reef Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 As mentioned by others there are lots of reasons for acro colours. One thing I would try is to add some zeolite. Not too much as it can remove too much organics, or release too much iron. The zeolite will remove some organics matter which could be effect the colour of the corals. When I use zeolite my water goes crystal clean. NSW will also have lots of organics which can’t be tested. I also note that having zero phosphate/nitrate is not going to guarantee great acro colours as I have had my nitrate and phosphate levels on the high side and still have some great colours. Whilst your tank does needs 3 halides I doubt that the light has anything to do with it, as your acros are under the light anyway. Changing bulbs from 14k to 10k will improve some acros but I also doubt that is the problem as many people use 14k. Adding a queen skimmer is a waste of time as they don’t remove much, but I can see the benefit of getting a bigger skimmer. Get someone to retest the phostphate as test kits can go off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEOvitANZ Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 Ummmm. My Kh is 6-7 with reasonable colours. I am still unsure why some people advocate higher than natural seawaters kH. Regards Brendan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEOvitANZ Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 Stress is another factor. I have a blue acro that turns brown as soon as i frag it. It's just a natural responce for the acro to survive. It soon colours up again when it's happy. Regards Brendan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 I cleaned out the gunge on my Queen skimmer today....best my tanks ever looked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 I'd be happy if I could keep my alk at 9.6. I think that's a good value. I've also had wild acros that have been brown for over 12 months, and then just decide to colour up. So i think some species are more temperamental than others. Sometimes i think it's just a matter of stability and time. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted August 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 I cleaned out the gunge on my Queen skimmer today....best my tanks ever looked :lol: i got mine for $23, so it can't hurt! it's certainly a very budget skimmer, but if it skims anything it's gotta be better than nothing. i will upgrade, just not yet. Sometimes i think it's just a matter of stability and time so true. my tanks been 'stable' for 10 months. if it takes any longer, i'm getting out a can of pink and green dazzle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 I cleaned out the gunge on my Queen skimmer today....best my tanks ever looked Yea ,cant get any worse can it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 give warick or barry a call, they both seem to have great sps colours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted August 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 yeah waricks tank is nice - a crisp zeovit tank. bit of a drive for me though might call brendan tonight and try some zeolite to try... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 Zeovit users, wasp barry westy1 cookie me etc etc speaks for itself :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted August 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 aye. it certainly appears to make life easier, but then again not every tank runs zeovit - many are simply superb without it. i dont want to add extra monthly cost just for the sake of it. if my acro's had coloured up but werent 'vibrant' then i'd be happy (and then probably invest in zeovit to go that step further). the fact that only one is colouring up (most others have blue tips but thats all) is frustrating. i'll invest some money in brendans pocket later on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 Nothing wrong with a cheap cap of vodka every now and then.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 Im so close to jumping in the zeo boat just gotta get the pingas to buy everything i need all up so theres not really any ongoing cost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted August 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 so theres not really any ongoing cost :lol: woteva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 He's right, If you have a large water volume it gets more expensive tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted August 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 He's right who's right? there are several additives from what i've seen. im sure they dont magically re-appear in the bottle. irrelevant of how long they last, it's still an ongoing cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westy1 Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 Recently noticed that some sps corals sitting lower in the tank were very slowly losing colour on the tips.My 14k bulbs don't seem to have the punch to reach down lower in the tank.Admitedly,been lax monitoring all levels so that may be a factor! The top row is looking ok,but with a limited size tank am forced to spread corals lower,borrowed a 10k bulb from brendan,who reminded me that i should have been using them in the first place :lol: Noticeable difference! Light punches down to the sand,emphasises yellows/purples, washes out blues.Well documented that 10k brings out good colour and growth.A little limited having a pendant fixture as to balancing the yellow cast,running one white/one blue actinic is a good mix when the halides are off.will get a not so blue bulb,probably not 10k,yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 Here are some colourful acros My Nitrate/Phosphates have finally dropped to almost zero. Have notice some improvements since my readings have dropped. It has taken some time to reduce the Nitrates. It’s been 1 month since using Vodka, and bacteria from bio digest, Test so far confirms that it does work however it can cause problems like zeovit as some weaker acros can get RTN. I am dosing vodka on a dosing pump ,was dosing 2ml a hour and have reduced to 1ml, Also starting using a small amount of rowaphos just to mop up any phosphates from feeding. So far so good. Using 14k bulbs from narva. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 Well congrats both Westy and Reef. Sights for sore eyes! But Reef take it easy on the phosphate remover Don't want Po4 to hit absolute Zero! It's only my humble opinion but I think when fine tuning Po4 at very low levels it's better to err if anything a tad on the high side. Also, as your tank cleans up generally there will become less and less Po4 available to be removed. Just thoughts from a guy who's personally made a few screw-ups! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drifty Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 anybody have any links regarding vodka use in a reef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthrea ... genumber=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 And http://www.elegancereef.com/smf/index.php?topic=841.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 My po4 is not zero yet, it is .046ppm. Been testing every day and once it gets to .008 will turn the rowaphos down or just run it a few hours a day. I did a doubt test on the salifert as i wanted to compare it to the deltec test kit, The salifert still has a very light colour so it does seem to test very low down, will do a test again and see how low it can test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEOvitANZ Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 Reef, since when does zeovit cause RTN ? Brendan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 "... shown to cause slow tissue loss in SPS corals" "... lead to tissue necrosis and therefore death." "... tissue loss starting from the coral tips or the complete loss of all tissue within a short period of time (i.e. rapid tissue necrosis, RTN)." "... can lead to tissue loss from the base, especially in weak corals and corals which are already damaged." "... slowly progressing tissue loss from the base." "... as well as complete loss or all tissue in certain corals during your tanks dark period." "... fast tissue loss of an entire coral branch over a short period of time." Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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