"pastel" colors vs. deep dark coloring
- Thread starter jpierson77
- Start date
Aqua Keepers
New member
The only reason I say this is because, not too many people have tested the human stuff, and I never would recomend someone to go out and be the guinnie pig. However I won't stop them as someone needs to do it. I just don't wan't their tank crashing and thinking it was my fault. I know that we don't know what (if any) testing the reef made products go through. You're right for all we kknow it's the same dang thing as the human stuff, but I know way more people useing the reef made stuff with awsome results and no ill affects than I know of people useing the human stuff. Kind of like following someone through a mine field. If he steps somewhere and does'nt get blown to pieces, then I probably should'nt risk stepping anywhere else.
Serioussnaps
New member
Mike and Firerock-----I am using T5's, Tek T5 not overdriven with 4x54W bulbs.....3 blue plus and 1 aquablue...the blue plus's really make my corals color up better than the other bulbs.(ATI)
I think T5 has alot to do with it and has been documented in many other threads on this very topic. There are many theories why T5's do this that I dont feel like rehashing as I am sure both of you have read all that stuff as it is. BTW if you are having trouble with blues and purples try more blue plus bulbs.....blues are ridiculously blue and easy to keep their color under my lighting...most blues i have gotten look better now under the T5's than the mh's they came under in MY case
JB----2nd one is also a perfect example of what runs through my head when i think of "pastel"...thanks for posting some pics everyone
Daddyjax....your impression was correct...i wanted someone to post a nathan's green because I knew it would show that dark green coloration like yours has. And of course....bam...you have MH's.
Daddy are you BB or at least in the tank you have that green millie in?
Easttn and Daddy----wouldnt feeding corals directly benefit the system in the same manner as adding fish? Same thing just without the fish?
I think T5 has alot to do with it and has been documented in many other threads on this very topic. There are many theories why T5's do this that I dont feel like rehashing as I am sure both of you have read all that stuff as it is. BTW if you are having trouble with blues and purples try more blue plus bulbs.....blues are ridiculously blue and easy to keep their color under my lighting...most blues i have gotten look better now under the T5's than the mh's they came under in MY case
JB----2nd one is also a perfect example of what runs through my head when i think of "pastel"...thanks for posting some pics everyone
Daddyjax....your impression was correct...i wanted someone to post a nathan's green because I knew it would show that dark green coloration like yours has. And of course....bam...you have MH's.
Daddy are you BB or at least in the tank you have that green millie in?
Easttn and Daddy----wouldnt feeding corals directly benefit the system in the same manner as adding fish? Same thing just without the fish?
jpierson77
New member
Ill post pics friday afternoon of my slimer and cap which are the reason I started this tread.
JB NY
Active member
The reason I posted those two pictures, is that, IMO both show the lighter coloration we keep calling pastels. But I believe that the overall coloration of the coral should not be pale. You can, and should, have vivid coloration when looking at the coral. The key is to look at were the coloration is, as well as, where you do not have coloration. The two areas to look at are the corallites (especially the tips) and the coenosteum (the area in between the corallites). The coenosteum should be very pale (almost white), the corallites (mostly just the tip, but it depends on the species) however should have a very deep coloration and the color of the polyps, if the polyps are colored (most are), will have a deep coloration as well.
With the two shots, in the 2nd one is very obvious to see what I am writing about. The coenosteum is very prominent due to the spacing of the radial corallites. On the 1st, the coenosteum is not nearly as prominent due to the high density of radial corallites, so it gives the appearance of more color (or darker coloration). But both IMO exhibit the same traits that we are trying to achieve.
Hope that makes sense.
JB NY
Active member
I agree.
A lot of times I see corals in new tanks that are pale, mostly because the reefer is new, and does a couple of thing.
Uses too much light and mildly bleaches their corals. More in the first year, mostly due to inexperience.
Buys wild corals that are paler to begin with.
Have very low nutrient levels because the tank is so new, this leads to mild bleaching when putting frags bought from established tanks. Sometimes mild bleaching from moving corals from and established tank as well.
kirstenk
23.5 Degrees
Have very low nutrient levels because the tank is so new, this leads to mild bleaching when putting frags bought from established tanks. Sometimes mild bleaching from moving corals from and established tank as well.
That is what I think. I saw it in my own tank and others. Especially new SPS reefs where the owner has had a tank before and done their homework. They are ultra careful about nutrients, keep a low fish population, usually starve them, and freak out at the tiniest bit of algae.
That is what I think. I saw it in my own tank and others. Especially new SPS reefs where the owner has had a tank before and done their homework. They are ultra careful about nutrients, keep a low fish population, usually starve them, and freak out at the tiniest bit of algae.
zuzecawi
Member
Heh, then there's some of us who see algae and go Oh, copepod home!
To throw a wrench in this, I have seen a few established, mature reefs, with halide lighting and a small to moderate nutrient load who still had pastel colors. Albeit, I don't know the other chemistry of said reefs, but one situation really pops to mind, (I know this is going to get groans) I got a frag of pocillopora from a LFS. The LFS is established, has a gorgeous show system, which has a decent load of fish, large and small, is stable, and has excellent growth. However, the frag I got was a light/pale emerald green. Now, in my tank, it has a almost raspberry trunk/body with deep dark emerald green tips. Same batch of frags was moved to a different show tank at same LFS and they darkened a little, but still remained a washed out emerald. The original colony continues to be light emerald and otherwise healthy. Now, my frag has grown from a 1" fork to a fist sized ball of branches, where the frags at the LFS are about two inches with four or so branches. We use the same water supply, but his RO DI might be old, and we use the same salt and additives. He's got higher lighting than I do. His are T-5's and halides, as I said before, my sps tank is run off of one lone 250w halide (18K XM on a PFO magnetic ballast)
Ohhh, I so gotta get home to my own computer so I can spend more time on this thread.
REEF-DADDY
New member
Hijack:
Joe,
Nice to see you actively posting again.
:Hijack over
Serioussnaps
New member
Thanks, I am a sponge....feed me. I learned something new today.
Its great having someone take part in good threads with such a wealth of experience and success in the growth of SPS(acroporids are always what i refer to as well JB)
Cheers
zuzecawi
Member
Heh, I guess I never considered SPS to be the exclusive realm of acros, although I understand that most of you guys are definitely more into the acroporids than the other species. Personally, I like the seriaptorix and montiporas more, as well as the pavonas, but I realize that to you guys anything but acros must be well... like starbucks coffee is to us Northwest Pacific types.
Just a side question, but why are acros more in demand than the plating and convoluted types? Do you guys hold that the acros are better because they're more of a challenge? Or is it just the colors and variety?
As to the poci's generally being lighter in color with colored polyps, I haven't near the experience with these wonderful animals that so many of you have, but I haven't seen many that were as darkly colored as the ones in my tank. Has anybody who's seen them while diving any input here?
Also, earlier it was mentioned that wildcaught acros have paler colors, I found that kind of odd and ironic. Aren't we trying to reproduce the same colors found on the wild reef? Or are people trying to "outstrip" the natural forms? Is this like the deal with growth, where people are trying to make it grow faster than it would on the reef? Or have the wild acros just lost color in importation due to trauma and crappy conditions?
JB NY, what a great explanation of the coloration and characteristics! This is what I'm talking about, with the amazing wealth of information available among people here. I need more books, I swear, there's just not enough time!
Just a side question, but why are acros more in demand than the plating and convoluted types? Do you guys hold that the acros are better because they're more of a challenge? Or is it just the colors and variety?
As to the poci's generally being lighter in color with colored polyps, I haven't near the experience with these wonderful animals that so many of you have, but I haven't seen many that were as darkly colored as the ones in my tank. Has anybody who's seen them while diving any input here?
Also, earlier it was mentioned that wildcaught acros have paler colors, I found that kind of odd and ironic. Aren't we trying to reproduce the same colors found on the wild reef? Or are people trying to "outstrip" the natural forms? Is this like the deal with growth, where people are trying to make it grow faster than it would on the reef? Or have the wild acros just lost color in importation due to trauma and crappy conditions?
JB NY, what a great explanation of the coloration and characteristics! This is what I'm talking about, with the amazing wealth of information available among people here. I need more books, I swear, there's just not enough time!
Serioussnaps
New member
Zuzecawi....my brain releases large amounts of dopamine when I see gorgeous acros, i think that may be why I am drawn to them more. I love the upward growth also. Dont get me wrong I love some montis, but I just get this sick and twisted fascination with seeing a big beautiful acro almost touching the water's surface in an aquarium.
There are people out there that can steer the coloration in their corals to where they want it...I wish i was one, but those that can i am willing to say that most all of the wild corals cant compare to the coloration of theirs in their tanks. This is all PERCEPTION though.
There are people out there that can steer the coloration in their corals to where they want it...I wish i was one, but those that can i am willing to say that most all of the wild corals cant compare to the coloration of theirs in their tanks. This is all PERCEPTION though.
JB NY
Active member
SPS are not the exclusive realm of acros, I tend to lose sight of the bigger picture when talking about SPS many times and just talk about acros.
But in reality if you can keep your acros in great shape, all your other SPS should do just fine. For most aquarium owners, acros tend to be the most difficult of the SPS to keep.Just a side question, but why are acros more in demand than the plating and convoluted types? Do you guys hold that the acros are better because they're more of a challenge? Or is it just the colors and variety?
For me it just became a matter of practicality in my tank. I had a bunch of beautiful pocillopora and montipora corals. The montipora just grew so big so fast that I just decided that I could not keep them in my tank unless I wanted to consistently frag them or else they would consume too much real estate. The big decision not to keep many monitpora was when I pulled out a large cap and realized that I got back almost 2 square feet of space in my tank.
As for pocillopora I had a bunch of beautiful ones as well. but over the years they kept continually spawning, through polyp bail out, that I ended up with dozens of baby pocillies every where. They became such a nuisance that I just decided not to keep them anymore.
Also, earlier it was mentioned that wildcaught acros have paler colors, I found that kind of odd and ironic. Aren't we trying to reproduce the same colors found on the wild reef? Or are people trying to "outstrip" the natural forms?
I think many people would be happy if we could produce the same colors that can be found in the wild (I know I would). Right now I just don't think that we are at that point in the hobby. We've made great strides but the overall condition on a real reef I think still eludes us.
Is this like the deal with growth, where people are trying to make it grow faster than it would on the reef?
IMO, this is only an issue for people with new reefs, Once a tank with corals have been established for a few years, growth is the part that you end up wishing would slow down. I know in my tank the amount of fragging that had to be done every two months or so was really the thing I looked forward to the least.
