Coral color discussion

[glennhornibrook]

I would like to start a discussion on SPS coral colour.
First I would like to compose a bullet point list of what can make them turn brown.
Once we have established a list of potential causes we can then us it to form a checklist of possible solutions.

Please add to ,or correct this list.

What causes SPS corals to turn brown?

1. Insufficient light intensity.
2. Light that is closer to a yellow spectrum ( less than 10,000K )
3. Too much nitrate in the water.
4. Too much phosphate in the water.
5. Too little potassium in the water.
6. Too little iodine in the water.
7. Not enough food for the corals.
8. Chemicals released by soft corals.

 

[Cliff519]

I guess it would depend on the type of coral you are talking about. Higher levels of nitrate and or phosphate can lead to SPS turning a more brown like color

 

[glennhornibrook]

Thanks cliff519, I just edited my post slightly to specify SPS corals.

 

[Znut Reefer]

9. Moving them around too much
10. Dipping
11. Shipping

 

[glennhornibrook]

12. Sudden changes in...PH,KH,salinity and temperature?
13. Acropora eating flat worm.

 

[glennhornibrook]

9. Moving them around too much
10. Dipping
11. Shipping

I assume you mean fresh water dipping?

 

[Znut Reefer]

No any dip will usually turn them brown. ( in my experience) I have have no experience using fresh water. But would think that would mean total loss of sps.

You can also add fragging to the list.

 

[glennhornibrook]

Of course...SPS corals would not tolerate fresh water dips.

 

[reefinder]

This thread is too broad there are thousans of reasons for loss of color/health

 

[chrishayes]

ive freshwater dipped a monty cap that had nudis on it and it bleached badly but made it through it. No more nudis either! lol not that I reccomend it...

 

[glennhornibrook]

This thread is too broad there are thousans of reasons for loss of color/health

That is exactly the reason why I think this thread could ( with the help of the right people) become a useful tool for troubleshooting and narrowing down spacific problems you might be having.
Once a list of problems has been defined, that list can be rearanged as a sort of map to guid you through the complex world of SPS colouration.

To keep the scope of this thread tighter, I would suggest that the first question in the final troubleshoot might be.... Does your coral(s) have signs of disease or parasites ? If so click on this link. ( here would be a recommended link that would cover the topic of coral health in more detail )


This would allow us to move on, to the next part of the list, if we feel that our corals are otherwise healthy.

This thread is aimed to help fine tune sps colour. A certain level of coral health would be assumed.

The list could be arranged and prioritised starting with things that are an absolute must ( beginners )and finishing with things more spacific (advanved).
Example:

Question
1. Does your coral(s) have signs of disease or parasites?...........If yes...........(Related link)
2. Is your salinity between x and y and is it stable ? ...........if not.............(Related link(s))
3. Do you have sufficient lighting ? ......................unsure?......................(Related link(s))
4. ........
5. ........
6. ........
10. Are you running an Ultra Low Nutrient System ?........If so move to next step.......... (The answers to the previous questions would probably decide this one for you.)
20. Is your potassium between x and y ?............(Related links explaining how potassium effects the colour pink in some corals etc )
21. Is your Iodine between x and y ? .....


Every thing about this thread is open to scrutiny.

After the list is finalised I will need help finding the most appropriate links for each question. ( There are already detailed articles available on this site that can be used for the finished troubleshoot links.)

 

[danil]

+1 This thread is too broad. Every single parameter or event in your tank can brown SPS. Leaving aside any parasites and diseases. They can lost coloration slowly and never go back to its 'original' colors. Also you might have some colors but not others (my case here) Best advise you'll get - keep parameters stable within normal ranges for few months and then try one thing (change) at a time for any positive effect. If you do little changes here and adjustment there every other day - it wont work. Best tanks I've seen were run exclusively on fish poo. Nothing goes in the tank but fish food. I wish we have solid guide to sps color but seems like its more to find your own system balance.

 

[allsps40]

Fresh water dip+sps coral= dead coral.

 

[glennhornibrook]

+1 This thread is too broad. Every single parameter or event in your tank can brown SPS. Leaving aside any parasites and diseases. They can lost coloration slowly and never go back to its 'original' colors. Also you might have some colors but not others (my case here) Best advise you'll get - keep parameters stable within normal ranges for few months and then try one thing (change) at a time for any positive effect. If you do little changes here and adjustment there every other day - it wont work. Best tanks I've seen were run exclusively on fish poo. Nothing goes in the tank but fish food. I wish we have solid guide to sps color but seems like its more to find your own system balance.

Exactly why I want to do this. There are so many things that can cause browning, finding a solution can be overwhelming.
( please add to the list, I only have 13 causes at the moment )
Because of the broad range of potental reasons for browning, one needs a system of elimination to narrow things down.
You say "try one thing (change) at a time". What thing? what change? and what first ?
eg. there isn't much point in experimenting with strontium or potassium when your alkalinity swings from 5 dkh to 9 dkh every two days. You need to start with the basics and get them right first and then move on to the next thing, but what is the next thing?

Using your example. Some of your corals have good colour but others don't.
What have you missed ? what should you try next ? Is it a particular colour or coral that's an issue?
Many things on the list might go without saying for you but for a beginner may have been over-looked.
I am in the same position as you and would love somebody to spell out what I should try next.

I agree that stability is the key to success but there's more to it then that.

True, the list will start broad but as things are eliminated it will become more specific.

 

[danil]

I understand your point and would like to help but I have no answer sorry. My next thing? I keep working on stability. It seems like I cant stay a full month without something get broken or get out of hand.

 

[glennhornibrook]

Thanks. I'm hoping that some people with more experience than me will help out too.

 

[returnofsid]

Too MUCH light. I know this goes against what a lot of people believe, but it's true, for some SPS corals.

Too much light will increase the rate of reproduction, for the Zooxanthella, which is typically brown or black. In some cases, it will reproduce faster than the coral can adjust for the increase in reproduction. When this happens, the coral takes on the color of the Zooxanthella, brown.

 

[smokey30]

Out of curiosity can corals lose color or lighten up with not enough light?

 

[NatureNerd]

The original post, point 2, light below 10k spectrum, is not an absolute. I remember a coral farm that used to employ 6500 mh's and their coral had pretty decent color until you put it in your home tank. It would quickly brown out due to the change and recover a few weeks later. Stability is probably the biggest factor, assuming water, lighting, and flow are all in an acceptable range.

 

[250G]

Can't say for certain, I have never had one go brown.

What causes SPS corals to turn brown?

Gotta disagree with 9 and 11, at least IME.

9. Moving them around too much
10. Dipping
11. Shipping

Really? I have never experienced this and I have fragged 100's of times. The frag goes brown or the coral?

You can also add fragging to the list.

What is too much light? I ran almost 2000 watts (1840 watts to be exact) on my last 6' tank with respectable SPS color.

Too MUCH light. I know this goes against what a lot of people believe, but it's true, for some SPS corals.