What a difference a year can make!

[Dowtish]

Thanks Andy. Just since this post my tank has gone through a lot of changes. Changes in pumps, lighting, and livestock, and I'm about to have to do some rearranging because of all the dang corals I bought at the swap!

It's been a busy few weeks for my system. All good things though.

 

[andywe]

Hehe..growth can appen in many ways...cheers!

 

[dwilliams87]

I am fairly new to this and was wondering, by looking at your tank you had alot of growth on your corals. Do you know what a general growth rate is for SPS? Or say how many heads an acan will grow and a given time? I know there is alot of variance, but whatever you're doing is working. I'm just wondering if mine will grow about the same.

 

[pickupman66]

Dwilliams, I cant answer the acans question as I just bought my first ones at the swap, but SPS growth rates can vary widely by coral and conditions. even the same colony will go thru variable growth rates in a tank. I had one coral that did nothing but enctust for over a year. then all of the sudden, BOOM it started growing about 1/2" a month to the branches. those split and before I knew it, It was HUGE. then you have some SPS that are just inherently slow growers and some that will always grow fast.

In addition, there are other water and light variables that can attribute to the growth of a coral.

 

[Dowtish]

I agree that this is something that can't have a definite answer. Lighting, water parameters, feeding and stability are all things that we know cause growth. But as pickupman said, some corals grow and spread faster than others. When it comes to acans, you will need to keep your alkalinity and calcium at the correct levels, but they also will grow faster by feeding them. Mysis and cyclopeze are good. As far as sps, I have seen the fastest growth in my birdsnest corals and Monti caps. Both of these are both considered easier sps corals, because they are not as demanding as acros. There will times where you can literally see the growth by the day. And another good way to gauge growth is to take pics and and date them, or videos. As far as softies like mushrooms and zoas, they can be incredibly fast growers, but this is usually when the water has a little more nutrients in it. That is why I think my zoas have Been slow growers, because of the use of bi-pellets, and the lack of nitrates and phosphate.

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[pickupman66]

Chris, I use biopellets and have undetectable nitrates and phosphates...yet my Zoas are growing at times uncontrolably.

 

[Dowtish]

That one particular kind does, have you tried others?

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[dwilliams87]

Thanks for the info.

 

[pickupman66]

That one particular kind does, have you tried others?

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Nope... love my sps too much.

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[Dowtish]

Well okay then. If you get 2 more frags of different zoas, and they take off like the Evil Mels, then I'll know my theory is wrong.:tongue:

 

[poolkeeper1]

Well okay then. If you get 2 more frags of different zoos, and they take off like the Evil Mels, then I'll know my theory is wrong.:tongue:

IME This is common for Zoos to not fare well in ULNS but there are some that for reasons unknown seem to thrive, But most that i have added to my tank seem to disappear ever so slowly until they are gone. But i do have some that do not grow but survive for years and seem healthy but do not spread at all. What puzzles me is the Ocean water is much more pristine than our tanks and Zoos do fine in that environment, So there must be more to this theory than we currently understand.
Bill:squigglemouth:

 

[gmoney243]

I believe its simply because in the ocean the nutrients get broken down not removed. So the zoos have lots to feed on and all the nit/ po4 they need as well as particles of food. In a skimmed system the food is removed before it breaks down so not enough nutrients are formed. Or bill could b ur nuking them with ur high powered leds lol

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[poolkeeper1]

I believe its simply because in the ocean the nutrients get broken down not removed. So the zoos have lots to feed on and all the nit/ po4 they need as well as particles of food. In a skimmed system the food is removed before it breaks down so not enough nutrients are formed. Or bill could b ur nuking them with ur high powered leds lol

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Simple Quote I heard long ago " The Solution to pollution is dilution" And the Ocean is a dilution machine. Nah got them turned down below 50% And the majority of my zoos are doing fine..
Bill

 

[angelina]

Nice work and good quality videos.