.

 

[CHSUB]

I do :). They receive trace elements and ammonia acids, reef roids, vitalis pellets, and meaty foods like mysis shrimp. I also add Phytoplankton for copepods and to help fight nuicence algae (although currently its not working too well. Hair algae is a menace.)

Great! Tank looks good, your parameters are good. The only thing you need, imo, is time; maybe more CUC to help with algae including a tang and a tail spot Blenny. I would also suggest scrubbing and blowing the rocks during WC.