Help, blown 250 Watt halide and coral death

[frank180reef]

HI, So I have a 180 gall tank lit by 2 250s and 1 175 watts MH. The 250s are on the outside.

YEsterday I noticed that the corals on the left side of the tank didnt look great....... Today before the lights went on they looked worse. After looking I noticed that the 250 W bulbon the left cracked.... SO on the left all SPS are bleached and the LPS look sad including xenia..... On top of that my foxface and queen angle wont eat (this may be unrelated).... To the best of my knowledge the bulb was working or at least lit the tank yesterday...

So my question is: Has this happened to anyone else and is it possible the broken bulb emitted anything into the local water. To rest of the tank, inc RBTA look fine..

thanks Frank

 

[Sean Irwin]

I assume it's a single ended mogul fixture? The outer glass on the bulb is coated to block UV light so if it's cracked your corals probably got a little toasted. Replace the bulb (if you haven't done so already) and don't throw away your burned corals, they may recover

 

[frank180reef]

yes single ended,
thanks! the sps look the worse

Frank

 

[Jim Tansey]

Any crack will admit air into the lamp and immediately burn out the filament so I don't see how that could be the reason, you may need to keep digging.

Jim

 

[frank180reef]

damn, all the other corals are fine including the anenomes. I was wondering if this would bother the fish also? I would have to be something related to the bulb since the problems relate only to the corals under the blown bulb............

thanks Frank

 

[JohnK]

Any crack will admit air into the lamp and immediately burn out the filament so I don't see how that could be the reason, you may need to keep digging.

Jim

Jim, Isn't the filament enclosed in an inner envelope of glass in SE lamps? Much like a DE lamp inside an glass tube?

 

[Jim Tansey]

Himmmmmmm, now that you mention it you may be correct.....

Jim

 

[alpha0r]

As another poster mentioned the outer glass blocks UV radiation. If it is cracked/broken your coals got a sunburn They may recover so unplug that bulb and wait to see how they turn out.

 

[frank180reef]

ok thanks

btw I lost a queen angel last night, no sign of ick........

Frank

 

[NateHanson]

UV sounds like a good candidate to me. It's probably recoverable, but what's the best way to re-acclimate them? Leave the left side unlit for a while, so they're just getting light from the other bulbs? Or would it be best to put a new bulb in, but cover that side of the tank with some screen?

 

[Greg Hiller]

I've had this happen with a mogul bulb (darn water splashing powder blue!). My corals were burned pretty bad from the UV. Noticable in just a few hours of exposure. Most of mine recovered, but it took many months. The ones right under the bulb were the worst affected.

 

[Jim Tansey]

Greg,

Glad you responded, I just don't see how that much UV damage could be caused by a hairline crack in the outer bulb. I could be way off base but its hard to believe.

Jim

 

[Greg Hiller]

Jim, where did you read hairline crack? I agree, a hairline crack would not be a big deal if you caught it early enough. My experience was that I had a hairline crack but after a cycle or two of the light heating up and cooling, the crack will propagate the rest of the way across the bulb.

 

[Greg Hiller]

I...I realize Jim you might be speaking of the hairline crack in my bulb....well, I explained what happened with mine.

 

[frank180reef]

Hi
well I was away on vacation so not sure how long the corals were exposed, The LPS look the worse, but then again they are in general closer to the top. When I pulled the bulb out it was more than cracked, maybe an inch hole.

Would the fish be effected by this ? or is the death of my 2 yo adult queen coincedental?

thanks again
Frank