Reefpestsolutions
Community Member
My 2 cents. Flow has nothing to do with color.
The role flow plays on the coloration of SPS
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turfster26
Active Member
Just to add my two cents, as I feel flow is extremely important too, is the kind of flow. I have read and listen to Sanjay na random flow is critical vs. linear flow within the reef tank.
And I agree....GREAT thread!
And I agree....GREAT thread!
H2O
Well-Known Member
It depends on the coral but yes from what I see u get the most color in higher flow and light . Any milie I place in my tank it does great under those conditions if I move it to low flow it just slowly starts to fade away
harlequinreefer
Active Member
Cool cool lets keep it rippin'
AcroholicReefer
Active Member
Proper flow is essential for keeping healthy sps corals. You can have the best flow but without adequate parameters, it still might be difficult to keep the corals looking the best.
Monroereef
Well-Known Member
OK - So here is a question. What about corals that are sitting 12 inches from, let's say a mp60w? Do they really color up?? Do they like that kind of insane flow?
P.S. Excellent thread!
P.S. Excellent thread!
turfster26
Active Member
Reefpestsolutions
Community Member
No they like light and good water conditions. The flow is to keep dead spots from happening. Dead spots go stagnant and that's what you want to avoid. A coral will grow slow and thick with high flows. It will grow fast and thin with low flow I use this method to manipulate my monti
my2girls
Community Member
I'm going with this opinion too. I do think that flow is extremely important in coral health and vitality.
I don't think there is any doubt in any sps keeper that flow isn't important. However I don't think flow plays a major role in color, provided there is enough for gas exchange and feeding. Water flow is like stable parameters, a requirement for a successful sps tank. IME color is more determined by nutrient levels and lighting.
Someone gave a presentation here on feeding and the optimal flow rate was like 2.5 cm per second for food capture, above and below that number the capture rate decreased. That number is probably a good number for gas exchange too.
Earlier it was mentioned that colors on the red planet showed more green under higher flow which is the same color it shows under lower light, its quite possible the higher flow/ turbulence decreased the light penetration resulting in the same coloration of lower light placement.
With larger sps colonies it is necessary to get adequate water movement to all of the colony. Usually the base suffers first. Random flow provides a better method to get water movement to all parts of the colony vs laminar flow.
Someone gave a presentation here on feeding and the optimal flow rate was like 2.5 cm per second for food capture, above and below that number the capture rate decreased. That number is probably a good number for gas exchange too.
Earlier it was mentioned that colors on the red planet showed more green under higher flow which is the same color it shows under lower light, its quite possible the higher flow/ turbulence decreased the light penetration resulting in the same coloration of lower light placement.
With larger sps colonies it is necessary to get adequate water movement to all of the colony. Usually the base suffers first. Random flow provides a better method to get water movement to all parts of the colony vs laminar flow.
harlequinreefer
Active Member
Good points made. Of course water quality, steady parameters & good lighting are imperative to sps color and health. We all know that. But there are some sps corals out there that are showing color variations based on the flow they are in. I don't think there's been enough testing done to say, "no it's not flow". Especially with today's technological advances.
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Troylee
all about the diy!!!!!
Flow is more important than lighting to sum it up in a nutshell.... For colors it is as follows IMHO...
1. Nutrients
2. Flow
3. Lighting
1. Nutrients
2. Flow
3. Lighting
OP
OP
I truly believe that flow plays a major factor on the coloration of sps corals more so than people give it credit for and it's more than gas exchange and prey capture, the reefs where many Acropora flourish are high energy (strong wave action) environments not just shallow warm waters with tons of sunshine due to it's proximity to the equator, even lower reef slopes and lagoons produce an abundance of water movement compared to what we can duplicate in an artificial environment
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harlequinreefer
Active Member
I'm with you on that. Another thing to consider is, think about how many times a wild colony has been fragged since It was introduced into captivity. Fragged & fragged, down the generation line, tank to tank, low flow to high flow & back and forth.
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Reefpestsolutions
Community Member
This reminds me of thermodynamic's
OP
OP
exactly, do we really know the role that flow plays on the health and number of Zooxanthellae present in corals?
http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2003/256/m256p287.pdf
back to school we go
montipora
Community Member
I would have to agree I have some monti's that have lost base color after my powerhead died. I thought it was alk but everything test fine and other mont's where flow is greater have better color.
Toombs
Community Member
In my expirience with flow in my sps tank and coloration I have seen changes in many things. I started out with 2x korallia 1050 on a 20 sec interval wavemaker and had good growth for over a year. I recently added a mp20 and have seen some milli that were red start turning orange and also seeing different colors coming from montis and acros as well. Not saying my tank is like everyone elses and that the same coral would change color in another tank but thats what I have seen happen, just my .02
AcroholicReefer
Active Member
Flow is going to have an impact on new growth rates and direction of the new growth. The new colors that we see with our acros and montis comes from the growth of the tissue. However, flow is not the only thing that stimulates new growth on stony corals. Parameters and Lighting play a major role in this as well. It is not really fair to say that you should put more emphasis on one over the other. If you slack off on one of these, you will see your new growth rates drop and your the color of your acros will dull (brown) out.
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