coarls color fading

[josie]

Hi all. My SPS are loosing their intensity..the colors are so drab and light. These frags are over 8 months. I have a 75 gal, I run 2-250wt MH and 2-110wt VHOs. I supplement with Mg, strontium, and the 2part calcium. Water parameters are all within the correct levels. I run the MH from 230p-730p. The VHOs run from 8am to 11p. Do I have too much lighting..Im so bummed.. these frags are growing but the colors are nowhere near what they should be.. I dont overfeed..There are only four fish and they get fed once a week...help?

[lvreefer]

Off the top of my head it sounds like you are not giving your tank enough nutrients.

[josie]

like what kind of nutrients?

[wlagarde]

Color temp and wattage of bulbs? MH duration sounds a little short to me.

[josie]

2-250wt 14k hamilton
2-110w super atinic

[wlagarde]

josie - Oooops, sorry. I see you had this info in your original post...

I find 20K halides maintain colors better as long as you have enough intensity. The 250's should be plenty on a 75. I'd first try increasing the photoperiod of the halides to 8hrs or more.

Other thought...Alk 3.5 or >?; Ca 400 or >?; auto topoff?

Also, can you post some pics of the frags?

[spenick]

dkH?

[wlagarde]

3.5meq/L

[reefshadow]

Not sure if this is contributing to your prob, but I used the 2 part method of supplementation for years, had so/so success with SPS, though they would grow and had decent colour. Within weeks of adding my reactor I saw colour improved tremendously, growth exploded, and PE 100 percent better than before. I was pretty careful with supplementation before the reactor, testing and tweaking at least weekly, but I think the constant see-sawing of levels really hindered optimal health, and it was a PITA to constantly test and tweak.

I think your lighting sound adequate, maybe a little short on the photoperiod. If you increase it do it slowly.

Feeding may help as well as mentioned above. If you are going to feed more, do this slowly as well.

If you try everything you can do with your current setup and are still seeing the problems you have today, you may really consider a reactor. It was the best investment for the money I have ever made on a piece of optional equipment and if you plan to have alot of clams/sps, ect, you wouldn't be sorry.

Yes, very nice SPS heavy tanks can be run on 2 part, but the peace of mind you get from a reactor and in my case incredible difference is worth every penny!

[wlagarde]

I second reefshadow's comments about the reactor.

[ctreefer]

Are you running a DSB or BB or SSB? What type of skimmer are you using (if any)? Your coloring sounds typical of systems that are low nutrients. If this is the case you need to increase your bioload meaning more fish and feed them daily. SPS feed off of bacteria within fish poo (among other stuff) If they eat well, they show it by coloring up. Growth is their priority over color which is why you would have good growth with lousy color.

Just take it slow if this is the case.

[josie]

wow,ok. I was using kalwasser for a while but went back to the B-ionic calcium 2 part. I have a 2" sandbed. No skimmer. My sump is full of live rock. my websit is a little old but you can get a look at thinks from that. I'll try to post some pics when I get home from work..thanks all.

[josie]

Oh the only fish I have are a coralbeauty, a brown tang,a blue tang and a yellow watchman. All have been in there over 7 years...

[bureau13]

You only feed those fish once per week? Is there something (algae, whatever) in there all the time for them to graze on? From the fish's perspective, I don't think once a week feeding is nearly enough, and as someone pointed out already, it may not be enough for the coral either. Although they can't be too unhappy if they've been in there 7 years...

jds

[serpentman]

I would feed this tank more. I remember about 10-15 yrs ago, most people starved their reef to prevent nutrient builtup. Now its really quite the contrary. I would feed those fish at least every other day. I also feed my tank cyclopese ever other day with excellent results.

[rustybucket145]

I would suggest a skimmer more than anything. This will allow you to increase feedings without polluting your tank.