i'm planning to purchase acropora to be the first species habiting my aquarium. will acropora's colour fade in a 80% direct sunlight and 25 ppm nitrate? i got problem maintaining acropora's colour in my previous aquarium as the light was not strong enough but no problem in maintaining other coral's colour in my previous aquarium.
Acropora
- Thread starter beel
- Start date
acropora
Member
The above post needs to be answered first;but choosing an Acropora as your first coral is not a good choice if you have not successfully kept them before.When you have supplied the proper water conditions then a Montipora digita species may be a hardier choice. Good protein skimming, intense lighting and good water movement are all a must.Steady water temperature readings provided by a heater with a controller ;and most likely a chiller in the hot summer months, to keep temperatures from swinging high to low over night is also prudent.
Some people successfully keep some species of SPS corals under VHO's or P.C.'s,but success is limited and the SPS must be placed at the top of their L.R. Metal Halide is a better choice.
One step to Maintaining color in your SPS corals, is providing adequate actinic supplementation,and/or the addition of M.H. bulbs with a higher kelvin rating.
addict
Well-Known Member
To add to acropora's post, color variation and change among corals is still an inexact science, and it is still under study as to why and how corals change color the way they do.
While it's possible to maintain wild coloration of corals, most reefkeepers are not successful...
IIRC, Walt Smith (or one of those operations) claims that they've had success maintaining wild coloration under the proper intensity and spectrum of light... I believe 400w 20K Radium bulbs were having the best success... but you also get less growth, so it's a tradeoff.
Either the coral shifts color and you get good growth, or it maintains color and you get medium-to-low rate growth... I just take the 'box of chocolates' approach in my reef... just plop the coral in and see what it turns into down the road.
Are you supplementing the sunlight at all in your tank? (I assume so but thought it was a question worth asking.... ).
I also suggest you try corals other than acropora as your first coral... they tend to be a bit pickier of water conditions than the Montipora genus.
I will warn you in advance... SPS is more addictive than crack...
While it's possible to maintain wild coloration of corals, most reefkeepers are not successful...
IIRC, Walt Smith (or one of those operations) claims that they've had success maintaining wild coloration under the proper intensity and spectrum of light... I believe 400w 20K Radium bulbs were having the best success... but you also get less growth, so it's a tradeoff.
Either the coral shifts color and you get good growth, or it maintains color and you get medium-to-low rate growth... I just take the 'box of chocolates' approach in my reef... just plop the coral in and see what it turns into down the road.
Are you supplementing the sunlight at all in your tank? (I assume so but thought it was a question worth asking....
).I also suggest you try corals other than acropora as your first coral... they tend to be a bit pickier of water conditions than the Montipora genus.
I will warn you in advance... SPS is more addictive than crack...
Brucey
Well-Known Member
I'd go with all the guys here and try other corals before an SPS. Even in an established reef tank, you still get some SPS that just don't seem to thrive even in perfect water quality and intense MH lighting. I'm taling from experience of course. I can buy 5 or 6 SPS and my tank is dominated with them, and there is always one that just fades away. Start of some leathers, mushrooms, xenia etc etc etc and get used to the requirements that corals demand before jumping in with both feet.
Brucey
Brucey
THank You
thank alot for all of the advice and useful information that all of you provide. i do let sunglight showering my corals and hope it is really useful. tinking dat sunlight is better than artificial one (metal halide) however, second thought that sunlight heat the aquarium water which i think is one of the losses using sunlight but still a wise decision to use it as sunlight is FREE hehe.. minimise cost.
is it true, atinic or other bluish colour light help to maintain acropora's colour?
again, thanx a lot guys!!
thank alot for all of the advice and useful information that all of you provide. i do let sunglight showering my corals and hope it is really useful. tinking dat sunlight is better than artificial one (metal halide) however, second thought that sunlight heat the aquarium water which i think is one of the losses using sunlight but still a wise decision to use it as sunlight is FREE hehe.. minimise cost.
is it true, atinic or other bluish colour light help to maintain acropora's colour?
again, thanx a lot guys!!
Curtswearing
Active Member
Excessive Nitrates and Phosphates also cause SPS to lose their coloration. The zoox dinoflagellates feed off of them and rapidly multiply. Since their coloration is brown, the SPS will tend to brown up.