Blue Milli not blue

brad65ford

New member
Hey guys, two questions for you. Does this milli look health and is the color off? Don't know how to get it to look bluer in a BB system.
bluemilli.jpg
 
Do you have anything else in your system that is blue? For me my blue acros need a lot of light to stay blue. Potasium has been mentioned to help bring blues out. All in all it looks healthy though.
 
thanks guys, I have an issue being brought up that things are good enough LOL tough hobby for that thinking ;) Seriously though I've always wondered if colors can be effected with running a bb system. I do add AA ever once and a while but nothing to crazy. I believe I know when I'm dosing to much when i see algae growing on the glass. One thing it seems regardless the alk/cal levels along with p04 differences i can't seem to get the blue look i've seen with other blue millis.

RJ, not much blue i do have what looks to be a bonsai garf which is super bright purple. Not much blue in my tank. My pink Milli doesn't look very pink as well but my green slimmer is the brightest green you could imagine.
 
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I'm sure I've posted on your thread somewhere....anyway,

1. how old is your tank?
2. what is your current phosphate level?
3. What are you using to measure phosphate?
4. How quickly does the algal film develope on your glass, or how often do you clean the glass?

Your coral otherwise appears very healthy.
 
Hi sahin,

1 = 6 months old, growth coralline like crazy ;) alk/cal dosing w/ BRS dosers
Been keeping steady with alk 9 ish and cal 430 ish, mag 1350 ish. System is running solid.
2 = .02 - .03
3 = Hanna
4 = Not much algal film if at all I only feed two fish very little, when i start to see more film on the glass I believe its then time i change the carbon/chemi pure elite mixed with a little gfo power (my own blend) all done with HOB filter also usually do a with water change at that time. I water change 5 to 10 gallons a week this is on a 40g breeder. Also run the skimmer pretty wet.
 
I'd suggest you do what i do Brad, take a frag off it and use the frag to test what effect much higher light levels have on it. I have a milli that is receiving high light but the blue is showing on the side facing the back of the tank - typical lol. I'm going to turn it 180 degrees when i can be bothered so i can see the more colorful side when viewing the tank from the front.
 
Yes lighting seems to play a huge role in color a side from nutrient levels. I blame the LED's LOL. I would like to try MH on my next BB system but I also wonder how much coloring is being effected with the lack of sand.

Biggles, i did take two frags and place them in different areas of the tank. The higher blue milli frag is so much lighter in color. Seems if you have good solid conditions these milli's love a lot of light and flow.
 
Brad, other than PAR which may be an issue because of the single Radion over a 40breeder; I'd leave things as they are and continue with regular water changes. Corraline algae growth is a sign of the tank becoming healthier for your sps. At 6 months old, colours are not always there, but persevere, and in another 6 months you should have good colour.
 
Brad, other than PAR which may be an issue because of the single Radion over a 40breeder; I'd leave things as they are and continue with regular water changes. Corraline algae growth is a sign of the tank becoming healthier for your sps. At 6 months old, colors are not always there, but persevere, and in another 6 months you should have good colour.

I'm running a maxspect Azarr P over it as well. Yes I agree about the Coraline algae. Do you have any blue milli's?

Here is the 18 day progression from when i received it, mind you I did not grow it from a frag LOL.
18daysBluemilli.jpg
 
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I'm sure I've posted on your thread somewhere....anyway,

1. how old is your tank?
2. what is your current phosphate level?
3. What are you using to measure phosphate?
4. How quickly does the algal film develope on your glass, or how often do you clean the glass?

Your coral otherwise appears very healthy.

hi sahin
Can I know more about point 4?

tanks
 
I'm running a maxspect Azarr P over it as well. Yes I agree about the Coraline algae. Do you have any blue milli's?

Here is the 18 day progression from when i received it, mind you I did not grow it from a frag LOL.
18daysBluemilli.jpg

The coloration difference in 18 days is amazing i wouldnt be to worried about it not coloring up more in another month if it took so little to color up like this. Excellant polyp extension good job :dance:
 
Yea man 18 days? You gotta have more patience than that . It can take months for a coral to color up right for you
 
I have both a pink and blue milli. I've had them under radium halides - blue was very bright pink developed green at the base and faded out a little. Under LEDs the blue went blah not hardly blue same with the pink. Under my t5s the blue is fairly bright and the pink is really bright. All same parameters. I'm not really a fan of leds
 
Ok well you made the thread about this blue guy

The photo i posted was from a few weeks ago, the mili coloring is the same today. I don't foresee it changing is what i'm saying.


I have both a pink and blue milli. I've had them under radium halides - blue was very bright pink developed green at the base and faded out a little. Under LEDs the blue went blah not hardly blue same with the pink. Under my t5s the blue is fairly bright and the pink is really bright. All same parameters. I'm not really a fan of leds


Thank you, that was what i was after, nice hearing it from someone that has milli's and multiple results with colors. It seems no matter what i do they will not change do to the lighting. They are so beautiful and it would be nice to see the colors. Its amazing how different lighting play a role aside from the other variables. I can't believe I'm going to say this but I'm thinking of going MH over my 65g build. Furman589 any change to share some photos of your findings?
 
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hi sahin
Can I know more about point 4?

tanks

Depending on how often one has to clean/wipe the algae film off their glass; is a good general indicator of the nutrient levels in the tank. Generally, if you only need to wipe the glass once a week, then I would say your nutrient levels are very low etc. Hope that makes sense. Its like a visual clue as to the health of your tank, without actually looking at test kit results etc.

I'm running a maxspect Azarr P over it as well. Yes I agree about the Coraline algae. Do you have any blue milli's?

Here is the 18 day progression from when i received it, mind you I did not grow it from a frag LOL.
18daysBluemilli.jpg

I dont have a blue Milli at the moment, still trying to track one down.

However, I will tell you this:

It looks like from the photo that your Blue Millepora is a Maricultured colony. It looks in far better condition then when you first got it. It does look like it has browned up a little; maybe its the photo, but thats what it looks like to me.

I can tell you that I had Blue Millepora in my tank before, under my T5/LED light and the coral was completely blue from tip to base.

Generally, wild or maricultured pieces can take MONTHS - like 6 months or more to settle in and colour up. I did have a blue frag that was aquacultured. And another that was a maricultured frag. The aquacultured frag started to colour up within a few weeks, but the maricultred piece took more than 6 months to colour up.

Having said that, it really depends on the coral. I have a maricultured Lokani that is colouring at faster than any other piece.
 
The photo i posted was from a few weeks ago, the mili coloring is the same today. I don't foresee it changing is what i'm saying.





Thank you, that was what i was after, nice hearing it from someone that has milli's and multiple results with colors. It seems no matter what i do they will not change do to the lighting. They are so beautiful and it would be nice to see the colors. Its amazing how different lighting play a role aside from the other variables. I can't believe I'm going to say this but I'm thinking of going MH over my 65g build. Furman589 any change to share some photos of your findings?

Im positive I have pics of the blue one under the different lighting types - I will try to dig some up when I get home from work
 

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