Why does sps turn brown

Granted, those test are horribly inaccurate most of the time, but generally a reading of 0 means your in the acceptable range. Once you start detecting nutrients, its time to address it, espeically if its phosphate your measuring.

Hi, I've heard of people using table sugar to lower phosphates. How does that work exactly? My bulbs are 10k mh watt, 2 65 pc's actinics. Everything reads 0. I moved the corals after thinking maybe I put them in too intense light in the beginning. The Pocillipora is down a little lower, but still in the MH light. I moved the Monti when it started turning brown. Hmmm, generally the sugar is supposed to be a food source for the bacteria that consume nitrates, or so I thought.

Some people on the gigantic sugar thread mentioned an improvement in phosphates as well, but I'm not really sure why. FWIW, I used sugar to lower my nitrates from about 5ppm to 0, and my phosphates always measured 0 according to Salifert, but I still have to scrub my front glass about every two days, so Bureau, redfield ratio.

Something like CN:1P. When things get out of whack, reactions stop happening because one ingredient isnt present. Generally, in our tanks, thats carbon. When you add carbon, reactions occur until you're either nitrate, or phosphate limited. Basically, if you want no phosphate, dose nitrogen and carbon.

When bacteria multiply, they eat both nitrates and phosphates, that is why bacteria driven systems lower both. BTW, if your corals are browning, that is not an indication to lower them.

You only need to lower a coral if it starts to bleach. Browning means it has an excess of Zoox. Zoox build up when either nutrients are too high, or light is insufficient. I will place them back in the higher light then. I thought Monti's also liked lower light though. I have carbon, it might be time to add some new.

So do you all think my tests are bad? I should get different bulbs? All my tests are fine. I just don't know what the problem is.

Let me know. Montis are not low light corals I cant think of any SPS that is really a Low light coral. Now some corals require less than some high light acros, but they are by no means low light like softies. Corals turning brown is an indication something is not quite right in your tank.

This can happen quickly as corals have a low tolerance for environmental change and are easily stressed. The cause of SPS corals suddenly turning brown is usually high levels of nutrients, fluctuations in water parameters, and not enough light.

Any of these can contribute to SPS corals losing their beautiful coloration. This article will cover why they may have turned brown, how to prevent SPS corals from browning, and if it is possible to reverse the browning process.

Zooxanthellae play a vital role in the growth and productivity of corals, as they have a mutually-beneficial relationship. This means the zooxanthellae provide the coral with oxygen and help to remove waste products such as ammonia and nitrate, while the coral gives refuge to the algae, so it can carry out photosynthesis.

Zooxanthellae cells are naturally golden-yellow to brown in color. When the number of zooxanthellae cells increases, the coral looks brown due to decreases in the amount of chlorophyll which are green and zooxanthellae being released, producing too much food through photosynthesis.

When zooxanthellae levels increase, the natural pigments inside the coral are blocked, turning it into a brownish hue. There are many environmental factors that increase the production levels of zooxanthellae, including increased nutrient levels and an increase in CO2 partial pressure affecting calcification rates.

The best solution to prevent SPS corals from turning brown is tank stability. This includes controlling nutrient levels, checking water parameters frequently, and controlling lighting in the water.

Tank stability is key in successfully keeping and maintaining the growth and productivity of corals, especially SPS corals that are slightly less forgiving like Acropora corals. Ideal nitrate levels are between 0. If you continuously have issues with nitrate and phosphate levels increasing, you can employ nutrient removers or a nutrient sink to remove phosphate and nitrate, such as a refugium, phosphate media reactor, or dosing a phosphate removing solution such as lanthanum chloride.

Often, improving your maintenance regime overtime can have a positive impact enough to improve coloration in your corals. The most successful and commonly used method for nutrient reduction is a phosphate reactor using some type of phosphate remover media, such as g ranular ferric oxide GFO.

GFO reactors are chemical filter media that reduce algae growth by eliminating phosphates from the water to keep them within range. Secondly, will bleached SPS come back? While possible, severely bleached corals often do not recover, and they die. In the end, bleached corals operating at an energy deficiency must metabolize their own tissues to survive, and this is seen as recession and tissue death.

It is also called starvation. The Sinularia sp. Like many corals, Acropora have a special symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellates called zooxanthellae that live inside its tissue. Too little light will cause the coral to turn brown in color.

Mine grow like cm per day About inches in months. Natural levels of symbiotic algae in sps tissue is brown colored and offers sun screen to the coral as well as nutrition. The zoanthelle utilize some phosphate and nitrate as a food source so with low levels or ultra low levels the symbiotic algae population recedes.

Are SPS corals hard to keep? SPS hard corals are generally considered more difficult to keep than the LPS or soft corals and are not recommended for beginners. Why are my corals turning brown?