How to get coral growth?

sfin52 · Dec 23, 2021

hailey1423 said:
Okay, maybe calcium and mag are effecting the corals?

Alk and calcium is fine mag is high.
Instead of the foam in your aqua clear use filter floss. This will allow you to change it more often and quickly.

hailey1423 · Dec 23, 2021

dvgyfresh said:
A 100%, nitrate is something I test the most next to alkalinity. You could potentially be starving yr corals due to having low/ zero nitrate level

Oh, did not know low nitrates are not good as well. I'll look more into that.

Reefbuds · Dec 23, 2021

One of the biggest beginners mistake you can make is letting your nitrate and phosphate bottom out. You will find many places online saying you want 0 of both, this is completely wrong and will cause a ton of issues.

Reefbuds · Dec 23, 2021

This is why test kits are super important, to make sure levels are sufficient enough to support not only coral growth but a thriving environment for coral growth.

ISFNick · Dec 23, 2021

For test kits I recommend Red Sea Marine Care test kit, it's a great test kit that lets you test all the major parameters for a new tank, being ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and alkalinity. From there I would get the Hanna Alkalinity checker and the red sea calcium kit. Make sure salinity and temperature are stable. Tunze Nano ATO is a great beginner option that is super reliable and the Cobalt Neo-therm heaters are the best heaters on the market, they're also super reliable and super accurate. What salt are you using, how many gallons of water in your system, and what fish & corals do you have? Stability is the key here. You are keeping water first and foremost. Keep your water good and stable and your corals will thrive.

hailey1423 · Dec 23, 2021

ISFNick said:
For test kits I recommend Red Sea Marine Care test kit, it's a great test kit that lets you test all the major parameters for a new tank, being ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and alkalinity. From there I would get the Hanna Alkalinity checker and the red sea calcium kit. Make sure salinity and temperature are stable. Tunze Nano ATO is a great beginner option that is super reliable and the Cobalt Neo-therm heaters are the best heaters on the market, they're also super reliable and super accurate. What salt are you using, how many gallons of water in your system, and what fish & corals do you have? Stability is the key here. You are keeping water first and foremost. Keep your water good and stable and your corals will thrive.

I am using vibrant sea and have 11g, I have an extreme Picasso clownfish, 3 blue leg hermits, 3 snails, and GSP, pipe organ that don’t seem to open up too often, duncan corals which are doing great, and a hammer coral I almost killed but have been hanging on for a couple months.

Murphs_reef · Dec 24, 2021

Other than nitrate your parameters are all fine. It would be good to being that up to between 5 and 10 ppm. The cleanest way to do this is to dose it into the tank.

Obsessed with fish · Dec 24, 2021

What are your calcium levels? If calcium deficiency are the problem I have a special trick you can use

hailey1423 · Dec 24, 2021

Obsessed with fish said:
What are your calcium levels? If calcium deficiency are the problem I have a special trick you can use

My calcium is at 470ppm which is a bit high i'm pretty sure.

Obsessed with fish · Dec 25, 2021

hailey1423 said:
My calcium is at 470ppm which is a bit high i'm pretty sure.

Ok that sound good to me, no need for the special trick

M Stein · Dec 28, 2021

What are you feeding your fish?
If you're feeding him pellets or flakes, then it's very likely that your nitrates are too low.
Those foods produce more phosphates and almost no nitrate. A couple of cubes of frozen food could do wonders for your tank, if bottomed out nitrates are your issue.

I have a 15-gallon nano with two fish, and I feed them pellets. Every time I do a water change, I make sure to feed them some frozen food to get the nitrates up.

Also, you might want to consider target feeding your corals with RedSea AB+. It's done wonders for some of my corals (not all of them, but they might just need more time).

dedragon · Dec 28, 2021

hailey1423 said:
My calcium is at 470ppm which is a bit high i'm pretty sure.

a bit but within normal range, are you dosing anything?

dedragon · Dec 28, 2021

the key here is stability, what are you using to measure salinity as well cuz the range seemed weird. If its fluctuating a lot an auto top off can help and even really cheap simple ones are very effective like the one i will link below, if you do not have also pick up a refractometer and calibration solution

Refractometer for Reading Salinity with Calibration Fluid

Take Control of Your Aquarium's Salinity Level Accurate Readings: Measures salinity from 1.000 to 1.070 specific gravity. Automatic Temperature Compensation (ATC): Provides reliable readings under varying temperatures. Easy Calibration: Maintain accuracy with a quick calibration process...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

hailey1423 · Dec 30, 2021

dedragon said:
the key here is stability, what are you using to measure salinity as well cuz the range seemed weird. If its fluctuating a lot an auto top off can help and even really cheap simple ones are very effective like the one i will link below, if you do not have also pick up a refractometer and calibration solution

Refractometer for Reading Salinity with Calibration Fluid

Take Control of Your Aquarium's Salinity Level Accurate Readings: Measures salinity from 1.000 to 1.070 specific gravity. Automatic Temperature Compensation (ATC): Provides reliable readings under varying temperatures. Easy Calibration: Maintain accuracy with a quick calibration process...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I am using a hydrometer where u put it in the water and the hand (like a clock) points to where the salinity is. Should that work? Or would the refractometer be a better option.

hailey1423 · Dec 30, 2021

dedragon said:
a bit but within normal range, are you dosing anything?

nope

hailey1423 · Dec 30, 2021

M Stein said:
What are you feeding your fish?
If you're feeding him pellets or flakes, then it's very likely that your nitrates are too low.
Those foods produce more phosphates and almost no nitrate. A couple of cubes of frozen food could do wonders for your tank, if bottomed out nitrates are your issue.

I have a 15-gallon nano with two fish, and I feed them pellets. Every time I do a water change, I make sure to feed them some frozen food to get the nitrates up.

Also, you might want to consider target feeding your corals with RedSea AB+. It's done wonders for some of my corals (not all of them, but they might just need more time).

I feed my clown mostly pellets, since starting to feed the duncan mysis shrimp my clown will go crazy so I feed them to it as well. I’ve been feeding reef roids to my other corals and they are seeming very happy and open, hopefully will get some growth soon! Will look in to RedSea AB+, thanks for the suggestions!

M Stein · Dec 30, 2021

hailey1423 said:
I am using a hydrometer where u put it in the water and the hand (like a clock) points to where the salinity is. Should that work? Or would the refractometer be a better option.

A refractometer is easier to use, but not better. Basically, as long as you know what the salinity is you're good to go. But you need to make sure that you rinse your equipment after use and keep it calibrated.

hailey1423 said:
I feed my clown mostly pellets, since starting to feed the duncan mysis shrimp my clown will go crazy so I feed them to it as well. I’ve been feeding reef roids to my other corals and they are seeming very happy and open, hopefully will get some growth soon! Will look in to RedSea AB+, thanks for the suggestions!

Test your nitrates to see where they're at. That is the only way to know if you're feeding them enough.
Giving your duncans mysis will raise your nitrates but maybe not as fast as your water changes lower them (I'm assuming that you feed them a few pieces of mysis rather that a whole cube).

happyhourhero · Dec 30, 2021

I will just add DO NOT go buy chemicals to lower alk or mag or do anything else. You should be able to manage everything on a tank that small with water changes. Are you using RODI water or tap water?

dedragon · Dec 30, 2021

hailey1423 said:
I am using vibrant sea and have 11g, I have an extreme Picasso clownfish, 3 blue leg hermits, 3 snails, and GSP, pipe organ that don’t seem to open up too often, duncan corals which are doing great, and a hammer coral I almost killed but have been hanging on for a couple months.

Why are you using vibrant right now? That could also be effecting coral growth

M Stein said:
A refractometer is easier to use, but not better. Basically, as long as you know what the salinity is you're good to go. But you need to make sure that you rinse your equipment after use and keep it calibrated.

Test your nitrates to see where they're at. That is the only way to know if you're feeding them enough.
Giving your duncans mysis will raise your nitrates but maybe not as fast as your water changes lower them (I'm assuming that you feed them a few pieces of mysis rather that a whole cube).

Hard to really "calibrate" a swing arm hydrometer, they also over time become less and less reliable because of the moving arm. Hvaing a refractometer and actually knowing the exact will help them

hailey1423 · Jan 1, 2022

dedragon said:
Why are you using vibrant right now? That could also be effecting coral growth

Hard to really "calibrate" a swing arm hydrometer, they also over time become less and less reliable because of the moving arm. Hvaing a refractometer and actually knowing the exact will help them

I was recommended vibrant sea