Dealing with SPS Coloration

[Rennan Serrano]

Hello Reefers,

Well my reef is now almost two years old and i've progressively changed it to a SPS dominant reef (i've started a layout thread with some photos if you want to check it out: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/120g-sps-aquascape.523282/.

The aquarium itself is a buld in wall 1,20 cm x 0,65 cm x 0,55cm display, big sump with a large. The total net volume with the sump is estimated around 500 litters.

The things is, as this is my first reef, i've started without knowing that the SPS bug would bite me on a early stage, so i've started to do many changes on the aquarium and within the last 3 months i've felt that my SPS became pale.

I'm posting this thread because i'm not fully understanding the situation here. Since normally stress events would induce corals to expel zooxantella or tissue loss and nutrient issues would cause brown corals. Neither of those two things are happening, as stated above the only things that i've realized are pale corals and retraction of polyps compared to a full PE that i've had previously (only in some acropora such as Austera Blue, Red Dragon & Valida - other SPS such as a yacinthus, a solitariensis, pociliphora, seriatopora and stylophora are presenting normal PE)

Hereunder i will list the changes that are now completed and undergoing with comments on my dosage habits, parameters, equipments and livestock and the end.

Changes over the last 3 months:
- Changing lights (previous two radions xr30 pro g4 running SPS AB+ program and know those plus 6 ATI 54w T5 bulbs) - did that to have a better par/spectrum coverage, i did adjust the radions to get par rations from 250 -350 across the tank) - completed
- Changing layout - got many rock out of the tank to have a more clean layout and space for corals to grow - completed
- Removing DSB - i've did a horrible mistake on putting sugarsize 10cm DSB and now i'm getting out the sand out of the tank little by little on WC) - still dont know if i'm going to leave it BB or with a shallow sand bed using coased sand) - ongoing
- Coral pinning - did a lot of handling of all my colonies and frags to pin them in order to make it easier to change places and remove for cutting frags & theatment - completed
- Cyano bacteria threatment (with royal nature medication) - completed
- Red bug threatment ( three rounds in tank one - 8-9 days gap between each on) - completed

Dosage:
- CA, ALK & MG via calcium reactor
- Automated Red Sea Colors ABCD via dosing pumps
- KZ AcroGlow (daily drops)
- KZ AminoAcids (daily drops)
- KZ Coral Vitalizer (Daily drops)
- Automotated NOPOX via dosing pump (1,2ml/day)

Water Parameters
- Kh 7-8 dkh (testing every two days with hanna checker at the same time of the day)
- Ca 415 ppm (testing every two week with hanna checker to check if Kh-Ca balance is ok)
- MG 1250ppm (testing once a month with redsea test kit to see if addition is necessary)
- NO3 between 0-2 (testing every two weeks to adjust carbon dosage if needed - i'm reducing my carbon dosage progressively and want to get rid of it in the near future)
- PO4 0 (constant undetectable reading with hanna check - testing every two weeks)
- Iodine 0,6 (testing with red sea colors test kit once a month)
- Iron way to low reading yet (i've started dosing really small amount and i'm progessively raising, as iron is a heavy metal i'm taking precautions with the dosage on this one)
- Potassium 380 (testing with red sea colors test kit once a month)

Equipments that i run:
- Skimmer BBK Double Cone 250 (running at max 24/7
- Ozotech Poseidon 200 (running from 10 am to 17 pm)
- Vertex RX-C 6D (running 24/7 - first chamber with AMS pure calc media, second chamber with reborn mixed with MG media)
- Refugium with H80 tuna flora running reversa at night (reverse cycle)
- Lights running two radion xr30x G4 Pro (SPS AB+ Program) + 6 ATI 54w Bulbs (4x Coral Plus + 2x Actinic) from 13:00 pm to 23:00 pm with a ramp up/down period of 3 hours in the beginning and 3 hours at the end)
- Vectra M1 pump running at half speed
- 02x MP40's (one on each side) using random modes to create turbulent flow during the day and 20% constant when light are off
- Kore 5th dosing pump for RedSea Colors ABCD and NOPOX
- 5 stages RO/DI filtration for top off

Current Livestock
- Flame Angel (medium to large)
- Radiance Wrasse (medium)
- Biocellatus Wrasse (small to medium)
- Checkboard Wrasse (small)
- Yellow Tang (small)
- Purple tang (small)
- Clown tang (small)
- Mandarin spotted (small)
- Pair of clown fish ( small to medium)
- Springeri Damsel (medium)
- Spendid Dottyback (medium to large)

I think this covers up mostly on equipments, dosage and parameters. Last comment is that ive stoped WC'S for a period since i got dinos (amphidinium) blooming on my sandbed each time i did i WC but over the last 3 months i've incresed it a lot due to threatments and i'm planning to keep a 10% WC by month schedule from now on).

I've tried reef roids once a week for a period, definetly help to get some PO4 reading (0,03) but i started to get cyano and bryopsis comming back so i've stopped.

That about all i guess, i woul really appreciate to have your toughts and ideas on the ways that i'm running my reef and things that i can do to improve coloration.

I'm really aiming to get a full vibrant coloration out of my corals, it started to happen a while ago then it went off and now it seems that some SPS are getting back their fluorecent pigment. Just want to make sure to be able to get it to the max and be able to retain it.

 

[jda]

Assuming parameters are competent and really stable, then lighting is always my go-to with acropora coloring. Your parameters look competent. Are they stable? I assume so with a CaRx. I would run the 6x T5s for 9-10 hours and use the Radions for fill (keep them low).

I would stop all of the dosing except for the CaRx - NoPox can hurt if you have low building blocks already especially when a fuge can get you all that you want. The other stuff does not help, IMO and who knows what is in it - some color enhancers are full of zinc and other metals to kill zoox and make color contrast and pop more, but they only work on tanks with saturated colors. I would strongly suggest that you do not dose anything that does not list specific ingredients - I dose nothing because nobody does this.

Even though your N and P test low, if you are adequately feeding those fish, then you have a lot of throughput, which is what you want. Residual numbers on a test kit can be misleading, but absolute and easy for some to understand... throughput is hard to measure but where the gold is.

 

[Rennan Serrano]

Hello JDA,

Thanks for the reply.

Yes parameters are stable. Alk have some swing inside the 7-8 range but not more than that. Chasing and absolute number can be misleading as well. I only tune my Ca reactor if I see that alk is dropping from on test o another at least 3 times in a row.

Nopox will be discontinued and I’m doing it progressively to not change all of a sudden, giving time to the system adapt.

Regarding the dosages I’m doing so to feed corals and replenish micro elements since o don’t change a lot of water on a regular schedule. I can stop it but o fear to starve corals since I’m running low nutrients. For instance before starting abcd colors programs i started by purchasing the colors test kit I was getting low iodine and potassium readings and after started dosing these parameters got in line.

About the light schedule I planned already to start raising t5’s photoperiod but I’ll do it really slow to prevent stress on corals and algae blooms by giving enough time for the system to adapt

 

[jda]

Cool. I would caution that people who do not want to change water and supplement usually have a better time once they have great color and growth already. Even then, adding individual elements is better than a product since you don't know what is in the product. Perhaps, for the time being, changing some water might be a good idea since you know what is in the salt (if you use a high quality salt). Something Dutch Synthetic Reefing (DSR) might be good since you know what you are adding with each element - you make your own so nobody is selling you snake oil. For me, I change water since I am lazy and cheap... it is easier for me to just change some water every few weeks to replenish all of this stuff than it is to dose every day and test... it is also cheaper since I can change 200g of water for what a ICP test will cost. I am not against no-water-change tanks, but the deliberate nature of coming from a winning place is oft overlooked by most - most of the time, the implementation is bad, not the idea.

In a nutshell, I would go back to changing water until you get to where you want to go since it is a near constant, then slowly change one thing at a time until you figure out how to maintain. A 200g box of IO is about $50 and could cure a lot of ills.

Remember that corals mostly eat from the lights. The can catch food, but there is no evidence that they catch what we feed them nor any evidence that the nutritional value is worth the time to catch and digest - I am not sating that it does not happen, just that there is no evidence. The N and P are building blocks of life and cannot be used for energy like sugars from the Zoox or carbon from caught food (if this even happens). Having some N and P are good, but I do not like to have too much. No N and P is growth limiting, low N and P is not growth limiting and can dull some monochrome coloring, but it can also make corals brighter and some have much better contrast - to each their own on the color (zeovit colors are low N and P, bright and well contrasting, for example). Low N and P should not result in death unless you are doing something else wrong.

 

[Rennan Serrano]

I agree with you on the water change, that’s why I’m going from every other month that o did previously to siphon detritus to a month schedule of 10%.

Another thing that I forgot to say is that even if my colors got pale, I’m still having nice growth so it really seems that something is off with the pigments that give vivid coloration because I’m not having bleaching events, not having brown corals and the grow is just fine.

Here is photo from yesterday that shows what I’m talking about

 

[jda]

That tank looks pretty good to me. I think that you can get to where you want to go by stopping the organic carbon dosing (NoPox), replace the dosing with more frequent water changes and then shifting to rely on the T5s more than the Radions.

What "they" say about LEDs is right... "they grow and color coral just fine." However, if you want to get past just fine, then you often have to move past the LEDs as a main source of light. Others will never agree with me, but it is because our definitions of "just fine" are different.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Your corals colors arent bad I am sure they look much better in person. Let the tank get used to your lighting and keep your parameters stable, Definitely dose Reef roid 1-2 times per week at night (turn of the skimmer for 6+ hrs is best), monitor your ALK, Trace elements, and try not to chase low phosphates numbers, instead just take action if you notice it going too high or have algae issues.

 

[Rennan Serrano]

Your corals colors arent bad I am sure they look much better in person. Let the tank get used to your lighting and keep your parameters stable, Definitely dose Reef roid 1-2 times per week at night (turn of the skimmer for 6+ hrs is best), monitor your ALK, Trace elements, and try not to chase low phosphates numbers, instead just take action if you notice it going too high or have algae issues.

Thanks for the tips Ashish, i will doser back reef roids 1 time a week to see how it goes.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Also if possible add T5 as JDA mentioned. When I added T5 to my radions it was a game changer but not immediately. I did skrew up by starting at around 3 hours per day thinking if I reduce my radions intensity and use a par meter to match par it would be easy acclimation -I ended up having some burned tips and few corals started bleaching.. If you do plan on adding supplement light stick with the 1 hour per week increments its a lot more spread of light your tank would be used to and if possible don't change anything else during 2 month light acclimation.

 

[chromis]

Back off the NoPox if your phosphate is “near zero”, but nuke that byropsis with fluconazole first while it’s still manageable before you let your nutrients rise again. Low phosphate can pale your corals.

Get your magnesium up to 1400 or 1450ppm - the Red Sea test kit measures 100-150ppm low so your marginal 1250 Mg is probably really 1100ppm (way low). Confirm with ICP test if needed.

 

[Rennan Serrano]

I wil take in account all the tips and for sharing.

Just got some bad news, i was swaping a frag with a local reefer and when he dipped AEFW dropped off.

Did the test at home in two colonies and i have them in my tank. I think this might be one of the main issues that is impacting colors....

What do you guys think?

 

[jda]

AEFW can affect color. For sure.

Don't sweat it too much. There are a few ways to get rid of them now, so they are not the menace that they once were. You can go fast with the product from Underwater Creations that has some good and bad stories (more good than bad, it seems, but too many bad to ignore completely). There is also a slower method with good success and no downside.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

I would say aefw will kill colors on corals if you don't keep them in check and baste the colonies often. Basting will really help keep them healthier.

 

[Rennan Serrano]

AEFW can affect color. For sure.

Don't sweat it too much. There are a few ways to get rid of them now, so they are not the menace that they once were. You can go fast with the product from Underwater Creations that has some good and bad stories (more good than bad, it seems, but too many bad to ignore completely). There is also a slower method with good success and no downside.

Hello JDA

I was looking a thread were you used Flatworm Stop from KZ for two months on double dosage and it worked fine, correct?

Can you please comment more on this statement

I'm thinking about do double dosage of KZ Flatworm Stop and dip the colonies each 5 days with melafix to knock them out even harder.

I need to be sure that the threatment will be effective and no need for a second round in near future. Im setting up a QT SPS tank for new frags too (dont want to come across this pest again)

 

[jda]

It was more than two months (more like 5 or 6), but that is all that there is to it. We never even dipped any of the corals and the AEFW are still gone for quite some time now.

 

[VetReefer]

I agree with you on the water change, that’s why I’m going from every other month that o did previously to siphon detritus to a month schedule of 10%.

Another thing that I forgot to say is that even if my colors got pale, I’m still having nice growth so it really seems that something is off with the pigments that give vivid coloration because I’m not having bleaching events, not having brown corals and the grow is just fine.

Here is photo from yesterday that shows what I’m talking about

That's a very very beautiful tank