SPS color question

[Marlin65]

I have a few frags right now, but some seem to have turned a bit brown from when I got them originally.
My caps and montipora have lots of color though.
My water is good almost no NO 3 lots of light 250w DE on 25gallon.
I am a heavy feeder though I believe in feeding my fish daily. :wink: I also have some clams so don't want to starve those and I have lots of sand in my system so zeo-vit might not like that.
I am wondering if I should go to the Zeo-vit system.
Anyone have a deep sand bed and is running the Zeo-vit?

[Keri]

250 watts of what kind of light? pc? mh? t5? OOPS nevermind, read your signature afterwards. MH then

exceptionally deep tank or old bulb could be ruleouts to colour loss?


another edit:nahh, I can't help you BUT delicious pics on Flikr! You have a great eye.

[Skimmerking]

I have a few frags right now, but some seem to have turned a bit brown from when I got them originally.
My caps and montipora have lots of color though.
My water is good almost no NO 3 lots of light 250w DE on 25gallon.
I am a heavy feeder though I believe in feeding my fish daily. :wink: I also have some clams so don't want to starve those and I have lots of sand in my system so zeo-vit might not like that.
I am wondering if I should go to the Zeo-vit system.
Anyone have a deep sand bed and is running the Zeo-vit?

I have found that with phosphates that my sps will loose color, anf if you are feeding heavy you still could be have nitrates that are affecting the sps thou. zeo is not the answer everytime thou do your reasearch and keep the water perfect to the best of your ability.

[Whatigot]

depending on how you've physically set you system up and placed your sps, couldn't the 250 be too much light?

just guessing...

[Mik_101]

I would cut dwn on feeding the fish to about very 2 days or once a day but with light feedings just berly enough for the fish.
What do you curently use from zeo?

[michika]

I don't think you have too much light, but I want to explore your lighting a bit further. Do you supplement your MH with anything? Do you know the details of your bulb? Sometimes bulbs that are a bit on the yellow side have been known to cause browning for me.

Do you have any photos of your browned out stuff?

[Marlin65]

I am running a 14.000K bulb no other light and it is 2 months old.
I only have frags no bigger pieces and the two that are browning are both acros I think.
I will try to post some pictures later.
All my frags are about 10" away from the light.
I did have a cats paw the pink one start bleaching on me but it is recovering in the btm of the tank.
The rest of my stuff is really growing and has lots of color. It seems to be just the two pieces. One is a tri color and the other was kind of brown when I got it but had blue tips that are now browning a bit.
I don't run a phosphate reactor though.
Right now I am about to move things to a larger stand and adding a bigger refugium to be mounted to the top. I still like my sand and want lots in my fuge, but if I need to make a change now would be a good time.
I also have a few clams so the Zoe-vit is probably not the way to go for me.
I don't use any of the product now as I don't know enough about it, but thought it might help a bit with my color.

[Marlin65]

depending on how you've physically set you system up and placed your sps, couldn't the 250 be too much light?

just guessing...

Whould this make them go brown?

[michika]

I'll wait for your photos to see if anything jumps out.

Some frags though just don't look the same in their parent system as they do in yours, just a fact of life.

Do you feed your clams something specific? I know you said that your feeding levels and amounts are somewhat dictated because you want to keep your clams healthy and happy.

[Marlin65]

That might very well be the case I will take some pics tonight.
I feed my clams some powder that you mix with water not to sure what it is called. Also feed the green phyto food not everyday though only 3x a week. I have a blue spot jaw fish and two black clowns, and a clown gobie.
I have been feeding daily as I wanted to make sure my blue spot is getting enough to recover from his trip. I just got him about a week ago.
Thanks for everyone input.

[Whatigot]

where did you get your blue spot?
awesome fish...


sorry to be off topic...

[michika]

I don't think its food related. I also feed heavily, 2x feedings a day plus nori every other day. I'm not experiencing brown out.

Is there a photo of the blue spot I'm missing? I want to see!

[Marlin65]

There is a couple on my tank tread.

[Marlin65]

where did you get your blue spot?
awesome fish...


sorry to be off topic...


No problem i got him from OA
Wendel had about four of them in. I think they are all gone though.

[Chowder]

It is common for acro pieces to loose colour when they are introduced to a different system. Alot of the time when I get a new piece that is coloured up they will brown out then colour back up in time and not always the same colouring. I have also noticed complete colour changes from one tank to the other. The reason I suggest this is because you stated your other pieces are doing well and these sound like they are fairly new to your system. What do you use for flow?
Chris

[Marlin65]

That would make sense then they are not totally brown but definitely not the same as when I got them.
I run a mag 9 on a two way squid and a Hydor Koralia - 1 for a bit extra.
It's a small tank though 18.5wx16dx20h 25 gallon

[Whatigot]

My knowledge of sps is extremely limited but as a guy with lot of research and very little practical application it seems like your tank is about as good a tank as an acro could hope for....

Seems like great flow, your light is obviously more than sufficient and your params are normal...

stupid hobby....:razz:

[michika]

Your flow sounds fine! My 24g cube ran with the exact same stuff for flow, and I never had colour problems with my SPS.

[Aquattro]

I found this on RC years ago, and thought that it explained SPS color perfectly.

"there are only two things which affect sps coloration. These are zooxanthellae density and accessory pigments.
Accessory pigments are determined by growth, light intensity and spectrum.
growth is also determined by calcium availability, alkalinity, trace elements, flow, temperature, salinity, food and stability. zooxanthellae density is relative to nutrients, growth, temperature and light intensity, spectrum and duration.

when corals exhibit fast growth, the growing margin has fewer zooxanthellae and more accessory pigments leading to colorful tips or rims.
Zooxanthellae can mask colorful pigments when they are in high densities. In nutrient poor conditions and under high light intensity and ideal spectrum, zooxanthellae populations will be further reduced leading to more visible accessory pigments especially within the body of the colony."

[Whatigot]

hmmmm.
what brand of 14k 250 de are you using?

[Marlin65]

Thats interesting info.
I run a Phoenix bulb.

[michika]

Very nice Brad, that really does just sum it all up perfectly.

[Marlin65]

Pictures as promised not my best work but here you go.
My blue spot I love this guy.
http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg94/hikingtrigger/IMG_0203.jpg

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg94/hikingtrigger/IMG_0188.jpg

My brown Acros.
http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg94/hikingtrigger/IMG_0190.jpg

Full tank shot.
http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg94/hikingtrigger/IMG_021635.jpg
I just fed some live BS thanks Niel, and picked up two new pieces Thanks Cprowler.

[michika]

That is the cutest little clam!

The photos make it hard to tell, but are the two browned out pieces in the shade of your plumbing? Have you tried moving them around a bit, maybe to the right of where they are now?

[sphelps]

If you want to reduce the zooxanthellae density you could try Zeospur2. It doesn't require the full system and works exceptionally well. I've used and seen instant results in hours, but you must be careful and follow instructions closely.

[Marlin65]

That is the cutest little clam!

The photos make it hard to tell, but are the two browned out pieces in the shade of your plumbing? Have you tried moving them around a bit, maybe to the right of where they are now?

The clam is a Squamosa I have a Maxima that is around the other side and is about the same size. This one was all brown when I got him, but is tuning a nice shade of blue right now.

The two pieces are almost right under the light so I don't think that is the problem. i think my nutrient might be a bit on the high side.
I might be able to finish the plumbing on my new stand this weekend and that will allow me to move some stuff around and change my standpipes as I am just not happy with the way it is now.

I will put my to clams in my refugium under 175MH 14.000k SE bulb.
Tank is 12" deep and I am thinking that would be close to 20" deep and under 250w DE any thoughts on that?

After I get it all moved around I might try some of the zeo products like the zeospur2 and see what that does.

[michika]

Your clams will be fine under the 175w bulb. Mine were about 14" below my 175w bulb and they just loved it. I think you'll be fine, and your two frags will probably come around in no time.

I don't know anything about zeo, so I can't say anything.