[vanreefer]

Originally Posted by ScubaSteve

Lampshade hit on an important fact there when he said "vodka dosing". Not the dosing part itself but what style of husbandry creates: a low nutrient system. Low nutrients is probably the number one factor is getting those nice colours to come out. With high nutrients the zooxanthellae algae in the coral flourishes; unfortunately this leads to brown corals. You essentially have to slowly lower the nutrients to get rid of the excess fat to see the beautiful body underneath. Now, I'm not sayin you have to do an ultra low nutrient system with biopellets, vodka, etc (those are like the atkin's diet for corals), just good nutrient removal. I have kept SPS successfully for 2 years with a half decent skimmer and 15% weekly water changes. This is a bit labour intensive and it could be better, but it works (I've gone for a more high tech system to make my life easier now).

The next big factor: stability. Corals can regulate the zooxanthellae levels in their bodies. If they are stressed, they will keep more algae in their bodies to stock up on "food" in preparation for what ever disturbance may come. To make the same analogy as before, think of your body: if you eat two big meals a day instead of 6 smaller meals a day (both totaling the same calorie count) you are going to get fat. This is because your body is seeing feast and famine rather that a constant supply of nutrients. The more stable your eating patterns, the less your body stocks up to prepare for those famines and your body runs leaners. Similar idea applies to corals. So the more stable you keep your system, the more likely the corals are going to lean out and keep less algae (and you won't have to starve them as much, so they will still be resilient in the event of a disturbance). Water quality, temperature, chemistry, etc need to stay stable. This is why the guys with big tank can grow SPS like weeds while the guys with small tanks (like me) have to struggle a bit more to keep things on track.

And finally, the big factor: time. If you have all of the above dialed in, just give it time. You can't expect to do a crash diet, run a few laps and expect to have a nice six-pack in a week. It takes time and dedication to reach that level; once you get there it is less work and you just have to maintain it. Same applies here; time and dedication will yield amazing results. You just have to be patient, relish in the small successes and keep working toward your goals until you get there.

couldn't have said it better