Best way to improve coloration on LPS/SPS/Soft corals???

[Zeyko]

Hi, I have found that my LPS has loosing their coloration since I bought it and how it looks now.. Is there missing in my thank that helps to pop up their coloration?

What I have as lighting is 90 Leds 3watts bridgelux with 60º lenses.. somebody told me that White leds bleach their skin, anyway I run the leds at 75% whites, 100% blue.

Is there any product that helps with their coloration?

 

[HV1990]

What are the dimensions of your tank?
Also water quality can play a part as well. If you give us those details first we can help try go troubleshoot your issue.

 

[i Tuna]

Hi, I have found that my LPS has loosing their coloration since I bought it and how it looks now.. Is there missing in my thank that helps to pop up their coloration?

What I have as lighting is 90 Leds 3watts bridgelux with 60º lenses.. somebody told me that White leds bleach their skin, anyway I run the leds at 75% whites, 100% blue.

Is there any product that helps with their coloration?

Give us a little more information on your tank.

Water param's, lighting schedule, tank dimensions.

Did you slowly ramp up the intensity of your LED fixture to allow for your coral to acclimate appropriately?

 

[Zeyko]

Is a 180gl 72 x 24 x 24, 30gl sump, Bubble Magus Skimmer rated for 300gls, Algae Scrubber, GFO, Activated Carbon, TLF Kw 300 reactor, Dosing pump for magnesium and calcium, have bottles of iodin, strontium but never dosed it, I use Natural Sea Water.ç

As natural clean up i have a full bag of ulva macro algae, 35 mangroves 1 sea urchin 1300 blue leg hermit crab.

my parameters is:
5 nitrate fosfate 0.03 alk 7.5dkh calcium 450, magnesium 1200,

 

[kv69]

If you haven't tried Elos Omega, it helps them recover and is a great supplement IMO.

 

[FlyPenFly]

Water parameters?

If you have zero nitrates, I would feed more.

 

[elegance coral]

Is a 180gl 72 x 24 x 24, 30gl sump, Bubble Magus Skimmer rated for 300gls, Algae Scrubber, GFO, Activated Carbon, TLF Kw 300 reactor, Dosing pump for magnesium and calcium, have bottles of iodin, strontium but never dosed it, I use Natural Sea Water.ç

As natural clean up i have a full bag of ulva macro algae, 35 mangroves 1 sea urchin 1300 blue leg hermit crab.

my parameters is:
5 nitrate fosfate 0.03 alk 7.5dkh calcium 450, magnesium 1200,

Think about it this way. You have 12 square feet of reef. No where on this planet is there 12 square feet of healthy coral reef that can support 35 mangroves, 1300 hermits, a "full bag" of macro algae, and the amount of algae that grows on most ATS's. No offence intended, but your description of your system sound more like a mangrove swamp than a coral reef. It's not surprising your having trouble with your corals. Corals don't live in mangrove swamps.

If you cleaned up the system so that it no longer supported all these swamp organisms, your corals would probably do much better.

Peace
EC

 

[Ron Reefman]

Think about it this way. You have 12 square feet of reef. No where on this planet is there 12 square feet of healthy coral reef that can support 35 mangroves, 1300 hermits, a "full bag" of macro algae, and the amount of algae that grows on most ATS's. No offence intended, but your description of your system sound more like a mangrove swamp than a coral reef. It's not surprising your having trouble with your corals. Corals don't live in mangrove swamps.

If you cleaned up the system so that it no longer supported all these swamp organisms, your corals would probably do much better.

Peace
EC

I'm not saying you are wrong, but I'm not sure you are right either. I have a 180g mixed reef and I have a 2' x 2' x 16" refugium full (and I mean FULL) of macro algae, a 2' x 2'x 16" DSB and a few mangroves. I don't think mangroves are very useful at pulling out nitrates or phosphates as they grow too slow. I don't know how big a 'full bag' of algae is, but I doubt it's as much as I have. And I hope 1300 hermit crabs is a typo. I only have 1 Halloween hermit and 3 or 4 scarlet hermits and a few blue leg hermits in my DT.

If most or all of the OP's 'stuff' in in the refugium, I don't see a big problem. It's not like he has no nutrients. His nitrate level is 5ppm and that's OK.

I have leds over my tank too. And I think your 60 degree lenses make for stronger light and the ability to bleach your corals. I have 90 degree lenses and a PAR of 200-225 at the sand. But on the other hand, only 90 leds? I have 198 3w Bridgelux leds over my tank. How long have you had the leds and what is the make and model? And you say you use natural sea water. Is that a brand or are you getting water from the ocean, and if so where? Near shore, a reef, deep water, a bay...?

 

[power boat jim]

It is somewhat difficult to keep softies sps and lps in12 sq ft of aquarium and not have problems. The lighting you have lends itself to sps. The amount of "swamp" species you have would lend itself to the softies, they do a bit better under lesser water conditions. I would pick an ecosystem and try to do well with one species before attempting 4 different systems that you are trying to duplicate.

 

[jda]

T5 or VHO. Small, frequent water changes.

 

[tmz]

There is no "product" that effectively improves coloration ,ime.

The usual suspects that come to mind for paling or browning include: lighting, slainity levels, alk, calcium, PO4 ,NO3,predation ,infestation and/or infection; sometimes feeding or a lac thereof.

 

[ReeferBatman]

Are your corals browning, or whitening?

Browning = too little light, zoanth overproductive leading to browning.
Whitening = too much light causing tissue damage / zoanth leaving organism.



For an experiment, in the middle of your day, turn off the whites and only use blues. Are the corals prettier?

Corals 'eat' light of many nanometers... yet 'look good' under a smaller sliver of a type of light (Actinic/blue).

What lighting 'helps the coral thrive' is NOT the same lighting as 'what makes the aquarium LOOK good to humans'.

If your corals looks a little 'bland' under your full daylight, but look awesome under your blue light, you're doing just fine!

Your corals just might be fine, but you may be viewing them under different lighting than your LFS shows it to you under...

 

[Sanren]

1300 hermit crabs?????? I hope that is a type-o. If not, please post a pic, i gota see 1300 crabs in a 180.
for the corals color, i found a little higher alk than 7.5 works better, i usually try to run around the 9 mark and notice some bleaching when i get lazy and let it drop to around 7

 

[Fitz19d]

I suspect maybe meant 130, though even that's a bunch.

 

[malady]

If you water parameters are good I would try amino acids

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

There is no "product" that effectively improves coloration ,ime.

1+ for sure.