how quickly can corals colour up? quicker than i thought. didnt think i was making any progress til i took some photos and saw the changes. here's an example. not sure about camera settings on the first, but last two are exactly the same settings.

first pic i took was 5 months ago, in february. this is back when i had only 150's and did not monitor water chemistry very often... :oops:

this photo was 2 weeks ago, 19th of June...

and a photo today, 3rd of July. noticeable difference...

none of the photo's are modded (except cropped) sweet!

Wonder if your low ca and alk of the past, has been the cause of all the anguish the whole time?

Wonder if your low ca and alk of the past, has been the cause of all the anguish the whole time?

most definately a major part of it. the other would be lighting for sure. i think i would have still got there with the 150's + T5's but perhaps not as quick and perhaps not the same "deep" coloured purple that this acro is starting to show. stability is the key!

i've also noticed alot more diatom growth after the 400W'ers went in. noticed the same change after putting T5's on, then after a while it went away. everytime i change my lights in fact, i get a diatom outbreak. is this common?

here's a better shot, zoomed out of the right side. main difference (other than colour) is i took the stag out and put it in the back right. first shot is with 150's and T5's, 2nd shot is when i upgraded to 400's with lumen arc's.

photo taken 2nd May (2 months ago)

photo taken today, 3rd July

the stylophora (bottom middle) doesnt seem to be doing as well as it initially did. what lighting and flow do they like?

Yes interesting about the lighting, couple of weeks ago I pruned some of the sps, and just to see what would happen I put the bits in the frag tank, right under a 150 watt MH about 6 inches above the water, on a rack only 2 inches below the surface, so they really getting blasted. Getting some colours that are SICK! This despite it being a high nutrient tank, or I assume it is there is some hair algae.

got pics?

Not tonight, I'll do it tommorrow.

Wow those look awesome

Great stuff

Same here!! going through the test kits now any where to buy Salifert cheap!!

the stylophora (bottom middle) doesnt seem to be doing as well as it initially did. what lighting and flow do they like?

they don't seem to like to much light at all. mine are placed under overhangs with minimal direct light from above (150 watts). they seem easy to burn. but that note mine gets a couple of hours of winter sun and it changes colouration quite a lot. it goes a very nice pink / purple. so it seem trhat the spectrum is more important then intensity.

got pics?

Well kinda .

Had a go at top down photography thismorning in the frag tank but it's super hard. either too much light, reflection, or no light. Anyhow ended up with this pic which is bad but thought I'd post it anyway.

The other thing is I haven't looked at them for a few days & they have all bleached bar one which is nearly bleached. Still alive though so I'll move the light further away.

Some of the white ones had been showing great colours, and the purple one had looked awesome if somewhat unnatural, although it too has whitened now.

So - No flack please I know it's a nutrient high tank & a bad pic. At least I've got the gall to post it

Thanks for posting: so too much light is as bad as not enough interesting

I have noticed no change when I went to 20k things are starting to colour nicely.

I bought a sps a while ago and put it at the top of the tank and lost it due to much light (shock)

yeah depends on the sps, i got some that have just loved the extra light and adapted well, colouring up quickly. others (stylophora for example) has done the reverse, it hates it! time to move it down for a month or so me thinks...

Yes me thinks too I have not got enough experience to pay top $ for sps just to lose them, need to start with frags!!

I will wait for crackers to start growing out the top of the tank

Here's another example of an acro colouring up (again, NO photshopping, only cropping!), my pink pocillopora...

11th July 2005

3rd October 2005 (3 months later)

3rd July 2006 (9 months later!)

:bounce: :bounce:

Stunning

Dam thats good.

Can you give me an exact description of lighting over that pocillapora please. IE Watts, distance, etc. Also flow & whatever else you think is relevant.

I have this one, been recently put at the top, straight under a 150 w MH. First few days it lost colour but now is coming back but is still pale. I'd like to get it a good rich colour.

Another question also, the top pic, shows some dead bits around the bottom of the coral. Did that stay dead, or did the coral regrow over it again?

Another question also, the top pic, shows some dead bits around the bottom of the coral. Did that stay dead, or did the coral regrow over it again?

mine took a while, but has growen back over it. not a very big area though, just a strip around the base.

Can you give me an exact description of lighting over that pocillapora please. IE Watts, distance, etc. Also flow & whatever else you think is relevant.

very close to the surface (about 4") almost directly under the centre of a 400W with lumenarc, theres a stream pointing straight at it from the other side of the tank (about 3ft away) on full noise oh, and i use zeovit

Another question also, the top pic, shows some dead bits around the bottom of the coral. Did that stay dead, or did the coral regrow over it again?

i broke off the 2 dead (white) branches but everywhere else its brown, its slowly (although not fully) grown back over it

Thankyou both.

Well mine should be fine then, only other thing, how long has yours been in that position Chimera? The whole time?