Lighting with Pink and Purple palys

greenreefer

Active Member
I've just moved all of my frags to my new frag tank and I also moved the light fixture, so it's the same frags and lights. In the frag tank all of the purple and pink palys and zoas look more brown (mostly just not as vibrant). The frags just went in yesterday and today so I'm sure the polyps actually haven't changed in color.
So does losing the pink purple color mean my lights are too close or too far?
In the previous tank the lights sat on legs on top of the tank, so maybe 5 inches above the water (no glass top) and the frag were probably 6 - 12 inches below the water. Now the light is up higher, 18 inches above the water, but the frags are just below the surface, maybe 1 - 2 inches. So the net result is that the lights are a little further away, but a whole lot less water between them. not sure what that means
. Any lighting/picture experts out there? I don't think it really maters since the lights haven't changed, but I'm running 150 watt MH reeflux 12k lamps with 2 96 watt PC true actinics. The pink spectrum doesn't look much different when the actinics are on or off.
I really want to post pics this weekend, but I need to get the light right first. I can move the light closer or farther, but it's kind of a pain to do, so I'd love to know which direction to head first.
 

metweezer

Active Member
I am not one to answer, but I can't believe no one has posted. I have read that bleaching of corals means too much light. So maybe you have too little light. Good Luck.
 

flricordia

Active Member
Sounds odd indeed. Running the aclinics closer would intensify the flourescence in them and unless you had a shift in the color spectum in the MH (sounds like a coralvue? it could have shifted toward 10k and that would make everything look browner). Maybe moving the light you caused a change in the ballast power output or bulb might have lost its spectrum just by chance.

You said that you moved them and the change was the same day so I cannot think it would be water parameters, unless the temps are much higher in the new tank.
 

greenreefer

Active Member
Actually colors seem to be back to about normal, not sure what that means, but water params are good. I'm guessing it was just the way they reacted to a little more light. thanks all
 
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