coral growth

[nathaniel]

I have a reef tank great beautiful corals i have a colt coral 2 different colored flower pot corals pumping xenia 2 leathers zooanthid rock what kind of things do i need to make my corals start growing i cant get them nor any purple coralline algae to grow HELP ME

[dillycheeze]

keep alk and ca up and steady (alk 8-11 dkH), (ca 400-450). consistent temp ......keep nitrates & phosphates to a minimum.....make sure you have adequate lighting and feed!...throw those in a blender, mix em up, and you should have some nice growth

[romunov]

A lot of circulation in your tank. A good power head like Tunze Stream would be nice. And do a lot of reading. This is no easy task.

[Mariner]

Sorry, but....uhhh...if you've got "tangs" (plural) in a 55g with a lionfish and you're keeping them all well fed, there is little chance that you'll be able to keep nitrates and phosphates low enough to encourage much coralline or coral growth. FWIW, the xenia would probably do the best under these conditions.
HTH,
Mariner

[rshimek]

[moved]

[roberts722]

I would not suggest a Tunze Stream for a 55 gal tank. It would be like a tsunami, even with the flow turned way down..

A couple of maxijet 1200's should do the trick..

[danny254 2nd]

You might have problems with the flowerpot corals (Gonioporas), they have a pretty ugly track record in aquariums, almost all of them slowly die in captivity. Do a little research before you buy. Good luck.

As for growth, time and the right conditions should do it.

lighting
food
water circulation
water quality
are four big ones.

Danny

[nathaniel]

people keep telling me about flower pot corals but mine are the most healthy corals Ive ever seen
I love them and they have got to be absolutely the best coral

[gtrestoration]

LIARS

I think I would call that...

"uncalled for"

Sorry for bringing this back to the top.
Steve U

[nathaniel]

people who think they know stuff and dont shouldnt take the time to bother

[gtrestoration]

Do me a favor. Make a note on your calendar to PM a picture of your "Flower Pots" one year from today.

Keep good written records of your care and experiences with your system. A log of any maintenance such as water changes and type and quantity of additives etc. Feeding habits such as how long a certain size container of a particular food lasts, just log in the purchase date and type when you begin using the container and record when it's gone. And then log water test results for things such as nitrates, phosphates, alkalinity, calcium, etc at least monthly.

I have no idea what the percentage of "flower pots" that live in captivity more than a year is but I do know it is very, very low.

Your time spend keeping such records could possibly prevent this high mortality rate.

This can be your contribution to the hobby.

I am quite aware there are some who have had success with them but have seen many return later to admit it was false hope and long term success was not obtained.

Steve U

[gtrestoration]

BTW nathaniel

I don't think my first post was "Harsh". I wouldn't call someone a liar if we were standing face-to-face, so lwouldn't write it in a post either.

You will come to learn that there are certain things which will put you in front of the firing squad on RC and you just nailed two of them in one of your first seven posts. Those two being tangs in small tanks (most wouldn't consider 55g large) and flower pots.

Steve U

[EricHugo]

nathaniel, hate to say it, but Steve is right on.

[nathaniel]

as you all probably know about my situation on the arguement of the flower pots I did a lil research and found out that i a one of the lucky ones I bought my flowers about 1 year 5 months and two weeks ago according to this ( my first one that is the seocond one is only about nine months or so I was at my LFS i asked the guy how long the coral had been there and he said oh a couple months maybe more I would like to also take the time to post a couple picture of the one because i think it is so beautiful I never took or have ever taken the time to write down logs which now that i think of it gtrestoration that would be a great idea and I will probably start logging that on my PDA the average in aquarium life of a flower pot is a very slow painful death keeping my fingers crossed I wont lose my favorite coral I will post again in the next couple months to this again so look for my name y'all

[gtrestoration]

nathaniel...

Since we seem to be on better terms now, here's my opinion.

First, do you know the following...

• Average pH
• Alkalinity (dKH)
• Calcium ppm
• Magnesium ppm
• Phosphate ppm
• Nitrate ppm
• Lighting

If those things are all kept at near optimal levels then calcifying corals and coralline algae have little choice but to grow. My concern though would be that changing the composition of your water, especially the dissolved organics, may not be in the best interests of you goniopora. You have been successful so far with them with your current parameters.

From your original post...
colt coral 2 different colored flower pot corals pumping xenia 2 leathers zooanthid rock

IMO your selection of livestock doesn't necessarily need pristine or perfect water quality. With the exception of the flower pots (I will offer no advice) lighting may be your limiting factor.

Coralline algae BTW can become a nuisance but it's preferred over some other algae.

Steve U

[nathaniel]

I think im gonna have to buy another kit all i have right now is a refractometer and I have been taking water samples everytime i go to my LFS to check on calcium nitrates nitritres and ammonia thats all they check but i will be ordering a test kit so let me get back to you on that great info though I think I am also gonna be transfering most of my fish the tangs and the lionfish over to my 65 gallon its a fowlr tank
my only other question to you is is coral vital really that great of a substance to use what about black powder or something of that nature I know this stuff is outrageous priced especially for a 55 gallon tank let me know how to handle this and where the best place to buy these addittives are

[gtrestoration]

Eric,
Please excuse my rambling on in your forum.

Nathaniel,

An excellent way to get Eric's opinion on things needed to maintain a reef tank are in his book
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=BKACS
You will find so much in the book, even things you didn't know you needed to know. Great reference book for obtaining better than basic care knowledge. I bought it and sat down and read it as though it were a novel. Now I refer back to it regularly when questions arise.

If you are looking for assistance on additives you might get more opinions in the General Forum. There you will find many people using many different products. You'll find those who love'em and those who hate'em.

I'm not a fan of additives other than those for alkalinity (baking soda), calcium (calcium chloride) and calcium hydroxide for dosing limewater. Water changes using a quality salt mix if performed in a timely manner IMO replaces any and all trace elements necessary for success. Once again, IMO, if it was proven these additives where needed they would be added to the quality salt mixes.

I do a 20g water change weekly, that's minimum, at times I may do an additional 20g if things in the tank look as though it's needed.

You should own a test for pH or a pH meter, and tests for alkalinity, calcium and magnesium. If your tank is stable you need not test for ammonia or nitrites. Most would suggest you also test for nitrates and phosphates, though I have not for at least 2 years. I am unable to differentiate between the colors of those two tests so it's just I waste of time for me. I judge nitrate and phosphate levels by the looks of some things in the tank and the growth rate of algae, cynobacteria and diatoms. I've kept FW fish tanks for over 30 years, SW fish for over 15 and inverts for at least 12, in time you just learn to observe your tank.
Steve U

[MiddletonMark]

Steve's got some good advice there. I can't thjink of anything to add right now ... but thought I'd confirm that what he says sounds quite good to me :)

And Steve ... I ramble a lot here too. I think I've learned a lot by putting out long posts like yours and seeing where I get corrected. It's nice having Eric and others there critique our thoughts :)

[gtrestoration]

Mark,

To be honest, with many of my rambling posts I end up editing out most of it before posting. I re-read it and say to myself... "jees Steve, shut up already".
If I post a question I've learned to ask only one or two at a time, otherwise it's too much to expect of these people that weren't put on this good earth to solve my "reef problems" and may have a real life.

Steve U