Flow and Color

[Dizzle63]

Is there a relationship between flow and the color a colony has? I have some colonies that are not quite as vibrant as before, but my water parameters have not changed. I thought that I had high PO4, but it turned out to be a problem with the way it was tested. I now have good growth with my SPS, but it seems to be somewhat weak and the color is not the best on all colonies and frags. Some of the tips even seem to be angled, if that makes sense. They look as though they are cut at an angle instead of being rounded. I know that flow will giver stronger, more uniform growth, but is something else going on here?

[beeker]

The coral will grow into whatever direction the flow is least, so if the coral is blast consistant on the left side it will naturally grow towards the right

Flow IMO has nothing to do with color and a lot more to do with polyp extension, but mainly for sps corals

How old is your tank? i found that most tanks i've run dont have good growth or color until they are over a year old and my system and maintence routine has become consistant and stable

Coral placement has a lot more to do with color IMO some corals like lower light and some like more, you might just have to move the coral around 3-4 times to find where it keeps the best color/growth at, i've had to do this in my own tank as well and feel it's something that is nesscessary to do if your trying to acheive the best results

[Dizzle63]

Tank is a little over a year old, with the live rock being over 4 years old and some SPS at least two years in my care. I switched from a 55 to a 75 a year ago and used all of the same live rock.

[beeker]

I dont think the old rock would be an issue, and thats good your tank seems mature

What are your parameters?

i keep my

Alk at 7-9 DKH
Calc at 500ppm
Mag at 1500ppm

What lighting are you using?

[Dizzle63]

Alk 9-10
Calcium 450
Magnesium 1350

Flow is my return and one K4 and one 1400 EVO Koralia. My lighting is an Aquactinics Constellation 7 bulb T5 fixture that sits five inches over the water.

[Bax]

I gotta agree with beeker that color is not directly tied to flow.

In terms of color of SPS, water quality - lighting - and flow are all key. Probably in that order. The absence of optimal levels of any of the above would effect over all SPS health and appearance.

If you watch HD footage of reefs from around the world on TV you'll allways see anthias and other fishes swimming hard against the current. Really hard! I don't belive we can produce too much flow if it is generated properly. VorTechs, Korilas, Tunzes, wave boxes, surges, and CLs are all tried and proven methods to generate the flow but what work best in your particular application is the puzzle. I've always found that mixing some of the available flow options provides "good" flow and happier SPS.

If you want healthy colorful SPS with good PE, let it rip!

[beeker]

Your parameters look good and if kept stable should lead to good color and growth

i feed my tank 1 time a day but i feed heavy, i feed nori 24/7 i have 4 tangs 5 chromis and a spotted hawkfish in my 200g, i fed flakes for the chromis as well as PE mysis for the rest of the fish, i also feed 2 blocks of H20 ocean coral food for my sps and lps daily

I usually would add pyhtoplankton and oyster eggs every other day but i haven't bought any in about a month

Typically as i've stated you will have to move and place corals accordingly to give them the best lighting conditions, so of my sps have a ton of color up high and some of my sps lose all of their color if kept high instead of low

IMO stability and lighting are the 2 biggest factors of color

[Dizzle63]

Thank you both for the comments.

[allsps40]

I agree with beeker. Lighting a very stable are important to sps color. I was having color problem for a while. Keeping things as stable as possible helped out a lot. What lighting do you have?