minchton Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 I am very happy with the way my corals are growing but I feel that something is missing Recently I have purchased three new corals. 1. green sacrophytum? 2. red polyps 3. another coral whose name escapes me. This one I actually saw in the tank before I purchased it and I know it was green. For some reason each of these corals are brown in colour in my tank. Am I missing the correct lighting. I have 2 x 250 halides and a moonlight fluro. Comments please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 what bulbs are you using Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 The brown colour is caused by the symbiotic zooxanthellae that live in the coral. They perform an important function for the coral, doing photosynthesis which produces nourishment for the coral. However they are brown in colour and if there get too many of them the whole coral goes brown. In a tank this can be caused by incorrect light, or too much nutrients. What happens is that in the wild, the corals live in pretty pristine water, and they control the amount of zooxanthellae they contain, to produce the right amount of photosynthesis they need. But in a tank, the water may contain a lot more waste, nutrients, fish poo, etc, all of which acts like fertilizer to the zooxanthellae, so that the coral can lose control of them and they multiply into much greater numbers than desireable, turning the coral brown. So to solve the problem, the water needs to be kept VERY clean. Depending on fish load, just a skimmer alone will not always be enough to achieve this. Many reefers use something else in addition to remove phosphates and other nutrients, these include Rowaphos, Prodibio, Zeovit, UV, vodka, vinegar in the kalk, and others. Lighting can also be a factor, if lighting is not sufficient, the coral is forced to host more zooxanthellae to do the job of photosynthesis. In this case, increasing lighting can help, the coral will not need so many zooxanthellae. It is also thought that corals will produce various colours in response to bright light, as a sheild, a bit like we make a suntan. Your 250 halides are likely enough light, you may need to look at nutrient export. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minchton Posted August 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 sorry cant remeber what the bulbs are. :oops: Will have to wait until tomorrow to check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minchton Posted August 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Lighting is 1 x Aquamedic 250v blue 20k, 1 phillips 250v (no other identification) and an Interpet blue moon actinic 15w 45mm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 philips???? sounds like an algea problem??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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