I give up trying to get colorful sps

[barramundi]

Hi all,

I would first like to say a big thanks to all who have posted on this forum which has given me the information to set up a marine aquarium.

I have been hanging around here for a long time, I have never had to post anything as I have always found the answer by searching this forum or felt I have never had the knowledge to contribute.

I have had my sps aquarium going for near on 3 years and everyone enjoys looking at it and I am proud to have built this up from scratch having no previous knowledge of marine.

I have been able to grow and keep corals alive even when the glass front gave way and I had to try and save everything in buckets and small tanks for 4 days until I could get a new 6x2x2.

I have tried everything over the years from MH to T5 and now led, unls to feeding heaps with plenty of fish, low/ high Kh and Cal, high No3 and Po4 to nil, steadily over the years I should state.

I still can't get my sps to glow like I see some on here I do have some color but nothing to jump up about.
So it's about time I posted and maybe get some ideas from the experts.

Parameters,
6x2x2 about 800 ltr with sump
26/27c Temperature
8.3 pH
1.026 Salinity
8.0 Alkalinity, dosing Randy 1
0.00 Phosphate on hanna
430 Calcium, dosing Randy 1
1350 Magnesium
0 Nitrate salifert
3x 150 Led lighting @ 9hrs per day
Top up with RODI water
Reactor with GFO ( I have turned off to see if I get any results)
Water change with NSW @ 1/4 once a month.

I would appreciate any comments and information on my aquarium,
Thanks John

 

[tuawcxs]

I think your tank looks great. Are all your collonies purchased at that size and none have grown at all? I think turning off the GFO is a good next step so you can increase the PO4 to .03-.05 and increase the nitrate a tad so the corals can utilize those nutrents. ( be prepaired to bring it back on line when needed)
Whats your flow like?
Some of the tanks with really big sps corals have been growing for years or started with big colonies. Some times its best to keep your daily and weekly upkeep on the tank and do something else and not worry about amazing growth rates and let the corals do their growing at their own rate in your tank. It looks like you have the fundementals down but it may be a couple of years for you to see the results you expected. :beachbum:

 

[jda]

Are you getting consistent enough of water from the ocean?

Everything looks great. I would change back to some high quality metal halides - that looks like a somewhat typical LED driven SPS tank to me.

Do you have any named stuff like from ORA that you can use as a baseline for comparison? We have all bought corals that are just kinda ugh colored (I think that is an official coral color), but anything with a name is a good place to start.

 

[jda]

BTW - I cannot stop looking at that squammy. It is amazing.

 

[leveldrummer]

I think your tank is amazing, the corals look very colorful, I think what you miss in color may be due to your perception, some of the amazing photos you see online are taken under perfect lighting conditions with a good camera and great white balance to make the coral color pop really well. Adjusting your lights and getting the right pictures would likely make your corals look better too.

 

[GhostCon1]

I just looked at your pics, and the others on your PB account, and that leads me to ask this question: can you give more info on your lights?

Your coral growth is amazing and your tank looks beautiful, but I place the blame on the lights at this time (color wise, not growth wise).

PS: I LOVE your planted FW tank!

 

[barramundi]

Thanks for all the nice comments,

Originally Posted by tuawcxs
I think your tank looks great. Are all your collonies purchased at that size and none have grown at all?

Most of the colonies were purchased small and have grown over the years, I am always giving away frags from these corals.

Originally Posted by jda
Are you getting consistent enough of water from the ocean?
Everything looks great. I would change back to some high quality metal halides - that looks like a somewhat typical LED driven SPS tank to me.

I live in Townsville north Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef is off our coast line, we have some small reefs just a couple of Klms off our beaches and the water I collect at high tide is always quality and the same Parameters.

I would love to go back to metal halides but after the large electricity bills we had my wife would go off if I changed back so that is why I tried led, though I would say I have not noticed that much of difference it made to the color of the sps.

I only know I have a couple of strawberry shortcake and pink lemonade other then that I don't have a clue what any of them are.

Originally Posted by GhostCon1
I just looked at your pics, and the others on your PB account, and that leads me to ask this question: can you give more info on your lights?

I bought them off the internet and the only info I can remember is 150W Coral Reef blue/white led light from Melbourne.

John

 

[stancfii]

Instead of going back to MH, can you supplement with a couple T5s? Or better yet, try a DIY strip of LEDs - start with 3 OCWs and 3 HVs per side to fill in the spectrum.

 

[JP SPS]

Are you running GFO, Carbon, or Biopellets? I'm thinking maybe there isn't enough nutrients in the tank. I had a similar problem then started feeding the corals with some Zeo products and OysterFeast a couple times a week and the PE and color changes were pretty dramatic in about a month.

 

[SenseiSays]

Are you running GFO, Carbon, or Biopellets? I'm thinking maybe there isn't enough nutrients in the tank. I had a similar problem then started feeding the corals with some Zeo products and OysterFeast a couple times a week and the PE and color changes were pretty dramatic in about a month.

What zeo products are you using?

 

[GhostCon1]

I think the issue is your lights. You said yourself you frag them and give away frags all the time, so they are growing perfectly. I would bet a Benjamin that your lights are perfect for growth and natural daylight, but not that wow factor we strive for: the blue, red, etc of the spectrum.

 

[viktor72]

Instead of going back to MH, can you supplement with a couple T5s? Or better yet, try a DIY strip of LEDs - start with 3 OCWs and 3 HVs per side to fill in the spectrum.

Hi,I beleive you are talking about OceanCoralWhite and HyperViolets.Can you sugests where those leds can be purchased with international shipping?I would like to try those leds.Thanks

 

[rsaha]

Do the frags you give away exhibit better colour in their new homes?

 

[GhostCon1]

Do the frags you give away exhibit better colour in their new homes?

I'd like to know this as well.

 

[Bo0sted_Rafi]

IMO your tank looks great. I have leds and i notice great and brilliant colors but i think the problem can be the spectrum you have in your fixture and too much hours with white lights on. I just give 4 hours of full lights in 9 hours total. 2 hours of full blue and 3 hours of blue with the white at lowest % to mix it with the blues and they looks like 420 in t5. I think, The colors depends in the blue lights. try that

 

[JP SPS]

What zeo products are you using?

I use Coral Vital, Pohls Extra, and Sponge Power sparringly. Once or twice a week tops. PE is always noticeably better after dosing and color improved too.

 

[MammothReefer]

Your tank looks great. I'd say a large chunk of your issue is just how you are taking the photos, and your lighting spectrum. Your mids are just to bright. Sure there are a couple brown pieces but unless something is captive we never know what colours they will display. Some pieces will always be brown there isn't anything you can do about it. Your tank doesn't look starved and your colours aren't washed out. Maybe it looks different in person but to me it just looks like you need to adjust your camera settings because it's blowing things out. (example of just pushing the mids a little bit). Top down boxes make a huge difference as well.

 

[Epicreefer]

If your lights are 50/50 b/w then you could just be hittingn them with too much white. I work on a very large tank with 10k and 454 cannon LEDs and when I take a picture it looks very blue. In person it's about 14k. Many of the sps are showing good color similar to yours, a bit brighter, but not all are amazing, green digi is very green like your green stag. Other sps are a little harder. I found by reducing the white colors improved a bit. I would add maybe a blue+ t5 and the 3-4-2 hour dawn dusk effect with less white hours, maybe expand that to 3-5-3. I got great results with oyster feast too but don't currently use it, maybe you can find another pulverized bivalve product like it in Australia or an artificial like reef roids. Also I found the liquid supplements like amino acids when over dosed browned corals. They work well in the ulns they are designed on where most corals would bleach and die to bring the color back. A side note, it can take 6 months to a year for zeovit to stabilize on an existing mature reef and bring the colors out. The older the system with more nuteients in the sand and rock the longer. And if you keep feeding heavily it can extend it. I've always had best results with small feedings of fish and coral food every other day for fish 1-2x a week for coral, small water changes every two weeks and no supplements, just gfo carbon and a skimmer. Your tank looks very good btw, just needs a bit of tweaking to get good colors and this is often what takes the most trial and error and time. I would reduce white LEDs first, then cut phols extra and see what happens over the next few weeks or two months.

 

[natedogg]

You have a beautiful tank. Good job.
Though i'm guessing you have AEFW.

 

[GhostCon1]

You have a beautiful tank. Good job.
Though i'm guessing you have AEFW.

I'm almost certain he wouldn't have the colonies he has, for 3years, if he had an infestation of AEFW.