FarmerTy Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I'm stumped. I can't figure out why my blue's are so muted in my tank. My strawberry shortcake and red planet have good reds/pinks. My sunset monti and Setosa have great looking oranges. My green slimer is nicely neon green. My tricolor has a good purple on it (think Barney). But my blue mille and my cali tort are just a dull blue. I know that can be bluer because they are ridiculously bluer in WizardX322's tank (same exact frags). Setup: 250W Plusrite 14k bulb in Lumenarc reflectors, approximately 1.5-1.75' above coral. VHO supplementation. (12hrs/day VHO actinics, 6hrs/day 14k MH) Parameters: Calcium: 450ppm Magnesium: 1400ppm Alkalinity: 7.5 dkH Nitrate: 0ppm Phosphate: 0.040 Salinity: 1.026 Temperature: 81 degrees Here are my possible ideas. 1) Plusrite bulbs (great enough to look good, but maybe not enough to get your great looking blues?) 2) 14k spectrum (have chips acro under 20k in middle section and he's blue like no other. 3) Not running calcium reactor yet and haven't changed water in tank in 4 months since carbon dosing. Missing trace elements? I've just been dosing 2-part. Just reading over what I wrote, I'm starting to lend towards the idea that the 14k spectrum is the culprit and that I should be running 20k to get the good looking blues. What's everyone 2 cents? -Ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 The Plusrites are probably not the issue. My blues are fine under 14K Plusrites: Actually, Plusrites with Lumenarcs produce some high PAR readings, so maybe your specific corals need to be moved down in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 My culprit was high phosphates. As soon as I dropped those, my blues have been great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Also a tip for blue that I got from a Zeovit user was iodine. A dose of elements should help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 +1 on the iodine. I've dosed lugals in the past with success. After moving to Seachem Salinity salt my blues have never looked better and I no longer dose trace elements. offroadodge submitted a good article in the resources section surrounding color issues/trace elements: http://www.austinreefclub.com/page/FAQ/_/livestock/corals/sps/getting-the-great-colors-r29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Per Randy Holmes-Farley.... "For those who do supplement iodine, I suggest iodide as a more suitable form than certain other additives, such as Lugol’s iodine, which is unnatural and potentially more toxic. Iodide is also more readily used than iodate by some organisms, and iodide is detected by both currently available iodine test kits (Seachem and Salifert)." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 PBNJ, those are pretty representative of what my blue's are. I know they look great but they POP in Tim's tank. We are talking bright blue. That's what I'm aiming for and can't seem to get. And it makes it harder to settle with those colors knowing they are the same frag. The whole grass is greener saying... or more appropriately, the SPS is bluer. I think I will do some research on iodide. I've already switched my bulbs to the 20k's to see if I notice anything in the next couple of weeks and see if a simple water change will help with the trace elements that I don't dose or monitor. Thanks all for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 So I went and bought a Red Sea Iodine test kit that tests for total iodine/iodide in the system. I got a reading of 0.05ppm, not too much below the recommended range of 0.06-0.08ppm. I dosed 1.2 ml of potassium iodide to the system and am planning to test this morning to see if it raised it enough to fall in the recommended range. I'm going to guess that since it wasn't too far below the recommended range, iodide might not be my problem. My cali tort is starting to exhibit less of the deep blue coloration and now showing a slight green tint with the polyps becoming dark green. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Did you have a chance to check the iodide in WizardX322's tank? Sometimes a very sutle difference can make a very noticable change. If possible I would try to get a light reading on both tanks. Particularly after your comments about the Cali Tort going more green I'm inclined to think WizzardX322 has his in a brighter place. PAR would be better but even a cheap lux meter would give you a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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