SpS still browning ...

chocolateblnt · #1 01/02/2007, 02:51 PM

I just checked my levels ...

Temp - 79 ~ 81 (chiller)
Salinity 1.025~1.026
Nitrate - 0.1 (salifert)
Nitrite - 0 (salifert)
Ca - 440 (salifert)
Alk - 9.3 (salifert)
Magnesium - 1440 (salifert)
ph - 8.1~8.2 (dip test)
phosphate - 0 (sea chem)

250 watt MH with an XM 20K bulb
Phosban Reactor
CPR Skimmer

Can someone help me please? I just bought an acropora a few days ago and even though the polyps are extended it's just starting to lose the purple.

stony_corals · #2 01/02/2007, 02:59 PM

May be adjusting to your tank?!?

trueblackpercula · #3 01/02/2007, 03:00 PM

Ok my only questions would be..........
1st how old is the light?
2nd Is there anything nipping at it to cuase stress?
3rd water flow alolt or a little
4th what type of staf is it?
Michael

chocolateblnt · #4 01/02/2007, 03:11 PM

Thanks for being so prompt TBP!

1. The light is from March of 2006 ...
2. Nothing is nipping at the coral ... 2 Clowns & 6 Line inhabit the tank
3. It's a 29 gallon with a Seio M820 and M1100
4. It is a ORA Indo Purple Tip Staghorn Acropora, it has been in my tank since 5 days and it is exactly 14 inches diagonally from my MH bulb.

trueblackpercula · #5 01/02/2007, 03:19 PM

how are the other sps doing right now is there any others looking like they have lost some color? If I had to fix anything on your tank I would change the bulb 10 months for an xm 20k bulb is 5 months past its life expectancy. Re it out and make sure you rase the light fixture and lower it in time so you do not burn them with a new bulb. Remember you always want the best possible lighting for your Sps 10 months is way to long for that bulb. Chang it

everything else looks good as water goes..............
Michael

chocolateblnt · #6 01/02/2007, 03:24 PM

I have no other SPS really to go by ... I have a tort from a while ago that also browned out. I thought the bulbs can go for 1 year ... Ok I will buy another one ... should I go to 14K from 20K ... or is it not worth the change?! Thanks TBP!

stony_corals · #7 01/02/2007, 03:29 PM

HQI bulbs last longer than se bulbs, it's not a lighting issue. Slow down, be patient. This is a living organism that is adapting to your tank and it's, most likely, different parameters and lighting. Think about it, why is it browning? Brown is the color of the zoox, often when under stress they brown out by attempting to adapt to a different system. Don't do anything, wait. I'd be more concerned if it were showing signs of RTN....

trueblackpercula · #8 01/02/2007, 03:30 PM

this has been debated for some time now.............This is the easy way out for me to explain it 6500k very very fast growth but yellow looking 20,000k very very nice colors on Sps and other coralsbut very blue looking. The bulb i use is very exopensive but I love it. I get great color and good growth And will out last most bulbs on the market not all but most. Its a megachrome 13k 250 Se bulb run on a icecap electronic ballast. I am in now way trying to sell you anything but I just love this bulb. My over all fav bulb is the aquaconnect 14k but they are no were to be found and that bulb is possible the best in the world. good luck on your new choice remember higher par faster growth lower par better colors.
Michael

trueblackpercula · #9 01/02/2007, 03:36 PM

Ok if you have other sps turning brown then there is more then one problem. First i would change the bulb the second would be to reduce the amount of nutrients in the water. crank up the skimmer and change water.
Michael

stony_corals · #10 01/02/2007, 03:41 PM

There's no corrolation between higher K bulbs and coral colorization. None, it's a fallacy. You can get just as good coral color on 65K iwasaki as you can 20k xyz bulbs. Growth is much like you said though.

chocolateblnt · #11 01/02/2007, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by trueblackpercula
Ok if you have other sps turning brown then there is more then one problem. First i would change the bulb the second would be to reduce the amount of nutrients in the water. crank up the skimmer and change water.
Michael

I think you misunderstood ... I don't have any other SPS! Well that still have color ... I have 2 Grape Monti's that are browned and growing and also a Blue Tort that's browned and alive but not growing.

trueblackpercula · #12 01/02/2007, 03:45 PM

Ofcourse you get better color off of a 20k bulbs. The actinc spectrium shows off the living zoanthellia better and the coral looks more metalic looking.
Michael

chocolateblnt · #13 01/02/2007, 03:45 PM

OK well the lighting is an Aqua Medic 250 watt HQI with 20K XM bulb ... just in case that matters.

Stony ... The stag is showing no signs of recession and it has good polyp extension on every part of the frag.

TBP! I think I will get the 14K next time ... so how long do the HQI bulbs last? Also which brand would you recommend without breaking the bank!?

stony_corals · #14 01/02/2007, 03:47 PM

Just wait a week, then see how it's doing. If the coral was, the second you put it in the tank, more brown, I'd think there may be a lighting issue. If is browned out over a few days, it's simply the zoox adjusting to your tank, once it's adjusted, and assuming your params are close to NSW, it'll color up again.

trueblackpercula · #15 01/02/2007, 03:50 PM

Check here for more lighting answers
http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/
10k xms are very powerful and have one of the highest par ratings othere than ushio 6500k
Michael
P.s. there are to many choices but you can compare colors here.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=254667

chocolateblnt · #16 01/02/2007, 03:53 PM

Thanks so much guys! I really am trying my hardest to keep these guys and honestly appreciate all your help!

I check XM's website and I can't understand the Bulb Life Expectancy jargon in the "faq" section. I'll do that reading TBP and hopefully can make a better decision!

Thanks to you too stony! I'll give it a week before I order a bulb!

Paulairduck · #17 01/02/2007, 03:53 PM

I would deffinitely ditch the 20k, I had no growth with them. Switch to 10k ushio,10k xm, but when you install the light you need to acclimate the coral to the new light, run your light for half the time for the first two to three weeks and then go back to your normal photo period.

Also make sure that your water params remain very stable, get an automatic doser or kalk reactor, varying params are deadly on a tank that small

stony_corals · #18 01/02/2007, 03:58 PM

Even in nutrient poor tanks, sometime an sps will brown out. It's just adapting to your environment. Stabilty for alk, SG and low nutrients are really important for growth, colorization, because they won't color unless they are healthy. If this is your first sps, go slow. It's best to go slow. How long has the tank been set up?

chocolateblnt · #19 01/02/2007, 04:07 PM

OK I'll definitely ditch the 20K light ... but I want to be sure I'm not throwing away a bulb that still has life in it. Can anyone confirm this bulb is dead?! XM says they have about 6,000 hours of life which on a 10 hr cycle is like 600 days of light?! Can you help me make sense of this?

I am sure I am stable with Alk ... because it's been at 9.3 for over a month that I've been testing.

My temperature is stable thanks to the chiller and my SG is ok stable ... I mean it changes by .001 ~ .002 at worse during a major water change.

I have about 2.5 gallons worth of chaetomorpha to take out phosphate along with a phosban reactor.

I dose calcium very little since I have very little coral ... I check it regularly and have never been below 420 ...

The tank is 1 year old. I tried SPS once at about the half year point and it didn't go well because of heat issues.

Thanks friends!

stony_corals · #20 01/02/2007, 04:21 PM

No you don't need to ditch the light. DEs last around 15 months. Your alkalinity is a little high. Allow it to stay closer to NSW, 7-8 dKH. Ca is fine. Unless you're packed full of sps, I wouldn't even test for Ca provided that your alk is close to NSW. Corals use alk, not Ca++ for growth. You're definitely past the initial cycle so you should be pretty stable as far as NH3 and NO2.

Even though you have a 20K, you have a 250watt ballast on a 29 gallon. I am sure it's a bit blue. Also since you are running HQI,fwiw, you're not running at 250 watts. The whole 250 watt HQI is marketing fluff. To see what wattage you're running at, look at how many amps your ballast is rated at and multiply that by 120 to see what your wattage really is.

chocolateblnt · #21 01/02/2007, 04:25 PM

So Stony ... 2 Questions ...

Will I ever be able to grow SPS at all under my current lighting? Considering I have low PAR?

How do I let Alk drop? Just wait?! I am making water with Reef Crystals Salt.

Thanks for making it CLEAR!

twon8 · #22 01/02/2007, 04:29 PM

i grow sps under 20k xm, and imo flow is more important than light for growth

lvreefer · #23 01/02/2007, 04:31 PM

Sorry to jump in late but...

Did you buy these on-line? If so, I would find out what lights they were using, in addition it may just be poor shipping.
If LFS, how long did they have them and what lighting?
Have you ran carbon to remove any yellowing in the water?

As far as I know the two major factors are lighting and nutrients problems.

chocolateblnt · #24 01/02/2007, 04:38 PM

twon8 - cool ... I have pretty decent flow for my lil' 29

lvreefer - I bought them at an LFS in their frag prop tank. They had it under MH's 400 watt 10K's ... and no I haven't ran any carbon but I did a 10% water change.

stony_corals · #25 01/02/2007, 04:39 PM

Slow down.... You'd have low RELATIVE par.... Your using HQI, they tend to burn brighter, and for your tank... you'll be fine. Regarding alkalinity, yes, it'll be consumed by sps and your coralline. It'll come down fine.

There were two other points brought up, flo, and water clarity. Make sure the waters moving good. If you're not now, in the future you may want to use some carbon passively (meaning put some in a bag and put it in your sump).