Why won't coral grow?! Also, a slight algae issue

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ThatGuy21

New Member
Hi,
I am a beginner to reef-keeping, and trying to grow some coral. I started my tank about 6 months ago, and it is currently home to one emerald crab, and one turbo snail. They're doing great, but I can't say the same for the coral frag I introduced (it's currently bleached and covered in algae). When I introduced the snail, it also had some (now dead) coralline growing on it's shell. My parameters are: 400 ppm calcium, 214.8 ppm KH (12 dKH), 0 phosphates, 0 nitrates, and 0 nitrites. My PH is 8, my salinity is 1.022, and I keep the tank at around 80 Fahrenheit. I use LED lighting, and do 10% water changes every week using distilled water. From what I have read, these seem like good conditions for coral.

P.S. I also had some weird grey spots show up on my rocks- is there a way to get rid of them (pictures attached)?

Thank You,
ThatGuy21
 

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lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
Salinity is too low. Fine for fish not coral. Shoot for 1.026.
What kind of light do you have?
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
What kind of coral frag is it? How powerful are your LED's? They might not be strong enough to support any corals let alone yours. I can't see the top of your tank so it could be it's not getting near enough light. How much water flow (power heads) do you have? It looks like you've got a dust storm going on in there. There are a lot of things that can contribute to a coral bleaching out like yours. How long has it been in the tank?
 
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ThatGuy21

New Member
Thank you. I will try to raise my salinity, meanwhile- I attached some pictures of the LED lighting system, and it's meant for a much bigger tank, so I would be surprised if the coral was not receiving enough light. I have one pump (a 100 Hydor Centrifical Pump) that has 100 GPH. I haven't touched the frag after acclimating it (but I could have messed up the acclimation), and it is still in the tank. As for what kind of coral it is, I don't know- I bought it to test my tank before getting a bigger and more expensive frag.

Thank You (and sorry for replying so late),
ThatGuy21

-Pictures include: my pump, my lighting strip, and my tank with the lights on.
 

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lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
Can you take the fixture off the tank and take pics of it. What I see doesn't lol strong enough for coral.
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
That won't grow coral. I have one in my closet. It gets used on my quarantine tank only. You need very good water quality and intense light for coral.
 
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ThatGuy21

New Member
Do you have any recommendations for a light? And what parameters does my tank's water need to be at?

Thanks,
ThatGuy21
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
Personally I use powerful LED's. They cost more than T5 or Halides but they don't produce any heat and last up to ten times longer than regular bulbs.
 
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