Help!!! Corals Dying

[cbayer]

I have had alot of problems keeping SPS corals in my tank. Most of them bleech out and the others that do survive have no vivid color. Here is my setup and someone please tell me what I am doing wrong. I have a 50 gallon corner aquarium with with 50lbs of live rock and about 3inches of live sand in my tank. My lighting is a 250w metal halide with a 12k reefflux bulb that hangs about 10 inches over my tank water. I have refugium with another 50lbs of live rock and about 5inches of sand in it with chaeto. I also have a remora pro and calcium reactor in the refugium. As far as my water paremters salinity is 32, nitrates under or around 20, Calcium 400, Kh 10, temp. 78. The only thing I can come up with is that my lighting may be hurting is wether to bright or not bright enough. I chose to hang it at 10 inches because I figured that wouldnt heat the water but maybe I am not giving the corals enough light. Also maybe I have the wrong bulb for reef growth and I know my nitrates being around 20 is not helping but I typically have them under 20. Any Ideas?

[RayAllen]

The lighting isnt your problem and it seems like you have all the right equipment. What kind of water do you use when doing water changes and how often do you do them. Someone will chime it that have more exp with SPS.

[Texreefer]

whats the length of your light cycle? when you say "bleach" i'm assuming they are just fading to white? or is there actual tissue loss,, how long after they go into the tank do they bleach? what light source are they coming from?
The nitrates are a big issue but won't necessarily cause bleaching but usually browning.. also what types of sps are we dealing with

[tony]

i have the same light with the same bulb hanging about 8" over my 37 cube

[erikharrison]

I would start with some water changes. Possibly a buildup of phosphates? I have the same light (diff bulb) hanging around ten inches from the surface of my water as well. I gradually move my corals from an edge of the light's spectrum more and more toward the center each day. Then I move them upward. Prior to trying this method I would put a coral in, wake up, and it was white. Also, on your fuge, are you running your lights at night? That helps keep alk/ph swings at night. I think that is right, someone please correct me if I am wrong! :)

[cbayer]

Well I use water from walmart and I generally do water changes about twice a month. I have my MH on for five hours and then another light on my refugium comes on when the MH goes off. Yes I am having actuall tissue loss on my corals. I bought a acan about two weeks ago and its preety much is dead now. The other corals generally start bleeching over a two month span if there not dead after that two week period. I get my corals from all over so I am not quite sure what light they are coming from. The only sps I have are zoos and a frogspawn. I also have a rose anemone that was awesome red and black in color when I got him but now he is a faded pink. The other thing i was going to note was that my tank is about 24inches deep and most of my corals are just over half the depth of the tank or lower. I guess what I am trying to say there is that my corals take up the bottom 14 inches and the remaing 10inches is just water so that is why I wandering if I should move my light lower.

[erikharrison]

Moving it lower is definitely the least expensive troubleshooting thing to try from here I would guess. Are your zoas "basking" in the light, or do they look as if they are struggling? If the PE on them is great, I would tend to point in another direction. Are you dosing? If so, what and how much? Also, aside from the above coral mentioned, do you have any others? Could you post pictures of what your tank looks like so we could get an idea on the amount and types of corals in the tank? The more information you give, hopefully will spark a fire in someone's brain so you can get a definitive answer. Best of luck.

[greenmako]

I would check for stray voltage in the tank since the damage is happening on all types of corals and livestock.

Also check your bulb you didn't state if it was DE or SE.
If it is an SE then check to see if it has any cracks on the bulb itself which could be letting in UV and hurting everything.
If it is an DE then make sure you are using UV blocking glass in the fixture.

I have seen problems like yours from both UV and stray voltage in the tank. Thats where I would start.

[Bill S]

OK, let me see if I have the facts right:

The lighting is a 250W bulb (age?)
The light is 10" above the water
The corals are 12" or MORE below the water
You are running your lights 5 hours a day

OK, now let's compare this with my setup:
I have 3 x 400w DE lights (6 months old)
My lights are about 2" above the water
I run my lights 8 hours a day
My SPS is ALL within the top 12" of the tank (it's 30" deep), and most in the top 8" or less

And yes, I'd check that bulb for it's UV shield.

[Richard]

The only sps I have are zoos and a frogspawn.

Ummm.....

[cbayer]

Sorry I meant lps. I dont have a camera but I will see if I can borrow one and get some pics up by sunday.

[Richard]

Oh ok, just to clarify...are you talking about losing sps or are you losing corals in general. It makes a difference in how to approach figuring out problem(s).