Figured out that if I take pictures when the lights are at 12K, it's not quite so horrible.
Spent 300 bucks on frags/mini colonies at RCC yesterday, and I'm realizing just how long/amount of money it will take to get this tank looking full! I had two tester pieces in for the last couple of weeks to see what would happen under my lights/with my water and I was pleasantly surprised. Even with the algae issues, one semi-browned out frag has turned a beautiful cream/lilac, and the other frag's colours just popped.
First, FTS front and back:
This was my first tester frag, it was only a little blue when I got it, now it's practically turquoise
My second tester coral is the one in the middle. The mother colony has browned out at the store pretty significantly, and when i got it, only the tips still had any purple, the rest were brown. It practically glows now!
Edgar thinking he's going to be fed
These frags are pretty browned out right now, but I'm hoping something magical will happen under my lights.
These two colonies are so encrusted on their bases I didn't think it was right to break them off. Presently banished to the sand bed until I am sure no aiptasia have hitchhiked in on them. The one in front was in the process of browning out, but I can see from the tips that it has a lot of potential.
And just to totally put the question of whether radions are strong enough completely to bed...
From this:
To this:
After running the lights at 100%. Whoops. It's on the sand bed, 25 inches down, a full 32 inches under the lights.