kimberbee Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I have a BC 28 up and running for just over 8 months. I took out the power compacts and put in two Ecoxotic Panorama Pros (the white/blue version for both strips). They are on from 2pm-11pm. Just about everything is happy and thriving, except for a few acros that are losing their beautiful colors. Examples are below: December 31 - Labeled as Miyagi Tort, possibly a Shortcake There are clearly hints of green and blue/purple-ish.... April 12 Now it's just an ugly pale pick color, but has definitely grown. October - a. sarmentosa Last night: Where is my lovely green?!?! Wondering if my lights aren't quite as sufficient as they could/should be, and what I can do to remedy the poopy colors I'm getting. I hardly ever test for anything, however, you can see encrusting and polyp extension is still good. What can I doooo?? Link to comment
Arce Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 PE is a good sign. If i had to guess its your lights. Link to comment
bdevillier19 Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Could be lack of intensity in the lights. The panorama pros aren't the most powerful compared to other options. Could also be water parameters. How often are you changing water and how much? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Lack of intensity will generally cause corals to brown, not fade/bleach (this is due to an increase in zooxanthilae, which are generally brown, to increase photosynthetic rate). I think you would be better off looking at your water parameters and flow more than anything else. Really, all the sps that have been shown in those pictures (including the ones you aren't calling out specifically) aren't looking the greatest. And no, a pair of Panorama Pro's won't bleach corals like that. Link to comment
kimberbee Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 Could be lack of intensity in the lights. The panorama pros aren't the most powerful compared to other options. Could also be water parameters. How often are you changing water and how much? 4.5-ish gallons every week - I cant fill my bucket all the way or I'll spill! I'm good about remembering to do this and have never skipped a water change since set up. Maybe change it by one day earlier/later, but never more than that. Lack of intensity will generally cause corals to brown, not fade/bleach (this is due to an increase in zooxanthilae, which are generally brown, to increase photosynthetic rate). I think you would be better off looking at your water parameters and flow more than anything else. Really, all the sps that have been shown in those pictures (including the ones you aren't calling out specifically) aren't looking the greatest. And no, a pair of Panorama Pro's won't bleach corals like that. I can increase flow a bit by getting rid of my xenia that's starting to shade and block my koralia. What are the top few things I should be testing for? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Salinity, pH, calcium, alkalinity, phosphate (low range, standard kits don't measure low enough), nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, magnesium Link to comment
kimberbee Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 Salinity, pH, calcium, alkalinity, phosphate (low range, standard kits don't measure low enough), nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, magnesium Aw dang you listed them ALL!! My salinity is on point for sure. I have very little evap with the biocube hood and am careful at every water change to keep everything the same. Calcium is usually around 420-450 (I dose). And for the first 6 mo my nitrates tested at 5 or below, so I stopped testing. pH, alk, phos, and mg are the ones I don't test for. I'll add that to my routine. Is nitrite and ammonia worth testing almost 9 months in? I'll work on this. Thanks! Link to comment
bdevillier19 Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 The sarmentosa in the last pics looks browned out compared to its older pic. Same with the first piece. The second one however does look more bleached. Not sure what to say. I had issues in the past where my water was too clean. All my sps looked drab and dull. Once I got the water dirtied up a bit things looked better. Link to comment
Weasel Baron Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Aw dang you listed them ALL!! My salinity is on point for sure. I have very little evap with the biocube hood and am careful at every water change to keep everything the same. Calcium is usually around 420-450 (I dose). And for the first 6 mo my nitrates tested at 5 or below, so I stopped testing. pH, alk, phos, and mg are the ones I don't test for. I'll add that to my routine. Is nitrite and ammonia worth testing almost 9 months in? I'll work on this. Thanks! nitrite and ammonia arent really big if your tank is well established. Try testing for nitrates once a week, stuff can build up alk, pH and phos are all important for sps health, Mg is as well but is also important in maintaining proper alk and Ca levels. pH tends to be hard to test for unless you have a probe, but as long as its consistent then you should be fine Link to comment
markalot Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Aw dang you listed them ALL!! My salinity is on point for sure. I have very little evap with the biocube hood and am careful at every water change to keep everything the same. Calcium is usually around 420-450 (I dose). And for the first 6 mo my nitrates tested at 5 or below, so I stopped testing. pH, alk, phos, and mg are the ones I don't test for. I'll add that to my routine. Is nitrite and ammonia worth testing almost 9 months in? I'll work on this. Thanks! First things first. KH is the most important thing to test for when growing acros. Calcium can be anywhere in a safe range and change 100 points a day and not bother them but if you can't stabilize KH you probably won't get good colors. There are some pretty big caveats to this but generally the more stable the KH the better the growth and colors. KH, Calcium, Mg, Nitrate, and Phosphate are all the tests you should need. Acros need a lot of food in the water and yet greatly prefer lower nitrates < 5 and Phosphates (< .1). Again, generalizations, but a good starting point. Of course the problem is keeping food in the water and getting it out before it pollutes the tank. A good skimmer and frequent water changes can usually keep up. I like Salifert test kits and Reef Roids for coral food. As far as exceptions ... different acros will respond differently to various conditions. My Katropora had super intense amazing color at 15 nitrates while most of my other acros were healthy and brown brown brown. SPS is another league, and we don't know everything about what makes them happy and sometimes what makes one coral happy ticks off another. Good Luck! Link to comment
kimberbee Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 Step 1: Water change and test for a baseline Step 2: Clear out xenia and GSP cause it's a pain in my butt. Step 3: Remember to feed my corals 1-2 times a week. Step 4: Retest in a week and re-evaluate. Thanks everyone! Link to comment
ManGups Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Following this .. I have a Cali tort which just browned out. At the same time the Acropora Valida and Acropora Sp. (scripp's green) are doing well. Not tyring to highjack the there but my KH seems to be an issue and probably lighting also.Kh differs from 8.6 to 7.0 in 6 days. I am working on testing everyday so that I can get a trend and start doing. I already got TLF 2p art C-balance and now need to figure out a regime. Ca seems to be stead around 480 and Mg around 1360. Radion's are at 45% so I am looking to increase it to 50% and see. Here is a thread I created for a the cali tort : http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/360233-cali-tort-possibly-not-doing-well-not-sure/ - and I can confirm I have no pests. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.