Pale SPS but encrusting

[dirtysock]

Hi guys,

I got a few frags of corals. They are all encrusting but the colors have somewhat gone pale. They are in my tank for about a month.

Cal: 500 (overdosed once, letting it slowly come down)
KH: 7.5 (KH kept stable by Alkatronic)
Mag: 1350
Nitrate: undetectable on salifert kit
Po4: 0.02 (tested with hanna 774)
Potassium: 340 (slowly bumping this up)

System is running on zeovit. I believe my nitrate isn't 0 as I have some hair algae growing in the crevices of my rocks.

Should I be concerned with the pale colors of the corals ? Like the red stag coral I have, it's getting paler and showing some white tips, however it's also encrusting.

Another example is the SSC frag I got, it just totally went pale but I can see polyps extending and tissue on the coral.

Some pictures for reference.

Left pic is current coral status, right pic is when I first got them.

Green Bali Slimer

Red Stag

Unknown

SSC

 

[erk]

They look pretty healthy to me, but of course with ULNS you are riding a thin line. You can try feeding more or putting your skimmer on a timer to bring the NO3 and PO4 up a bit. Give yourself a bit of a buffer.

 

[duke62]

Are you running full Zeo? I’ve seen other pics of tanks running zeo with ultra low nutrients have pale skin. Not a fan of it. They do look healthy though

 

[GabeM]

Looks to me like your zooxanthellae is not growing properly with the coral, as others have stated likely due to unavailable nutrients.

 

[Krissreef]

You answered your question " System is running on zeovit." zeovit is ultra-low nutrient system which means ur corals will maintain that pale color. I used it for a year and I would advise, do not use zeospur, that product is made for making the acros pale(brighter)

 

[dirtysock]

Oh yes, I'm running the full zeovit system.

Should I try dosing nitrate to get it up to about 5ppm? I'm just worried that dosing nitrate might get my po4 down to 0 and cause dino etc.

If I should dose, what kind of nitrate products do you guys recommend.

 

[Krissreef]

you can raise your nutrients by lowering ur zeostart dosage but I would monitor the phosphate level

 

[Krissreef]

Oh yes, I'm running the full zeovit system.

Should I try dosing nitrate to get it up to about 5ppm? I'm just worried that dosing nitrate might get my po4 down to 0 and cause dino etc.

If I should dose, what kind of nitrate products do you guys recommend.

dose amino acids

 

[dirtysock]

I didn't dose zeospur2 as that stuff seems to mess with the corals.

As long as the corals are encrusting, it shouldn't be an issue right?

Initially I thought that it was due to my lighting (orhpek alantik V4) that is causing them to get pale.

I will probably dose Reef Energy AB to get some nutrients up and cut down on zeostart.

Hope this is a good plan to get some nitrates up!

 

[Krissreef]

I didn't dose zeospur2 as that stuff seems to mess with the corals.

As long as the corals are encrusting, it shouldn't be an issue right?

Initially I thought that it was due to my lighting (orhpek alantik V4) that is causing them to get pale.

I will probably dose Reef Energy AB to get some nutrients up and cut down on zeostart.

Hope this is a good plan to get some nitrates up!

zeovit is a good system, Acros grow crazy fast but you have to be careful and be on top of everything. I would advise, lower zeostart or get more fish, so u can feed more. Definitely start using amino acids, Acro power is an amazing amino for growing SPS, I also use the Brightwell amino and it colors up corals very well. Personally I've also tried flue from seachem and it is good but it has trace elements, I know zeovit mentions that trace elements should not be added to a full zeovit system. ( not sure why). Ive also used red sea but I did notice film algae on the glass and the sand,

Also, keep a close eye on the potassium, ultra-low nutrient systems use it a lot and they do need it. I used salifer test kit to test it but according to sources online it's not a very reliable one.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Salifert is fine for potassium but you can’t let it sit for long or it starts to go bad.

Looks like the corals are growing but the ssc looks like it’s getting a ton of light and is defiantly pale, the others are fine. I would move it down and not change anything else.

 

[Perry]

Colors look normal, especially as the tank matures into the system. Raising nutrients may yield more saturation, possibly what you are looking for. As mentioned, cut your Zeobak and start3 dosage, see it this helps to darken your corals, nice thing about these programs and control ability. You could also increase amino dosing too. As stated above, best food source for sps is fish waste, maybe bump feedings and population.
Cheers

 

[SeaDweller]

zeovit systems have that characteristic, if done right...

 

[roberthu526]

Your nutrient being on the low side is likely what's causing the pale appearance. I have experienced similar things. After feeding heavily for about two weeks, I started seeing nitrate in water tests and the acros responded with more vibrant color. The catch is you have to go slowly and test water frequently. I was testing for nitrate every other day to measure how much I should feed. i think the color looked the best at around 5 PPM according to Redsea nitrate pro kit. But it took me about two months to get from 0 to 5 PPM.
Also just a side note, having hair algae is always alarming in my personal experience. It can get get out of hands easily if you try to raise nutrient level. I would try my best to get rid of it before raising nitrate.

 

[dirtysock]

Been manually pulling all the hair algae, except for those hiding in the crevices.

I have started feeding more and ordered redsea reef energy from my LFS. Hopefully it arrive soon and I can start raising the nutrients.

I update the thread if I can get them to color up!

Main purpose in getting on zeovit is to get my nutrient low, but now I'm adding stuff to raise it up

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Been manually pulling all the hair algae, except for those hiding in the crevices.

I have started feeding more and ordered redsea reef energy from my LFS. Hopefully it arrive soon and I can start raising the nutrients.

I update the thread if I can get them to color up!

Main purpose in getting on zeovit is to get my nutrient low, but now I'm adding stuff to raise it up

Why do you want ultra low nutrients???

 

[Perry]

Been manually pulling all the hair algae, except for those hiding in the crevices.

I have started feeding more and ordered redsea reef energy from my LFS. Hopefully it arrive soon and I can start raising the nutrients.

I update the thread if I can get them to color up!

Main purpose in getting on zeovit is to get my nutrient low, but now I'm adding stuff to raise it up

For clarification on Zeovit, Aquaforest, as well as other approaches to ULNS, it becomes a common for users to overlook the necessity of a killer CUC. I would not run these systems for algae control. Personally, hair algae will fall quickly to Red Leg Hermits, Trochus snails, Turbo, astrealla, bumblebee, etc. A wide variety of CUC will handle, despite nutrient levels. Your corals look fine, pale/pastel is Zeovit, not my experience however with Aquaforest. Pohls extra, AAHC, Vitalizer, and Spinge Power will help with the Zeovit metallic sheen you are likely after. Zeospur would not be good at this time.
Cheers

 

[SeaDweller]

Why do you want ultra low nutrients???

cuz he's running a full Zeovit system and wants the pastel look, duh

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

cuz he's running a full Zeovit system and wants the pastel look, duh

I bet he doesn’t, bc he has them and thinks something is wrong. I bet they’ve been brainwashed that ulns is better or needed for sps.

 

[SeaDweller]

I bet he doesn’t, bc he has them and thinks something is wrong. I bet they’ve been brainwashed that ulns is better or needed for sps.

Why else would he want Zeo, which is purposefully ULNS to make his acros look the way they do? Which btw don't look pastel, they look pale...

Hey Charlie, did you get my gift I sent you? It's a box of zeolites and GFO...