Coral not growing or spreading

[ElLatino]

I'm fairly new to the hobby and still learning the names of the different live stock. I have a 75 gal tank with approx 80 lbs of live rock (mixed) and approx 1" of live sand.

As for lighting I have Coralife's 250 watt canopy. For filtration I have a Eheim (for 100 gal) and a Fuval 304, along with an Aquarium Systems skimmer and a 25 watt UV system.

I currently have 10 different species of soft coral, mushrooms, polyps, and and open brain. My problem is that although everything looks fine, my mushrooms and polyps are not spreading and in general, nothing is getting any bigger.

This particular setup I've had it up for a little over a year now. I am hoping I have significant lighting in the tank as the current canopy does not allow room for anything else.

I'm hoping it has more to do with the additives. I currently use myces, calcium, sea elements, iodine, and other tiems that i can't remember their names at this time.

Can anyone offer me any suggestions or tell me what may be wrong with my setup? Any feedback is appreciated.

[WI Reef Lover]

I actually toss a little coral accel in my tank (made by kent marine) maybe that will help. It says to put it in everyday but i only add some once a week or every other. (I don't have a protein skimmer on my tank so I'm always afraid of overdosing something). I've had my tank for about 2 years now and I've really noticed more growth lately then previously. Sometimes I think you just don't always notice it. I know for me, I have a tendency to rearrange more than I should so it's hard to tell sometimes and I'm looking at it everyday so sometimes it's just that I'm so accustomed to what I'm seeing I don't notice the growth. Although I guess you would definately notice more mushrooms. I've just only now started to see them multiply and some seem to do that more readily than others.

[Chibils]

How often do you replace the media in the canisters? Canisters ought to be cleaned regularly or they'll build up detrius, etc. that will be converted into nitrates, which could be the cause of the recession. And what are your trace element levels? The additives could be unnecessary and you could be overdosing them (since you don't need them), causing corals not to extend.

[dwd5813]

what are your test results for the things that you are adding to the tank?
i ask because it is not a good idea to just randomly add chemicals and things to your tank based on the fact that a bottle says it contains something that is going to help your reef. if you arent testing for it to know that the level is low, how do you know you are adding something your tank needs?

[Roy G. Biv]

I have the same lighting as you. My sps are doing well, softies continue to be lare but not much growth. zoa's, polyps, mushrooms are spreading. I happen to use coral accel once in a while.

I dont leave my UV on all of the time. If you are using noodles in one of the chambers of the fluval, please discard.

[oli5]

do u have 250 watts of PC? I do too. Are your corals healthy and can you keep a brain with this light happy and full of color? I'm wondering because I want to start a reef.

[ElLatino]

Based on the response I've had on other forums and this one, I've been told the following:

Stop using the UV sterilizer, don't add to the water what I can't test for, consider converting from the 2 canisters to a sump, Ph was too low (7.8 units) and Nitrate was a bit too high (10 mg/l), and specific gravity was to low (1.021).

As for the UV sterlizer, I bought it due to the excessive green algae that was growing in the tank and it helped quite a bit. If it is removing elements that softies need, then I'll just run it once or twice a week to see how it goes. I turned off one of the canisters as well, leaving only the Eheim running. As for the Nitrate, the specific gravity and the PH levels, I'll remedy those issues on Friday with a 10% water change.

for those who asked, here are my water test results:

Nitrite, low range: 0.0
Nitrite, high range: 0.0
Alkalinity precision test: 87.5 ppm
Nitrate: 10 mg/l
Calcium: 450 ppm
PH: 7.8 units
Amonia: 0.0
Salinity ppt: 29
Specific gravity: 1.021

Is there anything else the members here would recommend I do? I would love to see my Xenias, polyps and mushrooms spread. Thanks for the feedback!

[oli5]

what lighting do you have? (specifics)

[SuperNerd]

I agree with the person on the other forum.

salinity could be higher.

what is the alkalinity in dKH or meq?

nitrate is high.

pH is kinda low too.

By the way exactly how is that lighting system?
Depth of the tank influences bulb penetration and not all bulbs penetrate depth equally. Not all bulbs lose their strength equally with time either- when was the last time you switched the bulbs and what kind are they?

The algae blooms with nutrients and light. If you want to reduce nutrients I would get a skimmer and like was said, a sump and a refugium if you can fit it. Don't go mammoth on the skimmer though if you want to pump out the softies. If you overfilter you will take out the nutrients the xenia and other soft corals like.

You also need to do water changes.

[SuperNerd]

By the way what's a "myces?"