3 years of brown....

[jimrawr]

Subscribing. Also have similar problems to you, very stable parameters but unhappy corals. There are some things missing from our collective general knowledge of SPS that prevent some of us from having colorful tanks. Its not a simple check list of:

ALK
CA
MG
PO4
NO3
LIGHTS
TEMP
FLOW
FEEDINGS

I feel like there is more at play, but I do not know what exactly.

 

[redwhiteandblue]

I also vote starving. On some acros it can be hard to tell the difference. Your Miami Orchid has more white than mine, and I am coming off high nitrates and phosphates and the orchid is a really rich good looking brown with bright tips. To me this is the clue that low nutrients might be the issue here since yours is mostly lighter in color.

You also maybe has a typo on phosphates? > 0.0 to 0.4ppm < Is this the low range meter? If so then that's really really low, if not then .4 is rather high.

Sorry it it .04 . Auto correct got me again! It is the hanna HI713

What's getting me is if I'm low nutrients, how do all my rocks have thin surface algae? And spotty cyano? Don't get me wrong, I don't have an outbreak on my hands or anything but it is present.

 

[rovster]

I also agree its a starving look. There is turd brown that is a high nutrient look, and there is what we have here, which is more of a pale tan look. Upping the feeding and maybe some supplements like AcroPower or Pohls Xtra should help here. I doubt its the flame with that kind of polyp extension! Good luck, I hope you figure it out.....

 

[markalot]

I wanted to add I'm mostly in the brown club as well. I do not want to hijack but maybe it will help the original poster to know where I stand with the browns.

This is my Miami Orchid

Slimer

My most colorful, which has now dulled since dropping nitrates from 15 to 2.

Rainbow (BROWN)

Pink milli (turned brown soon after adding it)

I have a lot more brown corals but that's enough.

IMO the RedWhiteandBlue's pics look a little more colorful than my brown acros but also paler. This is why I think it's more a starvation issue, or possible pests. Good closeups with a top down box might be needed to evaluate the health of the acros.

I still don't believe I have the secret sauce yet. I feed heavily and export frantically and I still feel like it's too much work compared to so many other colorful tanks, but perhaps I'm underestimating the maintenance work?

 

[rovster]

Markalot's corals are more of that rich dense brownish that you would associate with high nutrient. Great post so we can contrast them!

 

[Cosmojo]

Markalot's corals are more of that rich dense brownish that you would associate with high nutrient. Great post so we can contrast them!

Agreed, I think we have one of each here. The OP I think needs to dirty up his tank a bit, and the later needs to clean it up. No worries, they are both very fixable, especially with the growth you're getting.

 

[ycnibrc]

have you try fauna marin color element? They have 3 bottles 1 for each color, green,blue and purple I use it and my color is not bad.

 

[SnowManSnow]

Based on those colors I think your water is too clean:/

 

[redwhiteandblue]

I just find it so hard to belive my water is too clean since there is algae present. I guess it doesn't take much for it to grow and take nutrients out of water column before the corals get to it?

 

[rovster]

There are some algaes and dino strains that thrive in low nutrient environments. Just throwing that out there.

 

[brad65ford]

Amino acids heavy feedings of phytoplankton and a tiny bit of vodka like 1 ml a day.

You could by phols solution by kz zeofit.

I use fuel Amino acids. I turn all pumps off and spot feed reef chili and reef roids.

I also vote starving. On some acros it can be hard to tell the difference. Your Miami Orchid has more white than mine, and I am coming off high nitrates and phosphates and the orchid is a really rich good looking brown with bright tips. To me this is the clue that low nutrients might be the issue here since yours is mostly lighter in color.

You also maybe has a typo on phosphates? > 0.0 to 0.4ppm < Is this the low range meter? If so then that's really really low, if not then .4 is rather high.

I also agree its a starving look. There is turd brown that is a high nutrient look, and there is what we have here, which is more of a pale tan look. Upping the feeding and maybe some supplements like AcroPower or Pohls Xtra should help here. I doubt its the flame with that kind of polyp extension! Good luck, I hope you figure it out.....

Based on those colors I think your water is too clean:/

There are some algaes and dino strains that thrive in low nutrient environments. Just throwing that out there.

Totally agree, don't forget its not just feeding as much as converting the food through fish pee and poo then converting again to coral food. Do you carbon dose? Sorry if i didn't see that apart of your list of feeding. I'd recommend bio-pellets if you want to start.

 

[domvert]

I think you need to feed your tank more- Whenever I started keeping SPS I was trying for that ulti clean and everything looked faded. because the tank was too clean. Now I feed my fishes 3 times a day and sometimes 4 and everything got back their color.

 

[Peter Eichler]

The rocks and your glass really make me question if low nutrients are a possible cause...

How long is your photo period?

 

[sahin]

OP in your previous larger tanks did you run a Calcium reactor or BRS two part? Did you run the older systems the same way?

Thanks for the previous answers.

 

[plyle02]

You mentioned you just added radiums in May, this year? Give it like 3-5 more weeks, and then get back with us. Based on the Miami Orchid, it looks washed out, I would start by adding a bit more food to the fish, and dialing the skimmer to pull DRY. Here is a coral donated to me, coming from an established tank, similiar specs, lit under AI sols, and the transformation you will see under my t5's is mind blowing. Now, that said, the tank they came from only had 2 led AI sol panels, in a 150 deep, so he certainly needed more panels, like double or triple the amount. Almost every coral was washed, he had hair algae, so nutrients can be ruled out. Here you go, one comparison coral for you.

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6 weeks later:

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[SpSChief85]

Maybe I missed it at work and skimming threads but how often do you do wc's? Browning leads towards a high nutrient issue but your corals looking more like they are starving which would mostly create dull pale colors... I would do 2 things get test kits for iodiNE and potassium also do you dose anything for trace elements such as Kents essential elements or Kents strontium? I would bite the bullet and get the test kits to eliminate that. I feed oyster feast sometimes daily through target feeding if not every other day and noticed increased pe and color I had a ULNS but did not really see any browning and if I did it was due to what I believe corals acclimation to my hydras 52s uv. Keep us posted

 

[redwhiteandblue]

The rocks and your glass really make me question if low nutrients are a possible cause...

How long is your photo period?

Photo period is 6 hrs. The leds are set very low for about 12

 

[sonic]

I went from all brown stuff to super deep colors in about 4 months. The key for me was acro power and reef chilly / reef roids twice a week and stable parameters via ato and dosers. Used the recommended dosage on the bottles. No carbon, gfo, etc. just kalk ato, alk and ca on doser and simple old school RO skimmer. No fancy salt either, regular IO.

 

[CommsTech]

Alk of 8 to 9 seems high. I try to keep mine as close to 7 as I can. If I go any higher my corals start to lose colour and become stressed. Just speaking from experience.

 

[redwhiteandblue]

Although I'm not disagreeing with any of you....
my alk has been 7 to 8 dkh the life of thus tank since January
I have kept the same system As the 180. Except better control.
I change 10 gallons or about 7 to 8 percent of volume every 7 to 10 days
I do not run gfo or carbon.
I have used brs supplements for alk, calcium, and mag (1350)

I just have a very hard time wanting to give the tank more food. I have 11 fish, and give about 10 cubes of frozen a week, two or three servings of reef chilly, and some spectrum pellet in between all that. I do not strain the food either. System only has 110 to 120 gallons total.


Some corals are pale, the Miami orchid, the chilli pepper monti, and the purple monster

The blue matrix is turd brown, except on the top where the light hits, it's actually kind of blue/ pale. Also the highest in the tank

The punk lemonade looks pale in photos, but it is actually yellow, just doesn't have the pink polyps.

My lights run 7 hrs a day, and they are 12 inches above the water line. I know the halides are new, so I expect some changes to happen over time, I just know my issue isn't 100% a lightino issue.

I did order some snake oil acropower lol! I will try that and see.

I guess I can't tell between pale and brown, however markalot brought awesome visuals to the table so it does have me convinced I may be pale. I just can't imaging dumping more food into the tank. Maybe my skimmer and bare bottom are just doing an amazing job....

And to top it off, one of my radiums capped on me today so I have a replacement on order.