fishmanmike01 Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 So before I had built a hanging kit for my lights they sat directly in the tank top at about 30%. Things stayed this way for about 6-8 weeks. Over that time many of my frags lost most of their color. All of which still have a good showing of polyps just no great color on the bodies. Lights have been hanging for over a month now some frags are looking like some color is coming back however some seem to be staying the course. What's the best course of action to provide the best chance of recovery for these guys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltwater newbie Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Stability and lots of time they can lose their color in days and take months to get it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 As long as they get it back I'm all good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Stability and lots of time they can lose their color in days and take months to get it back. Same experiance here, I've got a few frags/micro colonies ( new term for me) that I wont ditch because I know what they will become but a couple are starting to regain color, it's been almost 2 years on one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 2 hours to loose color, 2 years to color back up. Sounds about right IME. Potassium has been reported by some to help with color problems associated with light burn. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltwater newbie Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Yep as long as a stick has flesh on it there is hope for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 How does this affect growth? Does it hinder new growth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Hey Mike, Wondering a few more things, how are your levels? What are you dosing? Bio load? I ask these things because at one point I found myself in a similar situation and was thinking my lights were the culprit. It turned out that my nutrients were too low and I was dosing vodka also, basically leaving next to nothing for the corals to eat. Colors sucked, growth slowed, etc. After identifying this as the issue, I started feeding more, dosing aminos, no more vodka dosing and the tank has done a 180, colors and growth has been crazy. Just saying to cover your bases. Lighting may be playing into it but many other factors to analyze. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 Levels are pretty good I think. Don't dose much as of yet and run a calcium reactor. Last check was Alk. 8 Cal. 380 Mag ? Need new kit Phosphate 0 Nitrates 0 I'm currently stocking and feed fairly heavily. 2 yellow tangs 1 powder brown 1 hippo 4 chromis 1 lawnmower blenny 1 bamboo shark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdietz2469 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Ca @ 380 seems low to me, but if it's stable i guess that could be OK. As said before stability is the key with sps. What test kits are you using would be another question I have. Also as stated before to low of nutrients can lead to problems also I shoot for nitrates below 2ppm, but above .5ppm. Also phosphate is an essential building block in all invertabrates, so again I shot for below .5ppt, but above .15ppt. This is all personal belief, and not wanting a debate, just starting what I have experienced. Shane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Not saying that zeroed out phosphates are bad, but my corals really responded when I brought them up a hair. You may want to try some AcroPower at least, i run it on a doser along with my Ca reactor. Maybe give them some oyster feast occasionally also. Corals are gluttons and will eat as much as you feed them, so make sure you keep them fed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdietz2469 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Very good point. I think people underestimate how big of particles sps corals will eat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorge Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 How did you get to 0 phosphate? What did you test with? 0 phosphate isn't necessarily good.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 How did you get to 0 phosphate? What did you test with? 0 phosphate isn't necessarily good.. Im using an API kit. I know I have some, cheato grows like crazy in the five and I need to clean the glass every other day or so. The API kit just always reads the color of 0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdietz2469 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Maybe have someone test it for you. Api is OK, but Truthfully if you are doing sps, you should have a more reliable test kit. You might come to find out the values you think you have could be your contributing factor to lack of color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 I'm still learning how to tune the reactor to get me up to where I'd like to be. I'm making very slow adjustments as to not change anything too fast. it's also been a challenge getting the ph above 8.18 during the day. sdietz2469, I am aware the API are not considered the best kits to use hence I'm starting to aquire an array of Hanna checkers. Thanks for the tip. Hmmm. Apparently I can't edit my own thread all of a sudden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdietz2469 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Hanna checkers have their down falls also, i was just saying the api can be unreliable for number sake. Testing it against disinformation else's can give you a guidelines. Api can be used, just with caution in an sps tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltwater newbie Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I'm still learning how to tune the reactor to get me up to where I'd like to be. I'm making very slow adjustments as to not change anything too fast. it's also been a challenge getting the ph above 8.18 during the day. sdietz2469, I am aware the API are not considered the best kits to use hence I'm starting to aquire an array of Hanna checkers. Thanks for the tip. Hmmm. Apparently I can't edit my own thread all of a sudden. with a calcium reactor ph in the 8's is fairly normal I wouldn't chase your ph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 So which test kits are considered good? Or the best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 Hanna checkers have their down falls also, i was just saying the api can be unreliable for number sake. Testing it against disinformation else's can give you a guidelines. Api can be used, just with caution in an sps tank. My issues with API. And other tritation kits are my curse of being colorblind. The subtle differences in fluid color are a pain in the a$$ for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdietz2469 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 (edited) Hobbyist grade- red sea, salifert, la motte, elos, hanna these are are acceptable. When working public aquariums I was lucky enough to test kits of these against a hach tester, and most are fairly accurate, but pose a problem when color read out is misread. They give us a guideline to keep stability. Edited May 4, 2015 by sdietz2469 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 Hobbyist grade- red sea, salifert, la motte, elos, hanna these are are acceptable. When working public aquariums I was lucky enough to test kits of these against a hach tester, and most are fairly accurate, but pose a problem when color read out is misread. They give us a guideline to keep stability. Well I'm happy to see that you can edit. Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Well I'm happy to see that you can edit. Lol.The edit option is only good for 10-15 minutes after a post is made. It's been this way since Dec. It's. Standard setting on most forums. Came as the default for this one. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 (edited) Time and stability. There is alot to read into that, but assuming you get your lighting right...then you will need to sprinkle a little time and stability onto your reef. Edited May 4, 2015 by Mandinga 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 (edited) Well I'm happy to see that you can edit. Lol. LOL you only have a narrow window ! Edited post because I can! Edited it again! tick tick tick tick.... one more time and now back to topic... Okay I lied.. one more time... and..... I'm done! Edited May 4, 2015 by Emerald525 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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