Little to no growth 1yr.

[Formula89]

Hi guys, I'm new to reefing and have been trying my hand at softies.

I have a 72 gal bowfront with no sump, a deep sand bed, lots of live rock, and just a HOB filter. I've heard the HOB skimmers are not very good so I've never bothered.

The coral have been doing really well, and look great. My issue is they just don't seem to have much growth at all. I have some GSP, A Kenya tree, and a Toadstool. Recently I just added a couple mushroom frags. I've had the coral for a year and they are in a well established tank of 5 yrs. I've had great success with inverts in this tank also. My cleaner shrimp and crabs have all been happy and alive for 4 years now, and I have a healthy growing snail population. I also have coralline algae going nuts in the tank. Fish are all also happy and healthy.

The coral always looks happy and extended, but my GSP has only gotten a little bigger, but hasn't even grown off the frag plug. My kenya tree has also grown very little and hasn't spread. My xenia melted off and disappeared, and my toadstool has also grown very little. I attempted a hammer frag and it died after 2-3 weeks. It seems everyone else has this stuff grown like a weed, even in an immature or neglected tank.

Looking for some experienced advice. I admit that I don't do water changes, I only top off. But I've never had an issue with nitrates either, they typically are low to non-existent. Do you think I should test for calcium and alkalinity?

If I have to be honest with myself, I have let evaporation go inexcusably too far on a few occasions requiring 5 gallons to bring back. But I have brought it back slowly each time to avoid a large swing in salinity. I'm going to try my best to stay on top of this going forwards. Are there any ATO systems that work without a sump?

For lighting I have a Fluval Reef LED that I run 15 hrs a day at 50% white, 50% pink, 75% cyan, 100% purple.

PH is 8.0
Salinity is 1.025
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Nitrates 10ppm
Temp 76

Thanks in advance for any advice. I would really like to increase my success and move on to other corals, but I want to be successful with softies first.

 

[Spare time]

I would say its the lights. I personally would grab stronger lights. There is a possibility that turning down the pink or turning it off could help (red may inhibit coral growth), but I think that in general a better light will yield you better growth. In the mean time, I would raise cyan to 100. The purple to blue range is the primary color range that coral zooxanthellae utilizes.

 

[Specific Ocean]

Hello and welcome!

Check for Calcium, Magnesium and Alkalinity.

if those are within range, could be a lighting issue

 

[sfin52]

Hi guys, I'm new to reefing and have been trying my hand at softies.

I have a 72 gal bowfront with no sump, a deep sand bed, lots of live rock, and just a HOB filter. I've heard the HOB skimmers are not very good so I've never bothered.

The coral have been doing really well, and look great. My issue is they just don't seem to have much growth at all. I have some GSP, A Kenya tree, and a Toadstool. Recently I just added a couple mushroom frags. I've had the coral for a year and they are in a well established tank of 5 yrs. I've had great success with inverts in this tank also. My cleaner shrimp and crabs have all been happy and alive for 4 years now, and I have a healthy growing snail population. I also have coralline algae going nuts in the tank. Fish are all also happy and healthy.

The coral always looks happy and extended, but my GSP has only gotten a little bigger, but hasn't even grown off the frag plug. My kenya tree has also grown very little and hasn't spread. My xenia melted off and disappeared, and my toadstool has also grown very little. I attempted a hammer frag and it died after 2-3 weeks. It seems everyone else has this stuff grown like a weed, even in an immature or neglected tank.

Looking for some experienced advice. I admit that I don't do water changes, I only top off. But I've never had an issue with nitrates either, they typically are low to non-existent. Do you think I should test for calcium and alkalinity?

If I have to be honest with myself, I have let evaporation go inexcusably too far on a few occasions requiring 5 gallons to bring back. But I have brought it back slowly each time to avoid a large swing in salinity. I'm going to try my best to stay on top of this going forwards. Are there any ATO systems that work without a sump?

For lighting I have a Fluval Reef LED that I run 15 hrs a day at 50% white, 50% pink, 75% cyan, 100% purple.

PH is 8.0
Salinity is 1.025
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Nitrates 10ppm
Temp 76

Thanks in advance for any advice. I would really like to increase my success and move on to other corals, but I want to be successful with softies first.

Alkalinity and calcium

 

[HuduVudu]

I admit that I don't do water changes, I only top off.

If you are not tracking major/trace elements this is a very foolish thing to do. Water changes accomplish many things and blowing them off is ill advised unless you are prepared to deal with the things that they are doing for your tank.

I would first deal with the trace element/water change issue first.

 

[ThePhoReefer]

It’s lights and you should test alkalinity and calcium, recommend the salifert test. Better upgrade to either black box led lights or other light kessil or radion

 

[Spare time]

You could also double the light fixture.

Another thing you could do is dose something like aquavitro fuel, which is a coral food as well as a trace element supplement.

As for tests, a phosphate test is always a good idea. The softies are not really going to be bothered but alk, calcium, and magnesium unless they get astonishigly low. However, that hammer would need these. The basics is that they use alk (carbonate) and calcium to make their skeleton, nitrate and phosphate to make tissue and what not, and magnesium to a degree but magesium also helps alk calcium not stick together in the water column.

 

[DungSl1nger]

You could probably use a Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO Auto Top Off System and a 5 gallon bucket to maintain salinity.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Hello and welcome. Softies will require some work. They do need some good lights, nice flow, and food. They grow best with some nitrates and broadcast feedings. This can be done along with the fish. Just add in some small particle phyto/zoo plankton.

I would suggest you change out lights. If you want to go fairly cheap, look into some t5s. Great lights at less price outright. Alk is important for the corals stability. Changes in salinity will knock back the stability in the tank not allowing the corals to thrive.

 

[zalick]

GSP generally grows like a weed. What is your phosphate?

I'd say it's one or both of these: lights and not enough phosphates. I'd try slowly ramping your lights up to 100% for all channels.

 

[Formula89]

Thank you all! I was afraid the lights might be an issue. I'll start creeping the cyan up and I'll order the Hannah test kits for calcium, alk and phosphate and see where they are.

I left out that the blues I do run at 100% also, then they stay on for an additional 2 hours after the others as a night light/moonlight and slowly ramp down to about 60% over the course of 2 hours until they turn off.

I also didn't mention, I do have two powerheads providing water flow. I have them aimed up towards the surface and towards the front wall so nothing is getting blasted.

 

[Formula89]

OK, I received my Hanna test kits.

My Calcium reads 536ppm
Dkh is 5.3
Phosphate is .04

So from my understanding the calcium seems high, Alk seems a little low, and phosphate is acceptable?

 

[Spare time]

OK, I received my Hanna test kits.

My Calcium reads 536ppm
Dkh is 5.3
Phosphate is .04

So from my understanding the calcium seems high, Alk seems a little low, and phosphate is acceptable?

Make sure you are using distilled water with the hanna test and no rodi water. Phosphate is fine. Alk is very low.

 

[Nigel35]

Alk is quite low... I would bump it up to around 8-9ppm, calcium looks a little high IMO, phosphates are looking good!

 

[Dbichler]

Most likely the lights as others mentioned I only do softies nowadays and they surpringly like strong lighting for growth. Mine didn’t grow much until I upped my lighting quite a bit.

 

[GeoSquid]

Keep Alk higher and keep it steady. I keep mine around 9 dkh and Ca 450. My tank is 180 gal and I have to add about 1/2 cup of 2 part Alk and 1/4 cup Ca a day. Softies need Ca also. I don't know your lights but, as stated above, softies love light.