I am probably going to be disowned for this

Is this proven? Is this a fact that SPS won't color up if nitrates are a little elevated? I have always thought that coloration issues were mostly due to lighting or acclimation issues.

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I wont disown anybody for something that works for the better in this hobby. There are pros and cons and debates for nearly every aspect of care for every piece of coral and livestock. Water changes, livestock, water quality, testing, skimmers, turf scrubbers, water flow, dosing (and on and on) all of these subjects are best handled on a tank by tank case with the individuals tank knowledge and expertise playing the biggest part. It just a matter of putting the pieces together in your tank & finding what works that counts.

 

Yes, it is definitely fact. I've grown SPS under PC lighting. I've grown SPS under VHO lighting. I've grown SPS under T5 lighting. I've grown SPS under MH lighting. Higher lighting levels make growing SPS a LOT easier, but it's not required if you learn their biology.

If you have high nitrates and/or high P levels, your corals WILL brown out. I have never once in my life had 0 nitrates (unless it was a brand new tank). If I get down to 5~10, I'm a happy camper.

Every tank is different. My tanks have always sucked down alk big-time. I dose alk to keep that stable. To be honest, I rarely worry about my Ca levels.

BTW....nitrates are food for the zooxanthellae that live in SPS. (Zooxanthellae are the brown guys that hide the SPS' coloration). Going to McDonalds every other week isn't going to make a human fat. Eating McDonalds every day most certainly will.

 

While phosphates have never been an issue in my current tank, nitrates however hang around 10-20 the day (last time I checked) after feeding. This is one reason why I only feed every three days. I have no skimmer and probably have not tested for ammonia and nitrates in over a year.

My acropora may not grow as fast but coloration is fine.

Not trying to maintain ULNS and growing acropora and other sps is just a different style of husbandry. If it works for you that is all that matters. I for one believe that some sps tanks do better that when they are feed more heavily. The appearance of your corals is more important than chasing the numbers to a certain degree.

 

Coloration is so complicated with sps that I cant even begin to explain it all! Summed up real short though, it is a function of the needed amino acids being present in levels high enough so that ALL specific colors can be expressed (im not talking this is a green acropora... because for a coral to be 100% colored up its probably going to have more colors than green) Then if all AA are present, it is a function of your phosphates, lighting, nitrates, flow, and many other factors that you would not even think of (like for instance a localized increase in PO4 from a pocket in the rocks, etc.)

I can say that I am pretty meticulous about my colors and levels of everything to make sure i have gorgeous looking corals... but i can also say that everything I do has taken years to understand and perfect. And I still dont have it perfect either! I will look at my tank every day and can clearly see that one acro is at 90% color one day and 75% color the next. Its tricky to keep everything looking perfect.

 

Few things to add:

1) nitrate test kits are notoriously inaccurate. So, if you've only tested with one kit, your result means absolutely nothing to me.

2) Nitrate is not toxic in any way shape or form. It can drive algae and even zooxanthellae, which can produce excess toxic byproducts as a result. However, the growth of these organisms can be limited by other means, such as a trace element limitation, or a phosphate limitation etc... So, even if you have nitrate, by itself, this doesn't mean anything.

3) coloration will only be effected if zoox growth is not limited by something else. So, if you really have nitrates, this may or may not effect coloration.

4) nitrate test kits are junk, try again with another kit (just in case that wasn't clear from #1 )

 

I think we should disown gabby and be done with it

 

BTW....nitrates are food for the zooxanthellae that live in SPS. (Zooxanthellae are the brown guys that hide the SPS' coloration). Going to McDonalds every other week isn't going to make a human fat. Eating McDonalds every day most certainly will.

^ totally agree with this analogy
Keeping good color in sps is balancing all the ratios of cal, alk, nitrate phosphate...to keep the best looking ratio of zoos to coral pigment.

Sounds like you care very much about your water quality by the amount of your water changing and you also have good lighting.

I'm suggesting researching vodka, vinegar or bio-pellets to see if it's right for your tank. Dosing is one of the ways to reduce nitrate. If you decide this might be a good thing to do I'd advise getting the very accurate Hanna phosphurus/not the phosphate meter. I'm still trying to figure out a better way to test for Nitrate than using Salifert.(I'm also assuming you have a good skimmer or are willing to get one)

If you've mastered one of the above methods then you can cut back a bit until your coral look bad or your nitrate/phosphate levels test too high. It's extremely rare, but I've read of people deciding thier corals needed a of dose nitrate(probalbly better to feed the fish than dose nitrate) because their corals zoos didn't have enough. It's a funny problem to have but keeping colorful sps is all about the never ending balancing act to keep the proper ratios.

 

2) Nitrate is not toxic in any way shape or form. It can drive algae and even zooxanthellae, which can produce excess toxic byproducts as a result. However, the growth of these organisms can be limited by other means, such as a trace element limitation, or a phosphate limitation etc... So, even if you have nitrate, by itself, this doesn't mean anything
-M2434

That statements unsupported and the opposite is very well supported.

Humans, livestock, fish, corals, have all been diagnosed with nitrate poisoning before.

The books I've read about fish and coral that mention the ammonia to nitrate cycle say it's poisonus in high amounts.

Taken from Wiki since it was easy. I can provide more.
In freshwater or estuarine systems close to land, nitrate can reach high levels that can potentially cause the death of fish. While nitrate is much less toxic than ammonia or nitrite,[12] levels over 30 ppm of nitrate can inhibit growth, impair the immune system and cause stress in some aquatic species.[13] However, in light of inherent problems with past protocols on acute nitrate toxicity experiments, the extent of nitrate toxicity has been the subject of recent debate.

I'm willing to debate why you've stated nitrate is non-toxic.

 

What about adding bio pellets to drop the nitrates? I had always had a nitrate problem like yourself with no reason at all. I ran the bio pellets and have in over a year not seen any nitrates. I am not saying its a cure all but something to look into..