Help, rock flower losing color

[obeythefro]

Hi all. I am a complete noob, so please excuse my lack of knowledge.

 

I had an old aqueon 2.5 gallon tank in my garage that I decided to add one of these lights to to make a low load reef tank

http://www.ebay.com/itm/15W-E27-3-White-2-Blue-LED-Coral-Reefs-Grow-Light-Fish-Tank-Aquarium-Lamp-Bulb-/121204678670?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c385ca00e

 

And a small pump for flow (46 gph). Still using the stock filtration (I know, I know), temperature maintenance using a custom heater/chiller setup, and doing weekly 50 percent water changes to manage the nitrates.

 

Current parameters are:

 

Salinity 1.025

PH 8.0

ammonia 0

nitrites 0

nitrates ~5ppm

Don't have test kits for kh, ca or phosphates yet.

 

As far as what is in the tank:

~2.5 lb live rock

~3/4 inch live sand

1 zoa colony w/~40 polyps

1 zoa colony w/2 polyps

1 small gsp colony

1 rock flower nem

1 small astrea snail

1 zebra hermit

various hitchhikers

 

Everything looks to be fairly happy, but the nem has gone from a vibrant purple/green when I got him, to a kind of dull muted purple/green now. I feed him a small piece of shrimp once a week and he eats it up. He stretches out during the day and pulls back each night.

 

Is his color loss due to some water param? Maybe the color spectrum of the light (I am contemplating going to a coral compulsion par 30 18k led), or poor filtration? What am I doing wrong here? I want this little guy to be happy.

 

Pics for reference (sorry, they are phone pics):

 

 

Thanks!

[FlowerMama]

That is a maxi mini anemone, not a rock flower. Has he moved into the light? If he doesn't he's happy. I have a friend that has several, one likes it in the back of the tank where it is difficult to feed him, the other is front center, at top by the light.

[obeythefro]

That is a maxi mini anemone, not a rock flower. Has he moved into the light? If he doesn't he's happy. I have a friend that has several, one likes it in the back of the tank where it is difficult to feed him, the other is front center, at top by the light.

Thanks for the ID help! No he doesn't move toward the light. Actually, when I first put him in, he was in the light. But he moved down to this low light crevasse.

 

Any idea on why the dull color?

[CCDillon]

Hello, those bulbs you are using are pretty decent at growing coral as I have used them before. I never had color loss but they aren't the best for color because of the whites being used. So perhaps there is another issue at play here, but maybe he was just under some better LEDs at one point. If he eats and stretches out, then there shouldn't be too much cause to worry, sometimes coral/nems need to adjust to specific lighting and therefore go through phases of color issues.

 

That said, you should get this: http://www.amazon.com/Toplimit-E27-TO-Adapter-Splitter/dp/B00NWGFL8K/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1413149766&sr=8-18&keywords=e27+adapter+4+in+1

Then you can get more than one of those bulbs you already have.

 

And I suggest getting at least one more of those bulbs for your tank, you can even get 2 more completely blue bulbs to add to the 4 way splitter and color will look great, then. I also recommend taking off the optics by unscrewing the little metal ring near the leds as the spread is pretty limited with the stock optics.. though this means you'll have to lower the bulbs closer to the tank.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask because I use these bulbs alot and am currently using them to grow macro algae successfully.

[obeythefro]

Hello, those bulbs you are using are pretty decent at growing coral as I have used them before. I never had color loss but they aren't the best for color because of the whites being used. So perhaps there is another issue at play here, but maybe he was just under some better LEDs at one point. If he eats and stretches out, then there shouldn't be too much cause to worry, sometimes coral/nems need to adjust to specific lighting and therefore go through phases of color issues.

 

That said, you should get this: http://www.amazon.com/Toplimit-E27-TO-Adapter-Splitter/dp/B00NWGFL8K/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1413149766&sr=8-18&keywords=e27+adapter+4+in+1

Then you can get more than one of those bulbs you already have.

 

And I suggest getting at least one more of those bulbs for your tank, you can even get 2 more completely blue bulbs to add to the 4 way splitter and color will look great, then. I also recommend taking off the optics by unscrewing the little metal ring near the leds as the spread is pretty limited with the stock optics.. though this means you'll have to lower the bulbs closer to the tank.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask because I use these bulbs alot and am currently using them to grow macro algae successfully.

Awesome! Thanks for the tip on the splitter! So you recommend keeping with these instead of going to say a Coral Compulsion light?

 

Good to know about these lights with the macro. At some point I want to make a larger more legit 10-12 gal ada or picO, and it is nice to know that I can still use these for the fuge.

[CCDillon]

No problem! I actually do recommend the Coral Compulsion light if you want an overall better light with better color. They are made pretty well too so it won't gather as much heat as the 15W bulbs, as I'm sure you've noticed that they can emit alot of heat (I sometimes let a fan blow on mine during hot days).

So, it's either stay on the cheap side and get the splitter with more bulbs or get the CC, which if you get a CC Par38 you can probably use it on your upgrade later depending on how the spread is. Like I said though, the 15Ws will grow soft coral and macro wonderfully and you can always mix and match color with the splitter which is pretty cool. They are very similar to GU10 bulbs that people sometimes use for DIY reef lights so check this thread out for what people can do with these bulbs: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/267432-gu10-led-build-thread-chinese-ebay-lights/#entry3302614

Only difference is yours is an E27 screw in base instead of the less common GU10 one.

 

Oh yeah, and they actually sell hydroponics bulbs just like yours with a blue, white, 2 red and green led that I have found out do great for algae too, the color is very red though so it wouldn't be good for a display but great for a fuge.

[obeythefro]

Thanks CCDillon! Super helpful info!

[Seaweed 55]

Op

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Hi Obeythefro,

Are you planning to put some fishes into the tank? If yes, which kind? 

 

-Paola