coral coloring

Combination of everything. If you have high nutrients (nitrates or phosphates) or subpar lighting your corals will likely be brownish.
 
First things first, lighting, equipment and water parameters. Is this a recent change or they've never been very colorful? Also, the species you've shown here just aren't very colorful varieties. The GSP is green, xenia is tan/pinkish, and zoas can be just as dull as a xenia or as bright as the sun...
 
lighting id say

the zoas you showed arent really that colorful .. i have both in my tank ..

then one in the firt pic is very bright pink under actinics though .. second one .. just bleh lol :)
 
they are under 2- reeflux 12's mh 150s in a 75gallon. I understand the xenia but the zoas always seem more colorfull when I purchase them
 
Do you have any actinic accent lighting at all? That really brings out the pop in most corals. If you don't, you cen get LED actinic for pretty cheap in strips that will do the work without buying a T5 fixture.
 
my hood has two compact down the sides but the bulbs are old and I wasnt sure if it was necessary to replace them
 
Another thing to, are you acclimating them to the light? Sometimes that can have a drastic affect on the zooxanthellae.
 
jonh5150 said:
is there a secret to getting really good color? Is it based on water quality or feeding routine or maybe lighting. My corals do well but they don't seem to color as well?View attachment 4546View attachment 4547
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From the looks of the pictures you have plenty of coraline growth....Although I can't tell if that is just DIY rock colored to look like coraline. If it's not then you have plenty of light and water must be ok. I would say that it is just that the corals are not the brightly colored variety. You can always try to change bulb brands or Kelvin.
 
After trying everything everyone else here has mentioned, try vitamin C. I think plenty of folks here will attest to their colors popping when they dose.
 
+1 Vitamin C is good for you and your coral!

Hey Jeni, Just wanted you know that the little green toadstool I bought from you is doing great! Remember how skinny and streched out it was, well now it is all stocky and short! Guess it doesn't need to fight for light anymore.
 
Ok I have really nice coralline new and old . I am going to replace the supplemental compacts as well. Any thoughts on what bulbs to get . I run the halides 9 hours a day and the moons at night.
 
jonh5150 said:
Ok I have really nice coralline new and old . I am going to replace the supplemental compacts as well. Any thoughts on what bulbs to get . I run the halides 9 hours a day and the moons at night.
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Look for a combo bulb that has 420nm and 454nm wavelengths. It will cover both the blue and purple spectrums giving your coral more chances to "pop". Another thing to try is to go from a 12k to a 20K MH bulb. Chances are your PC's are not strong enough to punch through that bright 12K spectrum.

Aside from that, it might be that you don't have irredescent corals.
 
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