TNT Anacropora fading/pale color

[Necrodaemus]

I have a TNT Anacropora that seems to be fading from red to a lighter pink yet it’s growing well. I acquired it back in January and it has since nearly doubled in size. It’s currently under around 280-300 PAR. Does anyone have experience with keeping a deeper coloration with this beauty? Current parameters are:
Temp- 79F
Salinity 34ppt
Alk- 8.0
Ca- 430
Mg- 1380
NO3- 5-10ppm
PO4- 0.03

 

[Waters]

Your numbers are similar to mine from lighting to water chemistry. Maybe just the light spectrum? Here is a pic of mine....also grows extremely quick.

 

[Necrodaemus]

Your numbers are similar to mine from lighting to water chemistry. Maybe just the light spectrum? Here is a pic of mine....also grows extremely quick.

Very well may be. I am running whites a little on the higher end. Very stunning colony you have there!!!

 

[Waters]

Very well may be. I am running whites a little on the higher end. Very stunning colony you have there!!!

I run 4 T5s (2 ati blue and 2 ati coral+) along with two Radion G6 Pros.......definitely not running a blue tank but I might be running more blues then you are. Was it that color when you got it? I have seen different colored TNTs that look like totally different species just due to color variances.

 

[Necrodaemus]

I run 4 T5s (2 ati blue and 2 ati coral+) along with two Radion G6 Pros.......definitely not running a blue tank but I might be running more blues then you are. Was it that color when you got it? I have seen different colored TNTs that look like totally different species just due to color variances.

My lighting is 2 AI Primes and 2 AI Blades (Grow and Glow). I have the blues, “UV” and violet channels the highest….overall around 20,000 Kelvin. It was a bit deeper red overall when I got the frag back in early Jan.

 

[bud_rick]

I read this article by Jake Adams yesterday. Says they seem to do better in lower light and higher (20ish NO3)

Thin Branching Red Montipora & Anacropora Comparison

 

[Necrodaemus]

I read this article by Jake Adams yesterday. Says they seem to do better in lower light and higher (20ish NO3)

Thin Branching Red Montipora & Anacropora Comparison

Im pretty sure it’s my Nitrates that are causing this. It didn’t really start going pale until I saw a higher NO3 consumption and had to start dosing NeoNitro just to keep it from bottoming out (heavy feeds 3-4x a day hasn’t done much).

 

[Waters]

Im pretty sure it’s my Nitrates that are causing this. It didn’t really start going pale until I saw a higher NO3 consumption and had to start dosing NeoNitro just to keep it from bottoming out (heavy feeds 3-4x a day hasn’t done much).

I am not sure....my nitrates never go above 10, staying closer to 7. I do use coral foods such as RR or Reef Chili when my phosphates drop below .06 so it might be getting extra nutrients direct that way.

 

[bud_rick]

I am not sure....my nitrates never go above 10, staying closer to 7. I do use coral foods such as RR or Reef Chili when my phosphates drop below .06 so it might be getting extra nutrients direct that way.

Yeah there's a big difference between .03 and .06 phosphate. I also think it would definitely get a deeper color by being in less par. I have a monti setosa that changes different shades of orange depending on the light it is in.

 

[Necrodaemus]

Yeah there's a big difference between .03 and .06 phosphate. I also think it would definitely get a deeper color by being in less par. I have a monti setosa that changes different shades of orange depending on the light it is in.

I’ll move it a bit lower and see if that helps some. My biggest dilemma is that the tank it is in, is a 25g lagoon so it would have to be placed near the sandbed to be under PAR that’s around 150ish.

 

[Williamson’s Reef Verified Sponsor]

My colony is in 180-200 par grows well and is bright red even at 5 nitrate. I originally had it in 250-280 and it was pale. Anacropora do much better in lower par I’ve learned.

 

[Necrodaemus]

My colony is in 180-200 par grows well and is bright red even at 5 nitrate. I originally had it in 250-280 and it was pale. Anacropora do much better in lower par I’ve learned.

Thank you for the input. Looks like I’m gonna move it somewhere with less light intensity.

 

[Williamson’s Reef Verified Sponsor]

Thank you for the input. Looks like I’m gonna move it somewhere with less light intensity.

You’re welcome!

 

[acrojunkie]

I read this article by Jake Adams yesterday. Says they seem to do better in lower light and higher (20ish NO3)

Thin Branching Red Montipora & Anacropora Compa

I have a TNT Anacropora that seems to be fading from red to a lighter pink yet it’s growing well. I acquired it back in January and it has since nearly doubled in size. It’s currently under around 280-300 PAR. Does anyone have experience with keeping a deeper coloration with this beauty? Current parameters are:
Temp- 79F
Salinity 34ppt
Alk- 8.0
Ca- 430
Mg- 1380
NO3- 5-10ppm
PO4- 0.03

I have the same one and it seemed to like a bit lower light, my color returned after moving to slightly lower light.