how to color up your corals

Discussion in 'Coral' started by Dingo, Sep 11, 2009.

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  1. Dingo

    Dingo Giant Squid

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    I spent many hours devouring these 200+ pages of technical information on fluorescent pigmentation, non-fluorescent pigmentation, chromoproteins, and reflectiveness of Zooxanthellae algae on coral...

    If you are interested, here are the links. I will post a synopsis of the articles once I have it completed.
    Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Coral Coloration: Fluorescence: Part 1

    Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Coral Coloration, Part 2: Fluorescence: Pigments 510 - 565 and Notes on Green Fluorescent Proteins

    Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Coral Coloration, Part 3: Pigments Responsible for Yellow and Orange Coloration, With Notes on Photoconversion

    Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Coral Coloration, Part 4: Red Fluorescent Pigments, a Preliminary Report of Effects of Various Environmental Factors and Color Mixing

    Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Coral Coloration, Part Five: Non-fluorescent Chromoproteins (CP-480 to CP-562)

    Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Coral Coloration, Part 6: Non-fluorescent Chromoproteins (CP-568 – CP-610) And A Newly Discovered Colorant

    Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Coral Coloration - Part 7: Coral Reflectance, Chromoproteins and Environmental Factors Affecting Non-fluorescent Pigmentation

    Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Coral Coloration, Part 8: Blue and Green Coral Fluorescence: Environmental Factors Affecting Fluorescent Pigmentation

    Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Lighting by Number: "Types" of Zooxanthellae and What They Tell Us

    I can answer questions or help clarify technical parts if need-be.
     
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  3. oceanparadise1

    oceanparadise1 Fire Squid

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    I have found the best way to color up my corals is just keep the water at par and good lighting and changing the bulbs when need be
     
  4. Daniel072

    Daniel072 Giant Squid

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    I'm with OP on this one. keep phosphates low, light high with good color temp, and watch the colors pop.
     
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  5. GreyGhost

    GreyGhost Purple Spiny Lobster

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    Everyone has their way to do this and some spend tons of money on the hobby. I am into the Keep it simple plan. live rock live fish live corals a tank good water and a good skimmer good lights. I have had mine up and running for ages and never spent more than truly needed. It is all in the husbandry.
     
  6. drew3

    drew3 Blue Ringed Angel

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    my way of coloring corals is spray paint haha
     
  7. Dr.Fragenstein

    Dr.Fragenstein Panda Puffer

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    Good ole Dana Riddle....
     
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  9. Nightstick

    Nightstick Purple Spiny Lobster

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    I have a fuge, canister filter, powerheads and a cpr bak pak 2 skimmer and things are coloring up everywhere. I must say I have a computer program that tells me when to change water and dose but other than that its easier that people think!
     
  10. Dingo

    Dingo Giant Squid

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    background: color is typically thought to be derived primarily from zooxanthellae algae. Although they can contribute to the color, the proteins the coral produces are more related to the color. zooxanthellae typically are brown so they can absorb the widest range of photons for photosynthesis.

    This leads me to my synopsis of the articles, first I will discuss the different types of colors. Coral colors can be expressed in a variety of different ways: fluorescent proteins, non-fluorescent proteins, chromoproteins, UV excitation, and zooxanthellae.

    Fluorescent proteins- These colors are emitted at very attractive wavelengths. The process that fluorescent proteins go through while undergoing photosynthesis produces a very specific wavelength that is then emitted, not reflected. When light is absorbed, it is then photosynthesized and re-emitted, typically at a lower level wavelength. This emission suggests that the coral actually acts to "attract" zooxanthellae by emitting colors that they like to absorb.
    This is typically found in zoas. Their optimal color can be observed by producing very specific wavelengths in the "blue" light range (460-520nm)

    Non-Fluorescent proteins- These colors can range from purple to red and all others in between in color. They are typically more "plain" when viewed compared to the fluorescent proteins and it is simply the wavelength that is reflected from the corals' photosynthetic cells. the colors emitted can be bright and this is the most commonly seen emission from sps corals.

    Chromoproteins- This type of protein was just recently discovered. it is similar to the non-fluorescent proteins although it is dictated by the coal. This color acts as a "sunscreen" when the coral is experiencing very high levels of photons. If you have ever seen your corals change colors from their original it is due to a higher expression in specific chromoproteins.

    UV excitation- There are three types of ultraviolet light that corals will harness. UV-A,B, and C. UV-A is the only UV light that can safely be harnessed by corals. UV-A will excite almost all wavelengths of color, however, extended exposure will cause the zooxanthellae to become mutated (via thymene dymer) The ozone layer in the earth's atmosphere absorbs almost all UV-C and greatly lowers the amount of UV-B that passes through. Metal halides emit UV-A,B, and C so these wavelengths will excite your corals but may be detrimental over extended periods of time due to the mutations caused to zooxanthellae and coral pigment proteins from UV-C and UV-B light.

    zooxanthellae- zooxanthellae is commonly thought of as the sole color producer from corals. The concentration of zooxanthellae is based on the oxidation occurring on the coral surface. To correctly regulate the desired colors of zooxanthellae algae great care must be taken to maintain a fairly constant level of dissolved CO2. If CO2 is lowered this will cause the coral to bleach. If CO2 is raised, the coral will become more brown due to an increase in zooxanthellae. zooxanthellae is a tricky organism to regulate.

    Lighting: of all the aspects essential in a reef system, flow, nutrients, placement, water quality, and lighting, lighting is the most significant.

    A light for a reef tank is usually fluorescent, metal halide, or occasionally LED. If you have LED lighting then there is a pretty good chance that you know what you are doing...
    Lighting is measured in PAR (micromoles/m2/L) or LUX units. This is where a majority of the focus of this article was concentrated.

    As you probably already know, photons are refracted at farther depths. This is more significant in fluorescent lighting than MH or LED. A PAR measurement is a representation of this dispersion.

    Coral colors are greatly effected by the amount (micromoles/m2/L) of photons they are able to absorb. In typical hobbyist aquaria the average PAR reading is 150 micromoles/m2/L, as compared to the sun: upwards of 1000 micromoles/m2/L It has been demonstrated that corals only barely perform at these "subpar" levels. A graphical representation of the effectiveness of photosynthesis (color emissions) and intensity shows that there is very little incline in productivity until just before 400 micromoles/m2/L. At this point the productivity increases exponentially and then plateaus through 700+ micromoles/m2/L.
    This data clearly states that by supplying a higher intensity of light than typically observed in home aquaria coral is able to express their desired "colors" based upon fluorescent proteins, non-fluorescent proteins, and chromoproteins, and not zooxanthellae. This means that the corals will have their natural color, which acts to attract zooxanthellae to them. The corals will control their contractions of the tissue to ensure that they get the most advantageous use of the high intensity light and the zooxanthellae will only photosynthesize in lower-light conditions. This means that your corals will color their true colors while under high intensity lighting (400+ micromoles/m2/L) and have no outside influences on which color is being reflected. This moderate regulation of zooxanthellae by the coral allows a crisper cleaner color for your viewing pleasure.

    thank you for your time,
    Trent
     
  11. Dingo

    Dingo Giant Squid

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    to give you an idea of PAR values, here is an example...

    Iwasaki bulbs are notorious for having some of the highest PAR readings:
    A 250 watt MH bulb will produce between 560 and 600 micromoles/m2/L
    while a "cheap MH" brand at 250 watts will produce ALMOST 200 micromoles/m2/L
     
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  12. austeve

    austeve Bristle Worm

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    Keeping it simple is good. But being in the hobby I like to do the reading aswell and understand why keeping it simple is good.
    Theres nothing wrong with improving your understanding of the science, good write up Dingo, enjoy the karma.
     
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