Acropora - Color vs Growth...

[drbark]

Would adding halides help with the coloration? I notice when I place some of my acros higher (nearer to my halides) they color up more. I have seen better coloration in high nutrient tanks. A lot of the Reef Central tanks of the month are high nutrient and they look great. Some of these guys feed their fish twice daily with really high bioloads.

 

[WVUReefer]

+1 on high nutrients...I feed regularly for the fish and lps..and I notice my sps are vibrant in color...I honestly am of the opinion that low nutrients/no nutrients is just as bad as high nutrients..

 

[WVUReefer]

guess you just have to find the happy meduim...

 

[tektite]

Yeah, I have sky high nitrates in my macro tank and I manually dose phosphates as well, my SPS frags have good color, don't grow too fast but polyps way out and they look good.

 

[cheeks69]

Would adding halides help with the coloration?

Increasing light intensity can improve color wether it's Halides, T5's with good reflectors or LED's.

I have seen better coloration in high nutrient tanks. A lot of the Reef Central tanks of the month are high nutrient and they look great. Some of these guys feed their fish twice daily with really high bioloads

Although true have you seen their filtration ? SOme of those tanks have top of the line skimmers to deal with the nutrient levels. Although heavy feeding will benefit your fish/corals but it can also be a problem and lead to serious algal issues, you need to export the nutrients !

Yeah, I have sky high nitrates in my macro tank and I manually dose phosphates as well, my SPS frags have good color, don't grow too fast but polyps way out and they look good.

Phosphates will inhibit coral growth not good for stony corals.

RHF:

One important issue relating to elevated phosphate in reef aquaria has to do with the inhibition of calcification by phosphate and phosphate-containing organics. Phosphate is known to inhibit the precipitation of calcium carbonate from seawater.2-4 The presence of phosphate in the water also decreases calcification in corals, such as Pocillopora damicornis5 and entire patch reefs.6 This inhibition is likely related to the presence of phosphate in the extracytoplasmic calcifying fluid (ECF), where calcification takes place in corals7, and on the growing crystal's surface. Exactly how the phosphate gets into the ECF isn't well understood. This inhibition of calcification takes place at concentrations frequently attained in reef aquaria, and may begin at levels below those detectable by hobby test kits. For example, one research group found that long-term enrichment of phosphate (0.19 ppm; maintained for three hours per day) on a natural patch reef on the Great Barrier Reef inhibited overall coral calcification by 43%.6 A second team found effects in several Acropora species at similar concentrations.8

Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium

 

[tektite]

The phosphate is for the macros since they're the main inhabitants of the tank. The SPS/LPS have been in the tank for 4-8 months as I get my 150 gallon reef tank up. Growth has been slow, I knew that with the tank tailored to the macros the way it is but color and polyp extension has been good. I can't wait for my 150 gallon to be ready though, I'm looking forward to faster growth.

That being said I have a very unique tank that I wouldn't recommend anyone copy I've had to find a middle ground for the macros/softies/LPS/SPS, not easy. There are a lot of other factors that help the corals like rock steady salinity, cal, alk, and very minimal temp swings.

 

[N83259]

Wow cheeks69, your corals are magnificent! You obviously know what you're talking about!


As far as the REDSEA Coloration program you wrote:

If you maintain proper water chemistry/light there shouldn't be any need for other supplements. I've kept SPS corals with great color/growth just dosing cal/alk/mag when necessary and regular W/C's. If you want to spend the money go for it but I can say with certainty that it isn't necessary.

That's basically what their program is about, balancing cal/alk/mag plus some trace elements. It seems they're just combining it with some test kits and presenting it as a comprehensive program. They're not offering any magic in a bottle. Heck, I only know what I've read in a brochure that came w/ my cooling fan for my Redsea Max 250. I'm still curing my first batch of live rock so I'm certainly no expert! But for newbies, reading their brochure or perhaps their video (haven't watched it) is very worthwhile for us newbies.

They have great info on what the stony corals need for growth, what holds them back, what dulls them brown etc. Plus info on all the necessary water elements, chemistry knowledge, how they're depleted etc. all in one place in one program from one manufacturer. Yea, it's really nothing new and just what you were talking about....but it seems they've tied everything together in a user friendly format. And they have easy to understand tables with targets to acheive for best growth vs best coloration. (They seem to suggest ideal parameters are slightly different for each goal). If nothing else it's a great read for us newbies! Cheers.