How can I make my corals such colorful and nice like yours?

[machodik]

Dear All,

As the basic factor for a successful reefer is to have "patience", and I truly follow this virtue like all of yours did.

I am not rushing and in fact I go step by step with adding more knowledge toward to be a successful reefers like most of you here.

I started 2 years ago to stabilizes my nutrients, now I have zero No3 and a normal range of not a little bit closer to normal level requirement of Po4.

I have now stabilizes my calcium reactor as in the past few earlier posting as you will notice I have asked a lot of questions and happily you nice people come to my assistance . Now my calcium reactor seems to be fine with stable 7.90 dkh range.

While my corals still not getting well from the browning of which I have to find out or perhaps you people give me some guidelines how I can be able to solve this browning issue.

My parameters are all fine now and all are within normal level range

I also hope to be able to make my corals colorful like yours or perhaps my corals natural color are like whT I have now ? So questions ;

How can I color up my corals ? If there any other thing that I have to pay more attention with ? Or is there any additives or supplement like KZ system use to color up their corals ?

I am not following any system but I have all the equipment needed to maintain good water level parameters , naming some : Biopellet , calcium reactor , skimmer etc.

Tell me please how can I becoming proud to show my tank to everyone and saying loud "I make it"!

Cheers,


MD

 

[bogg]

How old are the bulbs

 

[mhucasey]

Do I read correctly that you only are running 4 bulbs over your tank? What kind of light fixture, how high off the water, exact bulb types would be good info to have.

 

[PaleHorse]

Lets start with this.....



http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2430841

 

[machodik]

How can I make my corals such colorful and nice like yours?

Thanks for your reply, I have 2 Kessil 360WE both are almost a year now since I purchased and Installed. Both are 12" above water surface.

I will post all detail later on after I test water parameters , just do water change today .


Cheers,


MD

 

[machodik]

Hi there ! As promised here are details of my tank and parameters to begin with ;

Tank total water volume : 440 liters
Equipment : reef Octopus Biopellet , GEO 618 calcium reactor + a second chamber DIY from old sulfur Denitrator, JNS Sk2 skimmer , Apex , 1 Vortech MP40wes , 2 kessil 360WE

Light heigh : 2 kessil 360WE is 12 " above water level.

Corals placement : coral was 6" below water level

Water parameter:
KH : 7.60 - 7.90 dkh (salifert)
Ca : 425 ppm (salifert)
Mg : 1320 ppm (salifert)
No3 : 0.20 ppm (salifert)
Po4 : 0.30 - 0.13 (Hanna) , normally adding 1 teaspoon of sugar will bring the level to normal range.
Sp gr. : 1.026
Temperature : 25 degree centrigate
Ph :8.06 to 8.25 depending time

Dosing : red seas reef energy B (amino acid ) once in while

Feeding corals : marine snow

I hope I have covered all details you needed for helping me to obtain a nice colorful tank like yours!

Have a nice weekend to all!

Cheers,

MD

 

[xenon]

Po4 : 0.30 - 0.13

There's your problem.

You need phosphate levels 10X lower.

Aim for Po4 : 0.03 - 0.01

 

[machodik]

How can I make my corals such colorful and nice like yours?

Sorry, my mistakes ; correction Po4 is 0.03 - 0.13 ppm . I have a Biopellet and adding sugar it sometimes will bring down the po4 to even 0.01 ppm.

How about the lights and flow? Most of my corals has a direct flow from my Mp40 WES and also my Seio 2000

 

[PaleHorse]

can you post a pic of the tank please.

 

[machodik]

How can I make my corals such colorful and nice like yours?

Thanks , here are the pictures of my Tanks

Not so much corals because I want to make sure water stabilizes and sustain growth before adding more . And now wishing to have a colorful tanks like yours , please give your valued comment , suggestions and advises . Thanks
Cheers,

MD

 

[Dartolution]

GUHH!!!!! You best watch out posting pics like that with them tangs up in that tank!
TANG POLICE ARRIVES!

haha.

Okay,


From my experience and what i can see given the information you've provided and the pictures:

Lighting may be an issue. Kessils are "great" and all but IMO they aren't good to use as a lone light source, consider adding maybe 2 T5 supplements.

Keep your PO4 down, whatever method you choose as long as you keep your maintenance up this shouldn't be an issue.

If you have phosphates at the level you mentioned earlier, adding amino acids is a bit overkill. IMO aminos best benefit SPS corals in VLNS (very low nutrient systems) or low nutrient systems. Since you PO4 levels appear to be hovering aroun NSW levels this isn't necessary.

ADDITIONALLY:
You have maricultured colonies. While I LOVE maricultured colonies myself, they require time to adjust to a captive environment just about the same as wild acropora/sps corals do. Time time time and patients will show you.

Your ALK is slightly low as well, pull it up to 8-8.5dKH.


You mentioned direct flow...
While this won't exactly turn an acro brown, make sure that you are providing lots of water movement BUT NOT direct LINEAR movement.
You need to move a large volume at a low velocity, not a large volume at a high velocity.

Example:
MJ1200 = high velocity
Jebao/Vortech/Maxspect gyre = low velocity

Hope this helps.

 

[machodik]

How can I make my corals such colorful and nice like yours?

Hi Dart! Your initial words scared me ! Hahaha

Thanks for your very valued advises and comment.

Lights : I also have the same feeling with regard to my kessil. If I add 2 T5 , what color of the bulb should I use, white or Blue or one each?

My Biopellet is working well of which my No3 is also low only po4 that I need to add sugar to pull it down. But I am worried if I pull the po4 way low to zero, will it cause my only bubbles corals starved? I also wish to add a few more LPS to add more action to my tank in the future , will this be a next issued then?

Flow, I really need to study this further as I still not so much understand if I need to add more pumps or just relaying this present MP40 and Seio 2000 will good enough ?

Lastly , I still battling my KH as my fine tuning of my calcium reactor is really causing big headache as the consumption is far lower than my reactor can produced , I still hoe to have it fine tune than booking my dosing pump on. As of last night my KH was 8.20 while this morning is 8.60. My setting in Apex is 7.20 on 6.90 off. Hope you can also give some guidelines on this too.

Many thanks for your kind valued suggestions , I hope more and more expert out there will come in to join this discussion and let me a newbie as well as other newbies around benefited then.

Cheers,

MD

 

[Dartolution]

Hi Dart! Your initial words scared me ! Hahaha

Thanks for your very valued advises and comment.

Lights : I also have the same feeling with regard to my kessil. If I add 2 T5 , what color of the bulb should I use, white or Blue or one each?

My Biopellet is working well of which my No3 is also low only po4 that I need to add sugar to pull it down. But I am worried if I pull the po4 way low to zero, will it cause my only bubbles corals starved? I also wish to add a few more LPS to add more action to my tank in the future , will this be a next issued then?

Flow, I really need to study this further as I still not so much understand if I need to add more pumps or just relaying this present MP40 and Seio 2000 will good enough ?

Lastly , I still battling my KH as my fine tuning of my calcium reactor is really causing big headache as the consumption is far lower than my reactor can produced , I still hoe to have it fine tune than booking my dosing pump on. As of last night my KH was 8.20 while this morning is 8.60. My setting in Apex is 7.20 on 6.90 off. Hope you can also give some guidelines on this too.

Many thanks for your kind valued suggestions , I hope more and more expert out there will come in to join this discussion and let me a newbie as well as other newbies around benefited then.

Cheers,

MD

As far as lighting, this is totally a matter of preference. Since you are big on color you may want to consider the ATI blue+ bulb, or Coral Plus...
Play around with them, check out the bulbs online. See what looks best for you.

If you're using biopellets alone i don't understand the need to add sugar to the tank.... Many people use sugar and vodka, but you're already adding a carbon source, so why are you adding two carbon sources plus amino's? this is definitely overkill.

Just use the biopellets, stop with the sugar, and stop with the aminos and see how everything balances out, if you PO4's drop and stay at 0 then considering adding small quantities of aminos back. I use FUEL from Aquavitro but KZ has wonderful amino products as well.

FLOW:
Its not so much what you have, its how your using it. (haha)
those pumps produce a lot of flow at a relatively low velocity which is good, just make sure your positioning them so that none of them are blowing direct at any one coral. You want the water to "bounce" off the surface/rockwork so that it itsnt linear and isn't blasting the coral. Play with this too.

a ALK swing that isn't but .4dKH isn't huge trust me. This 8.2-8.6 range is just fine.

I do not use an Apex so I can't help you with that.

 

[machodik]

Hi Dart! Nice to hear you back.

For the Biopellet and sugar . Actually I add the sugar because with Biopellet alone my Po4 will never go down but just stay between 0.13 to 0.18 so I learned from RC that someone added sugar and it does lowered down the po4 with Biopellet . Anyway, I can maintained low level of po4 with this regimen.

I will try to find out on the lights and flow and will report back after some nice changes in my corals .

Cheers ,

MD

 

[Dartolution]

Hmm... Interesting..
The question then is, WHERE is the phosphate coming from?