Light Shock?

[juice_1080]

So I just jumped up from my 30g with 2x18w T5NO and 3x27w T8s to my brand new 75g with 8X54w T5HO and my corals looked fine for the first few days and now they are starting to bleach out. Is this because of the higher light output?
The worst case is my Florida Ric which I have the rock as far down as possible. They used to be about 1 1/2" and bright orange and purple but one is now almost completely white and less than a 1/2" in size. The only hard coral I have is a green frogspawn and even that isn't coming out of the skeleton completely. My clam and Clove polyps on the other hand seem very happy.
Most of my corals are near the bottom of the tank but they all seem retracted and like they lost color. I have noticed that my neon green toadstool was closed up for a few days and is now extending its polyps progressively farther but they are still only about 1/2 as far as they used to be.
I was running both Actinics and Daylights from 9-9 and moonlights and fuge lights opposite of that. I cut the hours back to 11-8 today to see if that helps but I am wondering if anybody has any ideas if they are just adjusting or if I need to take further action. I do not want to harm/kill my corals.
Oh yea params:
Amm 0
trite 0
trate 5
phos 0
calc 420
salt 1.023 (I know its low but I am slowly raising it to 1.025-6)
30g established about a year and transferred to the 75g for around 2 weeks
used original 60# LS + 55# dry (live on top of dry)
original 70# LR + 30# base rock
Corals:
Frogspawn
Toadstool
Shrooms
Rics
Zoas
Cloves
Xenia
GSP
Cabbage Leather
Devils Hand
Inverts:
Crocea Clam
Peppermint Shrimp
Tiger Pistol Shrimp
Sally Lightfoot Crab
Nass + Astrea Snails
Hermits
Fish:
2 Gold Stripe Maroons
1 Yellow Watchman Goby
I know that is alot of info to read but that should be everything that you would need to know about the tank to possibly help me out.
Thank you for reading and thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

 

[candycane]

Keep an eye on the tank temp, see if it is fluctuating a lot. Corals will sometimes just get lighter when they are adapting to higher light. See what the tank temp is around 2:00pm your time tomorrow. If it is above 80-81 degrees, it might very well be that your smaller tank was cooler.

 

[juice_1080]

Originally Posted by candycane
http:///forum/post/2697933
Lighting usually never is a cause of a coral bleaching.
Keep an eye on the tank temp, see if it is fluctuating a lot. Corals will sometimes just get lighter when they are adapting to higher light. See what the tank temp is around 2:00pm your time tomorrow. If it is above 80-81 degrees, it might very well be that your smaller tank was cooler.
I would but I am at work @ 2pm so 4pm will have to do. It should be the temp though. I am using the same heater that I had in the 30g and I did not touch the dial at all (Stealth 250w) but I will check when I get home from work today.
Thanks for the help

 

[mr_x]

i had alot of trouble simply switching my old bulbs for new bulbs. i would use the screen method to introduce new lighting.(a few screens between the lights and water surface...and remove one every few days until they are gone).
IME, corals can bleach from blasting them with powerful light without a smooth transition.

 

[juice_1080]

Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2698177
i had alot of trouble simply switching my old bulbs for new bulbs. i would use the screen method to introduce new lighting.(a few screens between the lights and water surface...and remove one every few days until they are gone).
IME, corals can bleach from blasting them with powerful light without a smooth transition.
They seem as though they are getting better by the day as far as polyp extension but I am wondering if they will re-gain their color or not. My cabbage leather was a orangish-yellow color and now it only has a hint of yellow left too it.

 

[candycane]

Zooxanthellae is something that "finds" it's way into aquariums. It's an alga(e), there is more then one strand, and they get into the coral and "set up shop" so to speak. There are several of foods that have strands of Zooxanthellae in them that you might be able to purchase as well.
Google Phycopure or a company called algagen. I am not endorsing it, but I have just had good luck with it in the past.