Upgraded tanks SPS fine for a week, then rapidly began to bleach

[BigWaz]

So I upgraded to a 120 gallon from a 72, i used almost all the water from the 72, but my SPS corals began bleaching fast, my montipora plate began bleaching, so did my green bali, and my blue tort. One cluster SPS is not bleaching and the frags are bleaching. Any idea why this is happening?? My hammer coral is also not looking good. I'm going to look closely at the temperature thoughout the day but I'm not sure if I'm missing something.
Thanks

 

[clkwrk]

What about flow ? It brings food to sps in a nutrient poor tank.

Did the holding tanks get hot or was it just from one tank to another type swap?

 

[bskiba]

that would be close to a 50% water change in the new tank. If the water got too clean the light could have bleached it. do you use regular carbon? I would have turned the photo period down. if nutrients go up then the would likely brown out.

 

[zoazoa]

SPS corals are so sensitive at change of environment. So sps grows much better in old tank comparing with new one.

 

[DaddyJax]

Also are the lights any closer to the water? I would place screens on the top under the lights for a couple of weeks and do an aclimation or you may lose them.

 

[REEF-DADDY]

I am going with lighting too. Same thing happened to me. I did not realize my lights were 3" closer to the water on my new tank.

 

[comatose]

ammonia spike?

check ammonia and nitrites.

 

[BigWaz]

The lighting is the same distance. No spikes. But the temp is a little high, it reached 79.9 F by the end. I keep the MH's on for 5 hours now and the blue lights on for 7 hours. ya, although i used all the water from the old tank i have a lot of new water. My calcium is at 375 so it's a little low. I use B-Ionic so it's a little difficult to raise it quickly. Umm the pH is fine. I think it might be the new tank because the hammer coral isn't doing well either. My flow is better in this tank than the old one. They are just about dead. I don't think they'll be coming back, but I mean they are all tiny. Not like losing a 400 gallon tank or anything. I'd like a good conclusion so I can not make this mistake again though.

 

[clkwrk]

Then I will say that your bacteria populations suffered during the swap and thefore your SPS suffered. I believe the bacteria in our systems requires the stability and not the corals .

 

[hornybear]

did you dose anything in ? I dosed some amquel into my sps tank and wiped out everthing.

 

[BigWaz]

i did add carbon to this tank, in my old tank i didn't really do carbon.

 

[REEF-DADDY]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7506460#post7506460 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigWaz
The lighting is the same distance. No spikes. But the temp is a little high, it reached 79.9 F by the end. I keep the MH's on for 5 hours now and the blue lights on for 7 hours. ya, although i used all the water from the old tank i have a lot of new water. My calcium is at 375 so it's a little low. I use B-Ionic so it's a little difficult to raise it quickly. Umm the pH is fine. I think it might be the new tank because the hammer coral isn't doing well either. My flow is better in this tank than the old one. They are just about dead. I don't think they'll be coming back, but I mean they are all tiny. Not like losing a 400 gallon tank or anything. I'd like a good conclusion so I can not make this mistake again though.

I run my tank at 80 so I am sure that is not your problem. 375 calcium although low won't cause any real harm. I feel your pain my 280 crashed completely back in Feb, due to an equipment failure. This is after I battled bleaching and STN issues for 2 months because of the lighting. In order to figure this out for sure you'll have to change one thing at a time and see how the tank reacts. I would start with lighting, cut the MH back to 2 hours and see if whatever is left perks up. I know you are local. When you get things together I'll hook you up with some frags to get you back on your feet!

 

[REEF-DADDY]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7506536#post7506536 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigWaz
i did add carbon to this tank, in my old tank i didn't really do carbon.

Bingo! Your old tank more than likely has some discoloration in the water, it does not take much. Your new tank with alot of new water, alot of flow and carbon is keeping the water cyrstal clear All this boils down to more light getting through. Its your lighting. I'll bet my bottom dollar on its the lighting

 

[jeffyounggren]

yep

yep

I agree on the carbon. I made this mistake six months ago and plunked a bunch of carbon in my tank. The result was the death of about five hundred dollars of SPS corals. While carbon may be great, it needs to be introduced gradually into the tank to avoid shocking the corals. I have no carbon now and am going to gradually introduce it again to avoid the "coral cemetery."

Jeff Younggren

 

[BigWaz]

You right, thats what it must be. This tank is much more clear. I took the carbon out but I think it might be too late. Thank ou sooo much for the frag offering. Down the road when my tank calms down i'd love that. Well I'm glad I found the problem. Thanks guys

 

[comatose]

I would agree, if you had no spikes in ammonia or nitrites and it's not RTN or STN, and your sure it's just bleaching, then the new lighting and a more clear water would be the cause.