Hey Kevin I finaly got some better pics for you

[twilliard]

I dont know if you remember what my problem was but my corals are NOT coloring up. I finally got my Nikon D40 and some what decent pics of what I have been trying to fix.
My corals just are not getting better.
I can shoot away if it would help to see more of what is going on.

I can not find anything wrong with my chemistry and I have been feeding my tank twice a day. (need to back off-feeding the algae)
My tank is BB and I have 5 fish
I tried new lamps -2 250W 10K Reeflux lamps and raised them a little closer.
and 3 VHO's.
I have been told that it is due to not enough available food to the coral. But why would this one be brown?

And then this one ( I know its a LPS) which has turned brown on me. It used to be deep blue with bright green centers.

What could be doing this!
I change water every weekend. 30G on a 130G total V tank.
I show a .05 PO4
0 trates
Cal is 375
Dkh is 10
temp is 79 held by a chiller.

Any ideas Kevin?

 

[servo]

On a side note, you can get rid of some of your GHA by carefully raising your Mg. I think you need more light. How deep is your tank? How deep are the corals? How high are your reflectors from the surface of the water? IMO, I would wage that the lighting intensity or photosynthetic usable radiation (PUR) isn't enough to really get your zooxanthellae to pigment. Now, othertimes, you can put a coral into a tank, it will brown out and doing nothing over the course of 2-4 months it can color back up. But, I suspect that you need more lighting or supplimental lighting to really bring out some colors. I'd be interested to hear Kev's takes on this.

 

[thumperss]

i think servo is right im useing 520 w on a 55 gallon tank
Brandon

 

[twilliard]

ohhh no guys cant say that. My wife would NOT go for that. I have about 1000$ in the lighting as it is.

They are pendants mounted inside my hood. The reflector is about 12" from the closest coral. The tank is a 110G and I think 24" deep. but all my stuff in there is raised off the bottom.
Oh and For Kevin I have a Dart pump for a closed loop and a PCX-40 sump return. Running Phosban, carbon (weekly), skimming the best it can do.
Thanks all!

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,
I think your lighting is OK. I would use a HQI ballast and 400W'ers with the bulbs 9" from the water but that's just me Bulb height from the water is very important. With your deep tank I would place the bulbs 6" from the water surface.

You should be able to get your current lighting to work without having to feed anything other than what you feed your fish.

The most likely reason is organic compounds (nitrates) IMO. They can cause SPS corals to turn brown. Be sure to use RO/DI or distilled water when doing your water changes or you may be feeding the algae.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[SueT]

I just wanted to add that I'm using the same lighting, 2 250w 10k reeflux and have tons of color. I also don't think it's your lighting. I have them over my 120g and it also is a 24" deep tank and my hood is suspended about 10" over the water.

 

[Katchupoy]

Is it the cal and dkh is kinda off? do you have calcium reactor?

 

[twilliard]

Yup I run a reactor, use RODI (spectrapure), water changes, testing, and a lot of money spent.

Ok Kevin...
So I think it is still organics. I have done everything I can think of to rid of it. Without being able to test for these compunds I don't know if I am doing any good. I have the salifert organic test kit but I think its crap. I can never get it to change color. My nitrates always read.. well nothing not even a hint of red. (salifert) I have noticed though that my algea will NOT stop growing. It has slowed down a ton but has not compleatly stopped. ALSO I have found that my rocks are always dirty. I can blow them off every day and get a dust storm from them.
SO
I need to rid this problem. Do I need a bigger skimmer?? Mark has told me to get a better skimmer but I cant talk my wife into alowing that yet. I have gone to feeding JUST my fish daily (a little pinch of formula 1 flake).
Im serious peoples, this is killing me... I need help!

 

[kevinpo]

I would recommend feeding frozen food instead of flake. Flake foods can be high in phosphate fueling hair algae growth. I am a strong proponent of large powerful skimmers.
You can also try repositioning your powerheads so they hit the rocks more to prevent the buildup of detritus.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[chris&barb]

Mark has told me to get a better skimmer but I cant talk my wife into alowing that yet.

im in the same boat, i have to run everything past Barb first. heres what i do, i get all sheepish like and say to her " honey, i was doing this and that and broke this" works every time

 

[james734]

im in the same boat, i have to run everything past Barb first. heres what i do, i get all sheepish like and say to her " honey, i was doing this and that and broke this" works every time

LOL.. That's a good one..

I always say it's easier to ask for forgiveness then ask for permission. But I have to admit that also doesn't work very well all the time. Especially with big purchases.

Keep begging..

 

[Damsel13]

Man, this really is an addiction

 

[mcvicker]

I got some colorful corals and starting in january they started browning. I messed with the lights and feeding forever. I started to get algae growth. I finally replaced the RODI I had with new parts from Spectrapure. The color is coming back and the algae is dieing off. The only time I have luck with SPS is if there is zero algae in the tank and my cheato won't grow.
-chris

 

[twilliard]

Well the flake food has to be the only source going in for PO4. I also add AA's 2 drops every weekend. That is all I feed my fish.. oh and a silverside every 3rd day to my lion.

Can you point me to a good frozen food I can feed to my fish?
I have:
1 royal gramma
1 blue hippo
1 3 stripe damsel
to feed

Thanks!

 

[kevinpo]

I feed a mixture of:
Dried seaweed
Freeze dried plankton
Formula frozen cubes
Raw shrimp
Crushed garlic
Everything is in equal portions except the garlic.
I keep it in the freezer in an old coolwhip container and take it out about 20-30 min. before I'm going to feed to soften it up a little.

Regards,
Kevin
PS: Once every couple of weeks I add Cyclopeeze and once a week Roti-feast. I also add frozen mysis shrimp on occasion for a treat but I run ozone and pump 2,000gph to my skimmer to maintain water quality.

 

[SueT]

twilliard, what brand of AA's are you using?? Salifert, Reef Plus?? Are you dosing it by the directions?? I use Reef PLus and it says to dose 1 capful per 20g.

 

[twilliard]

I an using Elos AA's

1 drop for every 25G

I think I will change up my fish food a little.\
Also I will buy me a better skimmer.

 

[twilliard]

Hey Kevin here is an update on the progress of my tank.
First here are pictures of the coral to date.

They are starting to color up a little. The halides are off right now but a person can still get the idea.
The brain I think is too close to the light. The shaded parts are getting a deep blue with green centers.
The acro, stag or whatever this is is growing like a weed now and turning purple tips with light blue, green body.
This is what I have done-
I purchased an ATI BubbleMaster 160 skimmer about 8 weeks ago.
I switched to frozen cubed formula food, cyclopeeze, coral frenzy once a week.
Concentrating more on cleaning the rocks when changing water.
Thats about it as to what I have changed.

Am I headed in the right direction Kevin?

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,
I agree the Favia is getting too much light to maintain the darker coloration. The Acropora is looking very nice. It looks like you are on the right track.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[ReefferMan]

I get my hunny a rose and box of candys.....Oh and a new Deltec Skimmer! lol If she dont like that, she can sleep on the couch. Im lucky with my wife! she bought me a Deltec AP702 just because! lol