How much does Mag affect colors?

[kikireef]

I have been dealing with "pastel-ish" colors for a while now. I use dosing pumps to keep my Cal and Alk stable. I have been using T5 bulbs but just switched to 250w Radiums in lumenmax elite reflectors. I know that my lighting is strong enough. I am using (2) MP40w's for flow. My skimmer is a SR02000. Phos just checked 2 days ago and stays between .02-.03 on a hanna checker. Nitrates are undetectable on a salifert kit (although a little tough to read).

Alk - 9
Cal - 450
Mag - 1100!!!!

I have been bothered for a long time about why my colors are the way they are. I mean they look ok but when I take home a nice vibrantly colored frag within a month it tends to fade to a pastel color. How much does Mag affect coral color? Could that be my problem? I am now considering buying another dosing pump to add it to the system. I am using D-D H2Ocean salt too but literally just started it.

 

[kikireef]

Here is a FTS

 

[neoalchemist74]

How far are your lights from the water?

 

[kikireef]

I was running the T5's about 6" above the water. 12 hours total. 9 of which were full lighting. I had 1.5 hours of dawn and 1.5 hours of dusk. I am thinking now that it was too much lighting....too long of a period I mean. I now have the 250w radiums 12" above the water and I have cut back to 5.5 hours a day to aclimate everything. I am running no supplemental lighting as of yet and I don't think I will in the future. I do plan to SLOWLY increase my photoperiod up to 8 hours.

 

[oneradtek202]

ull see a difference in coloration with the radiums. i run no supplementation lighting either with my corals. I have my radiums on for 8 hrs a day. 12 inches above water.


BUT i do too have issues with color on montis especially. IDK for me i think it was due to alk and flow though . but my bulbs are older... 9 months.

 

[kikireef]

Awesome. I am really hoping so. Now I know that every system is different and things can vary a lot from one to another but, what would your best guess be for how long until I see a difference assuming the lighting is the issue? 1 month? 3 months? 6 months? ???

Also, the original question about mag....is this likely to have any affect on coloration?

 

[neoalchemist74]

Might be too much light but might also be lack of food source. recently I've been doing MB7 at 15 ml 3 times a week just to feed my sps the nutrient reduction has been an aside for me and my colors seem richer but not paler and no brown.

 

[cwegescheide]

If you notice MOST of the guys that have excellent coloration in their corals have a TON of fish and feed like crazy. In this case it does not have anything to do with your tanks chemistry IMO.

By looking at your tank I only see a few anthias and a few clowns. How is your No3/Po4? Do you run po4 remover? What kind of skimmer ya got? I would suggest getting a couple Tangs (just more fish in general) and feed more food. Of course keep an eye on nutrients though. Its a balancing act. Been there done that. You will be surprised at the difference.

Whatever you do go slow. If you do decide to try it do it graduallly.

 

[ruprecht]

Mg is more than 3:1 to Ca in natural seawater. Corals uptake Mg and deposit it in their skeletons. Different corals imbue different amounts of Mg in their skeletons (regardless of things like temperature or depth). This indicates that coral Mg uptake is biologically driven. So when a coral needs to grow it needs natural levels of Mg. Your levels are below natural, thus it is my guess is that your corals are stressed. I would think that you need to do more water changes or dose epsom salts.

 

[kikireef]

If you notice MOST of the guys that have excellent coloration in their corals have a TON of fish and feed like crazy. In this case it does not have anything to do with your tanks chemistry IMO.

By looking at your tank I only see a few anthias and a few clowns. How is your No3/Po4? Do you run po4 remover? What kind of skimmer ya got? I would suggest getting a couple Tangs (just more fish in general) and feed more food. Of course keep an eye on nutrients though. Its a balancing act. Been there done that. You will be surprised at the difference.

Whatever you do go slow. If you do decide to try it do it graduallly.

I am using GFO and carbon in a dual reactor. Po4 levels fluctuate between .02 and .03. Both very acceptable. I am running an SRO2000 skimmer. Its rated for a heavily stocked 125 or 150 (can't remember). Don't let the picture fool you as far as fish go. Here is my fish list:

1 blue tang
1 kole tang
1 purple tang
1 yellow foxface
3 lyrtail anthias
2 clownfish
1 red corris wrasse
1 engineer goby
1 lawnmower blenny
2 blue chromis
1 firefish

1 cleaner shrimp
1 coral banded shrimp

I do feed fairly heavily. I don't think lack of nutrients within the tank is the issue.

 

[kikireef]

Mg is more than 3:1 to Ca in natural seawater. Corals uptake Mg and deposit it in their skeletons. Different corals imbue different amounts of Mg in their skeletons (regardless of things like temperature or depth). This indicates that coral Mg uptake is biologically driven. So when a coral needs to grow it needs natural levels of Mg. Your levels are below natural, thus it is my guess is that your corals are stressed. I would think that you need to do more water changes or dose epsom salts.

Thanks for the advice. I am currently doing about 15-20gal water changes weekly. I just started however using D-DH2Ocean salt so I am hoping this helps with Mg levels although I am guessing I am going to need more than just water changes to keep it consistent. My corals all seem to grow well its just that the colors never seem right. My blue colored corals mostly look GREAT but my greens fade to pastel green usually. My pearlberry looks good but isn't as vibrant as many I see. Same goes with my ORA borealis and miami orchid...just to name a few.

 

[rogerwilco357]

my mag runs like 1400 and i have seen no difference in colors if anything i need more color also lol

 

[ryshark]

I know you don't think this is the issue, but In this situation I would work on getting my Nitrates to detectable levels, less than 5ppm should help. And, maintian Mg in the correct range.

 

[kikireef]

I know you don't think this is the issue, but In this situation I would work on getting my Nitrates to detectable levels, less than 5ppm should help. And, maintian Mg in the correct range.

Thanks. As for now I am going to try and keep my Mg stable and higher than it currently is. I will wait a month or two and see if the change in lighting has any affect before I try to raise something that I may have a tough time bringing back down (nitrates). I will consider that my last option though. Didn't consider undetectable to be a bad thing. Whats the best way to do this? Feed like crazy?

 

[SCManc]

If you notice MOST of the guys that have excellent coloration in their corals have a TON of fish and feed like crazy. In this case it does not have anything to do with your tanks chemistry IMO.

By looking at your tank I only see a few anthias and a few clowns. How is your No3/Po4? Do you run po4 remover? What kind of skimmer ya got? I would suggest getting a couple Tangs (just more fish in general) and feed more food. Of course keep an eye on nutrients though. Its a balancing act. Been there done that. You will be surprised at the difference.

Whatever you do go slow. If you do decide to try it do it graduallly.

+1 :thumbsup:

 

[Cultivatedcoral]

Your low nutrients are the reason for the pale color. This is similar to the zeo concept when using it you get ultra low nutrient system and must dose to keep strong colors

I suggest dosing amino's. Preferably zeovit or bright wells. Also dosing zee coral vitalizer may help.

 

[divewsharks]

I'd agree, need some nutrients in the tank. Also the lights height could contribute as well.
I also run T5's, i got much better colors (especially from the upper corals) when i raised the lights another few inches, they were simply getting blasted.

 

[LifeAquatic]

Your corals are turning pastel because they are hungry. You can do a few things to combat this depending on how you run your tank. Try feeding the corals, feeding the fish more, possibly adding another fish, or cutting your light schedule back. Your tank looks really nice! You can tell its pretty low nutrient from the picture, or your maintenace schedule is very consistant. Id try some Amino Acids and some form of zooplankton for your situation.