Too much light? T5 halide

[dantdodge]

I am struggling here. I have a 6ft. X 3ft deep x 22in high rimless. I have been keeping sps corals for the better part of 20years now. I have run all types of lighting t5 halide led successfully.

I have had sps corals in the tank for about a year some newer.

Alk 8.9
Calc 420
Mag 1289
Salt 1.024

Lighting 3x 250 radium halides are run on selectawatt ballest on the hqi setting. 4 x80w t5
T5 1030am 830pm
Halides 1230pm 330pm

Halides are about 13 to 14in from water line.

I run a refugium opposite light cycle and calcium reactor

Weekly water changes 40 gallons some have been 60 gallons.

I recently have put in some beautiful corals and they held there color for about a week or two and watch them slowly turn dull and unhealthy looking. Over time while growing.... slowly. I have just never experienced this my parameters stay rock Solid. Sent off a test sample for triton reading it was low on elements that cheato would use to flourish but other then that nothing out of line.

Bad ballast?
Blasting them with too much light?
Any thoughts?

 

[kharmaguru]

Are the corals turning brown or turning pale?

Is it just the new additions? Something to consider is almost everything is grown under LEDs now, so it may take some time for new corals to adapt to halide/T5.

I'll assume your bulbs are good since you have lots of experience.

 

[JohnL]

Halides 1230pm 330pm

This seems like a very short period to me.

 

[polywise]

I use to run VHO's 10 hrs, & MH 6hrs

 

[JohnL]

How do the older corals look? What was your previous lighting?

 

[VWD]

I wouldn’t think it’s the light myself in that deep of tank and above the water 13 inches.
I am running 250 Mh and 4 t5 actinic about 7 inches above the water on a tank that is only 17 inches tall. I run the Mh about the same amount of time.

 

[dantdodge]

Are the corals turning brown or turning pale?

Is it just the new additions? Something to consider is almost everything is grown under LEDs now, so it may take some time for new corals to adapt to halide/T5.

I'll assume your bulbs are good since you have lots of experience.

Some turning brown then pale out I have had two rtn over night. All while growing all be it slow but growing. bulbs are good 100 percent. The older corals were under t5 halides. New additions from battle corals (halide grown ) those came in with outstanding color and held those colors for about 2 to3 weeks and slowly turned brown. Some have some signs of color. New additions. I have always expected some shock or color change but with In a month are back on track growing at a rapid pace and coloring as expected.

I don't do any additives I am using fritz salt I have have been a die hard reef crystal fan. And all previous tanks were run on that. So frits reef salt is something I have never used.

Very slow drip on calcium reactor as there is not much demand.
Royal exclusive skimmer 200 supermarin. Mp60 one side 2 mp 40s other side

I do have some soft corals on the sand that seem to be in good shape. I do have anothertank in the house second floor running prime 16 on that for lighting.. corals In That tank look way better no refugium same saltwater goes into water changes on that tank. Zoas blastos chalice candy canes scolimas sponges zero issues no sps in that one.

 

[dantdodge]

How do the older corals look? What was your previous lighting?

Older Corals are the same just have grown more. Previous light halide t5

 

[kharmaguru]

Brown usually means not enough light and\or high nutrients. How's your phosphates?

Any chance some vermin came in? Black bugs, red bugs, nudis?

 

[dantdodge]

Brown usually means not enough light and\or high nutrients. How's your phosphates?

Any chance some vermin came in? Black bugs, red bugs, nudis?

.025 I don't think so.. not ruling it out I think I could spot nudi or red bugs.. ran Into those before. Black bugs no experience with that...

 

[dantdodge]

 

[dantdodge]

 

[dantdodge]

 

[dantdodge]

 

[dantdodge]

Flicked the lights on to take some pictures. Wrasses were not happy

 

[dantdodge]

Something else I have noticed is very little to no polyp extension.

 

[acropora4u]

i run 2x250w hqi halides, 1 x kesill a500x and 4xt5 8ow and 2 x or3 light bars...halides on 5.5 hrs and rest about 10 hrs for a 12 hr photo period. all sps acropora for me and works well

 

[NuclearReefs]

I am struggling here. I have a 6ft. X 3ft deep x 22in high rimless. I have been keeping sps corals for the better part of 20years now. I have run all types of lighting t5 halide led successfully.

I have had sps corals in the tank for about a year some newer.

Alk 8.9
Calc 420
Mag 1289
Salt 1.024

Lighting 3x 250 radium halides are run on selectawatt ballest on the hqi setting. 4 x80w t5
T5 1030am 830pm
Halides 1230pm 330pm

Halides are about 13 to 14in from water line.

I run a refugium opposite light cycle and calcium reactor

Weekly water changes 40 gallons some have been 60 gallons.

I recently have put in some beautiful corals and they held there color for about a week or two and watch them slowly turn dull and unhealthy looking. Over time while growing.... slowly. I have just never experienced this my parameters stay rock Solid. Sent off a test sample for triton reading it was low on elements that cheato would use to flourish but other then that nothing out of line.

Bad ballast?
Blasting them with too much light?
Any thoughts?

Run a Carbon Reactor? . That can really polish water up and raise PAR....

 

[shred5]

A couple of things and these can be hard to track.
Agreed with above brown usually means not enough light . They are increasing zooxanthellae to make more food.
Sps sometimes brown as they adjust to different lighting to.
Light color corals usually means too low of nutrients. Seems to happen sometime when a new tank is also set up with dead rock early on.

Polyp extension many things. Pest like acro flatworms, a fish picking on them. I talked with one guy who had no polyp extension lately and found leaky voltage in his water. some of these can also lead to lite colored corals.

All of them could be from something bad in the water too.

 

[Genetics]

I see you have a patch of hair algae which suggests it could be ongoing leaching of phosphates.

I had a setup like this where my corals were a bit brown on fading on the underside. If the MH bulbs are new then I would look at flow within the tank. Do you have a healthy amount or is it linear?

The other issue would be pH swings. Idk what your pH is at dusk and what it reads in the morning bug that could be something go look at.

How do you supplement? Calcium reactor? Two part?