SPS 'browning' / colour loss?

[gex23]

While I can keep SPS alive and growing, a lot of them seem to lose their initial colour and turn a rather unfitting shade of brown.

Now I understand that the reasons for this can be varied, and as such I thought i'd post up my equipment spec along with the parameters (though I struggle to get consistent results - Using both Red Sea Pro test kit and Salifert) :

Tank - Signature 600
Light - Kessil A360WEs w/ Kessil spectral controller running a peak intensity of 45% and peak colour of 60%
Flow - X-Aqua overflows with Eheim C 5000 and MP10WES x 2 running 35% intensity via long pulse mode (change each week)
Filtration - AFM Marine PSK 2.0 skimmer, Siporax x 6 litres, algae scrubber.

Some parameters :

Temperature - 26c
SG- 1.025
Phosphates - 0ppm
Nitrates - 1ppm
Alk - 7.6
Cal - 435
Mag - 1460

(I use Red Sea Pro test kits for Alk, Cal, Mag and Salifert for Phosphates and Nitrates)

15 litre (10%) water change using Red Sea Coral Pro salt performed weekly.

Any thoughts guys?

A few photos :

 

[oldbones]

Are you dosing to maintain KH and CA, or just doing water changes?

 

[MrCaveman]

Id bump up the intensity. I have my kessils at 87% peak intensity

 

[BigJohnny]

It is probably your lights or inconsistency in params.

Which test results do you struggle at getting consist results with? Your params are fine but I would recommend doing water changes with a salt that mixes closer to your 7.7 dkH (like the normal red sea salt blue bucket), and dosing 2 part or using kalkwasser to maintain calcium and alkalinity.

 

[mannyhernz]

Need to feed SPS..had similar issue before i started feeding

 

[BigJohnny]

Need to feed SPS..had similar issue before i started feeding

You do not need to feed sps. You can, but they certainly do not require it to thrive and have good coloration.

 

[mannyhernz]

You do not need to feed sps. You can, but they certainly do not require it to thrive and have good coloration.

It was suggested to me by a fellow reefer on another forum, took advice and My sps have colored up since..so for me it has some effect on coloration.

 

[mcfa2403]

I would look at your alk and calc as those numbers are very low for someone using red sea coral pro salt...

 

[BigJohnny]

It was suggested to me by a fellow reefer on another forum, took advice and My sps have colored up since..so for me it has some effect on coloration.

Yea that's fine, some people have success with it, but you said "need to" which is not true.

 

[mannyhernz]

Yea that's fine, some people have success with it, but you said "need to" which is not true.

Ahh...i see that now. Sorry

 

[BigJohnny]

Ahh...i see that now. Sorry

No biggie. I just didn't want him to think he definitely had to. If there are no nutrients in the tank or the sps are not getting ample light, they may benefit from feeding. Most sps are not as l efficient as lps at converting food to energy, and are more efficient at utilizing light. Acans for example must be fed because they cannot get enough energy from light and prefer low to moderate light anyway.

I caution people against feeding sps because in most cases people over do it and end up dirtying up their tank, while gaining minimal benefits from the feeding itself. If anything, target feed sparingly once a week and monitor nitrate and phosphate closely.

Like I said, some people have success with it!

 

[MRJ]

Coral pro salt is gonna give you rapid kh swings if you are trying to maintain 7.6 very deadly. Coral pro is around 12 dkh you want to add a salt that is the same kh as your goal and maintain it with a dosing pump. Could be red bugs or intensity also could be low potassium. Usually it's kh related. Low kh and ca is going to give you better color I would use the blue bucket salt instead.