I HAVE NO CORAL GROWTH!

[rosieosieee]

I get fresh quite often. If both systems are healthy, it's no problem.

little bit different when you're selling to an LFS. we have to turn around and resale immediately, so then that's THREE tanks to acclimate to in a short amount of time; and then it looks like WE are selling fresh cut sps....

 

[rosieosieee]

First off, great job with the tank. It looks great.

Have you considered chemical warfare (even at its smallest amounts) could be causing slower growth rates? My guess would be some of the close proximity of corals may be causing some minimal level of chemical release that may be inhibiting the majority of the growth in the tank.

It might be worth running passive carbon in a mesh bag and changing it with weekly 20% water changes. After a month, I'd be interested to see if you have any positive changes.

Good luck either way!

Good thought! I could definitely see that being a problem.
I run matrix carbon in a bag in the sump! I should probably get on a more regular schedule of changing it out.

 

[Ginu]

most of the pictures are taken in the morning or at night while the lights are ramping up or down, pictures taken with an iPhone 5s.

the flat worms are Convolutriloba retrogemma, and yes I do not believe I have any pests bothering the sps. like I said I never even see these guys on any coral.

interesting thought on the black sand bed! when I go sps dominant if it doesn't grow...oh well I guess. they seem happy and colorful. I need my black sand!

my friend has a bird nest frag for me along with another acro. I'll update if that starts to grow!

Good to know you have Convolutriloba retrogemma and not Amakusaplana acroporae. Easy to get rid of the ones you have with salifert

Try to run a strong magnet through the black sand to see what sticks to it.. would be interesting to see if any particles attract to that; also black sand contains silica particles as well...just something to keep in mind.

With most smaller tanks lacking sufficient Calcium Carbonate saturation using black sand just makes the problem worse because it's basically inert... probably why you're having Alk/Calcium issues in the first place.
Plan on a lot more fussing with calcium and alk levels a lot more than having a thick substrate of good old white crushed coral. Simply depends on what you're growing.

Black sand = volcanic rock - will contain metals and silica
White sand = crushed coral - will not contain metals and silica