SPS - no / poor colour on shaded sections

[gex23]

I have a few SPS frags and all suffer the same problems, they have colour where the light hits them, but everywhere else they are a rather pale shade of brown..... now I know the first thing that springs to mind is that I need to increase light coverage, but I have an 8 bulb ATI Hybrid over a 24" x 18" x 18" tank, so this surely can't be the case?

An example frag :

DSC_0334 by DEAF N1NJA, on Flickr

Its position in the tank :

DSC_0321 by DEAF N1NJA, on Flickr

The light coverage of the tank :

DSC_0323 by DEAF N1NJA, on Flickr

Photoperiod :

Lighting schedule by DEAF N1NJA, on Flickr

My parameters are as follows :

KH - 7.5
Magnesium - 1240
Calcium - 415
SG - 1.026
Temp - 26 C
Phosphate 0.01
Nitrate - 2.5

In terms of flow I have 2 x MP10s on the tank, alternate sides, running at approx 70% on reefcrest mode, while the return is an Eheim 5000+ set to max, and the overflows are X-Aqua which provide additional water movement.

1 x 10 litre water change a week is performed using Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt, mixed to 1.026 SG and heated to 26 C.

Filtration wise I run 6 litres of Siporax, Deltec SC 1351 protein skimmer, refugium lit 24/7 and filter floss.

No additives are used as we speak, though when needed i'll be getting my doser back online with which i'll be following the balling lite method and FM trace elements.

The reason I started this thread is I see so many SPS tanks (practical all bar mine!) where the SPS have great colouration all over, even the shaded parts - where as mine are pretty awful in comparison.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.

Anthony

 

[shih87]

Your ATI seems wide enough cover entire tank, so not sure how can your coral face shaded section problem? Are these shaded section blocked light by upper coral or obstruction?

I have same ATI hybrid 8 tube + LED 4 feet fixture, I did have shaded area before but that was because my tank is 90 cm wide, while ATI hybrid 8 tube only 54 cm wide.

I do observe your ATI is way higher than where I put mine (20 cm above water surface). I also have much longer light on time (10 hours with full intensity) than yours.

 

[Wazzel]

With overhead lighting there is going to be shadows/shading on the undersides. Nothing you can do to change that. Your tank is adequately lit.

 

[Scorpius]

With overhead lighting there is going to be shadows/shading on the undersides. Nothing you can do to change that. Your tank is adequately lit.

GASP.... the mighty T5 has shading, but I digress. :lol:

 

[gex23]

Shih87 - thank you for your input - the light is high as I am in a long acclimation period due to upgrading from 2 x Kessil A360wes which produced horrific shading. It comes down approximately 1 inch per week.

I don't know how the shading is so stark either, as you say the light itself is actually wider than the tank!

GASP.... the mighty T5 has shading, but I digress. :lol:

Cheers for the useful input :rolleye1:

 

[Wazzel]

How long has it been since you switched lights? If parts were getting no light with the kessil units it could be just taking longer than you expected for those areas to come around.

 

[gex23]

2 months now - and the tank was gutted / rescaped approximately 5 weeks ago due to red planaria flatworm - so in essence it's a new tank cycling (I used 50% old and new rock, 100% new fresh water and all corals were double dipped before and after going in the QT).

 

[gus6464]

That coral is mighty close to the back wall. How is light supposed to get back there with a big black wall in the way?

 

[Wazzel]

I think you just need more time. If things are still kicking and growing just let it be. I have been surprised at how long it takes some things to come around after an issue gets resolved. You are only 5 weeks from a major disruption expect it to take weeks to months for things to settle in back to normal.

 

[gex23]

That coral is mighty close to the back wall. How is light supposed to get back there with a big black wall in the way?

I assumed having the light fixture I have, that i'm able to keep SPS pretty much wherever I want due to the light 100% covering the tank - maybe i'm wrong?

FYI it's not sitting flush up against the back wall, maybe a couple of inches off it?

I think you just need more time. If things are still kicking and growing just let it be. I have been surprised at how long it takes some things to come around after an issue gets resolved. You are only 5 weeks from a major disruption expect it to take weeks to months for things to settle in back to normal.

I will certainly aim to instil stability into the tank by the way of a consistent maintenance regime.

Thank you for the input - I just assumed I was missing something, or being a newcomer to SPS, making a fundamental error.

 

[lynchmob3000]

I'd suggest 100 percent on t5 bulbs for a longer midday will help for sure

 

[Wazzel]

You look like you have a good start going. Your light should give you the ability to keep things all over with little shading. You are never going to be able to get rid of it 100%, but your light will get you as good as you can get for your tank.

IMO, the most important thing people lack in this hobby is patients. Good things take time and you need to be able to resist the urge to make drastic changes all the time. Take it slow and steady.

 

[gus6464]

I assumed having the light fixture I have, that i'm able to keep SPS pretty much wherever I want due to the light 100% covering the tank - maybe i'm wrong?

FYI it's not sitting flush up against the back wall, maybe a couple of inches off it?



I will certainly aim to instil stability into the tank by the way of a consistent maintenance regime.

Thank you for the input - I just assumed I was missing something, or being a newcomer to SPS, making a fundamental error.

Light is not magical. It can't bend itself around obstacles. You have a coral basically next to a black wall which will absorb the light instead of bounce it. Add to that the fact that basically one T5 bulb is barely hitting it on the back and you don't know why it's turning brown?

There's a reason you don't put a coral next to the walls. Now you are finding out why.

 

[Wazzel]

I'd suggest 100 percent on t5 bulbs for a longer midday will help for sure

Good suggestion, just make sure to work up to it over time. Corals can take a drastic light reduction with little issues, but a drastic increase can be disastrous.

 

[gex23]

Light is not magical. It can't bend itself around obstacles. You have a coral basically next to a black wall which will absorb the light instead of bounce it. Add to that the fact that basically one T5 bulb is barely hitting it and you don't know why it's turning brown?

Sorry if i've misread this but you're coming across a bit arrogant and condescending.

I've never proclaimed to know everything nor feel what I did was correct - hence why I started this thread by way of advice.

All I was stating was that I bought what I felt was the best equipment I could afford in order to give me an increased chance of success.

How do you come to the conclusion that 'one T5 bulb is barely hitting it' when the light fixture itself is, as aforementioned, wider than the tank itself, this combined with the ATI T5 reflectors and LED reflectors i'd assume that the light from more than one T5 bulb is hitting it let alone 'barely' hitting it?

I'm curious to know, as I say there's a lot to learn and i'm a comparative newcomer.

 

[gex23]

I'd suggest 100 percent on t5 bulbs for a longer midday will help for sure

I did that initially have a photoperiod of 100% for 3 hours but was suggested on the Hybrid owners club thread to knock the settings down a little in order to prevent light shock.

You look like you have a good start going. Your light should give you the ability to keep things all over with little shading. You are never going to be able to get rid of it 100%, but your light will get you as good as you can get for your tank.

IMO, the most important thing people lack in this hobby is patients. Good things take time and you need to be able to resist the urge to make drastic changes all the time. Take it slow and steady.

I am both increasing the photoperiod of LEDs, T5 bank 1 and T5 bank two along with the intensity of all three channels by 5% every week, along with dropping the height if the fixture by 1 inch every week as I mentioned.

I hope that my regular maintenance, and hopefully good quality equipment will eventually bring me the results I want

 

[Wazzel]

Good plan, just do not expect to see results in a few days.

 

[gus6464]

Please do not increase the power. The reason you have shading on the back of the coral is because no light is hitting it.

Black absorbs light, white reflects it. It doesn't matter if the light is 3x bigger than the tank. The light is hitting the black wall and being absorbed.

Easy test. Stand a couple inches from a black wall and put a spotlight right above you. Your back will be barely lit.

ATI Powermodules use specular reflectors. This means:

Light is hitting the front of the coral all day long and that is why you don't have a browning issue there.

The beams that are being reflected towards the back wall are not being bounced back towards the tank because the black is absorbing the light. If your background was white it would be a different story.

 

[gex23]

So are you saying that there's only a limited place I can put the SPS for what you'd call 'idea light'?

Whilst I don't disagree it's strange that I see a lot of spectacular SPS tanks where the SPS are rammed front to back with great colouration? (Usually under ATI fixtures from what i've seen).

Thank you for the detailed response though.

 

[gus6464]

So are you saying that there's only a limited place I can put the SPS for what you'd call 'idea light'?

Whilst I don't disagree it's strange that I see a lot of spectacular SPS tanks where the SPS are rammed front to back with great colouration? (Usually under ATI fixtures from what i've seen).

Thank you for the detailed response though.

Yes and no. If the back wall of your tank was white then light would increase as it would bounce off towards the coral.

All the super SPS tanks you see do not have the base of the coral right by the glass. That is a big difference.

If the coral was on the side glass you would not see a problem. Why? Because the light would go through the glass and hit it.

Bare glass - light goes through it
Black back glass - light is absorbed
White back glass - light is reflected