Crew;1041578 wrote: I have absolutely no research to back this up, but in my head, it makes sense that color would be poor during high growth spurts. Most/all of the color we are looking at are just zoox colonies growing on the coral. If the coral is getting bigger, that means fewer bacteria per square inch, meaning less color. I don't know if that is true or not, but it makes sense to me.
zoox brown to balance inside the coral in a symbiotic relationship to give the coral the energy it demands. high lighting will express the pigments moreso and allow for less zoox to provide the same energy level the coral needs.
calcium and carbonates force growth more often than not.
po4 inhibits this process and can cause the coral to go out of whack chemically even with elevated alk and calcium. (possibly why it stns)
coral coloring can be enhanced with certain trace elements.
a perfect example is iron.
if you dose your lawn with ironite it will turn the light green lawn in to a dark dark blue green. it seems the same with greens in corals. however, after a certain point you may achieve unwanted results.
iodide and potassium have also been linked to certain pigments as well.
one thing ive observed though....
the yellow polyp. i can achieve a bright bright yellow throwing it in a cave with low light. you would think the zoox would produce enough inside the coral to brown it. however if i place the same "yellow polyp" with the same parameters in high lighting, it turns a dark dark brown. (granted i upped the 10k range up to 90% which i will touch on below)
take it for what you will. just some observations and exceptions i take note to.
There is also the theory that 6500-10k lighting gives the lux (light intensity) & par needed for increased growth in their respected color ranges, while the higher kelvin bulbs make the colors "pop" and starve the coral's other pigments. This would coincide with a browning color and more growth we observe. Would make sense since certain colors "reflect" a wave length of light that we perceive as color, and others absorb it.
It would also coincide with LFS that keep the higher kelvin to "color up" the shiny coral for sale.
