sunburnt sps

[rynosreef]

ok i just got some sps for my display tank about 4 days ago. i was not thinking that the corals would get sunburnt. well i found out the guy i got them off of was running 3x250 watt mh. i run 2x400 watt mh. well my sps started to bleach at the tips. so i put 4 layers of sceening on my tank and plan on taking off a layer every week. will this help or am i sol
nitrates-5ppm
po4-0.5
calcium-460
alk-8.9

 

[tangs rule]

Screening, shorter photoperiod, place deeper in the tank can all help acclimate new sps to your tank. I know from experience, it's best to start most new corals deeper in the tank than you plan to actually place them for longterm growth - at least for the first couple weeks. I'd think if the frags were healthy to start with, they'll come back as they adjust to the new light - but i'd reduce their light exposure if you suspect they are getting burnt. I run both 250 & 400 watt units over my sps - and those 400's dish out alot of light.

 

[rynosreef]

ok well i turned off one of my 400's and put them at the bottom. also have some 3 layers of screening. they are bleached a little but they had stopped. starting to see full polyps. the most bleached is my monti but has stopped. getting new frags at a swap this weekend and plan to keep my lighting as is until a week or two after getting new frags. i will then turn on my other 400. and every two weeks take a layer of screen off. thanks for the help.

 

[snakeblitz33]

To be honest, it might not be your lights. It could be your water quality that is causing them to bleach. SPS corals, depending on what species they are, are not very tolerant of phosphates in excess of 0.03ppm. Don't try to use phosphate absorbing media, however, because it might shock your corals. Instead, try water changes, directing flow towards them and decreasing the amount you feed. Perhaps look into increasing or doubling your filtration capacity and/or adding an algae scrubber to remove excess nitrate and phosphate from the system.
Since you just got your new SPS corals, there could be several factors which is causing them to bleach, not just your lights.

 

[rynosreef]

i now its my lights. i have a 6x6x6 birds nest, tr-color acro that is growing like crazy. they set at the top of my 150 gallon tall display tank. the key of things is they came from a setup that ran 400's on them. the few frags that are bleaching where from a setup that ran 250's. not thinking i just put the frags right in thinking all is good... much to my suprise they didnt like it. so now like i said all the frags are looking better for some reason for just running the one 400 mh. my po4 is at maybe .01 i run two octo skimmers just bc i feel its safer. i did skim a little more but how can my sps that has been in my tank not bleach and just the monti and digi?

 

[tangs rule]

Quote:
Originally Posted by rynosreef http:///t/387771/sunburnt-sps#post_3416546
i now its my lights. i have a 6x6x6 birds nest, tr-color acro that is growing like crazy. they set at the top of my 150 gallon tall display tank. the key of things is they came from a setup that ran 400's on them. the few frags that are bleaching where from a setup that ran 250's. not thinking i just put the frags right in thinking all is good... much to my suprise they didnt like it. so now like i said all the frags are looking better for some reason for just running the one 400 mh. my po4 is at maybe .01 i run two octo skimmers just bc i feel its safer. i did skim a little more but how can my sps that has been in my tank not bleach and just the monti and digi?
I kinda agree it might be lighting....My tank is 36"deep x 36" wide x 96" long and there's 3x 250w + 3 400w over it and I can swear by experience, it's tottally possible to cook some SPS under that ~2000 watts of light. I'm STILL moving some sps around from month to month to see how it does.....Some SPS can grow fine at almost any level - where others are MUCH more sensitive. Too much light will kill some frags, where as other frags are happy at the top to the bottom. Prior to aquiring a 3' deep tank, the 250watt lights did great at 26" deep tanks- - and it was ALOT easier to acclimate corals......But introduce 400w MH lights and I can easlily fry things.
I find bringing new frags into my tank do best by starting them lower than I expect them to finally wind up....then over weeks move them up/more under direct light. A 400w MH light can really put out incredible ammounts of energy that most corals cannot deal with unless acclimated to OR are SUPER bright need species to begin with.

 

[rynosreef]

whats funny is i have a bubble coral and a scolymia higher in my tank than what i do some sps and even my lps are doing fine like the lighting is just right. i guess why mess with whats happy?

 

[tur4k]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/387771/sunburnt-sps#post_3416503
Don't try to use phosphate absorbing media, however, because it might shock your corals.
Where are you getting this from? GFO is very commonly used with no ill effects that I have ever heard/read of. Unless you are talking about media other than GFO. I've read that some phosphate pads can release absorbed phosphate, but I've never heard of any problems caused by GFO.
I'm not trying to be confrontational. You could very well be correct. I would just like to know if this is a common opinion. I think that controlling phosphates is one of the most annoying aspects of reefkeeping. I also think that GFO is a great tool in our arsenal to help control phosphates. Unless there is some negative side effect of using it that I'm not aware of.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Quote:
Originally Posted by tur4k http:///t/387771/sunburnt-sps#post_3418667
Where are you getting this from? GFO is very commonly used with no ill effects that I have ever heard/read of. Unless you are talking about media other than GFO. I've read that some phosphate pads can release absorbed phosphate, but I've never heard of any problems caused by GFO.
I'm not trying to be confrontational. You could very well be correct. I would just like to know if this is a common opinion. I think that controlling phosphates is one of the most annoying aspects of reefkeeping. I also think that GFO is a great tool in our arsenal to help control phosphates. Unless there is some negative side effect of using it that I'm not aware of.
Eh, this is the best that I can do this late at night. lol.
Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History. Eric Borneman pg. 346, 6th paragraph under "Phosphate"
"The use of phosphate-removing commercial products are not generally recommended in tanks housing corals. Some of these aluminum-oxide products have been noted to have deleterious effects on soft corals, and may also have negative effects on stony corals and other tank inhabitants. Their use should be restricted to pretreatment of make-up water, if used at all."

 

[snakeblitz33]

From my understanding, using chemical absorbers is the last thing you want to do in an aquarium. The first is adequate water changes, the second is using either natural or mechanical filtration to remove phosphate and nitrate. Chemicals should be the last ditch effort, because there are reports out there that have stated it is "deleterious to tank inhabitants" and "could shock corals." I am more likely to trust a book then here-say on a forum.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Oh, and I would also like to say that you're not being confrontational at all. We are both here to LEARN! If having a little debate every now and then can bring forth new and exciting information that one of us didn't know then by all means, lets debate!

 

[tur4k]

I believe aluminum-oxide was one of the types of products that I've read could release absorbed phosphates back into your system under certain conditions. That's why I specifically recommend iron oxide based products like GFO or chemipure elite.
What do you consider "Chemicals"? I would guess that the majority of reefkeepers use granular activated carbon at some point in their tanks. We all put calcium in our tanks in some form or another. Not to mention all of the other chemicals in our salt mixes. Even salt is a chemical. I personally equate GFO with activated carbon. You put it in the tank. It absorbs bad stuff. You take it out. Some iron may leach out, but I add iron to my water anyway for my macro's.

 

[tur4k]

Randy Holmes Farley's take on aluminum oxide and ferric oxide http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php#16. He does mention some very minor side effects of GFO like possible increased calcification on or near the GFO, but he does state the following:
The bottom line: Would I use GFO to export phosphate? The answer is yes, and I often do so by adding some into a canister filter that also contains activated carbon.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Interesting. Eh, I say chemical filtration is phosphate absorbers and nitrate absorbers. I guess I'm just old school. I'll reread some of the article and see if I change my mind. Thanks Tu4k. I appreciate the info.

 

[tur4k]

I did read an older article by him last night that said some people have reported coral's having negative reactions when GFO is used. It sounded like hear-say to me. He theorized that the rapid drop in phosphates caused by the GFO could possibly cause a reaction. He suggested easing into it. Using a small amount of GFO at first and then slowly increasing it. Sounds like good advice to me.
I agree that people should probably try water changes, rinsing food, macros, turf scrubbers and skimmers before using GFO. Some people don't have the money or space for some of these things. Some times these are not enough. I haven't read any evidence other than "some people have reported..." that GFO causes distress to corals. At the end of the day, phosphates are much worse for our tanks than GFO. The vast majority of people using it (myself included) never notice any negative impact from using GFO.

 

[acrylic51]

Tur4k and Snake you guys are both right........Tur4k is correct no harm at all using GFO and is widely done with no ill effects, where I think Snake might be referring to is something on the line of RowaPhos which has been documented some time ago(years) than can have an ill effect on the tank if to much is used....There are other products on this line as well, that has been used in the past that cause the same effects if to much is used......With these products they can and do work, just you can't start with the recommended dosage. You should start on the low side and work your way up if needed.