Acanthophylia has changed color drastically

[Deadlocked]

The first picture is what it looked like when i bought it about 5 months ago. I had stock biocube lighting. This is what it looks like now with Steve's leds. Tbh besides some more growth in my hammers, i feel the Steve's leds did more damage than good. I had a beautiful flower pot garden and a LOTR of it died to BJD after installing Steve's leds. So im not sure if that's the cause in change but it's bothering me. Ive been pretty careful with the light levels.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Generally due to a lack of adequate lighting which feeds zooxanthellae which provides it both color and energy

 

[Dburr1014]

The first picture is what it looked like when i bought it about 5 months ago. I had stock biocube lighting. This is what it looks like now with Steve's leds. Tbh besides some more growth in my hammers, i feel the Steve's leds did more damage than good. I had a beautiful flower pot garden and a LOTR of it died to BJD after installing Steve's leds. So im not sure if that's the cause in change but it's bothering me. Ive been pretty careful with the light levels.

You seem to be in different lighting. First pic, lots of blues, 2nd pic, whites.
Do you have an earlier pic in whites?
Just want to compare apples to apples.

 

[Deadlocked]

You seem to be in different lighting. First pic, lots of blues, 2nd pic, whites.
Do you have an earlier pic in whites?
Just want to compare apples to apples.

The first pic is in the stock biocube lighting. The second pic is under the Steve's leds, but when when there blue lights are on now it looks the same as the second picture.

 

[Nonya]

It's impossible to see the differences when viewed under different lighting conditions.

 

[Dburr1014]

The first pic is in the stock biocube lighting. The second pic is under the Steve's leds, but when when there blue lights are on now it looks the same as the second picture.

Do you have/can you get par readings?
I'm not familiar with that light, but maybe others with that light can chime in and help you tune it.

 

[Deadlocked]

It's impossible to see the differences when viewed under different lighting conditions.

Im not sure what you mean by that. Its stock lighting vs Steve's leds

 

[mdb_talon]

It may be due to the lights, but think it is unfair to blame it on the brand of lights. If the lighting is not appropriate for the tank or coral specifically it does not make it the lights fault but rather the application of the lights.

If it is lighting my guess is it is getting too much light. Unless you keep it in the dark it is hard to give an acantho too little light.

I would also suggest it possibly has nothing at all to do with lights and is just as likely a nutrient issue. Acanthos need well fed(either directly or indirectly via fish).

It is also not at all uncommon for a wild coral to change color significantly in the months after coming into the tank. I have rarely had an acantho that looks the same as i bought it months later unless it had been in someones tank for a long time. Sometimes mine look better and other times worse(though in either case better or worse looking does not necessarily correspond to healthier/unhealthier).

 

[Deadlocked]

It may be due to the lights, but think it is unfair to blame it on the brand of lights. If the lighting is not appropriate for the tank or coral specifically it does not make it the lights fault but rather the application of the lights.

If it is lighting my guess is it is getting too much light. Unless you keep it in the dark it is hard to give an acantho too little light.

I would also suggest it possibly has nothing at all to do with lights and is just as likely a nutrient issue. Acanthos need well fed(either directly or indirectly via fish).

It is also not at all uncommon for a wild coral to change color significantly in the months after coming into the tank. I have rarely had an acantho that looks the same as i bought it months later unless it had been in someones tank for a long time. Sometimes mine look better and other times worse(though in either case better or worse looking does not necessarily correspond to healthier/unhealthier).

Fair enough. To be honest ive never directly fed my coral. It seems pretty mixed online as to whether or not you should. I don't think the fish i have add a lot if bio waste to the tank. It's a gramma, Smith's blenny and two smaller clowns. So it could be nutrition.

It's also very hard to find info on what numbers are best with Steve's leds

 

[Nonya]

Im not sure what you mean by that. Its stock lighting vs Steve's leds

What I mean is the photos were taking under different colors of light. It's like taking a picture under white light versus black light.

 

[Deadlocked]

What I mean is the photos were taking under different colors of light. It's like taking a picture under white light versus black light.

Under the blue/violet lights for Steve's leds the coral looks the same. There's no color change.

 

[mdb_talon]

Fair enough. To be honest ive never directly fed my coral. It seems pretty mixed online as to whether or not you should. I don't think the fish i have add a lot if bio waste to the tank. It's a gramma, Smith's blenny and two smaller clowns. So it could be nutrition.

It's also very hard to find info on what numbers are best with Steve's leds

Ya there are lots of mixed opinions of feeding. Personally i have found my lps do considerably better with direct feeding. I even did a "experiment" in an 8 foot frag tank that was divided in the middle(but all part of a multitank system that shared a sump). I used identical lighting and wavemakers on each side. Put a couple dozen freshcut acan frags in each side and for 6 months directly fed one side and no direct feeding on other side. The side with direct feeding averaged 2-3x more new heads over that time period(though color was a mixed bag of better or worse)

My test may not fully stand up to the scientific method, but i did my best to ensure environment between each side was as similar as could be(lighting, pumps, same type and number of fish on each side, etc). For me it was enough to convince me. However i also believe it can vary a lot on the tank. In a tank that has adequate fish waste or food leftovers maybe the difference would be minimal or even counterproductive to directly feed, but at least in my situation it left me with no doubt the feeding was very beneficial.

 

[Deadlocked]

Ya there are lots of mixed opinions of feeding. Personally i have found my lps do considerably better with direct feeding. I even did a "experiment" in an 8 foot frag tank that was divided in the middle(but all part of a multitank system that shared a sump). I used identical lighting and wavemakers on each side. Put a couple dozen freshcut acan frags in each side and for 6 months directly fed one side and no direct feeding on other side. The side with direct feeding averaged 2-3x more new heads over that time period(though color was a mixed bag of better or worse)

My test may not fully stand up to the scientific method, but i did my best to ensure environment between each side was as similar as could be(lighting, pumps, same type and number of fish on each side, etc). For me it was enough to convince me. However i also believe it can vary a lot on the tank. In a tank that has adequate fish waste or food leftovers maybe the difference would be minimal or even counterproductive to directly feed, but at least in my situation it left me with no doubt the feeding was very beneficial.

That's pretty interesting and cool that you did that. I do have reef roids. I could give it a shot.

 

[Nonya]

Under the blue/violet lights for Steve's leds the coral looks the same. There's no color change.

I'll have to take your word for that. The thread title is that it's changed color drastically. How is anyone supposed to see that?

 

[Deadlocked]

I'll have to take your word for that. The thread title is that it's changed color drastically. How is anyone supposed to see that?

The greens and blues in the first picture from the stock lights are completely gone. Its just a purple with a slight white streak now. Day or night. I don't think i have a picture of it in the old white lights but I'll double check