why is my red so washed out ?

[dv3]

so all red corals look washed out, more like pink, after spending some time in my tank ...my red planet, magicians, red chalice, RPE all lost there colors to some extent from the time that i got them ..my other corals are just fine though
....why do you suppose that is?

.....i suspect its my LED's only because they aren't tried and true yet and they always get the blame first ...lol

 

[Wicked Color]

to much white light, are they all pink under actinic only?

 

[gh0st]

Could be change in lighting spectrum.

Might also be bleaching due to increase in light or some other fluctuation in water chemistry.

 

[Cake_Boss]

LOL, it is your lights, they're too intense.

 

[dvenson]

Don maybe its time for you to do a water change and test out that salinity or it could be bleaching

 

[katyttt]

I agree with a double check on the tests, tests with different refractometer and test kits just in case something is off. Then blame the lights if all checks out 100%. Better safe then sorry, in my opinion.
Good luck,

 

[djkms]

Blame the lights. I think there is something missing with LED's that cause this. Same thing happens in my tank. The red corals more than any other coral appear washed out. I dont believe it to be bleaching due to intensity because my initial par readings were way way low. IMO some spectrum is missing with LED's

Here is a pic of a red brain I won from Elite - and the after shot of it in my tank. It has colored up a little bit since the picture but nothing like the color elite had it.

 

[dv3]

i should mention not all red corals have turned the red montipora digi ...is fine

to much white light, are they all pink under actinic only?

no they glow under the blues

Could be change in lighting spectrum.

Might also be bleaching due to increase in light or some other fluctuation in water chemistry.

could be a change in lighting from where they were at last but even in shade their not coloring up

LOL, it is your lights, they're too intense.

they are bada$$

Don maybe its time for you to do a water change and test out that salinity or it could be bleaching

did that ...well i did 5 gallons about a week ago need to do another

I agree with a double check on the tests, tests with different refractometer and test kits just in case something is off. Then blame the lights if all checks out 100%. Better safe then sorry, in my opinion.
Good luck,

i think the salinity is good have several instruments for measuring that ...everything else sould be in range ...i'll have to check but they were like this when i tested last and all params were pretty close


guess if its the lights i'll have to deal with it because i'm not raising the light or selling it ... might look into dimming options for it

 

[spstimie]

With my T5 fixture, all my red non-florescent colors faded when I was only running my blues. The red florescent colors looked great. Once I kicked on my whites and pink, the non-florescent reds started coming back. Most LED's on the market lack the 10,000-6,500k necessary for those colors, IMO. Here is a search of the 60 or so articles on Advanced Aquarist that pertain to coral coloration. I have read the coral coloration series, it's a doozy.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/search?SearchableText=coral+color+spectrum

You still want to check your water parameters though.

 

[SAZAMA]

try food coloring.lol

 

[Mini T]

All of my pink and reds looked washed out under the LEDs, but at night if you shine a flash light on them they still have there true color.

 

[dv3]

All of my pink and reds looked washed out under the LEDs, but at night if you shine a flash light on them they still have there true color.

bummer ...we have the same lights so that pretty much settles it ....who wants to buy some red coral ...lol

 

[KhensuRa]

I noticed that boostLED is now adding a violet led to their lights to help bring out more of the reds in coral. What led lights are you using? You might be able to add some violet leds to what ever unit you are using.

 

[dv3]

i got the chin-ease ones ...wouldn't exactly be easy to switch out individual leds

 

[Cake_Boss]

i got the chin-ease ones ...wouldn't exactly be easy to switch out individual leds

You can if you really want, just have to find the right specs and do some soldering. I already took them apart, didn't look too hard to figure out.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[KhensuRa]

I think I am going to try and find some of the voilet leds and add them to 120w ones we ordered.