No Reds!!!

[vaporlockv2]

I have a 28 gal nanocube. It has a 250w metal halide XM 20k for lighting. All of my corals are growing very fast and are very healthy. My problem is I never see any reds. I have a rose milli that is pink, a red planet that has no red at all. I also have several other SPS that are not showing reds like they should be. What am I doing wrong.

Params are:

Salinity - 1.024
Alk - 10
Nitrate-> 5
Nitrite - 0
Ammonia -0
Calcium - 500
Mag - 1200

 

[aleonn]

I'm guessing it's because of your lighting spectrum, as 20K is very blue.

 

[sn4265]

Bear in mind I have not the slightest clue as to what I'm talking about, but I would guess that you are going to need some daylight or 10k spectrum lights that might help bring out the reds.

 

[small alien]

I have one true actinic bulb in my t5 setup and it is very pink. It really helps bring out reds and oranges.

 

[falconut]

I've noticed that when I was using the bluer bulbs, the reds and pinks seamed to wash out. I switched from Artemis 14K (blue bulbs) back to PlueRite 14K (chrisp white, with hint of blue) and my Anthias have color again. It appears that the blue was washing out some of the colors. Even with Actinics, the colors didn't appear as nice on most of the fish and corals, but some did glow more. It's kind of a personal preference and a trial and error to determine what bulbs and colors make you setup look it's best.

 

[chimmike]

250w over a 28g? holy hot water batman.

 

[strike2867]

250w over a 28g? holy hot water batman.

When he doesn't use it grow corals, it boils his water for tea.

 

[Lynnmw1208]

you could add supplemental t-5s such as fiji purple or the ATI version. it's supposed to make reds "pop"

 

[seapug]

you could add supplemental t-5s such as fiji purple or the ATI version. it's supposed to make reds "pop"

+1. If you like 20K bulbs and want to punch out the reds, add a Fiji Pink (or some equivalent) T5 to the mix. They bring out reds and a lot of other subtle colors you don't get with regular actinics.

 

[scubasteve06]

10, 12 and 14k bulbs have much more light emittance in the red, yellow, and orange spectrum. As other's have said since you are using a 20k bulb it is unlikely that you will have red coloring in your tank's inhabitants. Try switching over to a 14k bulb or look into T-5 or LED supplementation in the 10k-14k spectrum for the red color you seek.