Coloration.

[mpyers]

How do i get my corals color to come out better? They seem happy as can be. Full PE. But they are all drab. My gsp is brown. My devils hand isn't very pink. My green sinularia is brown. My hammer isn't very bright. My hydnophora isn't very bright. Is it the lights? I have a DIY led light. Right now it's 130W 8000k led. I have a bunch of blue and purple and all kinds of colors and a controller on the way. Will that make them look better?
My parameters are:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
Phos 0.1
Calc 450ppm
Alk 11dkh
Sg 1.024

I use red Sea salt.
Like i said everything is happy and growing. What do i do to get better color?

 

[reef thief]

How long have they been this way and how old is your system? Also try dosing some minerals. They may be lacking or consuming something.

 

[mpyers]

System is 9 months old. Corals have been this way for 6 months or so.

 

[mpyers]

What kind of minerals? I do b ionic 2 part now. It has trace elements included. So does red Sea salt. I do 20% change every two weeks. I also occasionally do iodine. Maybe once a month.

 

[ssick92]

Do you have any pictures? It would help if you posted some photos of the individual corals as well as a full tank shot including the light.

I would be hesitant to dose anything (as the previous response suggested) unless you continuously test for it. A general rule of thumb is do not dose anything you don't/can't test for.

My guess is that it is the lighting...

 

[reef thief]

I would try dosing some minerals. Iodide, magnesium, strontium. Tiny amounts of iodide every couple days. Once a month is too steep. That stuff is toxic and can cause your tank to OD if it's a little too much. Less is better but none is no fun. Start low and look for reactions. Lighting might need to be turned up a bit to 10,000K or more.

 

[mpyers]

More blues on the way. And 3w whites to replace the big ones.

I don't have pictures of everything.

 

[mpyers]

Aren't iodide tests complicated. And innacurate. Plus I've read that iodide usefulness is anecdotal. I only use it because i bought it when i didn't know what i was doing at all. Now i kinda throw a tiny amount in every now and then just because the amounts in using can't hurt.

 

[mpyers]

I'm hoping it's the lights because i have better on the way. But if there are other things i should be doing I'm interested in that as well. Are the commercial "color enhancers" worth a damn?

 

[ssick92]

Definitely looks like a lighting issue to me. What "better" lights do you have on the way?

 

[mpyers]

I have 20x 3w 455nm blue. 10x 3w 418nm purple. 20 8000k 3w white. And a controller. I'll run those and play with the intensity for a bit. And my power supply can handle 20 more 3ws so if i need to I'll order more. If i don't need them I'm still ordering more colors for fun showy stuff.

 

[heathlindner25]

Looks like your lighting is the issue.

 

[homer1475]

I second the lighting.

Typically when corals "brown out" its because they are packing their tentacles with zooxanthellae in an effort to collect more light for photosynthesis.

 

[That New Guy]

Agreed on light. The corals all look happy and healthy. More blue light would probably make the colors pop. That tank looks very much like my old nanocube with PC lighting, which wasn't nearly enough for the colors I wanted out of my coral.

 

[NS Mike D]

I second the lighting.

Typically when corals "brown out" its because they are packing their tentacles with zooxanthellae in an effort to collect more light for photosynthesis.

or if the conditions are ripe for photosynthesis, while his phosphates would be more in line with color over growth (brown) , the nitrates would favor growth over color. With these parameters and lights with a temp in the 6500 range would result is very healthy, nicely growing but brownish corals, no?


From manufacturer literature and posts on this site, it appears to me that 15-18k is the sweet spot for color, with actinic set of LEDs throwing off blue temps up to 25k.


Brown use can be a sign of very healthy corals, we just prefer they show off their colors which means a balance of energy, arguably, of 85% from photosynthesis and 15% from taking nutrition directly from the water (absorbed and captured).

As for commercial color enhancers, the good ones will provide amino acids and other compound/elements that will help that 15% balance. Red Sea has a good explanation of this balance for their Reef Energy product, which will help one decide whether or not they need to supplement and understand the various products out there.

 

[mpyers]

Thanks everyone! I'll give an update when the new lights are in. Well at least they're growing!!

 

[mpyers]

I got the new lights today!! Soldering now!

 

[mpyers]

purple and blue are in. White and more blue tomorrow. The colors are already showing more.

 

[mpyers]

It was definitely the lights. New lights finished and the colors already pop!

 

[ssick92]

Yikes, get some Aiptasia-X to get rid of all those aiptasia you have... If you don't slow them down they will start to take over your tank and it will be a never ending battle.

But I'm glad you like your new lights and I agree the colors already look better.