Need help, coral dying--picts inside

[yodatwo]

Hey everyone,

I bought these two guys about a month ago. They were doing great a the LFS, but have been fading in my tank. Any thoughts on what I could be doing wrong? Parameters are below.

<a href="http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c178/zachslow/?action=view&current=coral1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c178/zachslow/coral1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c178/zachslow/?action=view&current=coral2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c178/zachslow/coral2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

ca-425
kh-8
ph-8.3
no3-0
p04-0
temp-80
salinity-1.026
lighting is T5 HO 8x54watts
coral is about 18-22" from lighting


Thanks!

 

[abulgin]

No pics, but my guess is either they are bleaching because you didn't acclimate them to your lights/placement, or your T5HOs aren't providing enough light at 22" away. Do your T5s have individual reflectors?

 

[mr_fosi]

My first guess was the light. Either not enough or too much to have not been acclimated.

 

[yodatwo]

judging by the pictures, do you think they'll be alright? is there anything i can do now to fix it?

thanks

 

[yodatwo]

bump

 

[GSMguy]

feed more, that coral looks like it would prefer 5-10ppm nitrate.

 

[seapug]

It looks like bleaching. I don't think it's from too intense light, but perhaps there is some other parameter that is off. I've seen ones look worse than those and rebound in a few weeks, but something is off with the tank.

What kind of Maintenance routine are you on? Any Kalk spills, temp spikes, or dosing you've been doing?

 

[yodatwo]

my maintenance routine is pretty simple. i check parameters once a week and do monthly water changes. i dose Kents CA and KH accordingly.

it's weird because my other corals look great. i'm super confused about this one.

 

[tbittner]

How old are your bulbs? Age causes color shifts which corals do NOT appreciate.

What other livestock do you have in your tank?

 

[yodatwo]

thanks for all the feedback. bulbs are 2 months old--so i doubt that's it.

 

[tbittner]

What other livestock do you have in your tank?

 

[downhillbiker]

i would also agree that they will bounce back. did you change the light? or are these new frags. mine did the same thing when i got new lights and whenever i added a new frag that was from a tank with less intense lighting than my metal halides. they just went through light shock, and i cut back the photoperiod and put the frags in the bottom of the tank for a month or so and then moved them gradually higher up in the tank.