Coral Shock

[Fish_fanatic]

well so far I have bought 3 corals for my tank, they were all frags b/c they were cheaper and this was the first time i had ever kept corals. Anyway, only one coral has survived and they were my shrooms.

I was talking to the guy at my lfs telling him whats been going on and he said that it is most probably due to lighting shock. The frags in the store are under weaker lights then I have and thats why he thinks its lighting shock. The corals go from NO lighting, to my 2x96 watts on my 33 gallon tank. is this a possibility? and if so, what can i do to acclimate them to higher intensity lighting?

-Thanks

 

[Hara]

some options:
1. put a barrier between the lights and the tank such as layers of screening. remove a layer each day to let a little more light through.

2. raise your light off the tank by a few inches and lower a little each day. Blocks of wood under the corners works well for this.

3. lessen the amount of time your lights are on. Slowly increase the time.

 

[Phyl]

What kind of coral frags had you purchased? How did you acclimate them? What are your water parameters? How did they die? I've seen corals fade due to lighting changes but never actually die from it. Some corals are more intolerant to water parameter changes than others. Some ricordia that I had completely evaporated during a temperature spike. One coral that I had RTNd when touched by a kenya tree. Some corals don't tolerate the chemicals that leathers put into the water, some corals have stingers and will attack neighbors in the night... To really know what killed your corals we'd need a whole lot more information about neighboring corals, water parameters, acclimation procedures... etc.

Good luck with your next frags!