corals loosing color

[jessinator752]

over the last few weeks i've noticed that my zoos and mushrooms have been fading in color. back in may my 135 gal tank crashed while i was on vacation. we lost a lot of livestock. i did some major water changed and within 3 days had all the levels back under control. we added some more stock to the tank and things were fine. all i have in my tank as far as corals go are zoos, mushrooms, and some gsp. all my red mushrooms are now a pale pink and my blue mushrooms are red. my rpe are now white and won't open. several other zoo colonies are starting to fade as well. my levels are: ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 40 (i just did a partial water change to bring that down) ph 8.2, and alk 10.2 for lighting i have 1 10k bulb running and 1 50/50 in just a basic light fixture. i have 2 smaller power heads, the return from my (i think) mag 10 pump, and a mag 7 going. any ideas why my corals would be loosing their color? is it a lighting problem? flow? thanks for your input, jessica

[alton]

What is the wattage for your 135?

[mathias]

or did you just add some new lights?????

[jessinator752]

what do you mean the wattage? as in the lights? i'm not even sure. they are coralife bulbs one 10k the other is 6k 50/50 actinic 03.

[erikharrison]

If they are the standard sized flourescent, like on F/W aquariums, those are no good! The light will not reach down deep enough to help the corals grow. Joshua has a 250w Double ended Metal Halide in a SWEET fixture for 150. If they are the smaller radius bulbs then you should just take them to an LFS and ask. I know it's probably far, but well worth it for some info! Take pics and post, maybe someone could help you!

[jessinator752]

i had metal halides in my tank when i first got the set up but my husband was reading online and said that we need to have a deeper tank for them. he said from what he understood from his research we needed to go with the pc lighting. the bulbs are only about 2 mo old. i just put them in there last mo so the blubs are closer to 3 mo old now. i traded them with someone on here for the lighting off of my 29 gal tank. he said he used it on his 90 gal tank and never had any problems with coral growth.

i do dose iodine as well as photoplex, zooplex, chromaplex, coral-vite, and essentail elements. i feed them all of those twice a week.

so i should go back to the metal halides then? i had some issues with the set i had not running the 14k bulbs, then the 10ks quit working so i just got rid of them. i don't know much about lighting/wireing so when something goes wrong i just get rid of them and get something else. i know it's probably not the best idea, but until my husband is able to fix things that's just what i have to do for now.

[erikharrison]

Try placing them higher in the tank with more flow as well as light.

[jessinator752]

they are all on top of my rock work, and i do have the flow aimed on them :D

[AMulwani]

Hmmm, what about the temp?

[AMulwani]

if the water is warm, corals bleach out.

[Texreefer]

with as few corals as you have..i would consider not dosing all that stuff,, it is IMO not needed.. + are you testing for iodine.. i bet if you did some water changes and stopped dosing iodine they might come around

[jessinator752]

so i should stop feeding all the liuqid foods then, and go back to metal halides and i'll be ok? my water is warmer in my 135, it's 84. i do not have a heater running right now. back in april it started shocking everything so i just pulled it and never replaced it considering i don't keep my house very cold. so that's probably part of my problem as well? what can i do to bring the temp down and keep it down? i thought about getting some clip on fans to put in the canopy, but wasn't sure if that would work so i've just left it alone.

[mathias]

clip on fan is a great start.... with canopy tops and high wattage lights water temp goes up quickly... get a clip on fan see how that helps... it will evaporate your water faster so watch your levels..... and if it helps but doesn't bring it down closer to 80 or below then turn your ac down a lil colder and see if you have a vent near by that you can point towards the tank...

[Bill S]

If you are getting to 84 or higher and it's staying there, that may be your problem. Every once in a while mine hits 83, and it scares the heck out of me. Corals DO take occasional spikes pretty well. In Belize 2 years ago, an area of the reef we were in got near well into the 90s!

[jessinator752]

ok, i will drop my ac down to around 80 and see if that helps. the water should stay room temp right, so if i keep the house cooler the water will stay cooler. i like it warmer so i tend to keep the house around 84 therefore my water stays at 84. thanks everyone!

[jessinator752]

so then the problem would be more along the lines of lighting issues? my tank was doing great up until it crashed while i was gone, then my halides went out so i changed the lighting. all my critters and fish seem just fine, but my corals are looking stressed and bleaching/fading. my mushrooms aren't opening full either any more. several polyps stay closed all the time now, and i lost a lot of them. i just want to fix this before i loose anything more.

[TAXMAN]

I wouldnt dose Iodine. The other vite and accel tou may not really need either. You'll keep that level up fine with water changes. You really dont have enough corals for a lot of feedings. So maybe once a week on the Phyto and Zoo.

The bulbs may be older than you think. I would replace them or get a better light setup. MH may be way more than you need if you dont want to grow hard corals. Do as Mathias suggested. Clip on a fan so they come on with the lights to keep the water temp down a bit. Mine was running up to 81-82 without any problems.

Flow shouldnt be a big issue either for your softies. Dont put them in derect flow that blast them all day unless you have the pumps cycling on a wavemaker or something.

Have you tested for phosphates? Whats the Ca level?

I think the bulbs and the temp are your bigest problems and they are easily fixed.

[jessinator752]

we do intend to go to sps and lps when my husband comes home from iraq. i'm not good with researching and understanding what i read. i learn by hands on or someone showing me how to do something, so he does the researching. that's why when something goes wrong i turn to you guys.

i don't use the floating hydrometer because i've heard to many bad things about them.

i will remember to adjust the flow so it's not directly on them but more in the general area then.

i guess i will start looking for some better lighting then. maybe i can find something i can just plug in and not have to worry about wiring. if not i'll have to wait a few more months.

my calcium is at 360 so it's a little low, but not to bad.

when i had my 29 gal set up i had clams and so many other things. they all did great in this system until it crashed in may. i was so devistated to come home from being gone a week to see that. i lost all my fish and so many corals, but we just looked at it as a reason to redo our system. now i'm just trying to keep what we have alive until we can update the system.

[TAXMAN]

If your going to go with some SPS I would go ahead and get the MH lights since your looking for new lights anyway.

[jessinator752]

ok, thank you for the tip. i will start to price them and hopefully get what we need soon. how much flow do i need in my tank for sps?

[TAXMAN]

Different people have different flow. It's really what works best for each tank. I have a 110 with lots of sps and use a Seio 100 and a Hydro 4. About 1200 gph each on a Seio controller so it's random. Thats it. I use my return pump which may be about 900-1000 gph to put flow behind the LR so it really doesnt hit the corals. MAny people use more flow and some use less. I think I'm on the lower flow end compared to a lot of tanks. I rememeber some tanks that had the back wall lined with MJ1200's that must have have 10000gph flow on a 180-230 size tank.

Do you test for phosphates? If they are high that could be the problem too. Do you run any carbon to clean the water? I might help. I just startede using carbon the other day. My ORP went from 340 which is where it was all the time to 440 in about an hour after starting the carbon.

How about a skimmer? Those help too. And dont always depend on the test kits. I've had tests that were all zeros and still had coral problems.

[jessinator752]

what is orp? right now i do not have carbon going on my reef. no, i don't have a phosphate test, i didn't know i needed to test for it. what are the important tests that i should have? i have calcium, alk, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

i have a red sea's berlin skimmer going. i've had it hooked up to my tank since april.

[TAXMAN]

I dont test PH. I read it with a sensor. I have heard that ph tests arent that accurate. But a phosphate test is good to have. Is your skimmer producing anything? I know many people that dont test for anything. They do a 10% water change per week and it keeps the levels good. If this is done you really dont have to suppliment anything unless you have a big load of corals or macro and such consuming it all.

As far os ORP goes. Heres a link. I think my fingers would fall off trying to type it out. :)
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-12/rhf/feature/index.php

[Bill S]

Sorry, I just can't agree with the "no testing" philosophy. After 35+ years of SW, almost every time I had a big, ugly problem, it was one I could have avoided if I'd only been paying attention (testing). Yes, I know there are some high profile folks out there that don't test. But, let's be honest, this isn't an easy hobby, nor is it very forgiving. If you don't test, I think the better suggestion wold be to "do as I say (test), not as I do". Test kits are cheap insurance (when you are keeping SPS).

As for test kits not being accurate, they are if they aren't old. And, I'd rely on a kit over my probe any day.

[TAXMAN]

Agree with the testing. I test and dont agree with the no testing guys. But it is done.

I dont agree on the kits always being accurate unless they are old. I have a buddy that uses Salifert. New kits. He tested his Ca at 340 and didnt think it was that low. He then went to 4 stores in Austin. The ones that tested with Sailfert tested his water at 450 and 540. Same water just different kits. THe other stores used different kits and they were also different.

I trust probes as long as you keep an eye on them. I still test though. I use the probes as a daily check and test the water about once a week with the kits. There really isnt a difference in the readings. When there is then the probe gets replaced or calibrated.

[erikharrison]

Try replacing the bulbs, put the corals near the surface. Direct your powerheads upward to cause miniwaves across your tank's surface. Stop dosing completely, and do a 20% water change. That should help. If your levels are high, try this method for a water change. Aprilmayjune sent me this info, and it works like a charm!

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/nitratecontrol/l/aa091901.htm

A big water change should do you good.

[jessinator752]

ok, i changed the direction of my powerheads, all my corals are at the top (they were before) i will stop dosing things, and do another water change. i did a 30% water change on monday. normally i do a 25-30% water change every 2 weeks, maybe i should start every week? i will get new bulbs as well.

[erikharrison]

Every week you should do 10%. Do 25% per month. You should be fine. Have you replaced the bulbs yet? Take either the bulb, or the housing with you to make sure you get the right stuff!

[TAXMAN]

And really if you get new bulbs, I would move them down in the tank a little. At least half way. The new bulbs will burn much brighter and can also kill them. They need to acclimate to the new bulbs. Or just cut down on the hours a little that the bulbs run. But then again PC's arent that strong so you would probably be fine. I use MH so I always think about the new bulb thing. :)

And I like 10% per week. I like to spread out the changes instead of 1 per month which also works fine. I think the smaller more frequent changes keep the water condition more stable and doesnt make such a big jump as the monthly changes.

[jessinator752]

yeah, i remembered when i got to the pet store that i really needed my old bulbs to make sure i get the right replacements.

i will start doing more smaller water changes. i think you guys are right and that will help my tank.

thanks again for all your help!

[TAXMAN]

no problem. I've had livestock die and hate to see it happen. I hate to have a problem and cant find the cause of it. THats why MAAST is such a great place. Great people and lots of help.

[jessinator752]

i just wanted to say thank you again to everyone for their ideas about my tank. i just wanted to update you all that gave me ideas and let you know that i have changed my lighting to pc's and started doing weekly 10% changes rather than the 25% every 2-3 weeks like i was doing. some of my stuff that was to far gone ended up dying, but all my new stuff and some of the old are thriving now. things are growing and spreading. it's so nice to see that change. i get so excited when i see a new polyp growing. it's a really nice change. again thank you everyone for your help with this problem.

[erikharrison]

awesome!

[TAXMAN]

great to hear everything is doing well now.