Should I try a new salt mix because my gsp won't grow, even though everything else is thriving?

Scottayy · Mar 19, 2023

My tank is 18 months old, healthy, and mature. I have more anemones than I want, zoas have taken over the rocks, mushrooms are everywhere.

However my gsp I got 18 months ago has withered to almost nothing and barely comes out. (Tried troubleshooting, positions, lighting, etc).

Should I just accept this or try my luck with a new salt mix? I use red Sea coral pro and the dkh is always on the high side. Was thinking of trying instant ocean because it's dkh is lower.

I don't chase numbers.

Is there a chance I could upset everything else by switching?

What would you do?

exnisstech · Mar 19, 2023

Your tank looks good. I would just accept that gsp doesn't like your tank and not change things up for one coral as long as everything else is doing well. I've only been at this for 7 years but I have discovered that some things just don't do well in certain tanks. In the past I have never been able to keep gsp or even zoas even tho nems lps, sps and sofities do fine in one of my tanks. I finally have some gsp growing but I think its just because the tank has matured now. I have large LPS that thrive in one tank but if I move them to my other tank they deflate and stay that way for weeks even tho the parameters are very close. Move them back and they inflate within 24 hours. I'll try something once maybe twice then move on a wait a few years and try again if its something I really want to grow.

Spare time · Mar 20, 2023

The salt isn't the problem.

Btw, chasing numbers is fine. No one is saying to pinpoint an exact digit. What people are saying is to keep values relatively stable within the recommended range. Otherwise, you are just playing a guessing game with the factor of a reef tank that plays a major role in the health of coral, which can easily lead to a crash, unexplained coral mortalities, corals not opening, bleaching, etc.

Spare time · Mar 20, 2023

You need to post the test values for anyone to give you a proper recommendation

Glenner’sreef · Mar 20, 2023

Every salt out there will keep your reef thriving. My gut feeling is the extremely close contacts being made by your mushrooms, rhodactis, nems and zoas. Toxins are a real thing. Your zoas don’t look happy as well. Testing and seeing toxins is impossible. I learned this years ago when keeping clams and flowerpots were impossible in my tank. Once I separated the possible toxin emiters, everything changed. Definitely a possibility. Good luck.

Scottayy · Mar 29, 2023

exnisstech said:
Your tank looks good. I would just accept that gsp doesn't like your tank and not change things up for one coral as long as everything else is doing well. I've only been at this for 7 years but I have discovered that some things just don't do well in certain tanks. In the past I have never been able to keep gsp or even zoas even tho nems lps, sps and sofities do fine in one of my tanks. I finally have some gsp growing but I think its just because the tank has matured now. I have large LPS that thrive in one tank but if I move them to my other tank they deflate and stay that way for weeks even tho the parameters are very close. Move them back and they inflate within 24 hours. I'll try something once maybe twice them move on a wait a few years and try again if its something I really want to grow.

Thanks for this. I've heard this before as well.

Scottayy · Mar 29, 2023

Glenner’sreef said:
Every salt out there will keep your reef thriving. My gut feeling is the extremely close contacts being made by your mushrooms, rhodactis, nems and zoas. Toxins are a real thing. Your zoas don’t look happy as well. Testing and seeing toxins is impossible. I learned this years ago when keeping clams and flowerpots were impossible in my tank. Once I separated the possible toxin emiters, everything changed. Definitely a possibility. Good luck.

Thanks! The zoas are normally fully open and really flat pushing against each other. This picture was taken a couple hours after a water change. I know I could just say that, but what's the point lol. I can post another picture of them open.

You're probably right about the close contact. This is a 13.5 Evo. A little bit of growth means close contact! Would running more carbon help eliminate toxins?