Just Another SPS Color Thread

[Brandon McHenry]

Thanks to mcarrolls posts, I learned how to use my lux meter also. There are lux meters that do have a submersible probe, like mine made by Milwaukee Instruments, but they may be more pricey than $20 (I believe mine was around $80)

Yeah I had no idea that I could get one so reasonably! That is definitely going to be something I look into. With my luck though my lighting will be fine and ill be back to square one for my color issues LOL.

 

[ifarmer]

yes for sps lover. I would rather see great color than growth.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

yes for sps lover. I would rather see great color than growth.

I agree! That's why I am so focused on improving the colors of my corals. That's my main goal right now.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Im not sure if you have seen the new pictures Russ265 and bct15 but these are much more true to life than the original ones I posted. If you wouldn't mind glancing at them and letting me know if you have any more suggestions for me. You both seem to be pointing in the same direction so it would be nice to know if you both still agree. The more research I do I see that I really don't have pale corals. The only thing that worries me is the witness on the branches of my ORA shortcake, and two of my purple tipped acros. Aside from that I can see how I misinterpreted pale corals.

 

[Russ265]

Im not sure if you have seen the new pictures Russ265 and bct15 but these are much more true to life than the original ones I posted. If you wouldn't mind glancing at them and letting me know if you have any more suggestions for me. You both seem to be pointing in the same direction so it would be nice to know if you both still agree. The more research I do I see that I really don't have pale corals. The only thing that worries me is the witness on the branches of my ORA shortcake, and two of my purple tipped acros. Aside from that I can see how I misinterpreted pale corals.

they are on the verge of pale. but they arent pale. id feed them more.

as far as lux. id go less. not more. i suggested the bluer spectrum because i always get those colors with high lux.

just my .02

 

[Brandon McHenry]

they are on the verge of pale. but they arent pale. id feed them more.

as far as lux. id go less. not more. i suggested the bluer spectrum because i always get those colors with high lux.

just my .02

So you feel similar to your previous post correct? A little more nutrients would benefit them you believe? As well as less light? This is contradictory to bct's post which is why I am so confused. I don't want to make any changes to the tank until I can come to a consensus. I would hate to move the opposite direction from my goal you know?

 

[gettaReef]

For what it's worth, after reading Russ265's comments he posted earlier on, I turned up my blues and lowered my whites on my fixture (reefbreeders photon 48 )during the peak hours to see if this would help the few paler sps I have. It seems to be working! Not all the corals have responded but so far 4 sps frags have started to pick up better coloration (deeper blues, greens, purples), and they were almost entirely tan/brown/white before. I made the change about a week ago. Now I don't know if this really "lowered" the light output though as I decreased the whites but increased the blues. I have not used my lux meter yet to see if there is any difference in measurement compared to my previous settings....need to do that

 

[Russ265]

So you feel similar to your previous post correct? A little more nutrients would benefit them you believe? As well as less light? This is contradictory to bct's post which is why I am so confused. I don't want to make any changes to the tank until I can come to a consensus. I would hate to move the opposite direction from my goal you know?

lux is different than par. i could go in to a whole thread on this but basically you want to deepen colors using 420-460 nm for c-a and c-b.

lux does other things

 

[Russ265]

For what it's worth, after reading Russ265's comments he posted earlier on, I turned up my blues and lowered my whites on my fixture (reefbreeders photon 48 )during the peak hours to see if this would help the few paler sps I have. It seems to be working! Not all the corals have responded but so far 4 sps frags have started to pick up better coloration (deeper blues, greens, purples), and they were almost entirely tan/brown/white before. I made the change about a week ago. Now I don't know if this really "lowered" the light output though as I decreased the whites but increased the blues. I have not used my lux meter yet to see if there is any difference in measurement compared to my previous settings....need to do that

this didnt lower the light output. it made the pigments responsible for colors excite more in the corals that utilize the spectrum responsible for color.

just read i guess. but basic rule of thumb is bluer spectrum to deepen colors (provided there are nutrients)

glad you saw results in a week. usually takes me 2 weeks to really see the difference.

yes. i speak from experience. not what someone read.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Now Im curious. Ive always known that the bluer 20k spectrum is better for most coloration, but what about some of the pinks and the oranges? They seem to look pretty washed out under the bluer lighting.

 

[Russ265]

Now Im curious. Ive always known that the bluer 20k spectrum is better for most coloration, but what about some of the pinks and the oranges? They seem to look pretty washed out under the bluer lighting.

like i said. you are in tweak mode. some go higher. others lower.

part of the fun is seeing how different corals react. it isnt all on the color of the coral but also the genus.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

like i said. you are in tweak mode. some go higher. others lower.

part of the fun is seeing how different corals react. it isnt all on the color of the coral but also the genus.

What are my options if most of my corals are either encrusted or affixed to their current position. Moving is not going to be very easy without damaging pieces.

 

[celebrityovernight]

Brandon, can you share your camera settings or how you went about getting such nice pictures? Tank looks great by the way.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Brandon, can you share your camera settings or how you went about getting such nice pictures? Tank looks great by the way.

The pictures were taken on aperture priority mode with the aperture set at f/10 I believe (anywhere between f/8 and f/16) should be good. The pictures were taken in RAW format with a custom white balance. I used a tripod to ensure a stready picture because the longer shutter speed required for the pictures makes them prone to being blurry. The pictures were than edited for color on iPhoto on my Mac. Be careful not to let yourself over edit your pictures. You are more than able to make you fish and corals look better than they do in real life and the trick is being able to match exactly what you see in your tank. If you over edit your pictures you aren't helping yourself or anyone you are showing the pictures to. By the way this was my very first time taking pictures using this method and they are the best I've gotten so it's not difficult just takes some practice. Thank you for the compliment.

 

[celebrityovernight]

The pictures were taken on aperture priority mode with the aperture set at f/10 I believe (anywhere between f/8 and f/16) should be good. The pictures were taken in RAW format with a custom white balance. I used a tripod to ensure a stready picture because the longer shutter speed required for the pictures makes them prone to being blurry. The pictures were than edited for color on iPhoto on my Mac. Be careful not to let yourself over edit your pictures. You are more than able to make you fish and corals look better than they do in real life and the trick is being able to match exactly what you see in your tank. If you over edit your pictures you aren't helping yourself or anyone you are showing the pictures to. By the way this was my very first time taking pictures using this method and they are the best I've gotten so it's not difficult just takes some practice. Thank you for the compliment.

Thanks for the pointers! What camera and lens are you using? Were pictures taken under your leds? I'm very impressed with how your pictures aren't taking up so much blue. Usually with the custom white ballance, I've noticed it makes greens more yellow orange.

Btw, what salt are you using? You have great growth l, but something does seem a little unbalanced. I would dim down lights (whites to 40-50%, maybe keep blues @80%) for a week or 2 to see if colors darken up. The browning seems to be an indicator of excess nutrients, but you're probably seeing bleaching from excessive lighting. Definitely start checking both nitrates and phosphates. Phosphates may be high and nitrates low. Once you figure those things out it'll be much easier to make changes.

 

[Russ265]

What are my options if most of my corals are either encrusted or affixed to their current position. Moving is not going to be very easy without damaging pieces.

moving rock if it is that much of a pain.

generally i glue corals on pieces of rubble or fist sized rocks while they grow or encrust. during that period i experiment going higher or lower. the coral will react during this experimentation as i get it where i want the colors to be. usually it takes 6 months or more for it to outgrow the rubble. (plenty of time to find the sweet spot)

you can also spike the whites during certain times as well if you have quadrants that can be lit differently.

placing all corals in a tank and expecting them all to color perfectly in random areas is luck of the draw. however you can get it to where 75% of them are optimal in their current position, the other 25% you will have to "rework" to get to your liking.

or just leave it how it is :)

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Thanks for the pointers! What camera and lens are you using? Were pictures taken under your leds? I'm very impressed with how your pictures aren't taking up so much blue. Usually with the custom white ballance, I've noticed it makes greens more yellow orange.

Btw, what salt are you using? You have great growth l, but something does seem a little unbalanced. I would dim down lights (whites to 40-50%, maybe keep blues @80%) for a week or 2 to see if colors darken up. The browning seems to be an indicator of excess nutrients, but you're probably seeing bleaching from excessive lighting. Definitely start checking both nitrates and phosphates. Phosphates may be high and nitrates low. Once you figure those things out it'll be much easier to make changes.

The camera is an older Nikon and I have no idea what type of lens. I'm pretty sure it's just the standar lens as the zoom lens is broken. The pictures were taken under LEDs and T5s. The original pictures with the custom white balance are not right at all, they must be edited on the computer for appropriate color. As for salt I am using the regular Red Sea salt, used to use the coral pro but the alk is too high for my liking. As for lighting the whites are at 40% right now and 70% on the blues right now. Nitrates and phosphates are both zero curtesy of Red Sea and salifert test kits. I have no problem with nutrient export in my tank which is why I though I might be nutrient poor. Overall I am very confused about my issues and it appears that I have multiple different issues concerning color ogling on at the same time. Go figure lol.

 

[celebrityovernight]

The camera is an older Nikon and I have no idea what type of lens. I'm pretty sure it's just the standar lens as the zoom lens is broken. The pictures were taken under LEDs and T5s. The original pictures with the custom white balance are not right at all, they must be edited on the computer for appropriate color. As for salt I am using the regular Red Sea salt, used to use the coral pro but the alk is too high for my liking. As for lighting the whites are at 40% right now and 70% on the blues right now. Nitrates and phosphates are both zero curtesy of Red Sea and salifert test kits. I have no problem with nutrient export in my tank which is why I though I might be nutrient poor. Overall I am very confused about my issues and it appears that I have multiple different issues concerning color ogling on at the same time. Go figure lol.

That's always the head ache with reef tanks. But once you figure it out, it's smooth sailing. Have you tried dosing any amino acids? Judging from your pictures, some corals look great but some a little unhappy. That seems to be an issue with all systems though. If you don't have any algae issues, try feeding a little more heavy to see how corals respond.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

moving rock if it is that much of a pain.

generally i glue corals on pieces of rubble or fist sized rocks while they grow or encrust. during that period i experiment going higher or lower. the coral will react during this experimentation as i get it where i want the colors to be. usually it takes 6 months or more for it to outgrow the rubble. (plenty of time to find the sweet spot)

you can also spike the whites during certain times as well if you have quadrants that can be lit differently.

placing all corals in a tank and expecting them all to color perfectly in random areas is luck of the draw. however you can get it to where 75% of them are optimal in their current position, the other 25% you will have to "rework" to get to your liking.

or just leave it how it is :)

Yeah I definitely didn't plan properly when making this tank. I was not the most informed on SPS and my LFS was even worse. I placed the corals where I thought they would do best and most of them have grown just fine and encrusted but the color may be off because of their positioning. I'm not sure if I can spike the whites or not, I have the hydra 52s. As for reworking I did a decent rework a few months back to remove some of my overflowing softies. If I could get some identities on my problem corals and learn more about their requirements maybe I can see about trying to move them to a better location. I'm a perfectionist and I probably won't be happy until everything meets my standards...hence my frustration. And to everyone who's been helping I'm sorry if I'm a bit annoying with my insistence on finding a solution.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

That's always the head ache with reef tanks. But once you figure it out, it's smooth sailing. Have you tried dosing any amino acids? Judging from your pictures, some corals look great but some a little unhappy. That seems to be an issue with all systems though. If you don't have any algae issues, try feeding a little more heavy to see how corals respond.

Yup I've tried acro power, fuel, and Red Sea a and b. And it's definitely a head ache for sure. I agree some do look great but others are not to my liking. There is no algae in the display tank only in my refugium. Aside from my fish feeding three times a day and occasional coral feeding at night I'm at a loss. And this all seems to contradict what other people have said...increasing the headache lol.