Brown acros too much light or not enough

[Bigcefa]

So I've been doing a lot of looking around on threads about browning out acros, I know water Chem is very important among other factors but I see mix responses on people saying it can be caused by too much light while others say not enough or insufficient. Which is it or us it both and where is the happy medium is there a specific par range acros like. My tank is doing fine and all sps are fine good colors but will be upgrading and worried about too much light maybe. I though too much light would bleach them I just mainly wanna know about the browning when it comes to light pls give me your opinions or experience thanks!

 

[flyyyguy]

typically its not enough light and/or higher nutrients. Flow can have a huge impact on this as well


every acro is different though. I have a couple in particular that will turn brown/lose color if you just look at them funny. They also happen to be some of my favorites

I would much rather have a new coral come in all browned out than pale fwiw. Briown is healthier than pale, and the color can always be brought back. Bleached corals really need browned up before you can really work with them

 

[Bigcefa]

Ya I have had the browning issues in the past I agree though would rather have a brown rather than bleached coral but was just trying to see what people thought on the lighting issue on browning as I am setting up a 160 gal rimless with 1400 watts of mh/t5 going over it and want to make it sps dominate down the road just wondering if the light will be too much

 

[Bigcefa]

Btw is there a way to post a pic from an iPhone bc I don't have my CPU ATM wanna put a couple pics up

 

[NyReefNoob]

brown corals if they have been in the system usually mean high phosphates or higher then exceptable for sps.

 

[Bigcefa]

Ya but considering water Chem is good and flow and everything else could too much light cause browning or not enough light that's what I'm trying to see what people think

 

[Bigcefa]

anyways the blue acro is the one im worried about and shot of a new pink milli and fts

 

[Bigcefa]

here some more pics cuz im bored miami hurricane chalice, watermelon and ora bird good colors on them

 

[Acrotrdco]

Browning is usually:

1. too much nutrient, NO3/PO4 being the main source, but too much additives like iron, iodine, etc. would also brown it out.
2. not enough light.

 

[DopeCantWin]

Browning is usually:

1. too much nutrient, NO3/PO4 being the main source, but too much additives like iron, iodine, etc. would also brown it out.
2. not enough light.

Do you need to increase the intensity or can it be fixed through lengthening the exposure?

 

[Bigcefa]

good question, because i have a dimable led fixture runing 1 hour dawn then 90 percent for 8 hours then 1 hour dusk, i would like to see an awnser as well

 

[Acrotrdco]

Do you need to increase the intensity or can it be fixed through lengthening the exposure?

Both will do, however there's a limit of how long you can change your photoperiod, 12-13 hours a day is the maximum.

Besides, corals will grow faster if you give them a photoperiod cycle similar in to the one they're receiving in the ocean, i.e. 0-100% intensity in the morning and 100-0% in the evening, instead of the same intensity 12-13 hours a day.

 

[NyReefNoob]

too much light wont brown them, but bleach them

 

[Bigcefa]

Anyone else have an opinion on lighting and the browning affect it can have on acros

 

[maestro]

Ive found its not just the intensity of the light but also the spectrum of it, blue spectrum brings out coral colours whereas 6500K will turn corals tan/brown, even at the same intensity.

Imo best colours are acheived through high blueish lighting with a nitrate of around 5, below this reading the colours sometimes seem to fade (think zeo colours), I personally prefer the deeper colours

 

[Bigcefa]

sounds good, what about length of the light cycle could too long or too short cause an acro to brown?

 

[REEF SMAC]

IME lighting has alot to do with acro colors. Yes nutients, flow, params, light spectrum, etc all play a role.
Sure they will bleach if they get too much light too fast but once they're acclimated they love it. Alot of acros I don't think you can give too much light, and the more intense the light, the better the colors get most of the time.

Even your most colorful acro will have brown lower branches when they get shaded enough by the top growth.

 

[Dyraxe]

IMO You can not have too much light to cause browning. It will bleach them white but never brown. I need more info on you lighting system and how old are the bulbs? If you use quality bulbs that are made for reef tanks and are not more then 1 and a half years old ( you should change them every year) there is no reason for browning from lights. Your more likely to be over feeding or under skimming and have a build up of nutrients to cause sps to brown. Dead fish left in tank? Old sand bed? Bad RO filters producing water with high TDS? Something like that would cause it. You need to give as much info as possible and I fix it. =)

Spectrum can cause your coral to look brown but if you take that healthy coral and put it under a 20k from a 6500k it will almost instantly look more colorful. It if looks brown under 14k to 20k....you need to find out why.

 

[Dyraxe]

Do you have any fish in the tank? How many and what?

 

[DopeCantWin]

IMO You can not have too much light to cause browning. It will bleach them white but never brown. I need more info on you lighting system and how old are the bulbs? If you use quality bulbs that are made for reef tanks and are not more then 1 and a half years old ( you should change them every year) there is no reason for browning from lights. Your more likely to be over feeding or under skimming and have a build up of nutrients to cause sps to brown. Dead fish left in tank? Old sand bed? Bad RO filters producing water with high TDS? Something like that would cause it. You need to give as much info as possible and I fix it. =)

Spectrum can cause your coral to look brown but if you take that healthy coral and put it under a 20k from a 6500k it will almost instantly look more colorful. It if looks brown under 14k to 20k....you need to find out why.

The lights are 250 watt Phoenix's in an Orbit fixture run for 6 hours a day 8 months old. Suplements are LEDs, but they're not enough par to worth mentioning. Skimmer is a Reef Octopus 2000XP. Fish are 3 Anthias, 1 Blue Tang, 1 Foxface, 1 Melanurus Wrasse and a Copperband. Sand bed is pretty old, but also thin. As more and more sand is coming out during water changes and such. It has hardened into blocks in some places. Nitrates are pretty high around 25 based on Salifert. But I use to have them down to under 5, and it was the same result. I've started by increasing the light to 6:15 today and will slowly keep going up. The coral in question is about 18 inches away from the light.