How Do Online Vendors Show Red Corals? They're Rust Colored in My Tank

[NEOgeorge]

I've purchased Red corals from UniqueCorals (standard frags) and Austin Aquafarms (WYSIWYG). The pictures show distinctly red specimens, but inevitably they are rust colored in my tank and when photographed with flash (yes, even the WYSIWYG specimens).

I have a nanocube 28 with a custom CREE LED display with Royal Blue, Cool White, Warm White, UV, UVA, Red and Lime Green LEDs from Rapid LED.

I really wanted some red coral to pop against the rock and other corals, but alas, EVERY red coral that has arrived is rust colored. This includes mushroom coral, a silver Xenia, a Poly and an assortment of Acans.

What gives here? Why do the corals appear so splendidly red online?

Although it will be a while before I order more corals, it would be nice to know if I need to shop locally to get true colors. Thanks!

 

[Mark9]

Pictures?

 

[NEOgeorge]

Photos of "Red" Corals

Photos of "Red" Corals

This is my first attempt at adding photos-hopefully the attachments will display properly

 

[jmcdaniel0]

How long has it been since you added them?

I have had LPS (Acans in particular) pale our or darken when first added, and usually color up nicely after a while in the tank.


Also,

The sad truth is that some online vendors, really enhance the colors of their corals on photoshop. Not all do it, and I am not saying they did. I have never used either of those vendors, so I can not say they do or dont. I do know that some however, do just that.

 

[NEOgeorge]

The Acans, which were very distinctly red online, have only been in the tank three days. The mushroom and Xenia, which had more subtle red coloring online, for a couple of months.

 

[NEOgeorge]

I've been buying corals online because we don't have any good shops in the Cleveland metro area in my opinion (due to Aptasia/pest infestations in the tanks, poor selection and/or surly staff).

 

[thelawnwrangler]

saltcritters has a daylight and nightlight picture

I think the blues really bring out the red- I have a similar acan

how the get the picture to come out I don't know

 

[jfabritz]

I've been buying corals online because we don't have any good shops in the Cleveland metro area in my opinion (due to Aptasia/pest infestations in the tanks, poor selection and/or surly staff).

Where did you buy in NEO that you had issues with?

I've been mostly buying from Tidal Gardens direct since I live in the area. That way I have a say on the quality of the piece of coral I buy from them. ;-) One I bought that was not part of their monthly online sale needed some TLC to remove some pests, but it was my fault for not hovering over their shoulder when they pulled it from the tank.

The only other place I bought from was Bluefish (my first coral - a plug of green zoas, which was a pleasant experience) and I went to the C-SEA frag swap.

 

[homer1475]

Over saturated blues in the tank when they take pictures. I've ordered from Austin Aqua Farms a few times and I've had the same issue. When I emailed them about the colors looking different, the reply was they over saturate the blues when taking pictures to bring out the colors.

If you can, turn off all lights and only bring up your blues, bet they'll be red.

 

[Rueda13]

perhaps the lighting?

 

[StatelineReefer]

I'm going to go with both lighting difference and tank depth. Online vendors take their photos under mostly either T8 direct lighting or metal halides in less than 8 inches of water. This will show you optimum color under maximum par and pur. Your lighting may just not be as strong as the vendors, or tank may be taller than the frag tank they were photographed in, leading to a 'subpar' coloration. LEDs are also notorious for not having good light penetration. I would give it a bit and wait for the coral to de-stress, see where their colors stabilize, and add lighting or increase your intensity if you want those knock-out reds.

 

[NEOgeorge]

jafabritz - thanks for letting me know about Tidal Gardens, haven't been there and will definitely check them out.

Had been to Bluefish and talked to the owner when first learning about saltwater, so had lots of questions trying to figure things out. It was a non-primetime work day, but after a bit he cut me off and said he had work to do; then proceeded to tell another customer, when asked about a price, that he liked his fish more than their money so he didn't care if they purchased. Other staff there was nice, but I live on the other side of town and just kind of crossed the store off my list...

 

[NEOgeorge]

StatelineReefer - I have 75 Watts of LEDs in a custom RapidLED array, mostly Royal Blue and Cool White with a couple UV, warm white and a Red and LimeGreen thrown in. I'm using a Bluefish Mini controller and run the whites at 25% and blues at 50% during mid-day (brightest lighting period).

I tried higher intensities with the LEDs initially, but didn't see any vivid reds (and the algae started pearling it was so happy

 

[NEOgeorge]

I've been remiss in not mentioning that the service and coral specimens ("red" coloring aside) has been excellent.

Green and orange colors have been pretty accurate online, but my attempts to get some red corals in the tank has left me with a bunch of rust color specimens that I would have otherwise not selected...

 

[Timfish]

It'll be the lighting. You'll need to play with your lights to get the right spectrum that promotes the red coloration. Not only will you need to see what happens when you increase the ratio of certain wavelengths but also decrease them also. You might not have enough red light for red chromoproteins to show well or you might have too much green, blue or UV that's causing other other chromo proteins or flourescing proteins to overwhelm the red. If it was me the first thing I would do is try turning off the UV and UVA leds.

 

[NEOgeorge]

Good suggestions, thanks!

I tried various adjustments with the colors but never achieved true red coloration. My guess at this point is the vendors use a different type of lighting (T5 perhaps) then take some level of liberties while editing.

My experimentation with lighting has resulted in an overall better look though

 

[NEOgeorge]

OK, it turns out that most of these corals are phosphorescent under Royal Blue lighting. So If I turn off my other color channels, the Rock Flower Anemone, Acan Lords, Palys, and Zoas sparkle like jewels. To control the photo period in the tank (to reduce algae growth), I've set the mid-day lighting on the Blue Fish controller to a low setting of just Royal Blue - looks awesome!

 

[homer1475]

Be careful with the intensity of the blues. You can really burn your corals rather quickly if you blast them with too much blues. Algae of course prefers more red spectrum so it's a good way to combat an algae issue while still giving the coral enough light for photosynthesis.

White light is only for our eyes. I personally run my tanks with quite a bit of blue, and only a small bit of white.

 

[NEOgeorge]

Thanks homer1475, good to know! I keep the Royal Blues at 15% during mid-day (I consider it Siesta time), and 36% during morning and evening time periods...