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david pinder
02/04/2010, 11:04 PM
My 1800 gal reef system been doing well for 18 months and I have some how stumbled. probably some 300 corals and 120 fish. Less than 20 fish are large most are small to keep down bioload. Everything been doing great and growing. 12 days ago had solatubes installed over tank. They work great as far as I can see. Its been cloudy here every day since installation but am still running 70% of my lighting. A few days after installation I started noticing some distress on a few corals. Had 4 lps that opened up about a foot wide everyday they quit opening I finally moved them to another tank this morning to see if they improved. Had 5 sps start to bleach 2 died quickly the other three seem to be improving. this out of maybe 180 sps specimens. all these were in the same approximate area. all three gonipora have closed three days but are opening sporatically now.. red bubble tip was getting ready to slit now hardly opens at all. also in the area of sps fatalities. Lps were 10ft from these deaths, Fish seem to be doing fine though I did loose an 8 inch orange shoulder tang a couple of days ago, first fish Ive lost in about 3 months. my parameters are. 4.5 alk,, 8.25 ph,,, .02 phosphates,,, 470 calcium,,,, 1.25sg,,, o ammonia,,,, .98 strontium,,,, 0 copper,,,, 1000 magnesium, what am I missing here.

david pinder
02/04/2010, 11:05 PM
Forgot nitrates are 0

lordofthereef
02/05/2010, 05:32 AM
While I have no experience with a tank of this magnitude nor your lighting choices, my best guess would personally be that the corals were simply put under too much stress from the lighting change. Did you take any steps to acclimate them to the light?

david pinder
02/05/2010, 08:12 AM
Lighting is the same where my lps and anemone are so that cant be the problem. The tube for that area hasnt been installed yet.

noahm
02/05/2010, 09:15 AM
The chemicals from the corals that are light stressed, may be triggering a bigger effect. Sunlight, even through solar tubes and through clouds. can be very intense. I would screen the solar tube area for a certain time length every day until the stuff can acclimate. It could be something else altogether, but I am leaning hard in the light direction.

Nothing fell into the tank during installation? Dust/debris/roofing particles?

david pinder
02/05/2010, 09:29 AM
Had considered screening the solatubes but it has been really cloudy here for 2 weeks there has not been bright sunlight. Also I have a 10 ft section of this tank where the corals are thriving from the sunlight. even in the area where corals are stressed there are other corals looking great.