sps corals color

reefer44

reefer44

Member
I have been keaping some brown sps for awhile (they came brown) and they are starting to get some color back in them
But anyway I bout some gorgous acropora that are bright and colored
Just wondering if there are some tips on keeping there color
I have 2 6,500 K 175w MH pendants and 3 18w actinic bulbs
Also my tank turns itself over about 25 times per hour
Also I get a pretty big algae growth everyday but my phosphates are pretty low
I can also keep every coral other than SPS and other very corals that are really hard (elegence and gionpora) thriving and Alive...but i have never tried SPS
ANY TIPS
Brad
 
golfish

golfish

Active Member
Brad,
Its all about lighting and water quality. SPS are funny. You have ok lighting but probably not as good as it could be. SPS need intense lighting so 175 watt MH's are kind of weak. Its not about watt's per gal, its about intense light. What I'm saying is you'd have better color (overall) keeping sps in a 200 gal tank under a single 400 watt bulb then you would keeping them in a 55 gal tank with 4x175 watt bulbs. Keep in mind that the sps in the 200 gal tank would have to be kept with in 10-30" from the bulb.
Water quality is just as important. I set up a new tank around the first of the year. I let the tank cycle and add back some of my sps that a friend was holding. Some of the corals are doing good, a few are not. My water quality is fine but its still a new tank so things are not that stable.
Good luck.
Mark
 
dburr

dburr

Active Member
I sorta disagree with Mark. I have 2 175 MH on a 90. I have NP keeping SPS. And I have also seen other tanks on other boards with awesome SPS tanks. I would agree you need to move to a higher kelvin. I have 10ks and I will go to 12k next. I also have 32 w NO bulbs also. If I kept my PC bulbs I prolly wouldn't go to a higher K MH. But the NO's are for morn/eve affect.
Water quality to me is the most important over the 175/250 lights.:yes: I was skimmerless for awhile and sinse I added the skimmer I have more color.
HTH, Dan
 
zanemoseley

zanemoseley

Active Member
kip, what dkh do you reccomend for good coloring because I have 2x250w 10k xm and 2x55w actinic 03, the actinic are 10" from the water so probably not penetrating well and my colors aren't too good, I think my dkh is about 10
 
reefer44

reefer44

Member
yea i was planning on switching to ehter 10k or 20k (prolly 10) in september when my bulbs will need to be changed...
also my current and water quality is stable but is gettting more stable...also i keep my calcium at 400-450
I am aslo going to upgrade in september to a euro-reef skimmer...I have this ok venturi skimmer (not sure of brand i think it is AquariumSystems)
 
golfish

golfish

Active Member
once you have the water quality then your half way there. Bulb color means very little if you don't have enough light. You'll probably get much better color if you were running 175 watt 10K's or 175 wtt 20K's only because of the amount of par. It would be just the opposite if you were running 400 watt bulbs. Its not true with all sps. Most of the sps I've kept looked better under 400 watt 20K's over the 400 watt 10K's, not all, but most.
I've never notice a color change due to high or low dkh, but then I've only been keeping sps for 5 years.
 
golfish

golfish

Active Member

Originally posted by Kip4130
i have first hand experience with corals changing color due to dkh... but the decline in dkh was also due to precip events so maybe it was more of a pH thing.
Kip, kip, kip,
 
golfish

golfish

Active Member

Originally posted by Kip4130
yeah.. if i ever get this cycling thing down... then i can get tons of acros and clams under my NO lighting and tapwater.
come on, you IM me almost everyday asking questions like a little pup. I would think by now you have it down..
Why do I waste my time with you
 
golfish

golfish

Active Member
yeah, but I ask you stuff like ....can you order me a SEIO pump and will you get me another pendant...
you do have the best equipment prices in town
 
S

spsaddict

Guest

Originally posted by reefer44
I have been keaping some brown sps for awhile (they came brown) and they are starting to get some color back in them
But anyway I bout some gorgous acropora that are bright and colored
Just wondering if there are some tips on keeping there color
I have 2 6,500 K 175w MH pendants and 3 18w actinic bulbs
Also my tank turns itself over about 25 times per hour
Also I get a pretty big algae growth everyday but my phosphates are pretty low
I can also keep every coral other than SPS and other very corals that are really hard (elegence and gionpora) thriving and Alive...but i have never tried SPS
ANY TIPS
Brad
get rid of the 65k bulbs.... they are great for growth but not good for color... replace them with a 14k bulb, and your color will show...
 
golfish

golfish

Active Member

Originally posted by Kip4130
mark... you never answered my question....
can i use milk for calcium instead of a ca-reactor... i think this would be a revolutionary break thru

Sure you can, I use the powder stuff tho, it seems to cloud better.
Don't forget now, 3x34" pvc doesn't equal the flow you get from 2.25" pvc (if they made 2.25" pvc)
 
reefer44

reefer44

Member
alright back to the subject...lol
what is dkh?????
Does it involve the light temp or is it a water paremeter
I have heard it before but it isn't placing its self in my mind
 
reefer44

reefer44

Member
do you think my corals will (my new purple acropora and green) loose color in the 2 weeks till i get new light bulbs?
 
golfish

golfish

Active Member

Originally posted by reefer44
also i am getting my next pay check in about 2 weeks should i buy the 20k or 10k?
If it were me I'd get the 10K's.....
 
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