Apparently good things can happen quickly in this hobby!
I've had decent growth all along, but my acropora have been...brown. With nice colored tips, perhaps, but mostly tan and mostly brown. My green slimer was more white than green, and was very sensitive to light intensity. It's been driving me nuts.
I wish I could say that my corals colored up due to my perfect reefkeeping skills. I wish I could say that all those weeks of diligent water tests, and parameter adjustments, and perfect stability, finally paid off.
...Nope!
I just had to change salt mixes. :headwally:
I won't say what the new mix is, because I don't want people to think I'm shilling a certain brand. Sorry.
I will say that my previous salt was mixing up cloudy, and my corals did not react well to a water change. Nothing died, they just stopped growing, and lacked polyp extension. Alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium all tested normal.
Once I switched to the new salt, my corals colored up in TWO DAYS. The unknown brown frag went from this color:
to this color:
In two days!
Here's my "bleached" green slimer. Before:
After:
The growth shown in the pictures occurred before they colored up.
I have an unusual SPS tank by most standards: 20L, no skimmer, no sump. T5 lighting. I do this because after 10 years, I'm bored with throwing money and technology at the tank, and I prefer a more natural approach. Until recently, I had no fish, either. Adding 2 fish (to get my nutrients up) started a small cycle, but didn't really help bring color back to the corals.
I still have one acropora (visible in the background) that still hasn't really colored up. That mystery continues!
My guess is that the previous salt was missing one or more trace elements that are better included in the new salt mix. I don't supplement trace elements, I rely on big, frequent water changes for that.
Any ideas?
I've had decent growth all along, but my acropora have been...brown. With nice colored tips, perhaps, but mostly tan and mostly brown. My green slimer was more white than green, and was very sensitive to light intensity. It's been driving me nuts.
I wish I could say that my corals colored up due to my perfect reefkeeping skills. I wish I could say that all those weeks of diligent water tests, and parameter adjustments, and perfect stability, finally paid off.
...Nope!
I just had to change salt mixes. :headwally:
I won't say what the new mix is, because I don't want people to think I'm shilling a certain brand. Sorry.
I will say that my previous salt was mixing up cloudy, and my corals did not react well to a water change. Nothing died, they just stopped growing, and lacked polyp extension. Alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium all tested normal.
Once I switched to the new salt, my corals colored up in TWO DAYS. The unknown brown frag went from this color:
to this color:
In two days!
Here's my "bleached" green slimer. Before:
After:
The growth shown in the pictures occurred before they colored up.
I have an unusual SPS tank by most standards: 20L, no skimmer, no sump. T5 lighting. I do this because after 10 years, I'm bored with throwing money and technology at the tank, and I prefer a more natural approach. Until recently, I had no fish, either. Adding 2 fish (to get my nutrients up) started a small cycle, but didn't really help bring color back to the corals.
I still have one acropora (visible in the background) that still hasn't really colored up. That mystery continues!
My guess is that the previous salt was missing one or more trace elements that are better included in the new salt mix. I don't supplement trace elements, I rely on big, frequent water changes for that.
Any ideas?
