3 years of brown....

great thread i too been through this and never really pin pointed what helped i thined out my refugium to get higher p04 reading i was always at 0.00 since raising it my tank seems to be better
 
Have you ever considered switching from the BRS 2 part to ESV Bionic? Last time I checked the ESV was the only product on the market that comes with all the trace elements in it. If you are only doing small water changes your problem could be that your corals are consuming these trace elements quickly after water changes and are then being deprived of them until the next influx of new water. This would also save you some money from not having to purchase extra test kits and supplements. If I was you I would do a 100% WC or back to back 50% changes to flush out anything that may be in there and then make this switch.

Fwiw it sounds to me like 2 cubes of frozen food plus the other stuff you've been feeding should be plenty and I'd be hesitant to add more than that, at some point you will just be polluting your tank if you're not already.

I also agree with the other guy that your lights are not nor have they been your problem.

I can't speak to the effect of any of the other products reccomended as I have never tried them since I am a proponent of the K.I.S.S. method. I run my system BB with lots of flow and strong LED lighting combined with the ESV and that's it. Good luck
 
redwhiteandblue said:
That is my fear as well. I am hoping the feeding is providing enough p04. My thought is that perhaps the algae on rock is consuming the testable p04 out of the water column.

I plan to slowly increase nitrate till 2 ppm. Then see if I can maintain.

I'm at a loss here. Tried everything under the sun except tear down and start over with new rock. It's been a slow process over r the past couple years just to give the changes time to adapt one at a time.

I feel like I'm very close,......
Click to expand...

You are on the right track, and you will get algae growth on the rocks - that is what your cleanup crew is there for. Coraline algae can out compete other algae but even on a real reef, an untended rock will grow algae. In a tank setting, it seems that the lack of any usable nitrogen for corals is the cause of a lot of issues. Good luck, I'm glad you are seeing results!
 
redwhiteandblue said:
To my suprise, I actually had measurable phosphate today. Been a while since I checked and I got a .06 on hanna.
Click to expand...

Early days yet, but have you noticed any changes on th acros? Ie colours of growth tips? Base growth colours?

With radiums over your tank, acros should be starting to show at least some decent colours...frustrating isn't it? :headwally:
 
Looks to me your tank is too clean. I had the same problem until I feed heavily. I no longer dose any supplement. When your tank is ULNS that's when you need acropower and other stuff. Use a flashlight at night to check if there is a lot of detritus floating around. Feed more frozen. When you see a lot of algae and have to clean your glass daily then dial back. Massive import/export of nutrient is the way to go.
 
Its been around 4-5 weeks. Have there been any improvements under the Radiums? Did you change anything else?
 
bump,

any updates? I've been able to improve some of my colors (greens / blues) by getting rid of GFO and using carbon dosing, bio-pellets, and CaNO3 (Nitrate) dosing to help bring down PO4. My reds are still brown, but it's a start.

I see, while reviewing the thread, that peter wanted to know light cycle information. I now understand this is critical as well, I reduced my light cycle so I'm full bright for 6 hours, 4 t5's (out of 6) for 8 hours and then blue LED ramp up and down on either side of that for a total of 10 hours of lighting. I was at 14!

If anyone else sees this who's solved issues with red acros I'd love to hear from them. :)
 
I would like to know an update as well, ive been dealing with this same issue and wish I saw this thread months ago because I thought I had brown but realize now its mostly pale tan.

Curious as to why I see folks suggesting not only to feed more but to feed more frozen? I try to feed a variety of foods (pellets, flakes, mysis, rods) rotating every feeding but never thought of feeding more frozen than anything else?
 
I'm on the same boat. Will like to know if there been some progress in coloration of the sps.
 
I hope you find some improvement, I am sure it will come. However changing several variables at once will mean that you will never know which one it was that made the difference. It may work out really well or you could end up chasing your tail.

Dont get me wrong, its not a criticism as I have done the same in the past!
 
IMHO.....Many folks even hard to keep coral grow, and color from brown to real pigments is not too hard, to kz/af-like color need more effort, though.

While your N/P is low enough ( I assume that is what you claimed), then maybe check your POM/DOM and trace elements.

For POM/DOM, I would suggest use a small pump blow the entire tank (all dead corners and big coral) for 5 to 10 minutes twice a week and use filter pad wrap you wavemaker during this activity happen, you may find how dirty the tank is actually.

For trace element, I think it just help to pop-up some color, which can be next step.

Sorry I did not read through the entire thread, so if someone already address all above, my fault then.
 
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