Bleached SPS's
 

Hi guys, it's been brought to my attention that my SPS's are looking pale/bleached.

Keep in mind that I have been experiencing great growth the last few months.

So....I'll rewind to last November when I upgraded my lights and Bio Pellets

this is the day that I put the new lights on line...and you know...looking at these pic's (before I added pellets and lights).....the only one that really looks any paler is the Millipora on the far left.
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/P9220030.jpg


These are pic's I took for growth comparisons (Nov 11/11)
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/PB110037.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/PB110036.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/PB110035.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...PB110034-1.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...PB110033-1.jpg

these are March 14/12 aprox a month after starting Bio Pellets

Green Milli
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/P3140080.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/P3140079.jpg

Blue Milli

http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/P3140078.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/P3140077.jpg

March 30/12

http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/P3300035.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...P3300033-1.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...P3300032-1.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...nk/photo-3.jpg

can you still see the polyps on the stocks? I assume they are retracted, but are they still visible in the holes they poke out of?

And yesterday April 31/12

http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/P4300058.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/P4300056.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/P4300055.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/P4300054.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/P4300053.jpg

I have no problem with PE.....there are out and the corals look happy

I think if you add some nutrients back slowly you'll get some nice colors out of your sps.
What's your fish list?

I used zeovit xtra special for awhile and it brought back some nice colors in my SPS. If you try this cut the dosing in half or even less as too much will bring on cyano.

My Stock list is

1-Hippo Tang
1-Yellow Tang
2-Percs
1-Manderin
1-Hi-fin Goby
1-6 Line Wrasse
1-Coral Goby
1-Sail-fin Blenny

Lord Tonderin Jesus!!!!!! I just looked that stuff up, sure ain't cheap

Someone alse said to try Amino Acids or something like that as well? is that a food?

Ok.....going to google some more Zeovit stuff :wink:

I used a combo of the xtra and coral vitalizer and got good results. Yeah it's expensive but you don't dose nearly as much as recommended. I've heard the amino acids and the sponge power help as well. Post on the zeovit.com forum there are some guys there that will give you good recommendations and the proper amount to dose.

It,s expensive but at the end it is not because it is concentrated and you only use a drop or 2 depending on your aquarium size. I have my bottle of amino acid for more than a year now, so it's not that expensive considering this.

I use Zeovit amino acid and Zeovit coral vitalizer. 2 bottles of liquid that you use by the drop and last for a very long time.

I'm looking into getting some brought in as I live a loooooong ways from an LFS.

Now I have some Brightwells "reef snow", Zooplanktos-m and some Kent PhytoMax

These are all a few years old but have been refrigerated the entire time.....will any of these help for the time being? the bottle doesn't say but how long are these good for if kept in the fridge?

The kent PhytoMax says that it has amino acids in it???

The corals do look "hungry" to me but I would be careful about adding too many random nutrients to the tank.....it's a lot easier to add then it is to remove.....if it were my tank I would just start feeding the fish a little more

I have a full bottle of Brightwell KoralColor that I bought for some unknown reason a wile back.

Now I can't find any ingredients on the bottle, but they claim it will help with coloration.

Has anyone tried this stuff and or has an opinion about it?

I have increased there feeding a little bit and back off my lights

So I got a shot of my Milli with the day lights off.....just thought I'd post it for reference.

http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/P5010053.jpg

The previous pics your corals looked bleached but still very healthy, I figure your tank is too clean. Are you dosing vodka or vinegar?

As others have said if you feed more then the corals will darken up abit accenting the colour. I use brightwells koralcolor but find it enhances only the blues and purples, not so much red and greens. As for amino acids it is used for feeding and polyp extension. Even if the brightwells products expire I would use it. Unless it was food I wouldn't be worried...

Btw your last pic of the green Millie looks good!

Neither.....I'm using Vertex Bio Pellets.....I introduced them very slowly, started with I think 150ml and have added another 200ml over a 3 month span.....due to add another 100ml's in a week.

Thanx, I've been growing that particular coral from a tiny 1" brown frag for about 4 years now.

Coral Vitalizer NEEDS to be refrigerated, along with ZEOBak.

I'd suggest dosing the ZEO Amino Acid for SPS, they have 2, one for LPS and one for SPS. It should also be dosed with Sponge Power.

I've spoken to the ZEO Rep when he was at J&L, he recommends dosing them both every 2nd day or when intoducing new SPS.

I've followed that and have seen good PE and growth so far.

I've started dosing 4 drops a day of the ZeoVit amino acids (as per the instructions) and up me feeding quite a bit.

Only been at it for a few days now....but I'll post some follow up pic's in a month or so.

Test your potassium if you haven't recently. Biopellets suck it from the water, and lots of salt is low in it. Seems to be a major cause to either the crash or SLOW recovery in my tank. This past 2 weeks adding potassium i've had better results than everything i've tried in the past 2 months.

To think... it was a $20 bottle... after spending ?? on other fixes... don't tell my wife

I think the 4 drops (as per directions) of amino acid may be to much......some of my SPS's are looking brown ish......and I seem to be having a cyano out break :sad:

I'm going to back it off to 1/2 the recommended dose and go back to my old feeding routine.

Any progress on your SPS?

I've cut back the dosage to one drop a day (still battling cyno) other then that that sps's are a tiny bit darker....but for the most part the same as always. They do have great polyp extension and are growing well, just don't have vibrant colors.