nice aquacultured red millies turning green?

[evolutionZ]

Hey fellas, i bought a couple of aquacultured red millies ( 2 pink millie 1 blood red millie) a couple months ago.. My tank's 6 months old now and in the past i always had kH and ca fluctuating greatly, thus i loss all the colors on my red millies sps. they were all totally brown. my CA/kH has been stable for 1 - 2 months for now and colors are coming back but they are turning green instead of red!

i also have a deep red millie which base is turning green too. my pink salmon digi and forest fire digi are still as red as ever.

Basic info of my tank :

48x24x14" (250L total water system)
maxspect Razor 160w 16k. (hung 17" above water level)

All salifert kit tested
no3 : 2ppm
po4 : 0
ca : 360 (missed out testing for 2 weeks and didn't know consumption went up, slowly raising it back to 400)
kH : 8.5
mg : 1350


Thanks!

[markalot]

Not an expert in millies (or anything reef related for that matter :) ) but from what I have gleaned from researching color of the forest fire digitata, it prefers lower light for the best color, below 230 PAR. I know I bleached mine keeping it around 300 par, but it could have been nutrient related as well.

Red in millies, on the other hand, needs higher par, above 300. This according to an article I read in advanced aquarist. My new red milli frag is under 300-310 PAR and has been keeping its red, but nothing spectacular.

So, with all that said, could it be a lighting issue?

[ksicard]

Often times after a coral browns out it will turn green as it is coloring back up. I'd dismiss it as normal if everything else is on par with the tank.

[Dog boy Dave]

Lots of red corals will tend towards green as you get to the lower light level of the envelope for that coral.

[Gundo5000]

Raise the coral higher into the light if you prefer it to be red...

[s2nhle]

also, your nitrate is high.

[evolutionZ]

Often times after a coral browns out it will turn green as it is coloring back up. I'd dismiss it as normal if everything else is on par with the tank.

you mean it will become green then slowly back to red?

Lots of red corals will tend towards green as you get to the lower light level of the envelope for that coral.

Do you mean my lighting's not strong enough?

Raise the coral higher into the light if you prefer it to be red...

Thanks, i'll try increasing the levels of my light

also, your nitrate is high.

serious? 2ppm is high?:headwalls:

[haze152]

2 PPM is not high at all. My tank stays at 5PPM+. In my experience Millie's Like high flow and light. Are you running lights at 100%? How high to you have them mounted?

[evolutionZ]

2 PPM is not high at all. My tank stays at 5PPM+. In my experience Millie's Like high flow and light. Are you running lights at 100%? How high to you have them mounted?

agreed, most people keep at 2 - 5ppm.. nope, running them at A:70%, b:100%

Total time of 7 hours running at this level, the other 5 hours (2.5 hours before and after the main 7 hours) are the sun rise and sun set.

the razors are hung 17" above water level.
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae93/fissiden/20130808_213346_zps97a9432a.jpg (http://s961.photobucket.com/user/fissiden/media/20130808_213346_zps97a9432a.jpg.html)

a deep red millie when i just got it 5 weeks ago.
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae93/fissiden/fissiden008/DSC03794_zps076042f8.jpg (http://s961.photobucket.com/user/fissiden/media/fissiden008/DSC03794_zps076042f8.jpg.html)

Now
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae93/fissiden/fissiden027/DSC04075_zps2e8b9d47.jpg (http://s961.photobucket.com/user/fissiden/media/fissiden027/DSC04075_zps2e8b9d47.jpg.html)

a bright pinkish millie i bought 4 months ago
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae93/fissiden/20130529_220029_zpsd5f39ba4.jpg (http://s961.photobucket.com/user/fissiden/media/20130529_220029_zpsd5f39ba4.jpg.html)

Now :
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae93/fissiden/fissiden027/DSC04078_zps506b220b.jpg (http://s961.photobucket.com/user/fissiden/media/fissiden027/DSC04078_zps506b220b.jpg.html)

edit : found the inital pic of the rose red millie :
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae93/fissiden/fissiden003/DSC03620_zps5bf7e2c4.jpg[/URL]

This used to be a rose red millie (forgot to take pic when i initially got it ) Been with me for 2 - 3 months.
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae93/fissiden/fissiden027/DSC04081_zpsb9e72c5a.jpg (http://s961.photobucket.com/user/fissiden/media/fissiden027/DSC04081_zpsb9e72c5a.jpg.html)

All the above are aquacultured pieces with their cement base. except for the first deep red millie which came from a tank equipped with 2x250w MH & 4x80w T5.

But im glad to say that this piece of red millie (also aquacultured) has been with me for 4 weeks and it didnt lose any of its color so far.
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae93/fissiden/fissiden027/DSC04083_zps8af08e1f.jpg (http://s961.photobucket.com/user/fissiden/media/fissiden027/DSC04083_zps8af08e1f.jpg.html)

Im waiting for the farm i frequent to have another shipment of the red millie and thinking of giving it another try.

[AdamDeMamp]

I can't get my millis to grow under LED's.

[evolutionZ]

My Greens are doing very well though..

When i first got it, a deepwater green acro :
2.5 months ago :
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae93/fissiden/20130726_212902_zps8e10697a.jpg (http://s961.photobucket.com/user/fissiden/media/20130726_212902_zps8e10697a.jpg.html)

Now :
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae93/fissiden/fissiden024/DSC03999_zpse06fb8a8.jpg (http://s961.photobucket.com/user/fissiden/media/fissiden024/DSC03999_zpse06fb8a8.jpg.html)

a teal, turquoise-ish millie

same 2.5 months ago
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae93/fissiden/fissiden003/DSC03623_zps4ffc0b8d.jpg (http://s961.photobucket.com/user/fissiden/media/fissiden003/DSC03623_zps4ffc0b8d.jpg.html)
Now :
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae93/fissiden/fissiden024/DSC03990_zps554e9801.jpg (http://s961.photobucket.com/user/fissiden/media/fissiden024/DSC03990_zps554e9801.jpg.html)

[leeweber85]

I agree - when browned out corals start coloring back up they generally turn slightly green first. Red's (&millies in gerneral) generally show most vivid colors under intese lighting. Might also want to check your PO4 level too with a hanna checker. Test kits are about worthless on getting an accurate reading on this parameter.

[evolutionZ]

I can't get my millis to grow under LED's.

i noticed pieces i get from reefers can grow pretty well and fast, but aquacultured pieces even after spending months in my tank, only are encrusting.. no growth so far.