Dragons breath without orange tips?

[jadedanime]

Exactly as the title says, I've got a ton of dragons breath growing in my tank that I would like to start chopping up and selling or at least giving away before it goes wacko in my tank. (It's already about a foot long in places and about to get sucked into the power head shortly here.... My nitrates are probably off the chart...but that's why I have this stuff lol)

 

So what would cause that? Low lighting, high lighting? Probably the first? I would like to get new lights in a fe months here, so anybody have any suggestions? Par maybe? Or maybe a strip to add my fixture? I'm up for anything really except a from scratch build...unless you want to make it for me and I'll pay you lol.

 

Anywho that's enough rant for this topic, thanks guys

[metrokat]

High light causes orange tips.

[GHill762]

May not be dragon's breath. You have a pic? Gracilaria hayi gets incorrectly called dragons breath a lot.

[jadedanime]

Thanks Kat! ok then so I need more light. Maybe when I go to the LFS this Saturday I will look at new lights. Do you think it needs reds? I only have royal blues and whites currently on my cheapo fixture. Looking for some lighting options now. What do you guys use over your refugiums? Maybe one can be modded over the back of the tank for extra lighting. That's where it is most of the time now. I have two little balls of somehow disconnected macro floating around waiting to attach. I think one is growing on the power head currently lol.

 

May not be dragon's breath. You have a pic? Gracilaria hayi gets incorrectly called dragons breath a lot.

I have a pic in a previous thread. Let me see if I can dig it up on my iPad.... One moment

 

Here are a couple cruddy ones. I'm not at home so this is the best I can do ATM. I'm away for the week on business.

[GHill762]

Yeah That looks like the "real" dragons breath. Try getting it in higher light like Kat suggests..

[jadedanime]

Yeah That looks like the "real" dragons breath. Try getting it in higher light like Kat suggests..

 

Will do.i thought it looked like the real stuff from my pic searching. It is currently living as high up as possible, it's at the water line for a good eight inches, it starts halfway up the tank in depth, so it's got as much as it can I think. I just need a better light. What do you guys suggest? A different spectrum added in? Or just better light? This light isn't the best I admit. So I'm open to either option.

[Cirenus]

When it gets super condensed light doesn't get to all the parts making it look redder with less orange. Also if you get to much light on the dragonsbreath it will start to lose color and become super pale.

[grmoore]

Also if you get to much light on the dragonsbreath it will start to lose color and become super pale.

+1 to this. The plant will gradually recover from the bleaching.

[jadedanime]

Thanks guys. Did not know any of that. Well I doubt it's bleaching, but I suppose anything could happen. It's just a wavepoint light though so the chances are slim to none on that. It's not super condensed until you reach the bottom either, so I would think it would be able to become orange and all that, but again could be wrong. I plan to move my light closer to the water when I get home (Tuesday) (ugh) so we will see if that makes a difference.

[~LadyBug~]

I got some a little over a month ago and had to up grade my lighting for a BTA. Initially it didn't have the orange tips, but since I replaced the one LED strip with a stronger one, everything in the tank has been happier, and the dragons breath has gotten some lovely flame-orange edges(I noticed a difference in a week and a half.)

[jadedanime]

Awesome! I plan to get a new light for Christmas. Soo until then... No orange tips.