NANO SPS tank + 150w halide = dull colours?

[sahin]

I have the JBJ 28G with 150w HQI running a Phoenix 14K bulb. I have at least 8 SPS frags, acros mainly, and one monti cap. My tank is 8 months old.

My nitrates = 5ppm and phosphates are reading zero. I have no algae problems etc, though my tank went through small algae blooms at various stages etc.

I have only had the acros in the tank for two weeks. But it seems like they have browned out somewhat. I read around and some poeple seem to suggest that you cant have nice coloured acros if the tank is small and only running a 150watt halide. Is this correct?

Or is it something to do with my water chemistry/quality that is causing the corals to exhibit poor colour and even partial browing to some degree?

I am building supplemental LED lights into the hood using using 12x Cree Royal Blues and 4x Cree Whites to boost the colour using the blues and brighten up the sides and back with the 4 whites.

The tank is only 16 inches deep with a shallow sand bed and the acros are sitting about halfway down, so they are getting plenty of light I think.

Any ideas/suggestions/tips etc? Many thanks.

 

[kaserpick]

You can keep colorful in a nano with 150w of halide, especially a phoenix. A friend of mine is running that very same bulb over a 14g BC, dominated with acros. His corals are definitely colorful. He doesn't skim either, so it can be done. I've also kept colorful, thriving SPS in a 30g with that same bulb (after 6 months I switched to 250w due to the reflector I wanted to run). I didn't skim for the longest time either.

As to why they're browning a bit, I can't really tell you something to fix. If your P04 kit is getting a true reading extremely close to 0, then I'd suggest lowering the Nitrates. But, they're not so high.

You need to make sure the following is there when running SPS in a nano system(as I'm sure you know well).

1. Strive for Stability in everything, meaning break up dosing to two half doses a day instead of 1 large one, do weekly smaller water changes (10-15%) instead of larger less frequent changes. Stability is hard to maintain in a small environment, but the more you try, the better the results will be.

2. Make sure you have a good means of nutrient export, whether that's skimming, WC's, or both.

3. Make sure you have good flow in the system.

Sorry I couldn't give a more direct answer. More parameters would be a good thing to post here. Keep us posted!

 

[ros_sco]

I had the same problem with a 150 watt phoenix over my frag tank which is essentially a compartment in my sump. I would take frags fresh from my display and they would look amazing under the Phoenix. Over a period of a couple weeks they would brown out, stop growing and polyp extension was minimal even with milles . I was frustrated as this is the same system as my display just a different compartment. The frag rack is only 6 inches below the surface and the surface is 8 inches below the light so I was pretty sure it wasn't light related. As there is only about 600 gallons per hour flow theough the sump, I tried a Vortech mp10 for more flow, and within a few weeks the colors and polyp extension came back. In my situation the problem was 100 percent flow related.

 

[stanlalee]

I believe colors can be satisfactory. It takes more attention to detail and a mature tank. By attention to detail I mean stuff like keeping the glass sheilding clean, changing bulbs every 6-8 months, running good carbon in a reactor keeping yellowing out the water. I dont neccessarily think it takes high PAR 150w bulbs or high aquascaping either (I have neither). Should you expect 250w like results on high light acro's, probably not. Everything else should be fine (those should be fine too just not outstanding).

How long has it been up? what do you have for fish? are you using stock jbj filtration and what does that consist of? water change/maintenence schedule? those small all in one systems require even more detail/attention. I think some of that has to do with it. I only have a 30g but being a non all in one I am able to have a sump with additional water volume, decent skimmer, small fuge/DSB, media reactor, ato ect....little helpful stuff that might be lacking on unmodified all in ones.

 

[saltygeek]

If you've only had the acros in for a few weeks it could just be stress from the new environment. They need to adjust. Some frags I add brown out for awhile before coloring up(sometimes over a month to color up) and others color up right away. I use 150w xm20k