finch6013 Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 I have a 34 solana that is about a month old. It has about 20 small colonies and a few frags. I have been testing calcium and alk every day for almost a week and neither of the two seem to be changing. In my 75g that had maybe a little more sps that this one I was dosing almost 100ml per day of two part. What is going on? why are the corals not using up the calcium? all corals look to be healthy and all the other perams are in check. current calcium is 420ppm, and alk is 8 dkh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Give it time, it always takes new frags a little bit to start taking off. They are probably still getting used to their new home. What type of test kits are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finch6013 Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 well I am using API test kits and I know they are not the best but they have been checked against expensive kits and always have tested the same. These are not new frags, they are my old ones out of my 75g and a few small colonies that are new. None of them are really frags but a few. Thats why I am expecting the calcium to be getting used up like crazy as it did in my old tank. I dont like testing every day expecting it to change one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Did you use new sand? Also what salt are you using. Last time I checked my calcium was at 600 but I attributed it to the large addition of new salt with a high calcium content and 50 lbs. of new aragonite sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Have you checked your magnesium levels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralreefer Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 B--your corals aren't up to speed yet...they were in your tank...they were in my tank....they are in your tank....a majority of them are probably catching their breath and will resume going back to normal color and fast growing after they destress...may be another 6 weeks before they start sucking the calcium down again...be patient... Merle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdadof2 Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 I agree with Sean...check your Mg level! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finch6013 Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 I dont have a mg test but I will get one as I need one anyways. How does mg attribute to calcium? I did use new aragonite sand, and I use kent salt which usually tests at about 440 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylaster Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 mg is one of the important building blocks of an aragonite based skeleton, along with calcium. Here is a good article how it all ties together snipped from reef central Alkalinity: Most people recommended that we keep out Alk levels at 10-12 dKH. Over time myself and many others, keeping primarily acroporids as well as other SPS, found that the high end of the dKH scale is not always better and that keeping alk closer to natural sea water levels of ~8dKH yielded good, if not better, results for SPS. My personal experience is that I found much less incidence of RTN and my pH became just as stable when balanced with the proper levels of calcium and magnesium. So my recommendation is to keep alk around 8-9 dKH for keeping acroporids. Another nice benefit of lower alk was less precipitate on heaters and pumps. Quote: Calcium: And I have had the best success with high levels of calcium between 450 and 500 ppm. I feel that this allows me to get a very good growth in my aquarium. I had kept my calcium levels at around 360-380 for a few years and while this did not cause any problems, my growth wasn't anything to brag about. High ca levels really pushed my growth up a huge notch. Note, that I keep low levels of alk in my tank so that helps me to keep a higher level of ca in the aquarium as well. Quote: Magnesium: I personally like to maintain magnesium levels at 1450-1500 ppm. For me that has worked out best. it allows me to easily maintain my alk and ca levels and my corals seem to do best at this level as well. [...] The primary benefit of Mg is that it allow calcium and bicarbonate levels in the water to exist at supersaturated levels. In laymen's terms, having high Mg allows you to maintain higher Ca/Alk. Because Ca and bicarbonate are supersaturated, they are always ready to fall out of solution. This is the abiotic precipitation that every talks about on heaters, pumps, and solid surfaces. As calcium carbonate forms on these surfaces, Mg is also able to bond with it. By doing so, Mg blocks Ca and bicarbonate from being able to attach, significantly slowing the rate of precipitation. If you let Mg drop, you have to pour in more and more Ca and Alk supplements, and precipitation becomes more and more of a factor. I don't think corals deliberately use (or require) Mg, it's more of an incidental pick-up while building their skeletons. But, maintaining Mg levels is necessary to hold Ca and Alk levels where you want them. So... taking all this in, we get the following target ranges: Alk: 7-8 dKH Ca: 450-500 ppm Mg: 1450-1500 ppm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finch6013 Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 good read thanks. I must have decent mg levels out of my salt as my old tank never had alk and calcium level issues. I dosed a set amount each day and all was spot on. I should be testing for it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 I agree with Ryan and the Doc. Your corals aren't yet puting any energy into new growth. Basically they are just trying to find out what it takes to live in their new environment and are adjusting accordingly. It takes new corals around 2 months give or take some time depending on the coral before they start putting any of their resources into growout. You should see a slight color up before you see much growth and then you should see a bit of growth and continued color up as they really start growing. I find that after around 8-10 months my corals usually really start to take off. If the tank is well established this time is shortened by a couple of months. My 210g sps dominated display really started to take of in terms of sps growth after the first year. It was starteling to see such an exponental increase in element consumption and growth after only seeing very low or moderate growth rates before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Snorkelwasp Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 whats your lighting like? if its lacking then that would be another reason they arent putting energy into new growth...or high nitrates, or some other pollutant...basically just look for whatever reason could be stunting their growt..if something is... fix it, and if not just sit back and wait for them to take foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finch6013 Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 I have plenty of light and no measurable nitrates or phosphates. I guess they just need a little time. My other tank didn't do this but oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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