Help with SPS color.....pics

[Ziggy953]

Good luck...

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Please keep us updated on your progress. I'm a big believer in the basics, though I'm assuming you'll still be dosing the basics: calcium, alkalinity and magnesium. Slightly washed out colors or not, you have a beautiful tank.

 

[bavass]

I will keep adding my findings to this thread. I also want people to join in an post thoughts questions etc and keep it going. I try and post as much detail so that it might help somebody later

 

[MikeYQM]

Maybe just cut your carbon/GFO in half?

 

[bavass]

I was thinking of maybe cutting GFO in half, Carbon is already cut off. But, I want to see if my tank stays at proper levels with out GFO.

 

[MikeYQM]

I suspect you'll miss the water clarity & return to carbon.

 

[bavass]

I suspect you'll miss the water clarity & return to carbon.

You might be right, but i need to see if its the problem might end up running half the amount. I need to cut it off to see then i will decide. I have been running carbon for years and cant remember what it looked like before lol

 

[mr_X]

I think it's high nutrients. No coral food is necessary. Whatever you feed the fish is plenty. If you change the bulbs out, be sure to acclimate the corals in some way.

 

[Badgers reef]

Feed live photopylanton 55g would be around 8ml a day other than that for sps not much other feed is needed ive started using red seas colour programme and it really seems to be improving colour there reef energy programme is also good rootfiers is the only other feed ive used for sps

 

[Badgers reef]

Sorry just read above uve used energy try the colour programme follow the one specificly for sps

 

[bavass]

Sorry just read above uve used energy try the colour programme follow the one specificly for sps

I have the color test kit and trial size additives. I have ran the tests a few times and with the exception of iron they are all in line.

 

[bavass]

I think it's high nutrients. No coral food is necessary. Whatever you feed the fish is plenty. If you change the bulbs out, be sure to acclimate the corals in some way.

If it were high nutrients would i have an algae problem too? I use to but after vinegar and gfo i have had no algae for several months. I only scrap my glass once every 2 weeks. However grape caulerpa does grow in sump

 

[CorallineAlgae]

You can have higher nutrients than SPSs like for best coloration yet still have no nuisance algae. Remember, the corals themselves can use nutrients for their internal algae. They then get brown or tan. High nutrients, if consumed by corals or refugium algae, may not cause nuisance algae at all.

Light may still be a factor.

 

[MikeYQM]

I still think high nutrients would cause a browning, or bleaching if high enough.

Absolute 0 nutrients: coral die.
Too few nutrients: zoox populations decline causing wash out
Proper nutrients: good color & growth
Too high nutrients: zoox populations increase causing browning
Far too high nutrients: bleaching

 

[bavass]

Its a fine line of balance. It seems my tank could go either way, to low or to high. I have no idea which way to go. Seems the easiest is to go back to basics?

 

[fort384]

This is definitely interesting me. I am also having some browning issues with some of my SPS. Others seem to be doing just fine. I decided to increase my lighting a bit, and I cut out feeding reef chili a couple of weeks ago. It is so hard to decide what to do, and know exactly what the problem is so I understand the frustration.

 

[MikeYQM]

It's an easy balance for the ocean, not in our tiny systems. Recent research has shown that wild reefs would survive without the nutrients provided by fish (among other things). Population limiters, the oceans volume and millions of years of evolution have set the balance.

Since your coral is healthy, albeit slightly drab, small changes allowed to work over long times are key. Change ONE thing (maybe cut it in half or double it) and evaluate. You're on the cusp of awesome so now it's down to the details.

As for broadcast feeding, while it may (or may not) help accelerate growth, it's not essential to the health of your coral. If you have elevated nutrients causing browning, cut it out. Balanced nutrients is more important than the benefits of broadcast feeding. Target feeding is much more efficient but still not essential.

 

[Sniperhank]

All of this makes sense to me. Though in my tank, my starlight acro was brown before I started broadcast feeding. Of my 3 acros, it is the only one that is brown. The plum crazy and red planet still have the color, but the red planet has greened around the base. Since this is what the red planet does under less intense lighting and my radions were at 60%, I'm turning them up. I plan on continuing the broadcast feeding for my coco worm and derasa clam, along with other things that can benefit.

 

[MikeYQM]

In my experience, a coral that's been brown for a while can take a looong time to color up. Browning can be caused by inadequate light as zoox populations increase to make up the difference.

 

[MikeYQM]

And Merry Christmas!