How Do You Keep Vibrant Colors in Your Pastel Polyps?

[Wy Renegade]

I'm curious to hear what other people are doing to keep vibrant colors in their pastel polyps, particularly pink. I've got both the Pink and Golds and Hawaiian Ding Dang PE, as well as a few other pink polyps, and I'm having the hardest time keeping the pink in them.

I originally had a coralife Phoenix 14K 250w MH w/ two 65w PCs and recently switched to a six bulb TEK t5 fixture. Under the 250w MH, the Pink and Golds originally kind of faded out totally, and now have come back with vibrant gold centers, but very little pink edging. The DDPE the first time under 250w MH, bottom, then middle of the tank turned dark - greenish to black. The second time, under t5s they look almost bleached, but not quite.

My tank falls in the normal range for parameters, temp runs around 80*, I have higher flow (2 K2s, 2K1s, and a QuietOne 4000 as the return pump on a 65gal tank).

So I would like to see a discussion regarding parameters, flow, lighting, temp, or anything else that you can think of that you have noticed having an impact on keeping the pastel colors (particularly pink) in polyps.

Read more: How Do You Keep Vibrant Colors in Pastel Polyps?

[Sir Patrick]

I beleive I acheive hot/pastel colors in my polyps with very low nutrients and the proper combo of lights.

I have just the opposite issue in my tank- the polyps go from a dark color to a hot/pastel look- especially the pinks and reds.

I run close to zero nitrates/phosphates, and run t5ho lights- 1 10 k, 1 purple, and 2 actinics.

[jimsflies]

I had one of those fiji pink T5's installed a couple years back and found that initially it brought out reds and pinks, but over a period of a few months the real red and pink colors appeared to fade.

But I think in general, polyps in lower nutrient environments tend to be more pastel looking whereas in higher they seem more vibrant. Sometimes one looks better than the other...usually it's the opposite of whatever you end up with that you want.

[ReeferRob]

In my personal experience to keep the hot pinks in polyps such as Chelseys Strawbery Wines, Pink Zippers, and Sticky Punch they enjoy Higher light with medium to high flow.
I experimented with the S.Wines at the sand bed and over a month of moving them higher and higher they got brighter and more vibrant.
Z and Ps do enjoy more nutrient rich waters, but with that said Im carbon dosing both tanks to help keep nitrates and phosphates at a minimum.

Great topic by the way hope others can chime in!

[Wy Renegade]

I'll have to post up some pictures of mine right now. My phosphates and nitrates both read zero on the test kits, I run carbon 24/7 using a carbon canister filter. My current bulb configuration is

ATI 54W Blue plus
UVL 54W Super Actinic
UVL 54W 75/25 14000K AquaBlue
ATI 54W Blue plus
ATI 54W Blue plus

[jimsflies]

Do you have some comparision pics as far as how the pinks looked before versus now? Are they turning brown or ?

[kozyreef]

I beleive I acheive hot/pastel colors in my polyps with very low nutrients and the proper combo of lights.

I have just the opposite issue in my tank- the polyps go from a dark color to a hot/pastel look- especially the pinks and reds.

I run close to zero nitrates/phosphates, and run t5ho lights- 1 10 k, 1 purple, and 2 actinics.

haha u r freaking lucky my tank is all brown from 2 moves in the past 3 months

[Wy Renegade]

Do you have some comparision pics as far as how the pinks looked before versus now? Are they turning brown or ?

When I got em in October;


This is in April;


I'll have to try and get a current picture of em know. The full gold center is back, and just a hint of pink in the skirts, but not the full color like when I got em.

[Sir Patrick]

I made a mistake....when I said low nutrients, I meant very low NO3 and PO4.

I have noticed high amounts of either will surely brown/dull out vibrant colored polyps.

I feed the tank very heavily and have lottsa fish poop for my tank size. I run a probiotic system to keep up with the waste. I am getting colors like I have never seen before in my polyps using this method.

I guess I should have said- I run a fairly high nutrient, but very clean tank to get vibrant reds/pinks.

[softiegirl]

in my own personal non too experienced opinion, i keep all my light colored palys/zoas at the bottom of the tank. Colors are much better.