Bleached SPS frags .... what to do now?

[Merfin70]

So I think I bleached some of the first SPS frags in my new tank (added them about 2 months ago) and I'm wondering what to do now, if anything, to improve their health. I was thinking that time will heal them and they would get used to the light but wanted to ask to be sure as it's been 60 days or so and I see little improvement in color. Would have thought by now they would be a little happier, no?

This is my first all T5 tank and it's shallow at probably 15" of water so I'm struggling to get used to the intensity of the fixture vs. depth. I started the first batch of frags low however in my tank, low is probably 18" from the fixture. Clearly they are unhappy. Not dead as no algae grows on them but varying shades of white to light tan.

I've done better with newer frags by shading them over the first couple of weeks but even there, a couple have bleached on me.

I'm running my lights (6x39w ATI Sunpower) about 6" off the water now.

Question: Should I just leave everything "as is" and wait until they get used to the light intensity or is that not going to happen unless I change some things around/lessen the intensity for a while?

 

[Dustin1300]

Sorry to say but I'd say they are gone

 

[rutz81]

I don't think they're dead.

I did something very similar(maybe not as bleached as that, but, close on a few). I am running 10x54W(ATI PM) on a 20" deep tank. I dropped all the ones that were badly effected to the sandbed and plan on not moving them until they start showing more color.

 

[Dustin1300]

Just to confirm, did you say they have looked this bleached for two months? If so, have you seen any polyp extension since? When first added did you acclimate to your lighting? I typically will leave at sand bed for over a week. Move up in the tank gradually on rock work where I can wedge plug in and then to final placement 3-4 weeks in.

 

[buy_baff]

Sorry to say but I'd say they are gone

You can clearly see polyp extention in the first pic.

 

[Merfin70]

Definately not dead but certainly not happy. I had a couple of "too small" frags that didn't make it and quickly got covered in algae as expected. The frags in the pics are white-ish but certainly alive. Not much in the way of polyp extension but not dead.

Have yours started to color back up again?

I don't think they're dead.

I did something very similar(maybe not as bleached as that, but, close on a few). I am running 10x54W(ATI PM) on a 20" deep tank. I dropped all the ones that were badly effected to the sandbed and plan on not moving them until they start showing more color.

Just to confirm, did you say they have looked this bleached for two months? If so, have you seen any polyp extension since? When first added did you acclimate to your lighting? I typically will leave at sand bed for over a week. Move up in the tank gradually on rock work where I can wedge plug in and then to final placement 3-4 weeks in.

They have looked similar for at least 45-60 days however have shown no signs of attracting algae, so I think they are still alive. Very little PE on the ones that are most severly whitened. I started them all in the sand bed however I fear that the light was still too close to them. Sandbed vs. light at the time was only 20". Since I've mounted them, they have been encrusting well and starting to branch in some cases.

So now the $64 question. Should I be trying something different or just leaving things "as is" to see if they eventually adjust to the lighting? I see folks with frags a couple of inches under 400w MH so I can't imagine that they are incapable of adjusting. Or is it that once they bleach, there is no path to recovery as the have expelled the necessary zoox? I'm not as educated on coral problems and recovery so a bit lost on whether they stand a chance.

 

[Merfin70]

You can clearly see polyp extention in the first pic.

Yes I believe them all to be alive. Just very white .....:worried:

 

[madmike]

FYI I run a 6 bulb sunpower on a 18" tall tank and originally had the lights about 6" off the water and bleaching started. I pulled out my par meter and was shocked that I had over 500 par on the sandbed, 600-800 up top. I have moved them to about 14-16" off the surface of the water now and things are much better! The ATI fixtures put out a TON of par, especially when there on shallow tanks. I would move them up ASAP or get ahold of a par meter to see where you are at.

 

[rogerwilco357]

question

question

what color where they before you put them in your tank?

 

[rutz81]

Have yours started to color back up again?

Most yes, but, then I took those and moved a few of them up too quickly I guess and, AGAIN I bleached some of them, pulled them back down as soon as they started. I really think I need to find a way to mount my lights higher than 6".

I have a maricultured colony of granulosa, that is on the sand bed and still sort of bleached.

 

[Merfin70]

FYI I run a 6 bulb sunpower on a 18" tall tank and originally had the lights about 6" off the water and bleaching started. I pulled out my par meter and was shocked that I had over 500 par on the sandbed, 600-800 up top. I have moved them to about 14-16" off the surface of the water now and things are much better! The ATI fixtures put out a TON of par, especially when there on shallow tanks. I would move them up ASAP or get ahold of a par meter to see where you are at.

Thanks Madmike. What did the PAR on the sandbed drop to when you elevated the light up?

what color where they before you put them in your tank?

Not white .... :twitch: All were nicely colored frags with far more zoox than they have now. On a serious note, seems the blues and purples bleached more. My red and pink millies took the light in stride without issue as did my pink lemonade and pink jade.

 

[Merfin70]

Most yes, but, then I took those and moved a few of them up too quickly I guess and, AGAIN I bleached some of them, pulled them back down as soon as they started. I really think I need to find a way to mount my lights higher than 6".

I have a maricultured colony of granulosa, that is on the sand bed and still sort of bleached.

Lacking any other advice, think I'm going to move mine to 12"-14" or so off the surface today and try that for a couple of weeks. How long did it take to show some improvement so I can get a feel for how quickly they responded?

 

[Surf&turf]

How long has the system been set up?

I looks very fresh, no coraline growing anywhere.

Maybe just not mature/stable enough.

 

[Merfin70]

System has been up since January. My bad photo skills make things look cleaner than they really are. Some coralline but not too much except for everything plastic. The rocks are all BRS Eco Rocks so very white.

 

[rutz81]

System has been up since January. My bad photo skills make things look cleaner than they really are. Some coralline but not too much except for everything plastic. The rocks are all BRS Eco Rocks so very white.

Interesting; very similar look to mine like I said. And, I also used BRS Eco Rox. I think the cleanliness/lack of nutrients of the tank is playing a major role in both of our tanks. Recently, I've been dosing some Amino's and Roti-Feast. Defintely been seeing some better polyp extension, which I think in turn will lead to healthier/ more colorful corals.

 

[joshrules123456]

1. check your parameters, and make sure they are in a desirable range, they arent dead unless they peel. 2. are you running an ultra low nutrient system?, too much phosphate and nitrate are bad, but you need a trace amount for the zooaxlle in the coral to live, if you are at zero, try adding a little bit of food, or backing off your vodka/zeo/etc., this can also be caused by a young tank, and both situations WILL bleach coral.3 yes, depending on more than a few factors, especially if you have fresh bulbs, if your light is more powerfull than the coral's previous light, it WIll bleach the coral. With my experiences, Id say your corals dont really look that bad, I just stress that you make sure that you are checking All of your parameters regularly so you are 100% sure that isnt the problem, sps are very sensitive to water chemistry (throw temperature in there too), and If I were you, I would try backing off the light by raising it over the tank, or removing a few bulbs, the slowly, over weeks, adding one at a time. As I said, your coral isnt dead yet, Ive seen worse and brought them back, more than a few times, another thing to remember, is that depending on the particular species, it takes a few months to about a year, sometimes more for sps corals to regain their color

 

[madmike]

My par dropped to 1-200 at the bottom when I raised the light to about 14" off the water

 

[Merfin70]

Interesting; very similar look to mine like I said. And, I also used BRS Eco Rox. I think the cleanliness/lack of nutrients of the tank is playing a major role in both of our tanks. Recently, I've been dosing some Amino's and Roti-Feast. Defintely been seeing some better polyp extension, which I think in turn will lead to healthier/ more colorful corals.

Besides the look, my tank shouldn't be/isn't that clean. I have a good amount of fish and don't carbon dose. Only the skimmer for waste removal and a drain sock. I'm a little fearful of dosing aminos or other addatives as I have a little algae here and there already. Don't want to encourage any more than I have.

1. check your parameters, and make sure they are in a desirable range, they arent dead unless they peel. 2. are you running an ultra low nutrient system?, too much phosphate and nitrate are bad, but you need a trace amount for the zooaxlle in the coral to live, if you are at zero, try adding a little bit of food, or backing off your vodka/zeo/etc., this can also be caused by a young tank, and both situations WILL bleach coral.3 yes, depending on more than a few factors, especially if you have fresh bulbs, if your light is more powerfull than the coral's previous light, it WIll bleach the coral. With my experiences, Id say your corals dont really look that bad, I just stress that you make sure that you are checking All of your parameters regularly so you are 100% sure that isnt the problem, sps are very sensitive to water chemistry (throw temperature in there too), and If I were you, I would try backing off the light by raising it over the tank, or removing a few bulbs, the slowly, over weeks, adding one at a time. As I said, your coral isnt dead yet, Ive seen worse and brought them back, more than a few times, another thing to remember, is that depending on the particular species, it takes a few months to about a year, sometimes more for sps corals to regain their color

Thanks for the info. My parms are good. Temp is on my controller. Ca and Alk are fairly well dialed in with my BRS dosing pumps. I'm not actively trying for ULNS and do not currently carbon dose this tank. It does test 0/0 for Nitrates and Po4 but I have a small amount of algae that I assume is eating it up. From the advice so far, it does feel like I should be moving the light up 10" or so for a while and seeing what difference that might make.

My par dropped to 1-200 at the bottom when I raised the light to about 14" off the water

Thanks that's a good benchmark to know while I seek out a PAR meter locally. Feels like a height of 12" or so off the water surface would be a better place for me for now until I figure things out a little better.

 

[2006]

FYI I run a 6 bulb sunpower on a 18" tall tank and originally had the lights about 6" off the water and bleaching started.

madmike what bulbs are you using and what is your photoperiod?

I have the same fixture and tank depth. I was running bulbs 10" from the surface, 2 bulbs 12hrs and 4 bulbs 8hrs.

My birdsnest bleached. My tri-color and all smooth skinned purple acro's look beige/tan now.

Roscoe's, pink lemonade, blue millie and sps with longer polyps are fine.

Reduced photoperiod last week to 2 bulbs 12hrs and 4 bulbs 6hrs after doing some research.

 

[Merfin70]

madmike what bulbs are you using and what is your photoperiod?

I have the same fixture and tank depth. I was running bulbs 10" from the surface, 2 bulbs 12hrs and 4 bulbs 8hrs.

My birdsnest bleached. My tri-color and all smooth skinned purple acro's look beige/tan now.

Roscoe's, pink lemonade, blue millie and sps with longer polyps are fine.

Reduced photoperiod last week to 2 bulbs 12hrs and 4 bulbs 6hrs after doing some research.

Interesting, similar experience here. Millies are all fine as are stags. Smooth skinned acros have taken things the worst of the frags.

Would like to know Madmike's bulb line up and photoperiod as well. I'm currently running the following.

ATI BLUE +
KZ FIJI PURPLE
KZ NEW GEN
ATI BLUE +
KZ NEW GEN
ATI BLUE +