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viperfish
10-15-2009, 01:59 AM
I purchased this Acro from J&L about four months ago. They said it was a Deepwater Acro. When I bought it, it was white with purple tips. I acclimated it properly, gave it lots of light and water flow, now it's green! I know they say corals can turn colour under different lights but this is crazy! I also heard that excessive nutrients can cause this. My params are good, my Nitrates are at 20 but that shouldn't be enough to throw anything out of whack. Can anyone shed some light on this type of coral since I am having very little luck searching online. I am running 20K lights, I don't know what J&L is running but would a change from 10K to 20K be enough to cause this?

fencer
10-15-2009, 02:57 AM
20 ppm is a lot. Most Zeo and Ultra systems are running low nitrate. Try moving the coral higher in your tank. What might have happened is the coral might have been bleached to start with and it is now regaining some of the symbiotic zooanthellae it lost...thus brown

Drock169
10-15-2009, 04:32 AM
Are you running 400W 20K's? I agree that 20ppm is a bit on the high side for SPS, are you getting any polyp extension or is it closed up 100% of the time. Have you checked for parasites? Also have you checked PO4? If PO4 is high, I find deepwaters tend to brown out easily. It looks like maybe a loripes or a granulosa, which should have the white base with purple tips.

viperfish
10-15-2009, 04:49 AM
I am running 250's and I have the Acro about 10" from the surface. Do you think I need more light? PO4 is undetectable. I am running RO and Purigen, between the two I manage to keep it in check. I am working on the Nitrates, I had a couple of dead spots in my tank so I changed the flow and hopefully that will make a difference. Mu other SPS are all doing fine.

fkshiu
10-15-2009, 05:08 AM
If it is truly a "DEEP water" acro I'd move it to where there's less light such as DEEPer in your tank.

Drock169
10-15-2009, 05:19 AM
I dont think less light is the solution in this case. They typically bleach out if they are getting too much light, not brown out. I would dip it in something like Revive, see if anything comes of the coral. Have a good look for at the base of the coral for little square bite marks on it. Because it's just a single colony affected, my guess is parasite.

viperfish
10-15-2009, 05:30 AM
If it is truly a "DEEP water" acro I'd move it to where there's less light such as DEEPer in your tank.

I have tried that, and it made no difference. It is still an Acro. I just don't see it sitting at the same light level as my LPS, but my assumption may be wrong. As far as being a "truly" deep water Acro, I am just going on what I was told when I bought it. If I Google it, I don't get a whole lot of information to go on. I had just hoped that someone on here has gone through a similar situation. I know I need to work on my Nirates and a few folks on here are really sold on ZEO, but this hobby is expensive enough as it is without having to pump money into every latest and greatest remedy. There seems to be a million cures for nitrates, from ATS, to Vodka dosing, to reactors. It's tough sometimes to know which one is best.

viperfish
10-15-2009, 05:34 AM
I dont think less light is the solution in this case. They typically bleach out if they are getting too much light, not brown out. I would dip it in something like Revive, see if anything comes of the coral. Have a good look for at the base of the coral for little square bite marks on it. Because it's just a single colony affected, my guess is parasite.

Sounds like excellent advice. I'll definitely check it out. Thanks.

fishytime
10-15-2009, 03:18 PM
Could you post some more details about your system?.....how many gallons? what is your bio-load? what skimmer are you using?....how much and how often do you feed? 20ppm of nitrates is high (IMO) do you have any other acros?....if so how are they doing?

Drock169
10-15-2009, 04:21 PM
I have done VSV (vodka sugar vinegar) dosing before and probably wouldnt recommended it. Worked well at the start but I ended up having some problems 8months to a year into it and resulted in some coral morality. I think the best cure for high nitrates is a large scale water change, ie a 50% water change to bring them down to 10. However if you do the large scale water change and they climb up to 20 again, it could mean your overstocked or overfeeding. Either way, I dont think the nitrates are the issue in the situation.

viperfish
10-15-2009, 04:48 PM
I have just start a turf scrubber, it's still too new to see any results but I hear good things about it if the maintenance is kept up. The price is certainly right compared to a lot of the other methods being used.

Myka
10-17-2009, 08:07 PM
You have not mentioned the use of a protein skimmer, what protein skimmer are you using, and what size is the tank? Providing more information about the rest of the tank will really help. If you can post a full tank photo that could be of great assistance as well.

In order to get great coloring of any corals there are many determining factors. Lighting is usually easy to provide. The biggest factor is water quality - all aspects: stability, the availability of good nutrients, the lack of poor nutrients, clarity, etc. SPS corals are particularly sensitive, and many people cannot achieve great, colorful success with them.

As far as water goes, it needs to be pristine. High nitrates are a sign that the water really isn't up to par. Steady "big three" dosing is imperative (calcium, alkalinity, magnesium). A carbon source is often a big help to improve water quality - be it vodka, Fauna Marin, my personal choice Zeovit, or an abundance of other products, and in my opinion should be a part of any SPS system (albeit there are those more experienced reefers that prefer the "challenge" of doing it differently). In a healthy reef tank you should not get detectable nitrate or phosphate. Imo, your high nitrates are at the very least contributing greatly to the issue. I also take high nitrates as a sign that your tank isn't as healthy as it should be, and there my be other issues as well.

You may find that simply dosing Zeovit Coral Snow and ZeoBak together (as per directions in the Zeovit guide) will greatly improve your water quality. Many people don't understand that you can use just a few additives, you don't need the whole line of products to make a significant difference. The use of the above mentioned products is my recommendation to you.

viperfish
10-18-2009, 12:23 AM
Great advice Myka. My tank is a 110 Gallon (tall) drilled , I have a 55 Gal sump/fuge,and a 33 Gal prop tank all connected together. I have an Aqua Euro USA 250 Skimmer, 36 Watt Aquamedic UV, My return pump is a Mag 12. For flow I have two MJ 1200 with the 2200 GPH Algea Free kit, and I have a Hagen Aquaclear 70 PH with a Hydor flow diverter. My method of flow generation needs some upgrading, but I don't have any dead spots. I have been researching Zeovit and it does look very interesting. I guess I'm a little hesitant sometimes because there are a lot of companies selling junk and it's hard to know what's what sometimes. Is there a guide to using Zeovit anywhere? Or sould I just buy the starter kit? I posted pics of my tanks this week http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=56839

dawen
10-18-2009, 01:40 AM
here is the guide for the zeovit, also u can post for help in the forum in zeovit.com

http://www.korallen-zucht.de/files/zeoguide_103_english-1.pdf

fishytime
10-18-2009, 03:00 PM
Chances are your ATS wont work if you decide to start running Zeo...The zeo system will remove all phosphates and nutrients from the water column, likely rendering your ATS useless. I personally would ditch the UV sterilizer....They kill both bad and good stuff.....You said you added the acro 4 months ago?....how old is the tank?

viperfish
10-18-2009, 03:08 PM
The tank is a year old. I added the UV when my Tangs had ich, they were lucky enough to kick it so I decided to take every precaution. I have the UV on a timer running 12 hrs a day.

Myka
10-18-2009, 03:22 PM
I wouldn't bother with the complete Zeovit line (which starts with the start kit) unless you're planning a SPS dominant tank where an ultra low nutrient system will lead to ultimate coloration. :D You don't need the reactor and the zeolites, and the whole shebang. If I were you I would post on Zeovit forums and ask them how to bring down your nitrate without using the whole system. They are very welcoming there, and find no offense in those who just want to use a few additives. However, I warn you that once you get into it and notice the dramatic results it is difficult to not buy the product line!! :lol: I am a HUUUUUUUGE skeptic, and it took me a few years to try it, but I started using a few products about a year ago, and I haven't looked back since.

You will have to take the UV sterilizer off line though, as it will kill the bacteria you are dosing into the water column. ;) You can always get it back online if you have an Ich outbreak.

fishytime
10-18-2009, 03:26 PM
Ok a year old tank is definitely mature enough to handle SPS.....what are your other parameters? ( calcium,magnesium and DKH)

lorenz0
10-18-2009, 04:07 PM
Ok a year old tank is definitely mature enough to handle SPS.....what are your other parameters? ( calcium,magnesium and DKH)

I second this. forget about zeo, i don't use anything and get good colors out of my SPS. By the looks of the coral, it looks like your nutrients is high. keep up with your water change's and your parameters in check.

niloc16
10-18-2009, 04:14 PM
when you say the coral turned green, is it algae covered green or the skin of the coral is green? if the coral itself has turned green i wouldnt say its a bad thing. in my personal experience, i havent had corals turn green from excessive nutrients. typically they turned brown. if you bought the coral white with purple tips, more than likely it was stressed right out and bleaching. for the most part ive yet to see a store maintain an sps piece with a white base color. i mean ive seen people have corals with white and purple tips, i had one myself. but like others have said the water quality needs to be pristine, which stores dont have. i'm not at all blaming the store you got if from just saying that the color you bought it as may be deceiving of its real color. so for now i wouldnt stress out too much about your tank quality. as far as parasites go, again the coral will usually exhibit less polyp extension and again browning out and more sliming the usual. just my two bits

Myka
10-18-2009, 07:40 PM
...forget about zeo, i don't use anything and get good colors out of my SPS...

You don't need additives, but many of these systems just make it easier to have colorful SPS especially for greenhorn SPS keepers.