Corals turning almost white

[CandyCane]

I have 6- 18watt T5 bulbs about 4 inches above my tank.

Some of my corals love the light and others have been turning white. My kenya tree corals- 3 of them- are all very white and my frogspawn is also loosing its colours along with my zenia. My pulsing blue zenia however is at the top of the tank and has kept its colour just fine.

So besides that their "bleaching" they are full and all out and show no other signs of any problems

Any idea's of why the algea inside them is dieing? At least thats what I think is happening

[Blom]

Im not going to be a lot of help on this one, but someone here will be. Maybe posting your water spec would help them out in addressing the issue.

[FishyFishy!]

There are quite a few things that can cause bleaching. Your most common are generally high water temperature, and excessive light/photoperoid.

Stress can also cause it as well. So check all your basics. Look for anything that you have done as of late that might have changed something. I would look at your salinity and ph first. Swings in either of these could cause bleaching.

Bugs and algae's can also cause it, though more rare. Do you have cyano or byropsis or anything?

Start with the basics, and work your way up. Did you do a recent water change? You may have forgotten to roll your bucket and caused a trace element spike or drop. A stuck heater, dead power head etc etc etc. Let us know if you can think of anything.

[lorenz0]

how long is your photo period? had a similar issue when I first started out with a hammer.

[CandyCane]

The kenya's have been white since I first put them in the tank in July. The zenia and the frog spawn turned white about a week after I put them in the tank.

Salt: 1.023
Temp.:78F
pH:Unknown- I dont have a test kit
Lighting: Actinics 7:30am to 7:30pm
Day lights 8am to 6pm
I have no cyano or byropsis

On a side note my acropora died even though it had high water flow and top of the tank for lighting. My RBA has only its red colouring left when it used to have some green at the base, it now has a white base.

Last water change about 2 weeks ago nothing at all changed, everything stayed white or colourful

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by CandyCane

The kenya's have been white since I first put them in the tank in July. The zenia and the frog spawn turned white about a week after I put them in the tank.

Salt: 1.023
Temp.:78F
pH:Unknown- I dont have a test kit
Lighting: Actinics 7:30am to 7:30pm
Day lights 8am to 6pm
I have no cyano or byropsis

On a side note my acropora died even though it had high water flow and top of the tank for lighting. My RBA has only its red colouring left when it used to have some green at the base, it now has a white base.

Last water change about 2 weeks ago nothing at all changed, everything stayed white or colourful

if i had to guess which is all i can due is i would bet your lights arent strong enough for a anemone or sps so i wouldnt bother with those, 18w t5's arent all that strong unless your tank isnt very high,better suited for softies and lower light demanding corals..another guess would be excess nutrients in the way of nitrates. a few things to remember is when it comes to saltwater aquariums its be3st to spend as much as you can on good lights,skimmer and media reactors.water changes are great but they wont fix everything its more of a good way to replenish certain elements and lower things that happen or things that get built up that we dont want in our tanks.water isnt a source of food for most inhabitants, most rely on photosynthesis others require target feedings or microscopic foods. since the ones at the top of the tank are doing better i would think more on getting a better light if you want to keep corals.sps,anemones and frogspawn all like light and do better with stronger lighting while kenyas are a good way of telling if nutrients are high or when a water change is needed.wouldnt hurt to do water changes every week of at least 10% and buy test kits if you plan to keep corals.most important would be cal,mg,alk,nitrates,phosphates other important one would be amonia, these are a must have in a reeftank and when any of the above mentioned arent where they are supposed to be its your corals who feel it first.cheers and good luck

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by CandyCane

The kenya's have been white since I first put them in the tank in July. The zenia and the frog spawn turned white about a week after I put them in the tank.

Salt: 1.023
Temp.:78F
pH:Unknown- I dont have a test kit
Lighting: Actinics 7:30am to 7:30pm
Day lights 8am to 6pm
I have no cyano or byropsis

On a side note my acropora died even though it had high water flow and top of the tank for lighting. My RBA has only its red colouring left when it used to have some green at the base, it now has a white base.

Last water change about 2 weeks ago nothing at all changed, everything stayed white or colourful

also there is a species of white kenya

[blacknife]

Its funny how the "cheap" bulbs cost more at the big box stores than the premium bulbs do at the ma And pa stores. I had older bulbs and a high ratio of daylight bulbs and my Coraline was all bleached. Slowly changed out to new bulbs and more blue and everything looks better.

My tapadroid has my back

[cwatkins]

Well since you cannot be sure how old the bulbs are then for sure go and replace them. Pick some good quality bulbs from a dedicated Saltwater store.

Avoid the generic common bulbs from the bix box retailers.

Mind you I don't have any T5 experience, just MH. So take this with a grain of salt...

[Gripenfelter]

How often do you change your lights?

One of my friends has 8 T5 lights. All different colours. He has sps, clams, duncans, acans, leathers, etc. All doing great. Been 3 yrs. He changes the lights every 10-14 months.