Need help, no coraline or coral growth

phoenix73

Member
I am at a loss. My system seems stable except for some algae that is improving weekly.
I have a 150g with an 85g sump (in the garage- heated). I have an aqua-C 400 skimmer, large turf scrubber (48" x 24") with excellent growth and a phosban reactor.
For lighting I have 2 icecap 550s with 6 60" T5s, 2 are actinic, 1 blue plus, 1 daylight, 1 6400 and 1 procolor. I have the actinics and blue plus coming on from 11-7 pm and the others from 1-5 pm. I have cut back due to algae growth.
My parameters are:
pH 8.3
Ammonia 0
Nitrates 0
Nitrites 0
Ca 420 mg/l
Alk 3.3 meq/l
Phos 2.5
Copper negative
Iodine 0.06 ppm
The phosphates just went up from 0 and I am not sure why.
I have only a few fish, rainbow wrasse, six line wrasse, powder blue tang, 2 clowns, 3 chromis.
For inverts I've got a ton of various snails, a couple of brittle stars, a few hermits (they have mostly disappeared), lettuce nudibranch and coral banded shrimp.
Corals: Xenia, several different mushrooms, ricordia, 3 varieties of zoos.
The corals are surviving but not thriving. No growth or spread. No coraline algae at all.
I have decent flow with 2 koralia 6 magnums, 2 maxijet 1200 with the upgrade kit. Then the return as well from the sump putting out approximately 1000 g/hr based on head pressure calc. I have to angle all of the pumps up slightly or my sand base gets caught in the current.
I am at a complete loss at this point.
Does anyone have any ideas? I am getting frustrated, things have been stable in terms of chemistries for several months without any growth.
 

spanko

Active Member
Coarlline needs to be introduced to a tank. Do you have any live rock, snail shells, powerheads etc. with coralline on it? Take something with coralline on it and over the top of thank scrape the coralline off so that pcs. of it fall into and get dispersed throughout the tank. Your parameters look good, lighting looks good you will start to see it grow.
 

phoenix73

Member
Yes, I have a ton of live rock and even bought some starter pieces and scraped it to get going.
Forgot to add, sg 1.024 and remains very stable with an auto top off RO water.
The only thing that I can think of is that the algae and or sand on the rock is preventing coraline growth. But that doesn't explain the lack of my corals from progressing.
 

meowzer

Moderator
I'm very interested in this....I have very little coraline growth in my 225G, and it also seems like my corals do not grow very fast (they do gorw..only slow).....I am battling a hair algae issue though.
My question is...will HA kill coraline? I no longer have HA on the back glass (no coraline either) I do have some coraline on rocks and such though...
 

spanko

Active Member
High phosphate in the water will inhibit coralline growth and fuel nuisance anlgae growth.
 

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3168141
High phosphate in the water will inhibit coralline growth and fuel nuisance anlgae growth.
HMM...thanks...I knew phosphates contributed to the algae issues...did not know it inhibited coraline growth
I am also working on phosphates in this tank

Just added a new phospure pad....may see if the p etco in Te xas has anyother phosphate stuff since I will be in TX shopping later
 

meowzer

Moderator
OHHHH YEAH!!!! While in TX, I am going to buy a 50G trash can...LOL Maybe larger water changes will help too...right now I am preparing 25g's for tomorrow regardless...next weekend I'll do 40 :) (maybe)
 

evanjah

Member
i could never get coralline to grow in my tank for 2 years. Then i switched to rodi water and it is a nuisance now. What are you using tap water?
 

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by evanjah
http:///forum/post/3168249
i could never get coralline to grow in my tank for 2 years. Then i switched to rodi water and it is a nuisance now. What are you using tap water?
NO, I have an rodi airwaterice 5 stage unit....been using it now for almost a year
 

nolanrob123

Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3168178
OHHHH YEAH!!!! While in TX, I am going to buy a 50G trash can...LOL Maybe larger water changes will help too...right now I am preparing 25g's for tomorrow regardless...next weekend I'll do 40 :) (maybe)
They don't have trash cans in OK? Hahaha, j/k I'm in TX and had to make a joke! Try ChemiPure Elite, that stuff is the bombdigity at removing phosphates, right behind water changes of course.
 

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by nolanrob123
http:///forum/post/3168365
They don't have trash cans in OK? Hahaha, j/k I'm in TX and had to make a joke! Try ChemiPure Elite, that stuff is the bombdigity at removing phosphates, right behind water changes of course.

yes they have trash cans in OK...we just had plans to go to P a ris shopping today...
 

cranberry

Active Member
Coralline smothers porous rocks causing them to loose their high level of biofiltration.... just saying.
 

pbnj

Member
I've read that Strontium and Iodine are essential for proper growth.
Also, do you do any supplemental feeding in your tank, e.g., like Cyclop-eeze?
 

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by pbnj
http:///forum/post/3168479
I've read that Strontium and Iodine are essential for proper growth.
Also, do you do any supplemental feeding in your tank, e.g., like Cyclop-eeze?
NO....I feed frozen foods like mysis, mega marine, (algae, angel etc) marine cuisine, formula 2 etc etc...I also use selcon, vita-chem, zoe, zoecon and vitamarin-c oh and garlic extreme
Originally Posted by Deon NYC
http:///forum/post/3168490
i use purple up
I try not to dose stuff like that
Originally Posted by spanko

http:///forum/post/3168507
Have a read here.
http://www.garf.org/coralline.html
thanks henry.....I know I need to get rid of these phosphates.....I did buy the 50G trash can...I am doing a 25g change today, and will do a 40G next weekend...
P.S. THANKS PHOENIX....I realize this is your thread, but I believe this to be all related to your original post...
 

king_neptune

Active Member
How old is everything?
my tank is 2months old now, it just started getting Coraline in the last couple weeks.
I know you dont want to dose with it. But it really did work for me, i really like purple-up. I dose it with 1/3 the recommended dose. and once every couple days, instead of once a day.About a week or two after using this product i started seeing small spots hear and there forming.
Close to 4 weeks later, i got dozens and dozens of small patches, no bigger than 1/8th inch across...but they are forming.
 
Top