Why do my corals not look like in pictures

[Ulee]

And overpriced.


https://worldwidecorals.com/livestock/lps-frags.html

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

As WWC uses radions, any other led unit or lighting setup on the market will likely not reproduce their same coloration, and they take these photos with an SLR not a camera phone.

I have ordered plenty of their stuff that looks just like the photos when it arrives, my tank parameters and lighting setup being different from theirs however, nothing looks the same after about a month. Some actually look better and others never maintain that coloration.

Yes plenty of places photoshop like crazy but WWC’s images are pretty true to reality at least in my experience.

this is what happens

 

[Gene C]

My defcon a week after purchase from WWC.

View attachment 20180602_085941.jpg

 

[Gene C]

one week post WWC delivery

 

[srad750c]

Depends on a lot of stuff. Lighting, water chemistry, supplements. If you have had them less than a month, in an ustable environment, they won’t look the same. I use amino acid supplement, potassium nitrate and trace element supplements. Usually my corals color up in around the two week mark. After about two months my colors are better than what the were in LFS. Let your tank settle down and give you corals time to adjust and color up. My last chemistry that I wrote down:
18 May 2018

DKH - 9.5
Ca - 425 ppm
P - 22 ppb
PO4 - .067 ppm
NO3 - .25

Unfortunately I don’t write them down all the time. Tank is pretty stable. Just be patient, it will change for the better.

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

You have high phosphates too

 

[alton]

If my Phosphates drop below .08, my color of my corals drop too. If you read about LA-DD, they use Radion leds also.

 

[bobbyM]

Those frags don't look happy. Personally, I don't like to keep my ALK over 9.5 and I would never use Red Sea Pro. Contact WWC and ask where their ALK levels are at and aim for that. Change Slooooooooooowly. Radions do make a huge difference in color, but we seem to be looking at unhappy corals. They shouldn't look that bad in the worst photos and lighting.

BRS is about to be doing a new "Tank Trial" using the WWC method of reef keeping. Still months out, but contact WWC and ask about it.

 

[DSC reef]

Those frags don't look happy. Personally, I don't like to keep my ALK over 9.5 and I would never use Red Sea Pro. Contact WWC and ask where their ALK levels are at and aim for that. Change Slooooooooooowly. Radions do make a huge difference in color, but we seem to be looking at unhappy corals. They shouldn't look that bad in the worst photos and lighting. The best colors I've seen in our tank is when the alk was around 9.5 to 10dkh.

BRS is about to be doing a new "Tank Trial" using the WWC method of reef keeping. Still months out, but contact WWC and ask about it.

Last time I talked to an employee at WWC they aim for an alk 9 to 9.5 What's so bad about coral pro salt? I've used it for many years and dosed every day just to keep alk at 9. Blaming a salt is easy when there's so many other variables. To the OP, try not to make a bunch of changes and go all over the place chasing colors of an image.

 

[MyReefRobbedMe]

Alk and phosphate

Keep the ALK very consistent in not jumping up and down but the problem I see is you said your phos is .4 that’s extremely high .
My personal experience is phosphate Will brown out and make Corals look ugly . You may think your water is clean but the Corals will show otherwise . My advice is run GFO and get that down slowly . If you have to change the GFO every 2-3 days then do it . (Better to use smaller amounts of GFO rather than bigger ) Test the water coming from the GFO once it starts rising put in new .(mind you out test kits are about .04 +-) Once you have it under control the GFO will last a lot longer . Also do weekly 20% water changes .

 

[MyReefRobbedMe]

Alk and phosphate

Keep the ALK very consistent in not jumping up and down but the problem I see is you said your phos is .4 that’s extremely high .
My personal experience is phosphate Will brown out and make Corals look ugly . You may think your water is clean but the Corals will show otherwise . My advice is run GFO and get that down slowly . If you have to change the GFO every 2-3 days then do it . (Better to use smaller amounts of GFO rather than bigger ) Test the water coming from the GFO once it starts rising put in new .(mind you out test kits are about .04 +-) Once you have it under control the GFO will last a lot longer . Also do weekly 20% water changes .

 

[samnaz]

I'd say the two biggest reasons for the difference in the frags appearance online and in your tank is the fact that you're using a different light fixture, and also that wwc no doubt has awesome photography equipment in addition to photo editing software, BUT, there is more to it than that. As many others have already stated.

what about the other corals in your tank? anything else concerning?

have you seen these frags under blue spectrum only, at the highest intensity your fixture will allow? I got a Mardi Gras Cyphastrea from wwc a couple years ago and it only looks awesome when just the blue's are on. as soon as the whites ramp up, it starts to go brown.

one more thing, have you noticed ANY growth?

 

[bobbyM]

Last time I talked to an employee at WWC they aim for an alk 9 to 9.5 What's so bad about coral pro salt? I've used it for many years and dosed every day just to keep alk at 9. Blaming a salt is easy when there's so many other variables. To the OP, try not to make a bunch of changes and go all over the place chasing colors of an image.

I know people do use it and have good results. I meant I wouldn't use it personally. ALK is too high to start with. It's easier to target ALK values by using salt with those values at mix up. IMO

Those corals don't look happy at all. If everything else in the tank looks fine. There is no need to change.

 

[HolisticBear]

I'd imagine most experienced coral keepers know that; but it may well be that many novice keepers do not.

+1

Generalizations, not regarding Op's photos

Between macro photography and actinic lighting, there is a definite learning process for new buyers.
Photoshop + orange filters can be abused.
Maricultured wysiwyg pictures can be when it initially received, but it started going downhill the second it got into the vendor's tanks. That wysiwyg pic could be a month or longer old.
Most frags are on black eggcrate or black background, you learn to judge the colors around the coral

Lighting greatly affects things, but some vendors take advantage of that excuse to push over-tweaked photos.
These are live animals, some things ship poorly and will recover.

 

[srad750c]

Those frags don't look happy. Personally, I don't like to keep my ALK over 9.5 and I would never use Red Sea Pro. Contact WWC and ask where their ALK levels are at and aim for that. Change Slooooooooooowly. Radions do make a huge difference in color, but we seem to be looking at unhappy corals. They shouldn't look that bad in the worst photos and lighting.

BRS is about to be doing a new "Tank Trial" using the WWC method of reef keeping. Still months out, but contact WWC and ask about it.

I’ve never had a problem RSCP salt. Not my favorite but it does the job. You need to roll bucket to remix components that’s settled during transport. If you’re having big swings after water changes, that’s a sign your changing too much water at one time or another component of your Alk/Ca/Mg maybe off slightly. Just my opinion.

 

[Servillius]

WWC store walk -in my be a different story . Online WWC full of mediocre pruduct.

Curiously this is probably a reaction to the fact their pics are true to life. The sps I’ve bought from them largely end up even more colorful than the pics over time.

 

[Servillius]

+1

Generalizations, not regarding Op's photos

Between macro photography and actinic lighting, there is a definite learning process for new buyers.
Photoshop + orange filters can be abused.
Maricultured wysiwyg pictures can be when it initially received, but it started going downhill the second it got into the vendor's tanks. That wysiwyg pic could be a month or longer old.
Most frags are on black eggcrate or black background, you learn to judge the colors around the coral

Lighting greatly affects things, but some vendors take advantage of that excuse to push over-tweaked photos.
These are live animals, some things ship poorly and will recover.

This is sound. Maligning one of the better vendors out there because of a lack of experience (not at all something I’m suggesting you did) is unfair.

I think more to the point however the corals are not happy in the OP’s tank. Without more information, like pics of the other corals, it’s hard to offer advice.

What I do know about cyphastrea is they can really like the shade. Hard to see in this pic but I tried. It does grow in the light, but in the shade it’s a weed.

And for the record I took the pic with my iPhone without any modification and the questionable quality hopefully proves it!

 

[OriginalUserName]

FWIW, these are pics from my recent order. Very close to the pics they advertised (my blues are probably like 60-65% so I could go way bluer). Just a regular non-adjusted pic on my SP through my semi dirty glass.

No doubts that a quality camera with a black background and all blues and I'd see them look exactly the same.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

I have never purchased from WWC but from everything I have read they are a reputable vendor. With that being said, you can never trust pictures you see on vendor pages. IMHO all the pictures are designed to bring out the very best view of the coral. This is done with lighting, changing level of saturation, and playing with the zoom in the picture. Some vendors flat out Photoshop colors that don't really exist. I try to buy all corals in person, and usually ask for the blues to be turned down so I can really see what the coral looks like.

One coral that really comes to mind is pink zippers. With whites they kind of just look like button polyps. If I crank up the actinics then very bold colors that were not present prior start popping up. Makes the coral look amazing, but it is not an accurate representation of what the coral looks like normally.

 

[OriginalUserName]

I have never purchased from WWC but from everything I have read they are a reputable vendor. With that being said, you can never trust pictures you see on vendor pages. IMHO all the pictures are designed to bring out the very best view of the coral. This is done with lighting, changing level of saturation, and playing with the zoom in the picture. Some vendors flat out Photoshop colors that don't really exist. I try to buy all corals in person, and usually ask for the blues to be turned down so I can really see what the coral looks like.

One coral that really comes to mind is pink zippers. With whites they kind of just look like button polyps. If I crank up the actinics then very bold colors that were not present prior start popping up. Makes the coral look amazing, but it is not an accurate representation of what the coral looks like normally.

Pffft. Next you will tell me that I can't trust pictures on dating websites.

 

[WV Reefer]

This is sound. Maligning one of the better vendors out there because of a lack of experience (not at all something I’m suggesting you did) is unfair.

I think more to the point however the corals are not happy in the OP’s tank. Without more information, like pics of the other corals, it’s hard to offer advice.

What I do know about cyphastrea is they can really like the shade. Hard to see in this pic but I tried. It does grow in the light, but in the shade it’s a weed.

And for the record I took the pic with my iPhone without any modification and the questionable quality hopefully proves it!

Reefing is funny.... here is my cyphastrea in the blazing sun growing like a weed. lol

Taken with my iPhone and no adjustments or filters.