Temp fluxuation leads to zoa bleaching?

[FLKeysGirl]

My heater in my 110 died and due to circumstance beyond my control I didn't know right away. My 4x65w PCs and the house being 70-72 when its 32-40 outside kept the tank 72-74 FOR A MONTH. Could extended light (12hrs/day)time in combo with temp drop bleach Zoas?

 

[ThatAquariumKid]

when i first set up my 55 gallon i had no heater. I have an 8 lamp t5ho setup and it actually kept my tank at 80 F. but at night when the lights were off it cooled down to about 72-74. One night i left my window open(winter) my tank got to lower than ever before at 60. all i had in the tank was 7 small zoa colonies. the next day all of them gone. so i don't know about the light but the tamp will absolutely effect the temp. A temp controller or a reef keeper is the way to go. I use a reef keeper lite and it works magic.

 

[A. Grandis]

My heater in my 110 died and due to circumstance beyond my control I didn't know right away. My 4x65w PCs and the house being 70-72 when its 32-40 outside kept the tank 72-74 FOR A MONTH. Could extended light (12hrs/day)time in combo with temp drop bleach Zoas?

Yes.

Grandis.

 

[FLKeysGirl]

Is it reversible?


Sharkbait! Ooh Ha Ha!

 

[MUCHO REEF]

My heater in my 110 died and due to circumstance beyond my control I didn't know right away. My 4x65w PCs and the house being 70-72 when its 32-40 outside kept the tank 72-74 FOR A MONTH. Could extended light (12hrs/day)time in combo with temp drop bleach Zoas?

Hello FlykeysGirl, sorry to hear of your misfortune, but don't despair, you can turn things around.

Yes, several things which transpired in your system could result in what you are experiencing

Take a look at the link below. See post # 1 and read the 2nd, 3rd and 4th paragraghs. Also take a look at post # 3.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...intentional+premeditative+color+shifting+why+

Once you've installed a new heater, with time and stability, your polyps will color up. It won' happen over night, but a stable system will go a long way in restoring their colorartion. It could take up to 4 months as I have actually purchased bleached polyps and restored them to full health. A bleach corals isn't necessarily a dead coral, so there's hope and this is reversible. Can you share a pic of their current condition?

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Mooch

 

[A. Grandis]

Is it reversible?


Sharkbait! Ooh Ha Ha!

If it's bleaching, possibly reversible. It will depend basically on how much the colony was affected and how much you'll keep the parameters stable enough after that. If the polyps lost almost all their zooxanthellae it will be very hard to save them in an aquarium.
I had bleaching events that took almost a year to " heal".
You know... bad things happens very fast, but the good things can take loooong to come to past.

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

Hello FlykeysGirl, sorry to hear of your misfortune, but don't despair, you can turn things around.

Yes, several things which transpired in your system could result in what you are experiencing

Take a look at the link below. See post # 1 and read the 2nd, 3rd and 4th paragraghs. Also take a look at post # 3.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...intentional+premeditative+color+shifting+why+

Once you've installed a new heater, with time and stability, your polyps will color up. It won' happen over night, but a stable system will go a long way in restoring their colorartion. It could take up to 4 months as I have actually purchased bleached polyps and restored them to full health. A bleach corals isn't necessarily a dead coral, so there's hope and this is reversible. Can you share a pic of their current condition?

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Mooch

Good link Mucho!:thumbsup:

Grandis.

 

[FLKeysGirl]

Thank you gentlemen! Mucho that is great info - bookmarked!!

Surprisingly they have begun to get some of their color back, not like they were but it appears 9 of the 12 frags are coloring back up slowly!!!

My RBTA which had the same issue is finally eating again and coloring back up too!! Hooray!


Sharkbait! Ooh Ha Ha!

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Thanks A. Grandis.

FLKeysGirl, that is great. Sounds like you're on the right track.

I purchased a few bleached polyps years back for little or nothing as the LFS just wanted to get rid of them. I placed them low in my system to allow them to acclimate for nearly 2 weeks. They received sporatic flow and I fed them Frozen Cyclop-Eez as this food has color enhancing propertise and I also feed them Coral Frenzy. In time, just as you've already experienced, they gradually colored back up over a span of several months. I never had an issue with them again.

Good luck.

Mooch

 

[A. Grandis]

So Cyclop-Eez helps with colors?
Does it have to be frozen?

I feed mine once a week with Coral Frenzy and I believe it's one of the best dry foods available. They like Fauna Marin zoa food too.

Grandis.