SPS coloration

[Anonymous]

Sheesh, I forgot. What about some articles speaking on particular UV waves and their effect on coloration? I've been under the impression that we tend to see more fantastic coloration (excluding deepwater reds and oranges) when the UV (both A & B) waves are a bit intense. Not to mention the "lensing" effect seen in bodies of water lit by a point source (sun, MH's, other incandescent sources)..

What say ye?

 

[LA-Lawman]

hi,

I agree that the coral will gain and loos the amount of zoo algae needed to photosynthisize. but as far as the overall color of the coral.

I was running 10ks on my reef. (2-175w mh. 4-55w pc [2 actininc and 2 6700k])

I have switched to 14ks in order to attempt algae control. I got the bulbs at a good price..... My Zooxanthellae ha\s bightened up. Now a 10k light is basicly your reef under full sun at 10ft in the water and 14k is roughly 14-15ft.

based on the hieght of your tank how do you determine what the color change is gonna be down to 24" if u started at 10ft or 14ft. is there a formula?

or am i totally wrong here....

just trying to give the animals the best.

 

[golfish]

Have any of you guys been following some of the threads over at RC in regards to coral color? From what I have gotten out of it some of the experts are saying that coral color doesn't change when using the higher k bulbs. It makes me wonder if these guys have ever used anything but saki's.

The proof is in the putting. My tank and all the buddies that have used the saki's, 10K's and 20K's all say the same thing. "most sps look better under 20K's" Is it just the water out here in So Cal or have these people never really used higher K bulbs.

 

[The Pirate]

I'll pipe up to say that I learned something from Pirate here: that being the easily understood brick and mortar analogy, and that light/lighting/light quality aren't the only factors affecting coloration.

Gotta learn something new EVERY DAY. That's the rule.

Thank you SeaMaiden, I was just trying to help. :roll:

I apologize for the sarcasm in the previous post. I read it latter and it came across allot harsher then I meant.

 

[Garry thomas]

Judging from what i'v learned about lighting myself. acro will colour up under low kelvin lamps, same as we go brown in the sun. They are just protecting themselves. I made a big jump going from 14.000k 150 + 250 watters to my existing 400 watter's.especially the lower k rating. For which i done lots of research. bright sunny day, is 6500k.......so why not simulate over our tanks? The reason is probally down to asthetics. we like to see a bluey light other than a yellowy one? these iwasaki lamps are great, i am supplementing with 280 watts of o3. but genuinly the colour is awesome. the acro's changing colour from browns to yellow greens blues ect it really is good news pics cant lie. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[hfmann]

Garry,

You've developed quite a Pavlovian response in me. Every time you post a picture of your reef, I start salivating uncontrollably :lol: .

Keep those pictures coming.

Take care,
Hal
_________________
Medigap Forum

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
If you talk to a few people who dive regularly in Tonga, you will hear that even in shallow water (less than 2 meters), the corals are as colorful as anybody's tank, and the color temperature of the sun at that depth is not much more than 7000K. So if some coral still holds it color around 7000K, maybe there is something else that make a particular coral to go brown. However, rather that specific explaination is "brick & mortar" is somthing that I have not convinced yet.

 

[aussiefishy]

first of all, thanks for the vast information you guys provide, it continues to enlighten me every single day!!

will temperature have anything to do with gradual browning :!: ? i have tried different frags, montipora, milleporas, acroporas... especially the lighter color ones, gradually goes brown, but the blue is retained. growth is not slow but not dramatically fast either. poylp extension only at night....

i have a 120 gallon, using 2 14K EVC bulbs 250W(10 hrs), seios 1500X2, refugium 20 gallon with reverse lighting, dKh is around 10.6-11 , calcium is 380ppm . temperatures are pretty high, from 81-83.9 F no antinics... please help

what should i first try? kelvin of bulbs? wattage? temperature?

thank you for helping! any comments welcome.

 

[Ben1]

poylp extension only at night....

If this is all your SPS I would think you have a nipping fish.

I still think low nutrient, well fed SPS will become the most colorful. Look at the zeo tanks....

 

[Ben1]

Get your CA up as well, I would mantain a CA of around 450ppm.

 

[aussiefishy]

how do we achieve low nutrient, well fed corals??

so the high temperature is not a main cause?? :?:

the calcium have to be 450... i will try to adjust my calcium reactor tonight!! thanks

other comments on the question will be much appreciated thanks!

 

[Ben1]

I run my al my systems at 82 in the summer and 80 in the winter. During the summer they can range from 81-83 through out the day. I dont see 83.9 being an issue if your normal temp isnt too far off that. A big swing in temp would IMO be more likely to cause outright RTN.

There are many ways to a very stable low levels of nutrients in an SPS tank.

I perfer high flow, wet skimming, water changes and always keeping detritus from collecting in my system anywhere. I also use ozone and keep my ORP up to 420. As far as the ozone goes, it keeps the water very clear allowing more light penetration other then that the benefits are minimal.

Feeding SPS corals doesnt have to be done directly, DT's oyster eggs are my favorite when I do want to directly feed them. If you keep you tank water so pristine it is getting steralized you will lose your SPS, as light and CA/ALK alone isnt enough for them. If you feed yourr fish then you are probably adding enough for the corals as well. EB has a coral food recipe on his forum and in his book Aquarium Corals as well.

So finding the balance is the tricky thing. I think If you concentrate first on nutrient export, and secondly good flow all around the SPS, and lastly on their feeding requirement you will end up with some nice coloring up. AS long as they arnt just brown acros .....

This is all just IME so take it for what you will....