Help with SPS color

kissman said:
Nitrates are still zero on Red Sea Pro test kit, color is blue. I have cut water changes down to once a week 5-7g. Feeding 1 cube a day and every 3rd day adding a cube of Rotifers or a spoon of Reef Chili. No change in corals yet, maybe a little more polyp extension but not enough to be sure.
Click to expand...

I have 150 gallons in my system and I change 20 gallons once a month. I dose other minerals / elements though and feed a small amount of flake and brine shrimp a day. Maybe do larger water changes less often. More water stability.
 
I think Reef Nutrition sells live phyto. I would guess live is always better but I'm sure the not live is ok too.
 
deepseadan said:
I have 150 gallons in my system and I change 20 gallons once a month. I dose other minerals / elements though and feed a small amount of flake and brine shrimp a day. Maybe do larger water changes less often. More water stability.
Click to expand...


I was doing 2 a week. I have started doing 1 a week might give a week or 2 and then try 1 every 2 weeks
 
At one point I was thinking I had to much light too. All my corals are pale including my chalices. The only exception it one red chalice. It is on the sand on the edge of the tank under my overflow box. So it gets less light then the other coral in the tank. All that being said I don't think I have too much light I just don't know what the problem is.
 
SMT6h said:
we've solved it!! You are in a reverse gravitational vortex!
Click to expand...


Thats actually funny, it just might be :spin3: LOL! Its funny cause really none of my corals are growing upwards except Pink Birdsnest the rest are spreading over the frag plug and down my rocks, LOL
 
Great Thread with some excellent information. Kissman it sounds like you have been covering all your bases quite well.
I do know that excessive GFO can cause problems in the aquarium. The dust from this material has been known to cause bleaching or irritation to the tissue of the coral. So make sure if you use it it's not grinding too much in the reactor (too much flow) Po4 levels of .02-.04 are healthy imo.

If you get a chance try to use a seafood gumbo such as Rods Reef Food. I also use a couple of drops of vitaimin C (Brightwell Aquatics) mixed with the gumbo. Target feed your coral with the water circulation off for 10min. Make a small cloud of food in suspension around your corals. This can be done after the lights are off as well, when they are extending their polyps.

As far as lighting i don't think you are too strong. But as mentioned before each coral likes a certain amount of light some stronger some weaker,and that goes for current as well.

Remember this Good things happen slowly. Bad things happen Fast

Good luck!
 
DeChamp said:
Great Thread with some excellent information. Kissman it sounds like you have been covering all your bases quite well.
I do know that excessive GFO can cause problems in the aquarium. The dust from this material has been known to cause bleaching or irritation to the tissue of the coral. So make sure if you use it it's not grinding too much in the reactor (too much flow) Po4 levels of .02-.04 are healthy imo.

If you get a chance try to use a seafood gumbo such as Rods Reef Food. I also use a couple of drops of vitaimin C (Brightwell Aquatics) mixed with the gumbo. Target feed your coral with the water circulation off for 10min. Make a small cloud of food in suspension around your corals. This can be done after the lights are off as well, when they are extending their polyps.

As far as lighting i don't think you are too strong. But as mentioned before each coral likes a certain amount of light some stronger some weaker,and that goes for current as well.

Remember this Good things happen slowly. Bad things happen Fast

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I don't think the GFO has been grinding, I always had it at a slight boil but its possible. I have taken it offline and will leave it offline unless PO4 starts getting to high. As far as food, I feed my corals Reef Chili and Rotifers. I do have some food that I made from a Seafood Medoly I got from Walmart that has a mixture of Octopus, Squid, Shrimp, Clams, and Mussles, I also added 2 different flakes, Pellets, Cyclopeez, Blood Worms, Brine Shrimp, Mysis Shrimp, and Reef Chili. All were added to a Chopper. I used my old cube packages that my frozen foods came in. Before I froze them I added 1 drop of Selcon to each cube let it sit in fridge for 10 minutes to soak and them put in vaccum packed bags to freeze. When I feed I always put my turkey baster over corals so they get the really small stuff and let the bigger stuff float up to the fish. Twice a week I also feed Reef Chili or frozen Rotifers at night and target feed each coral.
 
Here is a pic of the growth I am getting. I think this is good growth
July 18, 2012 this pic was from the top but about 1" tall with two branches
pink-birdsnest-M-M.jpg


Today
2-2 1/2" tall

birdsnest%20today-M.jpg
 
JPMagyar said:
Hey Brian,

Please, please forgive me if I disagree. I'm not wanting to step on any toes, but the absolute fact is that 6 T5 bulbs if placed right on the surface are producing 1000 to 1500 PAR. Mother nature provides more light than that on reefs at midday and I personally have run 1000 watt MH that did more than 2000 PAR at the surface. There is NO WAY possible that 6 T5s are providing too much light for the corals that were shown in the pictures at the beginning of the thread. My tank has 16 T5s plus 4 150 watt MH's that run 100% power for 10 hours per day. My daughters 38 gallon Innovative Marine tank has 6 T5s that run 100% 12 hours a day and a total of 16 hours illumination.


And here's my tank under 2500 watts of lighting a while back. :)


These corals are not pale from too much light. That is called bleaching and results in death very quickly where as the corals shown are languishing a slow death.

Again, please, please, please believe me when I say I am not wanting to be mean, but just disagreeing in a very collegiate and fellow hobbyist discussion way!

Joe


FTS5-3-1.jpg
Click to expand...


A different perspective to chew on: I think the corals are pale from too much light. It is true that a reef will get 1000+ par midday from the sun. But probably only recieves this 3-4 hours a day and the corals get a break with cloud cover. I think that tanks should be blasted with light for only a few hours a day and get light/moderate lightning around that.



From my experience: I started an sps tank years ago with a 120 Long (18") deep with 175mh x 3 + 2 vho (4" above the surface) (corals 8" from lights). I used to keep the mh on for 8 to 10 hrs a day. My sps had ok growth but were very pale. I also ran an ulns and tried feeding with everything under the sun. My sps only colored up after I dropped back the mh to 3-4 hours a day. It was an expensive learning curve.

I now use LED AI vegas and love the fact that you can ramp up the intensity of the leds to mimic daylight. I am only at max intensity for 4 hours of the day.

Problem with this hobby is that their are soo many variables that one cannot compare one tank to another. I have used a nova before and you may try only using the second timers for 4-5 hrs a day. Just something to try out- :thumbsup:
 
I have cut my lights back, I did it a few days ago. I have 2 bulbs that cut on at 12pm-1pm, then cut off. Just before they cut off I have 4 that cut on and run till 7pm and cut off. Just before they cut off 2 come on and run 1 hour.
 
Ok so after a week and a half of no GFO, no GAC, and no vinegar dosing, heavy feeding, adding 4mL each Red Sea Energy A&B PO4 is .02-.03 (9 on Hanna HC736 ULR) and Nitrates are .25
 
Maybe! There is one coral I have been watching and it might have a shade more color. But, its not really enough to tell.
 
New bulbs will be here Friday will put them in on Sunday when I get back in town. 4 ATI Blue +, 1 Purple Plus, 1 Coral Plus. Hope that will help too. I think I am going to start out with 2 Blue Plus for 1 hours then go 2 Blue +, 1 Purple, 1 coral + for 6 hours then go back to 2 Blue + for 1 hour. Or should I cut 4 down to 3 or 4 hours and then work back up to 6?
 
Your corals are starving has nothing to do with alk. I dose potassium nitrate and feed heavily in my 80 gal shallow loaded with sps, if nitrate drops to zero, colors do the same
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Corals slowly dying / getting white spots water tests good
Replies
18
Views
705
griss
griss
Timfish
WooHoooo! Or, Guess the Parents.
Replies
9
Views
644
C.Eymann
C.Eymann
zaitmi
Nitrogen Cycle Query
Replies
17
Views
1K
monkeysee1
monkeysee1
K
Help: SPS peeling strangely.
Replies
5
Views
534
griss
griss
C
Need advice
Replies
1
Views
51
Uncle99
Uncle99
Back
Top