Bleached color in Acros help!

[Manwolf]

For some reason i can never get my sps to keep their great color that they have when i first get them. I recently got a red planet, and couple other sps frags that had amazing color and now they seem to be bleached away. But the growth is pretty good.
System:
-30g with sump
-Aqua remora-c skimmer
-Tek-T5 lighting with 2Ati Blue+, Ati Purp+, ATI Aquablue
-Photo period: 2bulbs on at 12pm, other 2 on at 1pm, 2 bulbs off at 10pm, last off at 10:45pm (Blue+ are first on and last off)
-Mp10 + Koralia 1+ Mag 5 for return as flow
-System is 1.5years old
-Alk 8.5
-Calcium 500
-Nitrates 0
-Po4 0
-Top off with RO/DI
-Weekly 7g water changes (I get my salt water from a local reef store since its so close. Im starting to think that maybe its their water I buy even though they told me they use ro/di for the salt mix)

Its not all my corals, its mostly my acros. My sunset monti i bought was brown and now its got a bright orange color to it and it is growing insanely...
I will post some pictures, a little later today, of my Acros when i first got them and now.

[Manwolf]

I forgot to add that I Dose BRS 2part (mostly alk and very little calc) but once a week since the water changes seem to keep everything in place.

[laud]

Do you have any fish?
How old are your bulbs?
If your sps are new to your tank they may need to adjust to your lighting. I lost all color when my tds readings were high in my ro/di topoff water. And again when my bulbs got old.

[Manwolf]

I replaced my bulbs last month, i have 2 clowns and a tiny blue tang (1 inch). Oh and the frags i got came from ATI powered T5 Fixture.

[Chyendra]

Do you feed your corals? with such low nitrate levels you probably should be supplementing your corals with extra food, either amino acids or extra fish food.

[Brian Chong]

take out the red spectrum(purple plus) and add a true 420 actinc.
lessen the amount of water you change weekly to 10 percent
and definitely ditch the aqua c skimmer.
this was my first skimmer then i switched to a real skimmer and i realized how garbage the aqua c is. I'm thinking all the ppl that wrote great reviews for it never used any other skimmers before or had worse ones. ill trade my hob and urchin pro for a nice stick.

[Brian Chong]

btw, your calcium is a bit high

[landers96]

I've got a 125 with 6 t-5's on IC ballasts and I'm having the same problem. Last week I started feeding way heavier and started elos amino acid and there already starting to color back up. I also dose vodka so I had nothing in the water for them to eat. I'm going to try to get my nitrates up to about 5.

[Jmc2009]

Dangerous. Your lighting. and new param and water changes dude

[krazysps]

I would say your lights are doing the damage myself. Never under estimate the power of them t5 bulbs they can bleach any sps quick! How long do you run your light's?

[sslak]

Dangerous. Your lighting. and new param and water changes dude

Is this English? What are you trying to say?

- Tagging along. I have the same problem. Great growth, no color. Added ATI Blue+ bulbs instead of the true actinics I had before...are they really that bright?

My frags came from 400w Halide tanks...

Will time allow them to adjust and color up? It's been a few months...

[Brian Chong]

Is this English? What are you trying to say?

- Tagging along. I have the same problem. Great growth, no color. Added ATI Blue+ bulbs instead of the true actinics I had before...are they really that bright?

My frags came from 400w Halide tanks...

Will time allow them to adjust and color up? It's been a few months...

from what i heard and par results ive seen posted on another thread, they are supposedly the brightest 460nm range actincs, almost close to daylights. A few months is too long to see no change. use both ati blue plus and true actincs. every coral even if it comes from a 400 watt lighted tank needs to be acclimated to your light.
Btw, No need to dose aminos or vodka. If you think you need that, then find out what the problem is and change your routine, not keep doing what you always did and adding more stuff so your sticks can improve. But if you want to spend the extra money be my guest

[Manwolf]

With my Remora C skimmer i have to empty the suction cup once a week. It gets half way full. I didnt feed that much but recently i have increase the feeding. I feed mysis, Cyclopeez, reef chili, flakes, and i try to spot feed the sps once a week. I will post pics right now of my sps that are bleached.

[Manwolf]

<a href="http://s559.photobucket.com/albums/ss37/MK-Manwolf/?action=view&amp;current=Redpanetbeforeandafter.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss37/MK-Manwolf/Redpanetbeforeandafter.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[Manwolf]

<a href="http://s559.photobucket.com/albums/ss37/MK-Manwolf/?action=view&amp;current=Purpacrobeforeandafter.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss37/MK-Manwolf/Purpacrobeforeandafter.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[Manwolf]

<a href="http://s559.photobucket.com/albums/ss37/MK-Manwolf/?action=view&amp;current=PurpMilibeforeafter.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss37/MK-Manwolf/PurpMilibeforeafter.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[Manwolf]

And here is a coral thats actually doing well...

<a href="http://s559.photobucket.com/albums/ss37/MK-Manwolf/?action=view&amp;current=MontiProgress-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss37/MK-Manwolf/MontiProgress-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[ericung]

Hi,

It appears that all those "bleached" sps are purple/blue/red.

Potassium supplement may help the blue. B-Balance may help the red.

BTW, your sps are nice looking.

Cheers!

[Brian Chong]

from all the zeovite threads i read , it's not potassium but iodide that helps with the purple and blues. dont add potassium unless you know the required amount needed and test for it.

[Brian Chong]

btw, when i had my aqua c skimming wet, the water was green. My new skimmer skims dark brown and i have to clean it 3 times a week because of the smell.

[RRaider]

Manwolf, I have a similar setup but I have a 6 bulb retro over a 29G. When I went on vacation last year I turned off my skimmer and noticed some improvement in color when I got home. I then removed my activated carbon and started running my skimmer only about 50% of the time and everything is coloring up including an acro that is supposed to be purple but has been nearly white since I got it over a year ago.

[DustinB]

As another stated, it has been shown in some cases of extremely low nutrient tanks for colors to turn pale. In my case, from vodka dosing, I was dealing with the same issue. I started feeding rod's original food and the colors started coming back. I have also read many cases of amino acids helping as well. I will be trying this when my bottle gets here tomorrow.

[laud]

Add some poopers and feed the corals. They look like they are young enough to have been shocked from going from one system to another.

[sslak]

How can I tell if I'm one of those low nutrient systems? My growth is good but colors are very faded.

I get 0 nitrates and undetectable phosphates (API kit). I grow chaeto pretty well, and some annoying calurpa in the display that I'm trying to get rid of...

[DustinB]

If you have no detectable nutrients, everything is stable, and you don't add much food you are probably nutrient deficient. You could try adding food such as Rod's food original blend. It will feed the fish and all the corals. I feed this about 3 times a week.

[sslak]

Maybe I should just pull the carbon and GFO...like I said i've been trying to kill off the caulerpa in the display.

[Manwolf]

I was playing around with the position of my MP10 and i put it 3 inch under the surface of the water and the flow of my aquarium is 10x better now.... The polyp extensions on of my healthy sps is much better today. Maybe the corals didnt have enough flow with the MP lower in the tank. I will keep you guys posted. I also went out and bought Rods coral food. I will feed 2 times a week and see how that goes. Any other suggestions out there?

[DustinB]

I would have bought the original food as it will feed the fish and LPS as well as the SPS. The coral food was designed mainly for SPS frag tanks.

[Manwolf]

I have plenty of other frozen foods aswell that i feed. I got mysis/cyclop eeze, different mixed frozen foods as well. I have a ton of vermetid snails all over my LR and i read somewhere to not feed alot to get rid of them and thats the reason why i didnt feed my corals. I recently started to spot feed as well so we will see how the corals do. Dosing wise iv heard i should try Potassium/Iodine/Amino Acids what are some suggestions and why is it necessary?

[Acrotrdco]

Hi,

It appears that all those "bleached" sps are purple/blue/red.

Potassium supplement may help the blue. B-Balance may help the red.

BTW, your sps are nice looking.

Cheers!

from all the zeovite threads i read , it's not potassium but iodide that helps with the purple and blues. dont add potassium unless you know the required amount needed and test for it.

+1 - it's PIF (Potassium Iodide Floride) that's adding blue, and PIF is mostly iodide.

Potassium helps with red actually, I'm using both Potassium and B-Bal, not sure if it helped with the red but my pink cat's paw is really pink :)

From the picture it looks like your purple acro's are losing it, purple acro's need a TON of light, try positioning them a little higher where they'll receive more light, and see if their coloration improves.

[Manwolf]

I dont think that its from the light. They are about 20inch from the light, and i also have a purple tabling acro that is a good purple and its in the same place. Iv had it in my tank a month or 2 longer than the corals that are bleached. But now that i think about it, that acro was bleached a month ago and recently its looked deep purple...

[Acrotrdco]

Well the species you shown in the photos, from my experience, needs lot of light, and each species have their own light requirements.

Deep purple ones are typically the one that needs lots of light, granted it's not always the case, but if you've checked your water parameter and they're in good condition, water flow is good, KH is stable, then light is the only remaining thing that I'd consider checking.

I just posted this on the other thread which is asking pretty much the same question, you should go take a look:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=18246815&postcount=5

[Manwolf]

The reason why i dont think its the lights is because my friend that i got them from had them under almost the same exact light. He has a bigger tank and ATI fixture but his fixture is almost 6inch higher than mine is. The bulb combo is almost identical aswell. Could it be that when i got them they were freshly cut that day? Iv hade them for a month, month and a half max... Could they be just still acclimating?

[Acrotrdco]

If it's not light, then it's either water condition or flow, check those?

[Merfin70]

I had similar problems and made some changes. I would think the photoperiod is a bit long. I went to 6 hours all bulbs on and 8 hours with just 2. I started feeding the fish twice a day. I stopped my vinegar dosing. My SPS aren't completely where I want them but they are WAY better.

[Manwolf]

so i was observing my Red planet and as i was feeding i saw tiny red bugs on the coral. They were really small just walking on it. The red planet had Full PE but could these red bugs be affecting its color due to stress? I dont have coral dip what should i do?

[Brian Chong]

get one.
my red planet is a red bug magnet too. i dip it every 2 or 3 weeks and it seems to be a coral that colors up really fast. mine was dull looking after i dipped it with a heavy dose of revive but in no time its getting its color back.

[Manwolf]

I forgot to mention i get my saltwater from a LFS... im thinking it might not be 100% good. What do you guys think? Their display tanks are kickass and they say they use the same water...

[chuckreef]

Your corals are sick (have pests). I suspect you have AEFW too along with the parasitic copepods.
Read advanced aquarist
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/3/corals

[dzhuo]

Regarding nutrient issue. For those of us that do not have lots of fish, what's the best way to slowly raise up the nutrient level? Are there foods that specifically target SPS with proven record?

[Manwolf]

I dont want to jump to conclusion and treatments without being 100% sure its AEFW. What are some signs, of it and are they visible?

[DustinB]

If it's an overall bleaching it may be red bugs. I just found out I had these after very close inspection. They are hard to see, about 1/2mm or less. Tiny little spec, you won't be able to see red with your eyes.

http://www.shadowramysreef.com/component/content/article/22-pests-and-predators/162-the-red-bug
http://www.melevsreef.com/redbugs.html

As for AEFW, I haven't done much research on these. From what I've read you will generally see recessed tissue, spots of bare skeleton in various places.

[Manwolf]

From the pictures i uploaded what does it look like? I dont think its bugs because the corals especially the red planet has great PE. The color is faded but the growth is great... thats why im lost

[Manwolf]

any thoughts on pests on my corals? From the pictures does it look like the faded color is from pests?

[Manwolf]

ok so i found a ton of little red bugs on one of my stags... the stag grows like crazy but doesnt have that good of PE... What do i do now? What product should i buy and how do i treat my corals?

[cato]

Just read through this. Please no one take my replies personal. These are my own experiences.

Had this problem. In a nutshell...If your parameters are good (Ca, Mg, Alk,Salinity, Temp, K, PO4, No3) Then you are most likely nutrient poor = pastel. Been there many times. We can strip too much out.

Did I miss Mg levels some where???


btw, your calcium is a bit high

Sorry, disagree. Ca is fine. If it's not precipitating out of solution (i.e. "snowstorm") or lower than 350 then you are fine.


- Tagging along. I have the same problem. Great growth, no color. Added ATI Blue+ bulbs instead of the true actinics I had before...are they really that bright?

Will time allow them to adjust and color up? It's been a few months...

Yes and yes. (although what ballasts are you running them on?) IceCap? Def yes.

Hi,

It appears that all those "bleached" sps are purple/blue/red.

Potassium supplement may help the blue. B-Balance may help the red.

BTW, your sps are nice looking.

Cheers!

Agree. I use both...and then some. :)

from all the zeovite threads i read , it's not potassium but iodide that helps with the purple and blues. dont add potassium unless you know the required amount needed and test for it.

I disagree. It is potassium not iodide. If you try to raise your K+ levels to NSW levels using potassium iodide you will kill your tank via iodide over dose. Use K-Balance. If K is really low then use K-Bal strong. :beer:

Manwolf, I have a similar setup but I have a 6 bulb retro over a 29G. When I went on vacation last year I turned off my skimmer and noticed some improvement in color when I got home. I then removed my activated carbon and started running my skimmer only about 50% of the time and everything is coloring up including an acro that is supposed to be purple but has been nearly white since I got it over a year ago.

Yep ^^^ Nutrients. :thumbsup: Good move.

As another stated, it has been shown in some cases of extremely low nutrient tanks for colors to turn pale. In my case, from vodka dosing, I was dealing with the same issue. I started feeding rod's original food and the colors started coming back. I have also read many cases of amino acids helping as well. I will be trying this when my bottle gets here tomorrow.

Totally agree! Rods foods rock! The original is best IMO. ;)

Add some poopers and feed the corals. They look like they are young enough to have been shocked from going from one system to another.

Also good advice^^

Maybe I should just pull the carbon and GFO...like I said i've been trying to kill off the caulerpa in the display.

Stop changing things. Leave it be. Feed your tank but don't get carried away. Took my tank a year to come around.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m53/chirocato/Dec%202009%20FTS/PC191164ab.jpg


+1 - it's PIF (Potassium Iodide Floride) that's adding blue, and PIF is mostly iodide.

Potassium helps with red actually, I'm using both Potassium and B-Bal, not sure if it helped with the red but my pink cat's paw is really pink :)


Please reference where you read this. I tend to disagree on all accounts. Sorry.

[cato]

ok so i found a ton of little red bugs on one of my stags... the stag grows like crazy but doesnt have that good of PE... What do i do now? What product should i buy and how do i treat my corals?

Interceptor.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1757847&highlight=red+bugs

[Manwolf]

Wow Cato your tank looks great!!

[cato]

Thanks. Been through lots getting it there. Key is to remember all things good happen slowly in this hobby. Patience is worth gold. And I know sometimes its tough. lol

[Manwolf]

So i havnt posted anything in a while. I just started dosing Zeovit CV and ACC and let me tell you... In 2 weeks i can see that the color is coming back in my sps, one of my Tri Color acros that hasnt shown ANY polyp extensions is starting to show some polyp extension on the tips, and some of that color has dead tissue that now is starting to get covered with new tissue.

My zoas are also showing amazing extension and color especially in my Pink Zoas.

I will a month or so to post pictures that way there are noticeable changes of the corals.

[tamarindthai]

all things good happen slowly in this hobby. Patience is worth gold. And I know sometimes its tough. lol[/QUOTE]

i am agree:wave: