How to Increase Torch Coloration?

[Reefer37]

So I've heard and read a lot of different things on ways to help with coral coloration and tried many, just have yet to find any amazing results.

Here's a little back story on what I've tried along with current parameters:

Tank: 45g JBJ AIO
Light: Hydra 52 (I run 16k at 30% with a 1 hr ramp up for 6 hours and 1 hr ramp down to switch to 20k at 25% for the last 3 hours)

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 15-20ppm
Calcium: 410
Alk: 8.2
Mag: 1200 (this could be another culprit to color problems, I've been slowly working to get this up, IO salt has really low Mag and I did a big WC with some cyano issue and it dipped pretty low. I plan to switch once I'm out)
Phosphate: 0.05 ppm

Feed daily pellets and flakes and phyto.
2 times a week I feed LRS Reef Frenzy Nano, make sure everyone gets some.
Once a week I dose Red Sea A+B.
Every 2 weeks feed a mix of Reef Roids and Fauna Marin Coral Dust.

So I have a Dragon Soul torch who has over time has lost a lot of it's gold. I've actually got a lot of coloration back in him, but feel like he definitely could be a lot brighter. I also have another indo torch who's tips on certain polyps have bleached almost. I originally thought this was due to increasing lighting. I had some zoas that were reaching and weren't opening and showing their skirts, so decided to increase my lights up 10%, and then in about 3 weeks another 10%. Well after that for awhile, was when I noticed the tips on my green torch bleaching and brought down the lights to 30%.

Is there a "preferred" or ideal Kelvin to keep torches at or just depend?

Any tips or recommendations also?
Always here to learn and grow and gain insight to be a better at husbandry.

 

[kartrsu]

Following along! I have a similar issue. I suspect it’s higher lighting in the end but curious what others say.

 

[ADAM]

Do you know your PAR levels?

 

[Reefer37]

Do you know your PAR levels?

I wish I had a meter or knew someone with one, but unfortunately I don't. Lights are about 11" from surface.

 

[ADAM]

I wish I had a meter or knew someone with one, but unfortunately I don't. Lights are about 11" from surface.

You could rent one from BRS. Coloring is gonna be based on nutrients, spectrum, and PAR. A friend with one of the nicest torch collections I know of doesn’t feed corals any kind of food.

 

[PicassoClown04]

Not much help but here’s my suspected hellfire under AI Prime HD. Lights about 1’ above coral and nutrients crazy high. You can also see my bright green POTO Hulk torch to the right a little bit

but my purple and gold cristata has lost much of the gold, though it appears to remain healthy. Any ideas? Day I brought it home vs yesterday

 

[Reefer37]

You could rent one from BRS. Coloring is gonna be based on nutrients, spectrum, and PAR. A friend with one of the nicest torch collections I know of doesn’t feed corals any kind of food.

Might try and see if there's anyone through here locally that can lend me one, if not rent one cause I have been curious. What's ideal par you'd say?

 

[Reefer37]

Not much help but here’s my suspected hellfire under AI Prime HD. Lights about 1’ above coral and nutrients crazy high. You can also see my bright green POTO Hulk torch to the right a little bit

but my purple and gold cristata has lost much of the gold, though it appears to remain healthy. Any ideas? Day I brought it home vs yesterday

Basically what happened with my guy. He's super healthy and just split, so I can't complain, just wish he was as bright as when I got him.

 

[ADAM]

Might try and see if there's anyone through here locally that can lend me one, if not rent one cause I have been curious. What's ideal par you'd say?

I like a minimum of 180, ideally I like to stay 220-250. But you’d need to raise the light slowly and keep a check on your nutrients and ALK along the way.

 

[CivicS14]

following along as well, cause this happened to all the aussie golds. they lost a lot of the bright yellow/gold and now just a dull gold color over time.

 

[Mical]

These are just my opinion(s), First I wouldn't change your light output (just yet) but extend the start/ramp time to about 8am - 10am. Secondly re: your params - I shoot for Alk 8.6, Cal 450 and Mag 1300-1360. Re; feeding Reef Roids is good but CoralVues EasySps gel made my hammer(s) frogspawn & torches literally double in months. The attached Frogspawn started as a 2 headed frag and is now 30+ in less than 2 years.

 

[Reefer37]

These are just my opinion(s), First I wouldn't change your light output (just yet) but extend the start/ramp time to about 8am - 10am. Secondly re: your params - I shoot for Alk 8.6, Cal 450 and Mag 1300-1360. Re; feeding Reef Roids is good but CoralVues EasySps gel made my hammer(s) frogspawn & torches literally double in months. The attached Frogspawn started as a 2 headed frag and is now 30+ in less than 2 years.

I just ordered some Tropic Marin Pro, mixes more to what levels I want with calcium and magnesium and will add a little alk while it mixes to get it closer to 8.5 rather than 7-7.5 it's normally at. Maybe that will help with more consistency with mixing and WC levels. Hadn't heard of that SPS gel, but I'll definitely look into it! That hammer is huge!

 

[Mical]

I just ordered some Tropic Marin Pro, mixes more to what levels I want with calcium and magnesium and will add a little alk while it mixes to get it closer to 8.5 rather than 7-7.5 it's normally at. Maybe that will help with more consistency with mixing and WC levels. Hadn't heard of that SPS gel, but I'll definitely look into it! That hammer is huge!

Yea all of mine literally doubled in months using the CV Easy Reef SPS gel - you dose it, starting at 3ml per day. I used to use Reef Roids target fed but life got in the way and I couldn't consistently feed them daily/weekly. If you have the time to target feed them Billy Pipes has an awesome video on Reef Roids.

 

[NickCage007]

To pull the yellow and copper gold colors, u need to hit the 450nm royal blue, hard. Thats where the most gold comes from. Blue, violet, uv. Those pull the gold. Whites will fade it away.

 

[RIC13]

Euphyllia are highly adaptable to a variety of light intensities (https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.180527). Calcification happens more rapidly under full spectrum higher intensities which drives their need for more nutrients. They can also survive at very low light levels but will conserve their energy and not invest it into growing.

Coloration depends on a number of factors, some of which are spectrum, intensity and photoperiod and the right nutrition to support the coral’s metabolic processes.

Your light intensity doesn’t strike me as being overly intense. I struggled with the same concerns on a smaller tank only to conclude that I was starving my corals and make the adjustments. I wonder what you think is burnt tips is actually the opposite.

 

[Afagard77]

Not much help but here’s my suspected hellfire under AI Prime HD. Lights about 1’ above coral and nutrients crazy high. You can also see my bright green POTO Hulk torch to the right a little bit

but my purple and gold cristata has lost much of the gold, though it appears to remain healthy. Any ideas? Day I brought it home vs

Not much help but here’s my suspected hellfire under AI Prime HD. Lights about 1’ above coral and nutrients crazy high. You can also see my bright green POTO Hulk torch to the right a little bit

but my purple and gold cristata has lost much of the gold, though it appears to remain healthy. Any ideas? Day I brought it home vs yesterday

If your phosphates are on the high side that could be the issue. With that bubble algae, that would be my guess

 

[Ajcastruita84]

These are just my opinion(s), First I wouldn't change your light output (just yet) but extend the start/ramp time to about 8am - 10am. Secondly re: your params - I shoot for Alk 8.6, Cal 450 and Mag 1300-1360. Re; feeding Reef Roids is good but CoralVues EasySps gel made my hammer(s) frogspawn & torches literally double in months. The attached Frogspawn started as a 2 headed frag and is now 30+ in less than 2 years.

Might be a dumb question but if I have no sps in my tank will that coralVue EasySps gel be useless. I have a lot of torches and frogs pawns and hammers in my tank and would love something to help them out.

 

[Reefer37]

Euphyllia are highly adaptable to a variety of light intensities (https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.180527). Calcification happens more rapidly under full spectrum higher intensities which drives their need for more nutrients. They can also survive at very low light levels but will conserve their energy and not invest it into growing.

Coloration depends on a number of factors, some of which are spectrum, intensity and photoperiod and the right nutrition to support the coral’s metabolic processes.

Your light intensity doesn’t strike me as being overly intense. I struggled with the same concerns on a smaller tank only to conclude that I was starving my corals and make the adjustments. I wonder what you think is burnt tips is actually the opposite.

This is interesting and something I've wondered as nothing having a par meter has limited me on knowing what my par levels are. I agree though, I've definitely been more on the side of caution with the light than blasting it due to tank size and the power of the light. I went ahead and increased the output by 10% on an acclimation mode and moved spectrum to 20k. Might increase again once things re-adjust.

 

[Mical]

Might be a dumb question but if I have no sps in my tank will that coralVue EasySps gel be useless. I have a lot of torches and frogs pawns and hammers in my tank and would love something to help them out.

I found CoralVue SPS helped everything in my tanks. I saw most improvement in frogspawn & hammer(s)

 

[RIC13]

This is interesting and something I've wondered as nothing having a par meter has limited me on knowing what my par levels are. I agree though, I've definitely been more on the side of caution with the light than blasting it due to tank size and the power of the light. I went ahead and increased the output by 10% on an acclimation mode and moved spectrum to 20k. Might increase again once things re-adjust.

This is my 6 head bi-color frogspawn. It is in the middle section of my tank. I don’t have a par meter either. Instead, here’s what I’m doing. I started the lights at a level I felt was conservative. I set a goal of 100% blue and 30% white and am increasing the intensity of each channel equally over 21 days. I haven’t seen anything adverse, but if I do then I will stop or go back to the previously level until I am happy with the result. As the light increases I see the frogspawn go from big and puffy to more contracted. I’m not concerned because it still looks great. I have over 100 other corals in the tank. Nearly all of them are happy. This tells me I’m on the right track.