SPS Browning?!

[Fizzball]

Hi all, now i know this is already a much reviewed topic but bare with me plz... so up until last week my acros have been looking great with a nice fluorescent sheen to all of them. but just two days ago they are rapidly losing that sheen and are turning to a deep brown/golden colour which looks extremely dull. iknow that this is often caused by elevated nutrient levels but my tests seem to be saying 0 phosphate and 0 nitrate

Is anyone else experiencing this or been through something like this in the past? Any insight to this issue would be much appreciated

 

[DiscusHeckel]

What have you changed recently (for the past few weeks)?

Is your alkalinity stable? What about lights? Are they due for replacement (if used T5 and/or MH)? Do you use amino acids? Has the growth of your corals been affected? What is the polyp extension compared to a few days/weeks ago? Have you added new Acropora corals recently?

 

[Fizzball]

the only thing that may have changed is a slight increase in alkalinity after my last water change. I do use amino acids in the form of the korralenzucht amino acid concentrate. my lights are ecotech radion gen 3 so they dont need replacing and there have been no new coral additions recently and finally polyps extension is good but is ridiculously good at night

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Is there a particular reason why you dose amino acids, e.g. not having enough fish? Excess nitrogen, which amino acids have plenty in them, will feed zooxanthellate , which will then increase their population/density on corals. This is likely to result in brown coloration.

I would stop using KZ amino acids for two weeks and observe changes to coral coloration. I would not change anything else during this period. Please report back if you go down this route.

 

[a.browning]

Is there a particular reason why you dose amino acids, e.g. not having enough fish? Excess nitrogen, which amino acids have plenty in them, will feed zooxanthellate , which will then increase their population/density on corals. This is likely to result in brown coloration.

I would stop using KZ amino acids for two weeks and observe changes to coral coloration. I would not change anything else during this period. Please report back if you go down this route.

Agreed. If things are brown already, then adding more nitrogen is going to further that. I would only add aminos if your sps are pale or you have a low bioload.. and even in that case I'd tell you to add another fish or feed more before using aminos. Most acros will go from brown to green and then color up to their true colors. Sounds like yours were starting to get some green and then something reversed that. You are right it is usually tied to nutrient levels, but low light and low flow can brown corals too. Pests could be at play as well.

 

[Pife]

How are testing for po4s?

 

[Frankief]

Check phosphates and nitrates, i see you said 0 but maybe your test kits expired? Sounds like your setup is good, nutrients only thing i can think of.

 

[Fizzball]

Is there a particular reason why you dose amino acids, e.g. not having enough fish? Excess nitrogen, which amino acids have plenty in them, will feed zooxanthellate , which will then increase their population/density on corals. This is likely to result in brown coloration.

I would stop using KZ amino acids for two weeks and observe changes to coral coloration. I would not change anything else during this period. Please report back if you go down this route.

Good idea, i will see what changes this happens to bring about

As for my nutrients i use the HANNA phosphate checker and the red sea pro nitrate checker and they both say zero for each, whether these test kits are always reliable i dont know.

 

[Pife]

Good idea, i will see what changes this happens to bring about

As for my nutrients i use the HANNA phosphate checker and the red sea pro nitrate checker and they both say zero for each, whether these test kits are always reliable i dont know.

You should get a hanna ulr phosphorus meter if you want accurate readings of po4.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

If you have micro algae and/or cyanobacteria in your tank, they will consume nitrates and phosphates faster than your test kit, thus giving you "false" zero readings. I would not chase numbers. As long as your corals grow, extend their polyps and have heathy skin you should be content. Hopefully, by reducing the extra nitrogen source, you will be able to get better colouration soon.

I assume that your lights are good enough and provide the correct spectrum of light for your corals...

 

[Fizzball]

I am not experiencing any algae except some that grows on the glass and as for my lights i dont really know how to measure the output in my tank http://ecotechmarine.com/products/radion/radion-xr30w it shows a spectrum graph on their website

As for the rest the polyps expansion is good but growth is painstakingly slow-dont know if this is just a common characteristic of some sps; but overall they seem 'happy'

 

[DiscusHeckel]

In my experience, small frags, especially those cut from wild colonies, take their time to start to grow. They seem to expend most of their energy initially on encrusting live rock to get a firm foothold before branching outward. On the other hand, those frags obtained from fellow reefers should grow readily, providing that they are kept in water with good and stable parameters within an acceptable range, lots of non-laminar flow, good lighting with the right spectrum (heavy on the blue end, i.e. 453 nm and possibly 420 nm range to encourage effective photosynthesis) and food (what constitutes food is debatable. Is it "particles"? Is it organic form of phosphates? Is it nitrogen (in the form of ammonium and nitrate) is it bacteria? or it is a combination of all? Whatever it is, without the presence of some phosphorus and nitrogen, your corals will not thrive).

Have you read this thread?

 

[Fizzball]

very interesting thread...i have heard from some sources before that coral need a level of about 0.02 ppm phosphate to grow, and this forum seems to reassure that. The only other possible factor i can think of might be sunlight. Iknow its common sense not to but my tank does receive quite a bit of sunlight during the warmer months when the sun rises higher. would this be contributing to the problem?

 

[DiscusHeckel]

vThe only other possible factor i can think of might be sunlight. Iknow its common sense not to but my tank does receive quite a bit of sunlight during the warmer months when the sun rises higher. would this be contributing to the problem?

If you kept sps corals under a 6500K Iwasaki MH bulb, they would grow like stink, but they would also look less colourful and possibly more brown than any other colour. Depending on how long your tank is exposed to sun light (6500K), it is quite possible that sun light allows zooxanthellate density to increase, thus making your corals look brown/shade of brown.