Lower light = better color??

[bubbaque]

I have the BC "Spainbow". The main colony is in my display where it is roughly 8" under the water and is being lit by 8 t5's and 2 SB reef bars. They are hung 11 inchs off the water.

I have been growing a frag that broke off the colony in my frag tank. The frag is 10" down under the water and is being lit by 8 t5's and 1 sb reef bar. The lights are hung 16" off the water.

The two tanks are plumbed together so the water chemistry is the exact same.

I feel the smaller frag that is receiving less light shows way better color. The tips actually show a nice purple to them instead of a very slight hue of it. I feel the main colony looks practically all the same color. I have also noticed this with other corals I have that have broken a frag off and I put in the frag tank have started to also show better color.

I know a lot of people like to "blast" their tanks with light, and I was one of them. After I have seen the color difference I might raise the lights on my display.

colony

Frag

 

[anthonywesty]

What about the T5 light combo. Do they’re the same setup??

 

[bubbaque]

Same light combo besides the colony has 1 more sb reef bar.

 

[29bonsaireef]

There's definitely some corals that will look better or show different coloration in lower par. However, I don't believe this statement to be true for all acros.

IME, greens, blues, and purples will remain brightly colored in lower par. Reds, pinks, yellows will fade to greenish color in lower light, but remain vibrant in high par. I would consider 250-350 low par, 350-450 medium par and anything 450+ high par for acros.

I would agree, the frag definitely shows nicer colors. Sometimes frags look better because the new growth is in one small area, and is usually the most vivid. I don't think lower par is the answer for better colors in all of your corals. Light change can be stressful for corals, even in the slightest bit. I've p***** off colonies by raising T5s or halides an inch or two. I would test frags in different areas before adjusting the main lighting, but thats just my opinion. If you decide to raise them I would do it slowly. An inch every 3-4 weeks.

 

[bubbaque]

There's definitely some corals that will look better or show different coloration in lower par. However, I don't believe this statement to be true for all acros.

IME, greens, blues, and purples will remain brightly colored in lower par. Reds, pinks, yellows will fade to greenish color in lower light, but remain vibrant in high par. I would consider 250-350 low par, 350-450 medium par and anything 450+ high par for acros.

I would agree, the frag definitely shows nicer colors. Sometimes frags look better because the new growth is in one small area, and is usually the most vivid. I don't think lower par is the answer for better colors in all of your corals. Light change can be stressful for corals, even in the slightest bit. I've p***** off colonies by raising T5s or halides an inch or two. I would test frags in different areas before adjusting the main lighting, but thats just my opinion. If you decide to raise them I would do it slowly. An inch every 3-4 weeks.

Good observation. The corals I do notice that have better color in lower light are the ones with blue and purple.

 

[mtraylor]

Just keep in mind that frags look different than colonies. Let the other one grow out to a full colony before you make a decision.

 

[bubbaque]

I remember writing Adam at Battlecorals and asking him why my spainbow never had purple tips like his pic. He wasn’t sure.

I was glad to see the other frag get them.

 

[jda]

Dana has posted some stuff that frags often get different types of zoox as they mature. ...just another reason why frags look different than colonies. Many have supposed as to why, but this is likely one of many reasons.

Did you ask Adam how he lights his... probably 6500k for most of the day. He does this a lot. My spainbow has purple tips under 550-600 PAR.

 

[jda]

Also, do you have a par meter to measure the difference? It might be different that you think... either lower or higher.

 

[bubbaque]

I didnt ask Adam how he lights his. The frag is under the same spectrum as the mother colony so I don't really think it's my spectrum why one has purple tips and the other doesn't. Mayberry as the frag gets bigger it will lose the, maybe not.

I do not have a par meter but my LFS finally got one in that they lend out. The said I can borrow it in a few days after they map out their tanks with it.

 

[redfishbluefish]

If I remember correctly, Dana Riddle's 2016 MACNA talk mentioned a PAR of 100-200 is all corals need.

 

[jda]

As you probably know, I am in the camp if NSW nutrients and as high of light as possible for best acropora color. I do have one or two that I can never do anything with (Rogue Mille... darned thing...), but otherwise, the best color and growth.

BTW - McDonalds is all that humans need, but you can do better than this. Porites is not my idea of a SPS that I want to keep... I had this stuff grow in a fuge under a 100w incandescent bulb once.

 

[29bonsaireef]

I experimented with this once. Planted A. Cervicornis frags at various depths ranging from 12ft-60ft of water. I wasn't able to take par reading in the locations, but the Cervicornis at depths 12-15ft grew exceptionally fast compared to the ones below 35-40ft. These are not a colorful species so I had no real reference to color change at the different depths.

I would imagine that the corals in 12-15ft of water are getting a higher par reading than most home aquariums, but I could be wrong. 100-200 par may be all a coral "needs" to grow, but I would argue that higher par will bring better growth and color to most Acropora species. In the video the porites growth in the tide pool is obviously stunted, by water volume.. not light Imo. The one growing in 30ft of water has the room to reach that size. That was a weird statement. Porites growing in 10ft of water will grow to the maximum height before being exposed to air. Same goes for A. Palmata and other various Caribbean/Indian/Pacific species.

IME, corals growing between 12-20ft have best coloration and growth in the wild. This is also the depth at which most mariculture farms grow the corals that come into the hobby. It would be cool to know the exact par levels and spectrums these corals are receiving in the wild to try and better replicate in our own reef tanks.

 

[BigJohnny]

I have the BC "Spainbow". The main colony is in my display where it is roughly 8" under the water and is being lit by 8 t5's and 2 SB reef bars. They are hung 11 inchs off the water.

I have been growing a frag that broke off the colony in my frag tank. The frag is 10" down under the water and is being lit by 8 t5's and 1 sb reef bar. The lights are hung 16" off the water.

The two tanks are plumbed together so the water chemistry is the exact same.

I feel the smaller frag that is receiving less light shows way better color. The tips actually show a nice purple to them instead of a very slight hue of it. I feel the main colony looks practically all the same color. I have also noticed this with other corals I have that have broken a frag off and I put in the frag tank have started to also show better color.

I know a lot of people like to "blast" their tanks with light, and I was one of them. After I have seen the color difference I might raise the lights on my display.

colony

Frag

every tank is different and "blasting" can certainly mean a million things. make your reef lights match your qt if everything looks better in there lol, simple. That or move those corals that look better down in your display

 

[BigJohnny]

Same light combo besides the colony has 1 more sb reef bar.

the extra blue reef bar could also be effecting the colors for sure, more green

 

[BigJohnny]

not too mention flow, flow impacts health impacts coloration and growth

 

[Scorpius]

Acropora coloration is so subjective.

 

[OnPointCorals]

Not a great example. Talk to Adam. He has told me personally that BC spainbow is happiest in lower light.

 

[anthonywesty]

Bubbaque. Can you share your lighting period?? Thanks

 

[bubbaque]

Bubbaque. Can you share your lighting period?? Thanks

Sure. The display is the one where I don't get quit the same color as I do in the frag tank. They are plumbed together so the water parameters are the same. Display lights are 11 inches off the water on a 24" deep tank. Frag tank is 16" off the water with a 10" deep tank.
Display light schedule is:
2 SB reef bars 10:30 - 9:30
2 bulbs from the ATI t5's 12:00 - 8:30
All bulbs 1:00 - 7:00

Frag tank:
1 SB reef bar 10:30 - 8:30
2 bulbs from the ATI t5's 10- 8
All bulbs 12- 7