Coral Color?

[sandry75]

Hi all,

I have a question regarding the color of my corals. My frogspawm and hammer were both green with pink tips and now, over 6-8months they have turned pale yellowish / orange. They are both growing nicely and the hammer has now split.

I have 65W of PC and 18W of T-5. Could this be due to the bulbs needing replacement? The PC's are about 8mths old and the T-5 are about 2-months old.

Sandry75

 

[cepaw]

Hi, alot of corals will change color, due to the type of light used.
I bought a trumpet coral, white under the pc's where I got it,
after 6 months in my tank with T-5's now its teal
I bought a SPS millipora blue under MH where I got it, after 5 months in my tank under T-5's its bright green
If there growing and spliting, your bulbs might not be the answer, it could just be the intencity of lighting

 

[sir_dudeguy]

Is this on your 36g tank? If so, then thats just not enough light IMO. That pc bulb would need to be replaced, yes, but personally i just think its due to lack of light. And especially since its just a single 65w one. If it were at least a 96w one you may have more luck....but i've got 4x96 on my 40 breeder and it seems that my hammer is reaching for the light still and its like halfway up.

 

[michaeldaly]

I also think you have two little light, add 2 or 3 more T5 tubes and you should be fine.

You could also start feeding your corrals to make up for the lowish light.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

oh and that t5 light that you have...its not even a HO (high output) bulb is it? I think 18w ones are just regular NO...

 

[sandry75]

Pics of what I mean

Pics of what I mean

Thanks Guys,
One mistake - The PC is a double bulb setup / one 10,000K and the other an ACT - this is true for the T-5 as well (and yes the T-5 is normal output - not HO).

Total output is over 100W.

The two corals are expanding to the point where thet look like they are going to pop! The look great except for the color?

Tank Shot

 

[tkeracer619]

Expanding like they are ready to pop is common for meaning too little light. They are reaching out for what light they have.

 

[DSMpunk]

You probably need to change those PC bulbs. When I used PC's I found that I needed to change my bulbs every 3-4 months. Maybe I had a crappy ballast or something, but they seemed to lose intensity very quickly.