lights burning corals?

[petere1989]

I was just wondering if my lights are burning my corals. This one in particular when i got it, it looked like this

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2ce03b3127ccef1386f5e76d400000030O20AYtmTlyzZMmoPbz4A/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D2/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/

now the teal has faded and its all purple. and then I had a toadstool mushroom in there (which wasn't in good condition in the first place) but it shrivled up and turned a blue color.

I have 2 blue plus, 1 fiji purple, and 1 aquablue special T5 bulbs.

For right now until I get some answers I have my 2 blue plus's only on for a few hours in the morning and then at night once the fiji purple turns off.

And also i have a piece of sps coming tomorrow via fedex so i hope i get some answers today, as i'm sure the sps will require all the lights??? (first sps piece ever in the hobby)

EDIT: also they are about 6 inches above the water level and I have them on from 10:00am to 9:00pm

[HV1990]

thats a long time to have lights running. I run mine for about 4.5 hours max.

[petere1989]

oh really? i thought that coral needed lights in order to survive. i could cut it back a few hours if that'd help.

(maybe their getting to much light?)

[Dapg8gt]

4.5 hours for all lights? Wow never heard of a total cycle that low. Good to know they thrive at that low of an interval.

I run my lights for 8 hours. T5's on for an hour then halide on for 6 hours then 1 hour T5's FWIW.

What lights did the corals come from? How far away from lights are the corals? Have you tried to move them lower and see if they improve? Also have there been any changes in water parameters.

If its only the new corals affected I would suspect bleaching try to move them lower and try to get the recommended flow to them. Some LPS are very sensitive to too much flow I've literally blown encinatas off the skeleton not paying attention to where I placed them flow wise. Pic you posted looks like its maybe an Acan encinata. (--- spelling :-)

Hope your corals improve and good luck on the SPS. Make sure you have means to supplement cal alk and mag and test for them more than usual if you are putting a nice colony or numerous frags in they can change your entire chemistry rather quickly.

[staindsoul]

I'm running mine at 9.5 hours. Do you have pictures of what they look like now?

Never heard of 4.5 hours, but I ain't been around a long time etheir.

[Reef Bass]

4.5 hours total is uber short IMHO.

Coral going all purple is not likely a too much light issue. Coral becoming pale and bleached is more likely a too much light / not yet aclimated to that intensity issue.

Pictures would help.

[petere1989]

4.5 hours for all lights? Wow never heard of a total cycle that low. Good to know they thrive at that low of an interval.

I run my lights for 8 hours. T5's on for an hour then halide on for 6 hours then 1 hour T5's FWIW.

What lights did the corals come from? How far away from lights are the corals? Have you tried to move them lower and see if they improve? Also have there been any changes in water parameters.

If its only the new corals affected I would suspect bleaching try to move them lower and try to get the recommended flow to them. Some LPS are very sensitive to too much flow I've literally blown encinatas off the skeleton not paying attention to where I placed them flow wise. Pic you posted looks like its maybe an Acan encinata. (--- spelling :-)

Hope your corals improve and good luck on the SPS. Make sure you have means to supplement cal alk and mag and test for them more than usual if you are putting a nice colony or numerous frags in they can change your entire chemistry rather quickly.


the coral was under just a normal fish bulb at the store. it came from a LFS that really has no clue about corals but they still stock some. this one looked actually red and green, then i got it home, and it changed to the teal and purple color, then a few days later it went to all purple. it doesn't look like its dying by any means but still not the right color.
the lights are 6 inches above the water level. and no my water parimeters have been perfect for weeks, but saying that, i have not checked alk/calcium in a long time.

[petere1989]

heres what it looks like right now.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2ce10b3127ccef12b3f52b6df00000030O20AYtmTlyzZMmoPbz4A/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D2/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/

[staindsoul]

How much flow do you have going? That looks like tissue recession on the bottom center starting.

[alazo1]

It sounds like you're initial thought may be right on as it may be getting too much light. I would put it in the sand asap to start off with. I wouldn't worry too much about it changing colors for now however I'd be concerned with the tissue recession. It does look like it may be burning. The amount of lights you have on them seems significantly more then they were in (depending what you mean by "lfs had them in fish lights").

What other corals do you have and how are they doing?. How long have you had your other corals?

Albert

[kingfisher62]

I would check your alk .

It looks like some bubbles on the coral and rock. Are you having any issues with cyano or dino ?

Try some waterchanges.

[Dapg8gt]

How old is the tank? Water being good for weeks to me sounds like a new tank. I would def check all parameters of the water. Cal,alk,mag,nitrate,nitrite, phosphate and ammonia if it's a newer tank. Looks like its a water quality issue to me the other poster is right most of the time too much light usually leads to a bleached faded appearance.Try some other spots to see if it changes. I would advise a full test of all parameters and see where your at and what could be causing the issues.

Do you have other corals? Or are these the first.

[petere1989]

its been up for like, 2 months, maybe a bit longer. the water perimeters are holding good though, i'm checking them twice a week, except for alk./calcium. i'm going to start doing those though tomorrow.

and yea i'm having algae issues like crazy. im using RO water and still getting brown algae, and the bubble algae. still not sure what to do about it. i was told to switch to distilled water and see if that helps. and i ordered some turbo sails.

i have 7 other coral in the tank right now and their all doing just fine.
as for flow i moved the power head to the corner of the tank up a little higher then what it was.

and i will move the coral to the sandbed and see if that helps it at all.

any more insight will be great! -thanks everyone who posted!

[petere1989]

(depending what you mean by "lfs had them in fish lights").


Albert

and what i meant by this is that the lights were not for coral at all, just white lights used to light up the tanks. AND the coral was upside down when i found it. like i said, they know nothing about coral but still stock a few pieces here and there.

[GPB]

I'd think it was something else. Parameters should be checked first. I have 6 x 24W T-5's. I bleached a Favia pretty bad with them. Had to cut back on the 10K bulb photoperiod.

I now run 10 hours with 2 x Blue Plus, and 8 hours with 2 x Blue Plus , Purple Plus (1), and Geismann Powerchrome (1).

Your coral doesn't looked bleached , it's receeded.

[petere1989]

i'll check perimeters later today and ill post them here.

[victor escobar]

In addition to that the coral you show looks like an australomussa. it is a coral sensitive to changes and to light, if the light is too strong t burns if it is too weak then it doe not thrieve

[petere1989]

In addition to that the coral you show looks like an australomussa. it is a coral sensitive to changes and to light, if the light is too strong t burns if it is too weak then it doe not thrieve

ok thats good to know. thanks! so the lighting has to be just perfect? see, i wish they told you this stuff at the store instead of just trying to make a sale. if somebody really cared they would tell you some things about it. i would of still bought it but still.