my soft corals don't grow!

[tim stark]

every since i went from my cube tank to a 25 gal tank, my soft corals don't grow. they just stay the same. actually the Green star polyps have contracted quite a bit, with the purple mats getting smaller and smaller. the polyps only open part of the time., and not at the same time! mushrooms are still there, but never open completely. i don't have any of the good purple macro corraline algae at all, and i used to. ( don't have any of the bad green algae either by the way).
its been this way for at least 12 months- so my parameters seem very consistent- nothing changes- corals don't grow, but they don't die either.
lights- AI pendents ( mostly purple , violet , UV and blue light spectrum)

PH- 7.7 or 7.8
alkilinity- 7.8
calcium- 440
KH- 125
salinity- 35
phosphate, nitrate, nitrite and amonia all zero

 

[reef lover]

Softies really need some nitrates and phosphates to flourish. Whats your stocking list for fish? Maybe fees more often or add more fish.

 

[Alexreefer]

+1^^^^ you should get some nitrate and phosphate in your water by dosing or holding off on w/c for a bit. Also what kind of filtration are you using?

 

[Brad Miller]

Welcome to our humble R2R...
Parameters seem ok.

Are you using rodi water?
Is the flow too much for them?
Lighting cycle not enough or not enough white?
Maybe send out water to be tested?

 

[Land Shark]

I was having the same issues as you describe. In my case, ICP tests confirmed the root cause as a heavy metals issue. Zinc was 20 times higher than normal and Tin 60 times higher than normal.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

every since i went from my cube tank to a 25 gal tank, my soft corals don't grow. they just stay the same. actually the Green star polyps have contracted quite a bit, with the purple mats getting smaller and smaller. the polyps only open part of the time., and not at the same time! mushrooms are still there, but never open completely. i don't have any of the good purple macro corraline algae at all, and i used to. ( don't have any of the bad green algae either by the way).
its been this way for at least 12 months- so my parameters seem very consistent- nothing changes- corals don't grow, but they don't die either.
lights- AI pendents ( mostly purple , violet , UV and blue light spectrum)

PH- 7.7 or 7.8
alkilinity- 7.8
calcium- 440
KH- 125
salinity- 35
phosphate, nitrate, nitrite and amonia all zero

Are you still using all the original equipment on the tank like pumps and so forth. How about the foods you're feeding are they different different brand. I know the foods I put together for my corals have a high iodine which I don't mind but I also got my ICP results 2 months ago and I was high on iodine I believe tin to.

 

[tim stark]

Softies really need some nitrates and phosphates to flourish. Whats your stocking list for fish? Maybe fees more often or add more fish.

i have one flame angel and three damsels.
i am very surprised to hear you say i need more phosphates and nitrates- i always figured those were bad things.- because i really hate green algae., and i haven't had ANY .

 

[tim stark]

+1^^^^ you should get some nitrate and phosphate in your water by dosing or holding off on w/c for a bit. Also what kind of filtration are you using?

i have sock filters for mechanical, live rock/bio balls for biological, and i put "Chemi-pure elite" charcoal in the sump and i use a skimmer. the chemi-pure removes phosphates and silicates- i wonder if that could be the problem?

 

[tim stark]

I was having the same issues as you describe. In my case, ICP tests confirmed the root cause as a heavy metals issue. Zinc was 20 times higher than normal and Tin 60 times higher than normal.

Where do you get ICP tests done?

 

[tim stark]

Welcome to our humble R2R...
Parameters seem ok.

Are you using rodi water?
Is the flow too much for them?
Lighting cycle not enough or not enough white?
Maybe send out water to be tested?

I am using RODI water, but i haven't changed the filters since i bought the system about 1 1/2 years ago. maybe those filters aren't removing heavy metals like they used to. i will buy new filters i think.
flow is not too much- just two power heads
i could try more white

 

[reef lover]

Have you seen the angle picking at them at all?

And all.corals need some nitrates and phosphates to live.

 

[kichimark]

i have one flame angel and three damsels.
i am very surprised to hear you say i need more phosphates and nitrates- i always figured those were bad things.- because i really hate green algae., and i haven't had ANY .

These nutrients are not bad since they are used in corals and other life forms. Some folks love ultra low nutrient systems (ULNS) but this would not be ideal for softies.

I run chemipure blue in my reef and have no ill affects towards the corals.

How often do you feed?

 

[sfin52]

welcome to r2r. My softies did the same thing till I let phosphate reach 1.0 now things are growing. Those are the building blocks of like . remember your Zooxanthellae are algea and need phosphates and nitrates .

i have one flame angel and three damsels.
i am very surprised to hear you say i need more phosphates and nitrates- i always figured those were bad things.- because i really hate green algae., and i haven't had ANY .

 

[tim stark]

Are you still using all the original equipment on the tank like pumps and so forth. How about the foods you're feeding are they different different brand. I know the foods I put together for my corals have a high iodine which I don't mind but I also got my ICP results 2 months ago and I was high on iodine I believe tin to.

i don't feed the soft corals- just the fish.

Have you seen the angle picking at them at all?

And all.corals need some nitrates and phosphates to live.

no, angel does not pick
where do i go for a ICP water test?

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

i don't feed the soft corals- just the fish.

no, angel does not pick
where do i go for a ICP water test?

Some people don't care for this company I haven't had any problems with them https://www.icp-analysis.com. I use this company because they were in the States. Just to give you the heads up you're going to spend with shipping and everything close to $80.

 

[tim stark]

These nutrients are not bad since they are used in corals and other life forms. Some folks love ultra low nutrient systems (ULNS) but this would not be ideal for softies.

I run chemipure blue in my reef and have no ill affects towards the corals.

How often do you feed?

if you mean fish, i feed a pinch or two of flake food a day. i have always been told that over-feeding is the main culprit of tank problems.
as for feeding corals- i don't . i certainly could buy a bottle and start squirting some coral food in there. think i should?

 

[kichimark]

if you mean fish, i feed a pinch or two of flake food a day. i have always been told that over-feeding is the main culprit of tank problems.
as for feeding corals- i don't . i certainly could buy a bottle and start squirting some coral food in there. think i should?

Overfeeding is an issue but tends to be one with uneaten food floating around that is left to decay (which is why a good CUC is always welcomed). I only feed what my fish can eat in a couple minutes. I do this about twice a day. The nutrients the fish give off from their digestion will turn into usable nitrates and phosphates for the corals/algae. You don't want tons of that in the tank since it can lead to problems in algae growth but feeding your fish as mentioned earlier a couple times a day will not be an issue. Have you tried feeding mysis shrimp? This would be a much more healthier choice than flake and your fish will love you for it since it is higher in protein and fats.

In regards to coral foods, I feed reef roads about once a week. But, I would first do the above and see if that makes a difference with your softies.

 

[reef lover]

Yup . Feed fish more and better foods. A variety of frozen is always best. Most of your softies dont need spot feeding per say...just a little bit of trates in the water so they can feed.

 

[Land Shark]

Where do you get ICP tests done?

Either Triton or ATI Aquarisk. Initially I used Triton but lately I've been using ATI because of the RODI water test they throw in for free, the free postage, and the lower price.

 

[Katrina71]

i have sock filters for mechanical, live rock/bio balls for biological, and i put "Chemi-pure elite" charcoal in the sump and i use a skimmer. the chemi-pure removes phosphates and silicates- i wonder if that could be the problem?

Stop skimming in the daytime. Use chemipure blue. Just try it for 30 days.