how can i get my zoos to color better

[TeresaQ]

I have several colonies and most are faded and reaching for light. I have a 150gal tank with 750 wtts mh. I am going to add 2- 36 inch T5 for actinic. will this help. most colonies are midway or top of my live rock. I am really considering switching center mh for 4 to 6 - 36 wtt T5 to see if i can improve color and keep them from reaching so much. sorry can seem to post pictures on this site, I cant get them to post in the gallery

[blackheart]

so let me get this straight you have a six foot tank with one metal halide over it?

actinic will def help color up zoa but i am still not sure about your
MH can you post a pic, try using photobucket there is an explination on the new to the hobby page.

[650-IS350]

So you have a 3 bulb MH set up right? 250watts each ?

Surprised that with 750 watts of light that zoo's still reaching up...

I am running a tek 8bulb 54watt/432 watt total and their ok.. not really reaching up

[TeresaQ]

yes, three 250 wtt bulbs on a 6 ft tank. Ill snap some pictures tomorrow, my lights areoff for the night

[InvaderJim]

Try some actinics.

[geoxman]

how old are the bulbs, SE or DE, what ballast and what brand of bulb? Some bulb/ballast combinations are no better than PC as far as par goes. good luck

[650-IS350]

Yeah I heard somewhere that Atinics help them color up more...

[akrimmel]

do you feed them? phyto,zooplex,reefchili??

[650-IS350]

I feed mine home grown Phytoplankton..... and some invert target food as well.

[akrimmel]

i had the best result using kent's phyto and zoo plex alternating every other day and mixing the reef chili in with it.

[Ryanqk]

I have def noticed more color in mine since i added an extra 50/50 bulb to my tank, my pink zoa's are more dull around the edge of the colony but bright pink in the center, as the edges grow out i notice they begin to color up as the colony expands, its really amazing to watch the growth patterns