GSP in Fluval EVO 13.5?

[BBestvin]

So far I have NOT been able to keep GSP in this tank. I have no idea why. I see folks with stock lights and they have GSP looking good. I really want a colony on it's own rock...I like the look.

As I mentioned, I do have the stock lights, but have a JVP-110 powerhead for extra movement, and also upgraded the stock pump to the Sicce Syncra 0.5. I think I have nice flow where the GSP is at...but after having the coral in my tank for almost a week, I have nothing. No polyps have surfaced. Any advice?

 

[sunken3]

i'd look at water parameters.. or wait.. i have gsp growing in my main tank and put it in a small nano will low light and almost no flow doing great - also have it in a tub with a $15 light doing just fine. they like higher light but seem to grow under almost anything.

 

[Crustaceon]

So far I have NOT been able to keep GSP in this tank. I have no idea why. I see folks with stock lights and they have GSP looking good. I really want a colony on it's own rock...I like the look.

As I mentioned, I do have the stock lights, but have a JVP-110 powerhead for extra movement, and also upgraded the stock pump to the Sicce Syncra 0.5. I think I have nice flow where the GSP is at...but after having the coral in my tank for almost a week, I have nothing. No polyps have surfaced. Any advice?

Just a week? Sometimes it can take a month for them to come out. Just don’t make any major changes to the system. Try to do tiny water changes more often instead of bigger ones. Also, gsp does awesome in 5-10ppm or higher nitrates and at least .04ppm phosphates. I used to have a football-sized chunk of that stuff.

 

[BBestvin]

Just a week? Sometimes it can take a month for them to come out. Just don’t make any major changes to the system. Try to do tiny water changes more often instead of bigger ones. Also, gsp does awesome in 5-10ppm or higher nitrates and at least .04ppm phosphates. I used to have a football-sized chunk of that stuff.

That's good to know that it can take some time for it to open up. I'll try to maintain consistency in the tank the best I can. Currently I do a 4g water change every other week. As for nitrates and phosphates, I've always tried to avoid having them in the tank, helps to keep nuisance algae away. Any suggestions on how to safely raise those levels?

 

[Crustaceon]

That's good to know that it can take some time for it to open up. I'll try to maintain consistency in the tank the best I can. Currently I do a 4g water change every other week. As for nitrates and phosphates, I've always tried to avoid having them in the tank, helps to keep nuisance algae away. Any suggestions on how to safely raise those levels?

Try not to associate the presence of nitrates and phosphates with nuisance algae. Look at them as the building blocks for corals to thrive. A good way to gauge how much of water change and the frequency is nitrate and phosphate. If you have less than 5ppm nitrates and .04ppm phosphates, I would skip water changes until levels surpass those numbers and you start seeing signs of nuisance algae on your rocks. Ignore the growth of algae on your panels. It’s totally normal for even mature tanks to get a heavy algae film on the glass every 3-4 days. Mine does this and my rocks are devoid of nuisance algae. This is with 10ppm nitrates and .08ppm phosphates. If I were in your position, instead of adding one frozen food cube per day, add two (assuming that’s what you feed of course). Don’t worry about your tank getting dirty because it’s safer than having it be too clean and you can always “dial things in” with water changes as a reactionary measure instead of a preventative one.

 

[BBestvin]

Try not to associate the presence of nitrates and phosphates with nuisance algae. Look at them as the building blocks for corals to thrive. A good way to gauge how much of water change and the frequency is nitrate and phosphate. If you have less than 5ppm nitrates and .04ppm phosphates, I would skip water changes until levels surpass those numbers and you start seeing signs of nuisance algae on your rocks. Ignore the growth of algae on your panels. It’s totally normal for even mature tanks to get a heavy algae film on the glass every 3-4 days. Mine does this and my rocks are devoid of nuisance algae. This is with 10ppm nitrates and .08ppm phosphates. If I were in your position, instead of adding one frozen food cube per day, add two (assuming that’s what you feed of course). Don’t worry about your tank getting dirty because it’s safer than having it be too clean and you can always “dial things in” with water changes as a reactionary measure instead of a preventative one.

I appreciate the advice! Do you think that keeping it 10ppm or less nitrates is a good target? What test kit do you use to get consistent readings?

 

[One Reefing Boi]

my GSP closes up like once a month for a few days (2-5) and then comes back out and grows like crazy... rinse and repeat now for about 6 months