Why have all my corals lost their color?

[anbosu]

Based on the corals that have lost some color, I do think light intensity is a potential factor as well as nutrients.

[Dkuhlmann]

That's the thread I was talking about Dougstecklein

[dougdstecklein]

I attached a better picture of what the corals look like right now. I actually think they look a little more colorful in the picture than in person but the representation is pretty close.

- Today I started running a carbon reactor to clear up any impurities in the water.

- I am starting to feed more heavily in the hopes that my nitrate and phospate levels will increase.😂 (This one still cracks me up)
- I decreased my light intensity and increased duration.
Whites- 35% green/red - 45%. Blues- 50%. Duration- 10 hours

- I have also started adding trace elements and vitamins.

I'll post something when/if I start to see any significant changes.

[Dkuhlmann]

Stop the trace elements, don't do so many things at once that you'll have no idea what took care of it. Especially adding trace elements that already come in your salt mix and if you don't have a test kit for them... Don't add them.

Oh and I really like your rock work.

[dougdstecklein]

I'm just super motivated right now and I know how I am, sooner or later that motivation will disappear. I really get in to something for awhile, almost obsessively, and then I move on to something else.

I'm just trying to get the problem resolved before the motivation disappears.

I know I won't be able to pinpoint exactly what fixes the problem but I will have a good idea. And I am willing to continue doing all of these things if the coloring issue is resolved.

So in shorter words, I'm less interested in pinpointing what is causing the problem than I am in just resolving the problem.

[dougdstecklein]

Oh, and thanks for the compliment on the rock work.😊 In 3 years you are the first person to say anything about it.

[dougdstecklein]

It has been 3-4 weeks since my last update. I have changed my light intensities and duration, lowered my temp. to 78, started running carbon, and have attempted to increase my nitrate levels.

I tried adding fish but they sadly died from brooklynella.
I decided to start feeding my corals every night to increase my nitrate levels. I still do not have detectable levels but I have had a small diatom outbreak so I think they are up slightly.

I have still not seen a noticeable change in the coloration of any of my corals.

I have decided to purchase an AI Hydra 52hd fixture. I am going to run it over half of my tank next to 1 of my AI Vega for a month to see if it is able to color up my corals. I have read about people having good results with the Hydras. I'll let you know how it goes.

[HammerLover]

I can already some browning especially on torches

Try posting a less blue pic so the colors of corals will pop out

[Dkuhlmann]

Originally Posted by dougdstecklein

It has been 3-4 weeks since my last update. I have changed my light intensities and duration, lowered my temp. to 78, started running carbon, and have attempted to increase my nitrate levels.

I tried adding fish but they sadly died from brooklynella.
I decided to start feeding my corals every night to increase my nitrate levels. I still do not have detectable levels but I have had a small diatom outbreak so I think they are up slightly.

I have still not seen a noticeable change in the coloration of any of my corals.

I have decided to purchase an AI Hydra 52hd fixture. I am going to run it over half of my tank next to 1 of my AI Vega for a month to see if it is able to color up my corals. I have read about people having good results with the Hydras. I'll let you know how it goes.

Looking at your picture they don't look that bad. I also wouldn't feed the corals daily, I would go to maybe every other day at most. I wouldn't want them to be too dependent on food instead of lighting for their nutritional needs. At least that is what comes to mind with daily feedings.

[dougdstecklein]

Okay, here is a picture with the blues turned down.
I also circled each coral so you could see which ones have faded.

Red circle = color faded

Green circle = color never faded

Yellow circle = just purchased(I have added quite a few lately)
- over the next few weeks I will see if these new corals retain their color.

Not circled = was not colorful in the first place

[dougdstecklein]

Here's a pic without all the circles.

[HammerLover]

The colors of the corals were coming back nicely

+1 for not feeding to much, I only feed my corals twice a month before a water change. A night before my water change I sprinkle the whole tank with brine, crushed pellets and spot feed some LPS with meaty foods.

[dougdstecklein]

I know it's many months later but I wanted to update this thread on how my tank is doing. Since my last post I have:
-upgraded from the vegas to the new AI Hydras HD.
-started running carbon and phosban
-added corals
-lowered temperature to 78.5*
-started using filter socks
-started feeding more heavily
-upgraded my power head to the maxspect gyre

I noticed that the higher nutrient levels and the new led lights had the biggest impact on coral coloration. Some corals even grew differently when I changed light fixtures.

I stopped running phosban because the coral colors faded out rapidly. After no longer running phosban it took over a month for the colors to return. This backs up the idea that somewhat higher phosphate levels increase coral coloration.

I tried to attach a recent pic of my tank, (Taken from an iPhone 7), but the upload fails. Can someone help me with this?
I believe my original post has the before pic. (Taken from an iPhone 6)

[Lsufan]

If u are trying to attach it through thumbnails then try to reduce the size of the photo. If pic is to large it won't upload

[dougdstecklein]

Okay, I got!

Before:
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After:
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[BFG]

It looked vastly improved ! What was the lighting level that you programmed on the lightset ?

[carrots]

Nice job. That's a beautiful tank.

[dougdstecklein]

Thanks "carrots"!

The old lights were on similar settings to the new ones. The wider angled lens on the hydras make a huge difference on the light spread. The old Vegas left shadows everywhere.