Red Dragon Color Change Pics

[CUNAReefer]

True Red Dragon. The color changed was initiated by increasing my K+, several large water changes, and increased feeding. This tank uses the full ZEO methodology.

Red dragon has a very deep reddish purplish base with light blue tips and white polyps.

8/5/2012

6-22-12


6-8-12

5-24-12

5-18-12

5-11-12

4-30-12

[McPuff]

I think Thomas Harris might disagree with you!

[CUNAReefer]

Whose Thomas Harris? And what does he dissagree on?

Nevermind LOL. Google is your friend. That was a great movie.

[tdb320reef]

Much Better.

[rmalone]

Pic makes it look sky blue, pretty for sure. That coral has such a nice growth habit that it would look cool in "poop brown".

[CUNAReefer]

Originally Posted by rmalone

Pic makes it look sky blue, pretty for sure. That coral has such a nice growth habit that it would look cool in "poop brown".

Hi RMalone,

The Red Dragon is a beautiful coral. I'll continue to post updated pics as the color improves further. I've really been trying to avoid the "blue" tint to the pics.

I have a Canon T2i with the stock macro lense. I've read the manual regarding the white balance, but still have trouble getting rid of the artificial blue color. Hopefully, I'll have a less blue pic for the next update.

Warmest Regards,
James

[jamey1010]

That's interesting, I've heard a lot of positive things in regards to potassium recently.

You were probably using a zeovit in particular supplement? I just ask because I wondered what the preferred supplement is and is the salt mix your using low in K+ compared to nsw.

I've never tested for it but certainly should take a look.

Thanks for the great info and results.

[CUNAReefer]

Hi Jamey,

Hope all is well!

You are correct, sir! Before I begin to touch on the use of potassium, I have to say that potassium is not something that is depleted rapidly in most aquariums.

Below is some information on NeoZeo, the Zeolite material I employ:

"NeoZeo is a zeolitic material that is specifically selected for adsorption of
ammonium in solution. By removing ammonium before it can be converted
into nitrite and nitrate, the nitrate concentration in the system typically
begins to decrease on it’s own as the pre-existing denitrification potential of
the system is no longer exceeded by the rate of nitrate production. The
media also removes other monovalent cations from solution, most
importantly potassium; therefore, potassium supplementation is required in
systems employing NeoZeo media."

From the ZEO Guide:

"Potassium deficiency can be diagnosed in different animals as follows:

Montipora, especially plating types, display slower growth and appear washed out to
grey. Latent potassium deficiency may also lead to tissue loss, spreading from one or
more spots. Stylophora and Pocillopora appear as if they have been exposed to air for a
long period of time. Polyps are completely withdrawn and colors are light and without
depth. Seriatopora may completely loose all tissue, starting from the base, within only a
few days. The pink coloration may turn into a light brown. Acropora may loose their
color and get lighter and pale. Growth stops completely. If the potassium deficiency
continues tissue is lost, mostly starting from the base. Tubinaria Reniformis stops
growth completely and withers away."

Now that you have consumed that little bit of information, I used Pohls K Balance Strong to bring my potassium level up to normal sea water levels. I used the new Red Sea potassium tesk kit to test my levels. To assess the accuracy of the test kit, I contacted Cristopher Brightwell for the potassium concentration in NeoMarine, the salt mix I use. At a Specific Gravity of 1.025, the potassium concentration is 399. The test kit showed 398. Over the course of a week, I raised my potassium from 340 to 410 (a little high). I would dose and test, dose and test, and dose and test.

I am now on my 8 month of ZEO. For the first seven months my colors became extremely pale and growth eventually stopped. After quite a bit of research, I increased my potassium, increased feeding, performed a series of water changes, lowered my PAR to 400 at the brightest part (temporarily), AND removed GAC from my system (forgot to mention this above). Since I now have a stabilized zeo tank, my colors are now becoming deeper and my growth has increased dramatically. In the comming months, I do plan on starting my official tank thread. Before I do, I want everything to be perfect. Please let me know if you have any more questions. I will provide updated pics on the reg dragon as I notice more change.

Warmest Regards,
James

[NewBostonConst]

Originally Posted by CUNAReefer

Hi RMalone,

The Red Dragon is a beautiful coral. I'll continue to post updated pics as the color improves further. I've really been trying to avoid the "blue" tint to the pics.

I have a Canon T2i with the stock macro lense. I've read the manual regarding the white balance, but still have trouble getting rid of the artificial blue color. Hopefully, I'll have a less blue pic for the next update.

Warmest Regards,
James

I just switched from a 40D to a 7D Canon and it deals with blue much better. Time to buy a newer one......I tried all kinds of stuff (white balance card, exposure) with the 40d and couldn't get it to take a good picture. The 7D takes good pictures right out of the box.

[CUNAReefer]

Originally Posted by NewBostonConst

I just switched from a 40D to a 7D Canon and it deals with blue much better. Time to buy a newer one......I tried all kinds of stuff (white balance card, exposure) with the 40d and couldn't get it to take a good picture. The 7D takes good pictures right out of the box.

Thanks, Kevin.

I found that my camera does have a custom white balance, but I need to pick up some white balance cards. I've seen this camera produce some pretty good shots. The current quality is due to my complete lack of skills. The only camera I used prior to purchasing this camera has been a point and shoot. I never thought it would be so hard to get rid of the blue tint. I am trying though

Warmest Regards,
James

[McPuff]

CUNA, after reading this post, I'm wondering if I have a deficiency in Potassium. That could be the reason for my Idaho grape being SO pale. And I think a couple other corals are less bright than they aught to be. Thanks for researching this! Time for me to check...

[CUNAReefer]

Originally Posted by McPuff

CUNA, after reading this post, I'm wondering if I have a deficiency in Potassium. That could be the reason for my Idaho grape being SO pale. And I think a couple other corals are less bright than they aught to be. Thanks for researching this! Time for me to check...

If I've helped at least one person with this thread, then this thread is a success! Good luck with the testing. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Warmest Regards,
James

[McPuff]

CUNA (et al.), here is something else you may consider before spending so much on the Pohls formula (I found this on Bostonreefers):

I recently ran out of Pohl's K-Balance Strong, a Potassium supplement necessary for Zeo systems. The old bottle had a price tag of $69.99 attached to it, so I was not eager to buy another bottle. After scouring the boards on RC, and a few other sites I found some great info. Both Brightwell Aquatics(Potassion) and Warner Marine have come out with cheaper K+ supplements than K-Balance, but the cheapest I could find being used in tanks(with Randy's Blessing) was Now Foods Potassium Chloride from iHerb.com. One bottle from iHerb($3.76) has about 3 times as much Potassium as a bottle of Potassion($9.69). That comes out to be $.03 per gram vs. $.24 per gram. Korallen does not publish their K-Balance Strong info, so I have no idea how much K+ is in a bottle.

Potassium Supplement Calculator(Use Reef Calculator)
"KCl is 52.5% Potassium by weight, using this percentage and the dosing for anhydrous calcium chloride we are able to get a rough estimate for the amount of KCl to dose… just multiply the number given by the calculator for the anhydrous calcium chloride by .7 to find the amount of KCl to add." Remember this needs to be slowly added over many days, and not all at once. No more than 10ppm per day.

Notes
I use Reef Crystals which has a K+ level ~250ppm. So when I do my water changes I make sure to add enough K+ to bring it up to ~390ppm.
If you find your blue corals fading like I did your K+ might be low. Since I got my K+ levels back to NSW levels my colors are returning.


iHerb Potassium Chloride
Use Coupon Code NOL862 for $5.00 off "

Here is a link to the calculator... Just remember to multiply your g needed by 0.7 since it is anhydrous.

'Reef Chemistry Calculator FV'

For my tank I made a small table so I know how much to add. Let's say my 180 has a K+ concentration of 250ppm (typical if using Reef Crystals, which I am). The calculator tells me to add 265g KCL. Multiply that by 0.7 to get 186g. Now, since the recommended max dosage is 10ppm per day I would want to spread this out over 14 days (390-250 = 140; 140/10ppm = 14 days). Then I would need to add 4g per 4 gal bucket when I do water changes to increase the K+ in the newly mixed reef crystals water.

Anyway, go check out the calculator and you can easily figure out what you would need. The original post on Bostonreefers can be found here:

Potassium Supplement Alternatives for Zeo

I hope this helps... and saves some money! I'm going to give it a shot.

[CUNAReefer]

Wow! I will have to check this out once my bottle is towards its end. This is extremely helpful. The ZEO system works, but the additives are by far the most expensive products on the market. Great post!

James

[tdb320reef]

I use a drop of Lugols Iodide solution. PIcked up a bottle for $10 a year and half ago and still have 3/4 of the bottle left. My blue and blue tips look amazing.