Corals turning almost white

[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

[CandyCane]

Sorry I guess I didn't add also that everything I bought that turned white originaly was NOT white

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by CandyCane

Sorry I guess I didn't add also that everything I bought that turned white originaly was NOT white

bring your water into red coral for a full testing is your best bet if you dont have the proper test kits.would look into a better light as well or keep less demanding coralshope this helps

[CandyCane]

Originally Posted by reefwars

bring your water into red coral for a full testing is your best bet if you dont have the proper test kits.would look into a better light as well or keep less demanding coralshope this helps

Whats wrong with 6 T5 bulbs over a 20gallon tank? sounds like lots of light to me. I've done the math before

[whatcaneyedo]

I'm thinking that your lighting has a lot to do with your problem as well. Watts per gallon doesn't mean anything. Most people stopped believing in that in the 90's I think. What you want to look for is intensity and spectrum. Regular output T5 bulbs like what you've described are meant for freshwater tanks or maybe fish-only saltwater tanks. However the vast majority are marketed for freshwater period. If you want to sustain and grow coral you need (high output) HO T5 bulbs, metal halides or LEDs.

You also want to target full strength seawater which is 1.025. 1.023 is a little bit low.

How much flow do you have? You said 'high' but that can mean different things to different people. So how much in terms of gallons per hour?

[reefwars]

well would depend on the height of the tank, yours are only 18w t5's so not overly powerfull and you could easily get away with softies and lower light lps but sps prob wont do well unless near the top of your tank and nems require high lighting...they may live but they can do better.....to give an example in my last 20g i had a 250 metal halide (extreme mind you)and i was able to keep anything i wanted and had no colour issues at all, you would do better with 39w or 54w t5's or a 150w halide. its just my experience that lights that are border line strong give borderline results ,they may work for some stuff and may not for others depends on the coral.lights are only half the story though water parameters have to be spot on ,some corals can tolerate bad water while some slowly die off or die off right away again depends on the coral.