hard vs soft growth

[glasscabbage]

iv got a biocube 14gal
stable with no issues for over a year
water params are good(my ca is always elevated. like 450-550)
DIY led lighting

so for some strange reason i have no prob growing LPS and SPS but the softies just wont grow. well not no growth but lets just say that my acros and monties are out-growing my GSP or mushrooms. also my palys grow but zoas dont. could it be chemical war? i know that an unstable tank can slow or even stall growth but why then would all the other coral be doing great when some are not.

any ideas are more than i have

thanks

[fishguy95]

What do you have as far as your filtration and dosing for your tank. It may be possible that your tank is a low nutrient environment, you may have enough nutrients to grow lps but not enough for soft corals to flourish.

[glasscabbage]

nutrients? as in calcium, mag, strontium? or something else?

[trido]

Low nutrients, meaning lack of DOC's (disolved organic compounds) from over feeding and fish poo.

To put it simply. You have too strong of light and too clean of water for softies.

[SaltwaterNoobs]

Low nutrients, meaning lack of DOC's (disolved organic compounds) from over feeding and fish poo.

To put it simply. You have too strong of light and too clean of water for softies.

I agree. I know quite a few reefers who have success with either or, not both, because they either keep their water a little dirty, or they keep it clean. I have little success with hard corals like LPS and SPS, but my softies grow like crazy. This is because my water is a bit "dirtier". I think the only hard coral I have doing well as far as growth is my monti (the one I got from you, actually! ). Everything else stays the same.

How often do you do water changes? And when you do them, how much do you take out at a time?

[fishguy95]

You most likely have a very good balance of cal, mag, alk, and strontium (which by the way are elements not nutrients). That good balance is why your stony corals are doing so well. It would help to know what your filtration is. There is a small chance that it has some thing to do with your lighting or the placement in the tank. Your leds may not get enough light to the deeper parts of the tank. Or the leds are to strong.

[Prest0nC]

I've had a BC14 for a year as well and have experienced the same. For some reason GSP does not like to grow in my tank, which is weird cause all my frogspawn and hammers have been taking off. I also have not been able to keep buttons in my tank. My tank has been known to get dirty at times so even with higher nutrients those corals don't seem to grow. I wonder what else it could be? Anyways tagging along with this thread.

[glasscabbage]

im now down from 12 3watt leds to 5 and the softies are taking off, the sps has slowed but not much. just had to keep tweekin until i found a harmony

[TJL]

Yes, true mixed Reefs are definitely a challenge but well worth the effort to me personally. Finding that key balance of lighting, flow, nutrient level and water chemistry/dosing takes patience and practice which keeps my interest level high in the hobby. Glad to see you working things out here.

Cheers, Todd

[trido]

Yes, true mixed Reefs are definitely a challenge but well worth the effort to me personally. Finding that key balance of lighting, flow, nutrient level and water chemistry/dosing takes patience and practice which keeps my interest level high in the hobby. Glad to see you working things out here.

Cheers, Todd

Couldn't agree more. A mixed reef is far more interesting to look at (for me) than an all SPS or all softie tank.