What caused my sudden and huge softie growth spurt?

[CMMorgan]

You know how it is here. We are too used it. "Category 1? Good. We could use some rain". I am annoyed that they closed the YMCA early!

Starting to whip it up a bit out there. Time for a hard cider.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Starting to whip it up a bit out there. Time for a hard cider.

Is this hard cider? If so I’m gonna pour one now.

 

[Just John]

Starting to whip it up a bit out there. Time for a hard cider.

It's beautiful here. we might eat dinner out by the pool.

 

[Just John]

Here's something funny. Earlier this morning it started to pour with rain so my daughter ran around outside bringing things in thinking it was going to just rain all day long. That was it. 5 minutes of rain. She did everything outside during the only 5 minutes that it has rained all day.

 

[CMMorgan]

Here's something funny. Earlier this morning it started to pour with rain so my daughter ran around outside bringing things in thinking it was going to just rain all day long. That was it. 5 minutes of rain. She did everything outside during the only 5 minutes that it has rained all day.

Believe it or not .... they are calling this a Cat 1 Hurricane now. It is right off shore between us and Sarasota. It is headed right at you. All of the red and yellow bands are supposedly hitting from me through Sarasota. I have had worse on a late afternoon downpour. I guess Elsa decided to Let It Go.

 

[CMMorgan]

Is this hard cider? If so I’m gonna pour one now.

I think that qualifies.

 

[Just John]

Oh yeah, remember how we were talking about my corals growing super fast? I forgot to add this picture. This is the best example. These Kedd's Reds were slowly shrinking away over the last couple of months. When I left there were
four or five little bumps I thought were no longer polyps and two tiny polyps that would occasionally open. I don't know how it happened, but this is what they look like today. Over a dozen happy polyps. How is that even possible in a week!!

 

[CMMorgan]

Oh yeah, remember how we were talking about my corals growing super fast? I forgot to add this picture. This is the best example. These Kedd's Reds were slowly shrinking away over the last couple of months. When I left there were
four or five little bumps I thought were no longer polyps and two tiny polyps that would occasionally open. I don't know how it happened, but this is what they look like today. Over a dozen happy polyps. How is that even possible in a week!!

Oh - was that what we were talking about? LOL
How did you make out last night? All safe and dry?

 

[Just John]

Oh - was that what we were talking about? LOL
How did you make out last night? All safe and dry?

It was a total non-event. The neighbor has a weather station online and it said the winds only got up to about 35 miles an hour. Somehow, power still managed to go out for a couple of hours.

 

[CMMorgan]

It was a total non-event. The neighbor has a weather station online and it said the winds only got up to about 35 miles an hour. Somehow, power still managed to go out for a couple of hours.

I think it would be so cool to put up a weather station. I used to have one at the environmental center I worked at in Georgia. Glad you came through with nothing more than a bubbler could handle.

 

[Just John]

Oh yeah, remember how we were talking about my corals growing super fast? I forgot to add this picture. This is the best example. These Kedd's Reds were slowly shrinking away over the last couple of months. When I left there were
four or five little bumps I thought were no longer polyps and two tiny polyps that would occasionally open. I don't know how it happened, but this is what they look like today. Over a dozen happy polyps. How is that even possible in a week!

Am I the only one amazed by this? @zoa what , is this surprising to you, or do you see this all the time?

 

[Uncle99]

In post 8, you mentioned that you dosed up your nutrients 2 weeks before leaving. That be like fertilizer on grass.
Your seeing the effect of that add IMM.
Also your hands have not been in the water.

 

[Just John]

In post 8, you mentioned that you dosed up your nutrients 2 weeks before leaving. That be like fertilizer on grass.
Your seeing the effect of that add IMM.
Also your hands have not been in the water.

I knew that might help, but I am amazed that something could grow that much in a week. Do you think not having my hands in the water would help that much, especially considering that it means I am not feeding them?

 

[Uncle99]

I knew that might help, but I am amazed that something could grow that much in a week. Do you think not having my hands in the water would help that much, especially considering that it means I am not feeding them?

I was also surprised at how managing nutrients would aid corals.
While my nitrates have always been around 2-5ppm and phosphate at 0.03-0.04ppm, there was a time when over a few months, the corals just started to look dab and unhappy.

Turns out through ICP that my Hanna ULR Phosphorus checker which reported 0.03-0.04ppm (converted from ppb) was actually 0 by ICP.

I dosed phosphate up to 0.08-0.1ppm and within two weeks, colour and polyp extension returned.

It seems things are using phosphate faster than it enters my system.

When you feed, the foods must be turned into among others things, phosphate and nitrate and this takes time.

When you dose, it’s available for use.

Of course there’s a limit on adding nutrients, too high, and corals brown out and pest algae may appear.

our hands have oils on them which do enter the water, less hands in the water, the better.