How to get brilliant colours?

[Tyguy35]

Hey, right now I am using a ai prime (not HD). I am using the brs setting but my uv and violet are at 100 percent each. The colours in my tank seem dull. Even when I have only the blues on the B channel seems to make even the corals be really blue instead of glowing green.
Does this have something to do with not being HD? The first image is taken using only a uv flashlight no red filter. The second is running the
Brs setting with a red filter. For the last hour of the night I run only blues and just recently lowered the B channel to get a little more colour, still seems dull compared to other tanks. If anyone can advise me on getting great colour that be awesome. Should I get an HD?

 

[Tyguy35]

Morning bump

 

[jda]

Full daylight to render the best colors in the coral (from 350 to 850nm, or so)... then blue it up as you see fit to illuminate (pop) them. Just blues will not color coral as well as full spectrum will.

 

[Bpb]

The more wavelengths you offer, the higher the color ceiling capability of your corals. You’re really going to want to provide at least 4-6 hours of some real full spectrum daylight if you want to hope for any semblance of excellent pop under blues.

this also of course is assuming you have excellent water quality, in a stable and mature system with appropriate flow and the actual corals themselves that are able to fluoresce.

DNA and water quality will impact your color nearly as much as the light will

 

[Tyguy35]

So a little more white light basically.

 

[Magellan]

Get a metal halide

the first pic was taken right after I brought the frag home from the store. Looked really beautiful under their blue LEDs, even with the tissue loss it still appeared to have great color. But as you can see, it was actually pretty brown and boring. Second pic is less than 3 months later, with a progression shot in between.

Same phone camera, same light, no editing. (I did turn it around though, didn’t like the original placement)

 

[Bpb]

Get a metal halide

the first pic was taken right after I brought the frag home from the store. Looked really beautiful under their blue LEDs, even with the tissue loss it still appeared to have great color. But as you can see, it was actually pretty brown and boring. Second pic is less than 3 months later, with a progression shot in between.

Same phone camera, same light, no editing. (I did turn it around though, didn’t like the original placement)

Purple styo is one of those ones that looks outstanding in pure sunlight

 

[45ZoaGarden]

What is your water quality?
Hydra 26 hd using the ab schedule. I also run carbon to clear the water, feed reef roids, and dose acropower. What are your parameters?

 

[Magellan]

Purple styo is one of those ones that looks outstanding in pure sunlight

what corals don’t?

 

[Bpb]

Corals with primarily chromoproteins look great in sunlights. Those with mostly fluorescent proteins can be pretty drab/olive brown in daylight. Most of the popular rainbow tenuis corals are guilty

 

[Magellan]

Corals with primarily chromoproteins look great in sunlights. Those with mostly fluorescent proteins can be pretty drab/olive brown in daylight. Most of the popular rainbow tenuis corals are guilty

Got anything you want to put in my tank and test that theory?

I hear Walt Disney is guilty...

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Got anything you want to put in my tank and test that theory?

I hear Walt Disney is guilty...

Did someone say home wrecker?

 

[Bpb]

Got anything you want to put in my tank and test that theory?

I hear Walt Disney is guilty...

Lol
Happy to pm you my sps catalogue if you want to try some out ha ha. But even under 1 year old 14k halides, WD is a dud

 

[Tyguy35]

It’s hard to explain. I think what I am tryi to say is instead of glowing under the blue light the coral just looks more blue.

 

[Bpb]

You’re explaining yourself fine. We understand

there are 3 reasons this is happening.

1) you haven’t provided enough full spectrum to develop the pigments that WILL glow under blues. Nothing will just automatically glow all the time. Glowing bright is a result of pigment development.

2) something in the water quality is inhibiting the development of colorful pigments. Be it a young tank with unstable chemistry, or just frags needing time to recover, inadequate flow, missing trace elements, ect

3) the corals you have just simply lack the genetic code to glow under blue light. If that is the case, NOTHING you do will change that. Not all corals will glow under blues. A great number of them won’t actually

 

[Tyguy35]

Ok so how do I acquire the full spectrum light? Or do I just run my light a little longer?

 

[Bpb]

Ok so how do I acquire the full spectrum light? Or do I just run my light a little longer?

Have you looked much into the AB+ program? It’s probably a little blue for my taste on overall appearance but it’s a proven successful program if you use it and stick to it

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Ok so how do I acquire the full spectrum light? Or do I just run my light a little longer?

You need to test your water before you change up your lights. It’s probably your water, not your lights. Phosphates play a major role in coral color.

 

[Tyguy35]

Have you looked much into the AB+ program? It’s probably a little blue for my taste on overall appearance but it’s a proven successful program if you use it and stick to it

I thought the ab+ program was what I was using.

 

[Bpb]

The ab+ setting is all blue and violet diodes at 100%, with white, red, and green each at 25%

for what it’s worth, your original images look fine. I wouldnt consider those color deficient at all