Slow coral growth

[PharmrJohn]

Are you using well water to mix your salt without any purification? If so, I can almost guarantee that is your problem.

Oh.....that is a good point. Do you use an RODI?

 

[JCH]

I am about 3 months in and also frustrated with slow growth. I am trying to be patient but it is tough. I am really hoping this is true, if so I can wait.

Yeah I hear what you are saying idk my water chemistry isn’t exactly perfect, but it is very stable. And that’s what I keep hearing is most important. Gonna try bumping up the lights a little and see if that makes a difference? That’s what that other reefer recommends and he’s running halides. We will see!?

 

[JCH]

Oh.....that is a good point. Do you use an RODI?

No , I’m using a 5 stage RO spectipure system, right now it’s pulling it down to around 9ppm . So not bad but don’t know what else might be in the water? Perhaps I should get a report from the village I live in ?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Well, maybe I should try raising my intensity, don’t want to burn up the lps they seem to like where it’s at now. Idk you think they can take more maybe?

Corals get 90% of their energy from the light. Your parameters might need a little tweaking but there are no red flags that should inhibit growth for so long. It’s worth the $50 par meter rental at the LFS IMO. It should be at adequate par for at least 8 hours a day IMO

 

[JCH]

Oh.....that is a good point. Do you use an RODI?

No , I’m using a 5 stage RO spectipure system, right now it’s pulling it down to around 9ppm . So not bad but don’t know what else might be in the water? Perhaps I should get a report from the village I live in

Corals get 90% of their energy from the light. Your parameters might need a little tweaking but there are no red flags that should inhibit growth for so long. It’s worth the $50 par meter rental at the LFS IMO. It should be at adequate par for at least 8 hours a day IMO

ohh, ok yeah I haven’t ever done that but have heard about testing for par. Guess I’ve just been guessing that 4 hours a day at 80&90% with the Kessil 360’s was enough but the input I’m getting hear is indicating that I’m not giving them enough light! This is the first social networking I’ve ever done . I’m kind of old school when it comes to networking. But I’m finding R2R to be pretty cool! Been tinkering around with all kinds of fish tanks since 1980! Yeah I’m an old fart! This is the first time I’ve really gotten into the science of trying to grow coral. Being retired now I have the time. Thanks to everyone for the input !!!

 

[Formulator]

No , I’m using a 5 stage RO spectipure system, right now it’s pulling it down to around 9ppm . So not bad but don’t know what else might be in the water? Perhaps I should get a report from the village I live in ?

That is good. Best thing to do if you want to know what’s in your water is to test your aquarium water with a mail in ICP-MS test. The Oceamo one I mentioned earlier will also ask you to sample your RO water and will give you a readout of any impurities in there.

Here is the one I have used. Oceamo is in Austria, but Reef Moonshiners facilitates the transfer and international shipping. It was very quick turnaround for me. The Oceamo lab is the only that I know of which has published their repeatability and reproducibility results, so we have some idea of the accuracy and precision. It seems they know what they are doing over there. This comes from someone (me) who works in R&D within the pharmaceutical industry and has a great deal of experience with analytical method validation. I think trident is fairly good too, but I don’t have experience with them. ATI seems to be on a tier below.

Here is a link if you want to buy the Oceamo test through moonshiners: https://andremueller.e-junkie.com/product/1758008/Reef-Moonshiner26230393Bs-ICP-MS-Test

 

[JCH]

That is good. Best thing to do if you want to know what’s in your water is to test your aquarium water with a mail in ICP-MS test. The Oceamo one I mentioned earlier will also ask you to sample your RO water and will give you a readout of any impurities in there.

Here is the one I have used. Oceamo is in Austria, but Reef Moonshiners facilitates the transfer and international shipping. It was very quick turnaround for me. The Oceamo lab is the only that I know of which has published their repeatability and reproducibility results, so we have some idea of the accuracy and precision. It seems they know what they are doing over there. This comes from someone (me) who works in R&D within the pharmaceutical industry and has a great deal of experience with analytical method validation. I think trident is fairly good too, but I don’t have experience with them. ATI seems to be on a tier below.

Here is a link if you want to buy the Oceamo test through moonshiners: https://andremueller.e-junkie.com/product/1758008/Reef-Moonshiner26230393Bs-ICP-MS-Test

Okay thanks Formulator, I’m going to look at it

 

[Enad]

I'm personally a fan of keeping it simple - some people get really into the chemistry of it all and spend a lot of time formulating the perfect dosing configuration and maybe they're able to get great growth in a short amount of time but you can also really mess things up this way if you're not a pro.

If this is your first tank, I'd recommend just taking it slow and keeping things simple. I set up a tank in Jan of 2023 and while everything was always very healthy and happy, I didn't start seeing really strong growth until earlier this year. I even suffered from a major power loss issue in Jan 2024 that led to a number of corals dying, but the ones that survived have really blown up since then.

I'd recommend just doing your water changes, feed your corals aminos every once in a while, and as your tank matures, you'll start to see some proper growth. There are other good responses in here too though, don't ignore your lighting schedule and flow. Getting those right will play a big part in growth.

 

[JCH]

I'm personally a fan of keeping it simple - some people get really into the chemistry of it all and spend a lot of time formulating the perfect dosing configuration and maybe they're able to get great growth in a short amount of time but you can also really mess things up this way if you're not a pro.

If this is your first tank, I'd recommend just taking it slow and keeping things simple. I set up a tank in Jan of 2023 and while everything was always very healthy and happy, I didn't start seeing really strong growth until earlier this year. I even suffered from a major power loss issue in Jan 2024 that led to a number of corals dying, but the ones that survived have really blown up since then.

I'd recommend just doing your water changes, feed your corals aminos every once in a while, and as your tank matures, you'll start to see some proper growth. There are other good responses in here too though, don't ignore your lighting schedule and flow. Getting those right will play a big part in growth.

Sounds like my tank is exactly the same age as yours. Guess I’m not alone. I agree, keep it simple! Yeah everything looks good, some looks great! So , perhaps my tank will take off shortly then ? Hope so ! I did increase the lighting time and intensity today. Everything seemed to enjoy the extra light just fine. We’ll see what happens. But yeah, I’m with you, keep it simple before it drives you nuts!! lol !

 

[EricR]

I only started corals 2 years ago so still consider myself a newbie.
I haven't actually lost a coral yet but have many puzzling growth stoppages that I still can't explain.

One example is that I have two Duncan (LPS) that were both purchased from the same LFS and are mounted 6" away from each other in my same tank:
- One has at least quadrupled the original head size and has 4 new heads that are each about as big as the original
- The other seemed to be doing well for a few months but is now shrinking

...you're welcome for the completely useless information, doh

 

[Spare time]

What type of coral are you trying to grow?

My first thought is that alkalinity is pretty high for the level of nutrients in your water.

That alk is fine. Its only a problem with ULNS. They are also doing daily coral feeding, so even if it was ULNS, it would be fine.

 

[Spare time]

No , I’m using a 5 stage RO spectipure system, right now it’s pulling it down to around 9ppm . So not bad but don’t know what else might be in the water? Perhaps I should get a report from the village I live in ?

You need to replace the DI if a tds of 9 is getting through.

 

[ReefPig]

I am about 3 months in and also frustrated with slow growth. I am trying to be patient but it is tough. I am really hoping this is true, if so I can wait.

You’re 3 months in and you’re frustrated?

I’d strongly suggest a new hobby, or learn patience.

3 months is a blink of the eye, it’s nothing. I’m amazed you even have corals in your tank at 3 months, let alone growing.

The chances of a brand new hobbyist setting up a new tank and stuffing it with corals to have gotten everything right is zero.
Take your time and learn.

 

[Spare time]

I agree most coral growth is on the timeline of many months. 3 months is likely not enough to notice anything dramatic. It also takes frags longer to grow as a whole compared to larger colonies.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Not sure, but when I see all the videos on YouTube and they talk about how much growth they’ve had a one year ,I’m like what the heck im I doing wrong! Lol !

Number #1 rule is don't believe anything you watch on Youtube.

Coral grow slowly to start from small frags.

Once they are established the growth is all over the coral so it looks like they are growing fast, but they're still growing slow - it's just there is more base coral to grow from.

I find that feeding coral may give a good feeling, but it makes no measurable difference as long as the water quality is okay and close to NSW levels.

 

[JCH]

I only started corals 2 years ago so still consider myself a newbie.
I haven't actually lost a coral yet but have many puzzling growth stoppages that I still can't explain.

One example is that I have two Duncan (LPS) that were both purchased from the same LFS and are mounted 6" away from each other in my same tank:
- One has at least quadrupled the original head size and has 4 new heads that are each about as big as the original
- The other seemed to be doing well for a few months but is now shrinking

...you're welcome for the completely useless information, doh

lol , all input is appreciated. There’s many mysteries in this hobby that we hobbyists drive ourselves nuts trying to figure out! It’s good to know I’m not the only one. I had my first salt water tank in the early 80’s back then all we knew was that you needed an under gravel filter, a bag of salt and a hydrometer! lol ! Crazy how the hobby has progressed with the passage of time!! Love it still because it keeps my brain working and there’s always new stuff to learn !