SPS coloration

Scubajoe1

New member
Hey guys,
I ha have a question regarding my SPS coloration. I switched over from Radions to T5s a couple months ago now and have not seen much improved coloration. In fact I am seeing some color loss on a couple blue and purple SPS. My local store are running VHOs and their SPS in that tank is nuts. Colorful, extended always. When I compare we have the same parameters except they have a crap load of corraline algaie in their tank. SO I brought a PAR meter and checked their tank and top of the tank is 200 par and bottom was 170. Not a lot of change. So I came home and checked mine with my ATI fixture. Top of tank, 650 and bottom like 250. The one coral that is losing color was at around 600 par. Mind you this is over the course of two month. My photo peiod was also quite long. I just took that back from 11 hours for the main lights and 13 for the actinics to 10 for actinics and 7 for the main ones. I also picked up a couple of window screens from the lowes. Now when I measure at the one coral I am at 300 and 200 in the sand bed.

Alk. 10.5
Nitrate- 1.0
Phosphate 0.03
Ca- 440
Mg- 1340
pH between 8.1-8.3
Temp 78,5-80.0

Am I on the right track here with the lighting? Suggestions?

Thanks

Joe
 
Your alk is kind of high for a low nutrients system. Lowering it to 7 or 8 is your first bet. You are using T5 now, it should get better (color and growth). Do you do WC as well?. If you don't, maybe your other nutrients are low (or too high if you are dosing :D). If everything is fine, then give your coral sometime to adjust with your new lights. Give your coral a month or two for any changes of light intensity. You are stressing them with frequent changes in a very short time.
 
Don't think that those VHO are only putting out 200. The sensor in most PAR meters are not even close to full spectrum - the VHO put out a lot of blue below 420 and put out some above 650. The sensor does not measure all of the output. VHO are no joke, which you have seen.

I would try and keep your temp more stable around 78. A swing is OK - nothing will die - but is not ideal for great growth and color. I agree on the alk.

I have found that 8-10 hour photo period is quite good. I am just on/off... not dusk/dawn.
 
Your alk is kind of high for a low nutrients system. Lowering it to 7 or 8 is your first bet. You are using T5 now, it should get better (color and growth). Do you do WC as well?. If you don't, maybe your other nutrients are low (or too high if you are dosing :D). If everything is fine, then give your coral sometime to adjust with your new lights. Give your coral a month or two for any changes of light intensity. You are stressing them with frequent changes in a very short time.

I do water changes but not in the traditional sense. I remove 2 gallons of water a day each night and the autotopoff runs for 3 minutes each hour. I place the equivalent amount of salt in the filter sock and thick gives it elements it may need. It equates to a 30-35% water change each month but I don't do it all at once because I am not looking to get y nitrates nd phosphates down. The ALK has creeped up latelt so that may be the issue. I just turned my topoff to bypass to kalk stirrer so it can get back down to about 8.5.
 
What is your bulb combo?

mostly blue plus and one purple plus for the main lights. The other two that com on first are just two actinic T5s. These are in the ATI fixture 8 bulbs total. I also have a reef bright royal blue strip which comes on first and goes off last for that dusk and dawn lighting.
 
I do water changes but not in the traditional sense. I remove 2 gallons of water a day each night and the autotopoff runs for 3 minutes each hour. I place the equivalent amount of salt in the filter sock and thick gives it elements it may need. It equates to a 30-35% water change each month but I don't do it all at once because I am not looking to get y nitrates nd phosphates down. The ALK has creeped up latelt so that may be the issue. I just turned my topoff to bypass to kalk stirrer so it can get back down to about 8.5.

IMHO mixing water in the tank is not a great idea.

Your salinity is swinging as you remove water, add salt and let your ATO slowly replace the fresh
 
Yea I was about to say, are you adding just salt to the filter socks and letting it break down in the tank? If so I would make sure you mix the salt before adding it to the tank and let it mix for a while before hand as well.
 
IMHO mixing water in the tank is not a great idea.

Your salinity is swinging as you remove water, add salt and let your ATO slowly replace the fresh

The amount of salinity change from taking out 2 gallons of water and adding 1 cup of salt to a 180 gallon tank is neglibible. you are talking maybe a 1% change and it;s fully into solution by the time it leaves the filter sock. You are basically going from 35 ppm to 35.3 ppm so not a huge change here. Folks will get a bigger change when doing a 20% wter hange and the alkalinity is not adjusted to match the tank likewise with the salinity. THe only thing I have noticed with letting water sit a day while mixing is the alkalinity will drop in the container when mixing overnight.
 
For the most part most of the corals are happy except the ones closer to the surface at 600 Par.

polypexten_zpss3t8jqon.jpg
 
I think your on the right track. When I had NO3 and PO4 similar to you, I lowered my alk from 9 to 7.6 and the results were dramatic. Drop it down slowly and see what happens
 
I think your on the right track. When I had NO3 and PO4 similar to you, I lowered my alk from 9 to 7.6 and the results were dramatic. Drop it down slowly and see what happens

So with such a low alkalinity does your pH get down to lower levels? I am trying to also stay around 8.2-8.3 max for growth. When I don't add the kalkwasser it can get down to 7.8 in the morning.
 
So with such a low alkalinity does your pH get down to lower levels? I am trying to also stay around 8.2-8.3 max for growth. When I don't add the kalkwasser it can get down to 7.8 in the morning.

Alk has little to do with pH. It based on the amount of C02 in the water. My alk is generally below 7 and pH remains at 8.1to 8.2
 
Back
Top