Some of my sps started to encrust last month, and now it's onto the frag disk and rock. Question is, how big do the encrust get, before they shoot up or sideways?
I think k most like to make a big base. Mi d if like a tree. People don't realize how much roots spread. But the roots of a tree is almost an identical mirror image of the branching. the base helps support them like roots. I have a 2" frag rock fully covered and the half inch nub never started branching at all. After 2 years.
Lighting and water quality also play a big part in how much the coral has to reach for the light. Lighting can also change direction of the way a coral grows.
Nubs take very long to grow which is why when I buy frags I buy the ones that have even the smallest of branches over ones that do not
Some coral significantly encrust before branching and yet others branch quickly. Depends on the coral, it's growth pattern and of course all your parameters. They never do it fast enough regardless
I have an orange digi that went nuts on encrusting right away, and a green one (both came from estaban's tank) that has easily tripled in size, but never encrusted.