SPS losing color

Rockhead · Nov 7, 2012

Looking for some insight, I'm running a 150gal all sps tank and within the last few months I've been noticing color lose in my corals . tank has been running now for 3 1/2 yrs and not sure what is changing.

Salt, is red sea coral pro 5 gal change a week
Cal 440
Mag 1500 - 1550
Alk 8-9
salinity 35
running GFO and Carbon in a brs reactor
Running a dosing pump adding Cal Alk Mag
swc skimmer 160
MP40 and mp10
Feed tank 3 times a week
660 t5 ballast and a 2 bulb ballast, 4 blue +, and 2 aqua specials

could this be dew to a low nutrient tank

Thanks for any help

Tom

ritter6788 · Nov 7, 2012

Pull the Gfo offline and see if they color up. How much Gfo are you running at a time?

Dowtish · Nov 7, 2012

What are your phophate levels? are you still getting good growth?

Rockhead · Nov 7, 2012

1 cup changed out monthly

Rockhead · Nov 7, 2012

growth is average I've seen better in my tank.

Rockhead · Nov 7, 2012

I have 0 algae in the tank, I was also thinking of pulling out the GFO.

Dowtish · Nov 7, 2012

how are your bulbs? old? phos levels?

Rockhead · Nov 7, 2012

bulbs are 4 months old and phos levels are 0 when testing with a salifert test kit

bige · Nov 7, 2012

Phosphates can test zero when too high. You need to try to dilute your water. YouTube dr Tim's phoshate test and he shows you how.

oneradtek202 · Nov 15, 2012

IMO bulbs are an easy way to explain another problem that is going on in a tank. I would say that in my experience, when i have lost color in terms of corals getting lighter, not browing out, that it was related to GFO and carbon usage. A too clean tank will hurt SPS as much as a too dirty tank. take that stuff offline for abit and monitor and see after a month or two...

oneradtek202 · Nov 15, 2012

by the way how much carbon you running too? i think my issue was too much carbon more so than too much GFO

Rockhead · Nov 26, 2012

Well a little update with the colors of my sps, since 11-7 I took the gfo offline and I am also adding red sea energy a b and a real small amount of bio pellets to the system, I think that a few of use were thinking the same thing that the tank was to clean. I have seen great increase in coralline on the rocks and power heads, and most of all a little better color in sps. I defiantly think I going in the right direction here I'll keep with the updates.