bleach

[joeycadre]

so some of the corals i got from codeman have started bleaching out. my water params are all in good order and the 250w hqi is a good 12" over the water. what gives?

the couple of sps's i got from kermits 2 or 3 weeks back are doing fine, but they are still on the sand and not up on the rock.

any ideas?

[milkshake]

I emptied some of my PM box Joey...try it again

[Rendos]

More than likely the stuff from Cody was under less intense lighting, and colors are fading due to the increase in light. The stuff from Kermit's was already under very intense (400 watt MH) lighting and there is no acclimation needed.

[gflat65]

How far under water level are they? The distance between bulb and water is more for heat issues, as air is not a medium that reduces light a whole lot (water reduces light much moreso). What bulb are you running? I have AB 10K's and VHO's and everything bleaches out at the bottom of a 125 until it gets used to the light, then I slowly move them up. It's likely an acclimation thing, like Richard said.

[joeycadre]

the tank is about 17" deep. the ones that were bleaching out were about halfway up the tank.

should i get them out or leave them? they still have tissue on them but have turned white. i read as long as the tissue is still there they are still alive.

[joeycadre]

oh, as for the bulb, i know it's 20,000k, 250w hqi. not sure the brand or how old it is, i bought it from richard.

[scarson61]

I got some of the frags from cody (12 different I believe) and all are doing well under 250 W XM 15000 K. Some were placed at the very top and they have even started to encrust the rock I glued them to. So maybe its not the light. the only other culprit I know he kept his SG at 1.025 to 1.026 (mine is that as well) Things to look at: ALk values, are too low? or maybe they are getting less (or more)current then they had in codys tank. Hope this helps in your troubleshooting.
Sanford

[joeycadre]

my sg is 1.025 and my alk is in the normal range on my red sea test kit, i know, i need to get a test that give specific numbers.

[joeycadre]

oh and a couple of the frags i got are doing fine, but they are ones i left on the sand for a week or so. it's the ones i put up on the rocks right away that are bleaching.

as for flow, i have a mag 12 running my closed loop on a 45 g tank. there is plenty of flow.

[gflat65]

Being a 20K, it shouldn't be blasting them... I haven't seen an SE next to a DE 250W, but I will say that the 250W DE 10K AB's made 175W SE look like they weren't even on. Try moving them down, just as a long shot, and see if they color back up over time. I wouldn't think a 20K would burn them, though. I know alot of people have complained about DE's because they tend to lighten up corals initially (if they aren't used to that much light). DE's can really blast...