To much light?

[Sqasnatch]

Hey guys. All my corals seem to be doing great but are losing there color, I heard that if they get to much light that the zoanthel. Can cause them to turn brown. Is this true, and will cutting back the hours bring back there color?

 

[Sqasnatch]

All water perameters are good

 

[Sqasnatch]

I currently have a 72 inch t5 ho 12 lamp light fixture on a 125 gallon tank. I was running the 10000's 10 hours and the atinics 12 hours. How long should I be running them

 

[SteveFishman]

They say to simulate the day... 12 hours of daylight 12 hours of nightlight

 

[aubel07]

I have a ho t5 250 watt with 4 1watt LEDs and was wondering if that was enough for a 120 gallon saltwater fowlr that I was looking at getting

 

[thominil]

Sqasnatch - Try starting the light cycle with actinics coming on an hour before the 10k, then have the 10k on for 8-10 hours, and lastly, have the actinics on for an hour after the 10k have been shut off. Try starting on the lower end of the 8-10 hour range for the 10k, if corals seem to be pale, then you increase the time the 10k are on for another hour, reason for this is that if lights are on too long, you are encouraging algae growth. You may want to get a timer since it will be easier letting the timers cycle the lights than doing it yourself. Don't know about the zoanthids turning brown with too much light, but they can bleach with overly intense light conditions.

aubel07 - Any light is fine for fowlr, with no coral, you don't need super intense light like you would with a reef.

Hope this helps both of you.

 

[Sqasnatch]

That's what there set at now. The actinic come on at 8 the whites come on at 9 and shut off at 2000 then the blues turn off at 2100. And I light acclimated the tank with 6 layers of screen. Removed one layer every three to four days. I'm going to try running the whites from 1000 to 1830, to see if it will make a difference

 

[Sqasnatch]

Also someone told me they can turn brown if they are producing to much food photosytheticly from the light. But I can't find that information anywhere. Sorry for my spelling

 

[thominil]

Do they stay closed up most of the time, or are they open? If they are closed most of the time, then something may be irritating them such as a fish, pod, crabs, etc...

 

[Sqasnatch]

No they are open all the time. Just seem to be turning brown, and losing color

 

[bavass]

I ran into the same problem with some corals they were losing color, I was talking to some one about it and they suggested adding Seachem Reef Plus which is trace elements. I dont like adding anything to my tank that I cant test for but I thought i would give it a try. I have been adding it for about 2 weeks now and the color seems to be starting to come back.

 

[thominil]

I just find it hard to believe that the lights are causing the discoloration. Check you water parameters since something could be off and thus causing them to be pale/brown. If that's not it, I'm out of guesses for the cause.

 

[Sqasnatch]

I'll try the trace elements. The last time I used those it caused in a nasty cyan outbreak. Like I said all parameters are good.