why do sps bleach ?

nater · Nov 11, 2009

i have two sps i am trying in my new 90 gallon setup. i have 2x150 mh with 4x50 t5 acentics . one looks fine an the other is starting to bleach out and loose it's skin. why does this happen and when it does , is the coral on it's way out? any advice would be great. thanks

nater · Nov 11, 2009

anyone with any advice for sps would be great. do i need to upgrade lighting? here are my params

nitrates- 1.0
alk- 9.5
calcium - 420

phosphates should be low , ran out of solution for the test. could that be a factor? i have no algae in my tank.

nater · Nov 11, 2009

anyone??

nater · Nov 11, 2009

wondering is it worth my while with sps . don't want to kill another if this one dies.

cntryboi407 · Nov 11, 2009

If it's loosing its skin, it's probably on the way out. You could have the lights on to long or the SPS up too high and your overkilling them with light

Paul_N · Nov 11, 2009

The only time I have had it just peel away like that, I had a temp issue. My digital thermometer was bad and reading 10 degrees less. It was middle of summer and I thought my temp spiked up to 88 and it was 98. Are the coral doing both bleaching and releasing their tissue or just one.

rackyrane · Nov 11, 2009

What are the other parameters in your tank? Have you checked the ammonia and nitrite levels? Specific gravity? Ph? SPS can be a bit tricky. I had a bit of a problem with my phosphates after I moved my tank and my SPS weren't happy.

reefpoor · Nov 11, 2009

What kind of SPS, monti, acro, etc.?
Some are more light demanding than others, some need more flow than others. All seem to like random flow rather than just blasting it with flow. SPS require very very stable alk. generally 7 to 10 dkh. the exact number is not that important. Did I mention they need stable alk. Almost every time my sps start to look strange my alk has shifted. High phosphate and nitrate seems to have more to do with brown out. Hope this helps, and good luck

Reef Pets · Nov 11, 2009

There are MANY different things that come into play when dealing with SPS and many other coral.

Please let us know the specs on your tank such as tank size, age of tank, flow, skimmer, using RO/DI water and so on. Also, more about your perameters would help narrow down the issue.

nater · Nov 11, 2009

thanks all , reefpoor it's an Acro from my lfs. looked pretty hardy. i also have a borealis that i think is more rare from the same store that is doing ok so far. got them both at the same time. i will be checking my nitrites and ammonia tomorrow. my temp has been a stable 76 - 78 . the bleaching started two days ago , and the skin is peeling today. i have a good random flow with my vortech. anther question i have is should the polyps be extended day and night? or do they only extend for daylight? i have my halides on for about 6 hours and the t5's on for about 4 hours. total 10 hours daylight. thanks for all responses.

nater · Nov 12, 2009

tank specs.

90 gallon tech tank
3 months old
mag 9 with a vortech mp40
bermuda protein skimmer model BPS-3C
ro/di all the way

nitrate - 1.0
nitrite - 0.0
ammonia - 0.0
ph 8.3-8.4

reefpoor · Nov 12, 2009

Acros are one of the most light demanding sps corals, 150mh for 6 hrs might be a little week. I don't think the t-5's actinic's are adding anything, they just make the coral more visually appealing. I'm not a t-5 guy, but there are other bulbs that may kick up the par for you. I would try running a longer photo period with the 150's. Thats just my opinion, don't rule out other possibilities

chromeguppy · Nov 12, 2009

@ reefpoor: I run my 75 exclusively on four 54 watt Geisemann t5's. I'm thinking about adding blue led's for more pop but don't need it. Check out my photo album in my profile to see not only acros, but chalices, monti's, milli's, etc. with amazing color and all grow like weeds. They also help keep my daytime temp around 79-80 and without a chiller. I keep my apt. at 75 degrees 24/7.

@ nater: I'm a firm beleiver that each coral reacts different to the stress caused during shipping. If only one coral is lost at a time, and all where equally and properly acclimated, accept the loss, but I wouldn't recommend stressing the whole aquarium over a new commer. Two weeks ago I bought 5 monti frags and one died in two days. I gave it a week before taking it out just incase. The other 4 already show new growth.

nater · Nov 12, 2009

thanks for the feedback , i will be keeping an eye on it. it's not tearing away as it was last night and i moved it to some shade with a little less flow. guess i am going to have to roll with the punches. probably going to purchase a calcium reactor in the near future to keep my alk in check as well.

reefpoor · Nov 12, 2009

chromeguppy said:
@ reefpoor: I run my 75 exclusively on four 54 watt Geisemann t5's. I'm thinking about adding blue led's for more pop but don't need it. Check out my photo album in my profile to see not only acros, but chalices, monti's, milli's, etc. with amazing color and all grow like weeds. They also help keep my daytime temp around 79-80 and without a chiller. I keep my apt. at 75 degrees 24/7.

@ nater: I'm a firm beleiver that each coral reacts different to the stress caused during shipping. If only one coral is lost at a time, and all where equally and properly acclimated, accept the loss, but I wouldn't recommend stressing the whole aquarium over a new commer. Two weeks ago I bought 5 monti frags and one died in two days. I gave it a week before taking it out just incase. The other 4 already show new growth.

Definitely agree on the shipping stress and proper acclimation. I know many have great success with t-5 setups, from my experience with pure actinic bulbs they don't do much as far as providing the proper light for coral health. He could use different t-5's and get what he needs for sure. I run 250 watt MH, but if I was doing it again I would strongly lean toward t-5's

benny z · Nov 12, 2009

*edit - nevermind... reading owns me.

nater · Nov 12, 2009

hear it , i am definitely considering looking into all t5 , i might also just swap out two of the acentics with white for more supplementing insted of purely aesthetics. i have seen some incredible sps tanks with both halide and t5's so i am going to be wagering my decision on the health of my coral over the next month or two.