SPS supplement for color

[mrtian97]

my system has the undetectable Nitrates and Phosphate (Salifert Kit), Alk 7-8, Ca 425-460, Mag 1300, pH 8.2-8.4. Reefer 350, about 85 gallon total system volume. Light with RadionG3, 2 of them. System close to 2 yrs.

I have great sps and lps growth. Red Dragon, pink lemonade, monti cap, hammer corals, bird nest, stag, stylo, etc. But my color is not as vivid as it should be, especially on purple and red.

I dose redsea reef energy A and B of 5mL each, twice a week. Dose Redsea color ABCD about 2.5mL each per week.

Have some issue with bright algae growth on the sand, it goes away when I stir them but then comeback the next day.

Question: to help bring out more colors, should I try KZ Pohls and Coral Vitalizer or just stay with the RedSea and add more dose per recommended (I am afraid to over dose)

I increased my radion light from 51% to 55%, will this help?
Thanks much

 

[Robink]

Maybe try to get your nitrates and phosphates up to detectable.

 

[nashorn]

I had the same problem and started to dose nitrates.
Just start really slow. After a few weeks Im able to measure some N but did loose a few SPS. But lots of color that was missing before.

 

[Dan I]

Try to get your nutrients up by feeding more or dose nitrates. If you dose nitrates, as said before, go really slow with it.

 

[Channaman]

I use NYOS coral nectar and absolute aminos with great results

 

[Sea MunnKey]

Yesterday I picked a bottle of AquaForest Kalium as I was told it'll bring back the "Blues" on my Blue acros. It has potassium iodide. Apparently I've read that it's better than ZeoVit ...

 

[SPotter]

my system has the undetectable Nitrates and Phosphate (Salifert Kit), Alk 7-8, Ca 425-460, Mag 1300, pH 8.2-8.4. Reefer 350, about 85 gallon total system volume. Light with RadionG3, 2 of them. System close to 2 yrs.

I have great sps and lps growth. Red Dragon, pink lemonade, monti cap, hammer corals, bird nest, stag, stylo, etc. But my color is not as vivid as it should be, especially on purple and red.

I dose redsea reef energy A and B of 5mL each, twice a week. Dose Redsea color ABCD about 2.5mL each per week.

Have some issue with bright algae growth on the sand, it goes away when I stir them but then comeback the next day.

Question: to help bring out more colors, should I try KZ Pohls and Coral Vitalizer or just stay with the RedSea and add more dose per recommended (I am afraid to over dose)

I increased my radion light from 51% to 55%, will this help?
Thanks much

I was in your situation 2 months ago and started dosing RedSea Reef Energy A/B daily and noticed an improvement in growth about 2 weeks after starting. Then a friend suggested that I also dose colors daily and I began doing so 2 weeks ago. All of the colors in my tank are popping and growth is exploding. I am dosing 1/4 of the daily suggested amount because of two reasons....size of my tank would be very expensive to dose at the suggested rate and I too was afraid of overdosing it. I would suggested getting a water analysis done thru ATI so you can get a better understanding what your levels are and see if anything is significantly out of balance and then dose on a daily basis. Twice a week probably isn't enough to make a difference in your system.

As far as the light intensity goes....what program are you running and for how long each day?

 

[SelimSeven]

You can check for potassium too and get it around 400. Red sea colors is very good for coloration, but not every product produces the same outcome for everyone. I use kz products and I am happy with it.

 

[mrtian97]

For my Radion, I use the Coral AB program.
I plan to feed my fish more and increase my Reef Energy from 2x/wk to 3x/wk.
My tank has been setup for almost 2 yrs, just want to make small changes to improve colors.

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[gpwdr]

Amino Acids worked for me.

 

[mtraylor]

In my experience. All the stuff you dose such as nutrients and vitamins, etc etc to color up corals....cause algae.

 

[ajcanale]

KZ Pohl's Xtra Special

 

[jwells77]

How many fish do you have? Your corals may just need more nutrients. I prefer to have a decent amount of fish and feed them well once a day vs. using additives. I've tried many different supplements in the past and found better results with increasing fish population and feeding well.

 

[jda]

IMO, adding food, aminos or elements to your water will be a drop in the bucket to the color that you could get by adding some T5s. Some will strongly agree with this, while others will disagree and cuss at me. The best Radion-only tanks that I have seen are 80-85 percent of what they could be with different lights and this includes WWC and Vivid which I have seen in person. I do not want to start a fight and if T5s is nothing that you are considering, then forget about this post.

 

[misspurl]

Have you tried changing the spectrum your LEDs are putting out? Everyone just goes for heavy blue these days, but you can increase other LED colors to bring out hidden colors in your corals

 

[mrtian97]

Thanks all, I am using the Radion Coral A+B which I believe is the spectrum for sps?

 

[misspurl]

I have never used radions but I assume you could probably tweak the settings to your individual preference

 

[estebanb450]

IMO, adding food, aminos or elements to your water will be a drop in the bucket to the color that you could get by adding some T5s. Some will strongly agree with this, while others will disagree and cuss at me. The best Radion-only tanks that I have seen are 80-85 percent of what they could be with different lights and this includes WWC and Vivid which I have seen in person. I do not want to start a fight and if T5s is nothing that you are considering, then forget about this post.

I have a SB REef light and I just added 2 t5 ati blue plus and WOW. Amazed at the coloration. Things are more vivid.