Stunted coral growth causation?

[olonmv]

So, went to an LFS today to buy a turbo snail so that I can return my sons and also picked up aminos. For a while now I’ve noticed no growth in my aquarium despite running what I thought were good stable numbers. Thought I’d pick his brain and told him what my numbers were and I was told that my alk was way out of proportion in contrast to my nutrients. He suggested I drop my alk to 7dk and raised my N03 to 20 and p04 to between .15-.25.


My numbers are 10.8dk in alk, 8ppm n03, .07 p04, 475ppm in calcium and 1450 in magnesium and have been for a good while now. I was dosing All for reef until my alk, mag and cal got to where they are so I stopped dosing. Consumption has stalled and my numbers are staying the same.

Does my LFS advice seem sound? Is my numbers being where they are the reason I’ve stalled? I run a 13.5 evo with just mechanical filtration and a denitrifier along with cheato in chamber 2 with a cheatomax light on opposite schedule to tank light. Haven’t done a wc since September, dose a bit of manganese daily (which has exploded growth in cheato) and my Ai prime peaks at 21w on a modified David saxby setting. Whites peak at under 10% and grn/reds at under 4%.

Nems are happy and growing which consist of 3 RFA’s and 1 RBTA. I’ve got a 3 headed dunkan which has remained that way for a couple of months an acan that opens fine but doesn’t show signs of growth and a goniopora that opens but does not extend despite being out of direct light and in low to medium flow.

I think I got it all. Any insight is greatly appreciated.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I would not follow the LFS suggestion. Your alk level is fine for those nutrient levels.

What I would do is start doing a regular water change. You may have some trace elements causing a limitation. Following your LFS suggestion, raising NO3 and PO4 will have no effect if you have an element causing a limitation.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree the alk is fine with your nutrient levels, which are also fine.

 

[olonmv]

Appreciate it guys. My plan since September was to run for a few months wc free and send off for an ICP. I will order one today so that I can send off the sample before preforming a wc. Hopefully an Icp will help me zero in on what’s stalling my growth.

apart from water chemistry, are my lights levels sufficient?

 

[olonmv]

Ive gotten my ICP results. Ive been water change free since September dosing AFR (stopped when my calcium and DKH got elevated without signs of consumption) bright well aminos and manganese from stock solution I made. Stopped the AFR about 1 month prior to sending off samples. water health came back at 85%. all other columns are checked green. recently I've been having polyp bailout on a Duncan and an acan. my water chemistry seems ok with exception to calcium. Any thoughts?