Help SPS dying

[salthobby]

I have a 90 gallon tank I used to have two 4oo watt mogal metal halide lighting with luminarc reflectors, I switched to a Ati Sunpower 48 inch 54 watt T5 light with 3 Ati bluplus 1 fugi purple 1 GTE 75/25 and an ati aquablue. When I first fired up the new t5's I was like wow the colors were amazing! But now about 4 weeks later all my Sps are turning white, and the colors are declining. My Lps corals are fine It's just the SPS corals, I don't know what to do I have a lot of money into this tank and I'm very discouraged. I am running a calcium reactor and just started a Phosfate reactor because also since the light change I am having a bubble algea problem. I have done two 20 gallon water changes within the last 10 days also have added fresh carbon. I use Tropic Martin Pro reef salt.
My PH is 8.5
calcium 450
KH 12
nitrate 0
nitrite 0.25
ammonia 0.25
The nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia are a API test kit so not to sure how accurate it is.

 

[ReeferMedic]

Going from 400 watters with lumenarcs to t5s is a pretty significant drop in par all at once. If that is the only thing you have changed recently, I would suspect they aren't getting enough light or it was too much of a drop all at once, or a combination of the two.

 

[Sherri]

How old were your MH bulbs? T5's can put out a lot of par but if the SPS is being bleached by the T5's, so would your LPS I would think. I would lean more towards the ammonia and nitrites. Plus, you have to add Phosphates slowly or else you can burn the corals. I found that out the hard way -- lost a birdsnest. Raise the lights, keep doing water changes, pull frags off the SPS, lighten up on the phosphates and keep your fingers crossed??? JMHO ...

 

[JohnK]

When you say "turning white",
do you mean that the tissue is intact but losing color,
- or -
do you mean the tissue is coming off the skeleton leaving a bare white skeleton?

 

[stingythingy45]

How old were your MH bulbs? T5's can put out a lot of par but if the SPS is being bleached by the T5's, so would your LPS I would think. I would lean more towards the ammonia and nitrites. Plus, you have to add Phosphates slowly or else you can burn the corals. I found that out the hard way -- lost a birdsnest. Raise the lights, keep doing water changes, pull frags off the SPS, lighten up on the phosphates and keep your fingers crossed??? JMHO ...

Very good advice here.
I'm hoping the ammonia and nitrites aren't an effect of the coral dying.
Good luck.

 

[ReeferMedic]

Those ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings aren't enough to harm corals ime/imo. If it were fish being affected along with the corals, I would say differently. Even worn out 400 watt halides in lumenarcs will put out much more par than any t5 fixture I've ever seen. What kelvin temp and brand were the 400 watters?

LPS will be much more forgiving when you go down in par than most sps will. If you had gone up in par, again, I would say differently.

 

[JohnK]

Those ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings aren't enough to harm corals ime/imo. If it were fish being affected along with the corals, I would say differently. Even worn out 400 watt halides in lumenarcs will put out much more par than any t5 fixture I've ever seen. What kelvin temp and brand were the 400 watters?

Exactly. 800 watts of MH is a LOT more than 270W of T5! (Am I reading right, it's a 5x54W fixture?)

Either light could sustain a great tank, but the switch from one to the other is a MASSIVE change, which means for a good deal of stress for the tank to adapt.

Seeing those slightly elevated levels could easily be caused by something that died because of the change or something secondary to it.

 

[Sherri]

Actually I was just talking to B about this and T5's are actually putting out some serious par -- I can't quote exactly what he was referring to but some folks in Europe (Holland maybe?) are experimenting. I just raised my constellation as I have too much in my tank at the bottom for some of my LPS that I have not had to shade in the past. Besides, I would think a drop in par would cause the SPS to go brown not white????? Although browning can also be caused by water quality. I am sure someone else here knows a lot more than me! Tomorrow I am finally going to get out my par meter and see what is happening in my tank but that will be for another thread! I still think his problem is water related not the lights but it could be like a perfect storm and be a bit of both.

 

[Mcubed]

Actually I was just talking to B about this and T5's are actually putting out some serious par -- I can't quote exactly what he was referring to but some folks in Europe (Holland maybe?) are experimenting. I just raised my constellation as I have too much in my tank at the bottom for some of my LPS that I have not had to shade in the past. Besides, I would think a drop in par would cause the SPS to go brown not white????? Although browning can also be caused by water quality. I am sure someone else here knows a lot more than me! Tomorrow I am finally going to get out my par meter and see what is happening in my tank but that will be for another thread! I still think his problem is water related not the lights but it could be like a perfect storm and be a bit of both.

I'm still new so I can't offer definitive advice. I had the same thing happen with some of my sps. I have an 8 bulb , 4ft, ATI T5 fixture. I spread some SPS frags (20) out around the tank and the ones I had up the highest (top 3/4) started to bleach out. Not loss of tissue but base color faded quite a bit. Worst was my pink birdsnest. Faded to a white body with purple polyps. I moved them down to the sand level and their color is starting to come back. The pinks, purples, and blues color is thankfully coming back. Not sure if it's a case of how high up your lights are, how long they are on for , or some water parameter being off. Just wanted to add my experience with T5's.

 

[Liam]

If it is indeed bleaching it is likely the increase in overall par you are getting from the T5's over the halides.

 

[ReeferMedic]

Where's the club par meter when you need it?

 

[Liam]

Where's the club par meter when you need it?

hehe,i've used both 400's and t5's

I agree,likley more par from a 10k 400 on a decent ballast but anything with a higher spectrum a decentr T5 fixture will provide more overall par

 

[Sherri]

What B was telling me in the experiments with T5s had to do with ?? radiation (I am getting old and memory just ain't there). Anyway, with T5s the SPS were re-growing polyps on the underside of the coral so that the light was more invasive. Sure the overall par is higher as with MH it is more spot-lit -- but this was something else. Sorry I can't be more accurate.

 

[ReeferMedic]

hehe,i've used both 400's and t5's

I agree,likley more par from a 10k 400 on a decent ballast but anything with a higher spectrum a decentr T5 fixture will provide more overall par

I know you have. I just have a hard time believing it, especially down toward the bottom of the tank. I've used 400 14k Ushios on Lumenarcs for years and would have to "see it to believe it", although it's been quite some time since I used T5s. The only T5 fixture I ever had was the 4 bulb with one big reflector I got from you a years back, so I don't have a lot to go one, just one if those things I'd have to see for myself I guess, although I absolutely do respect your opinion.

 

[dcforester1]

Everybody uses this meter, but no one seems to know what the readings are suppose to be at. I did mine awhile back. I have no idea what the numbers mean. Sorry to hijack the thread, but figured maybe someone here might know.

 

[Liam]

I know you have. I just have a hard time believing it, especially down toward the bottom of the tank. I've used 400 14k Ushios on Lumenarcs for years and would have to "see it to believe it", although it's been quite some time since I used T5s. The only T5 fixture I ever had was the 4 bulb with one big reflector I got from you a years back, so I don't have a lot to go one, just one if those things I'd have to see for myself I guess, although I absolutely do respect your opinion.

you are welcome to stop by anytime Don

 

[ReeferMedic]

Get the pints ready!

 

[Joel A]

i can tell you my 6x54 watt t5 fixture is putting out much better PAR than my 2x 250 watt halide set-up did...

two key advantaged of t5's over MH (speaking in terms of PAR) are that:
1- the bulb spans the whole tank, it's not point source light so you get more consistent PAR readings throughout
and
2- you can have the fixture much closer to the water surface, which obviously increases PAR dramatically

no doubt your corals are bleaching from TO MUCH light... people still really underestimate how much these high level t5 fixtures put out..

i get about 300 PAR on my sandbed now.. 22" down.. everything higher than that gets even more.. and way more.

 

[Joel A]

actually, on 2nd thought this is a tough one to call...

i though you had the 8x54 watt PM, but you have the 6x54 watt SP..

but my opinion still remains the same.. switching from old 400 watt MH bulbs to brand new high end 6 bulb t5 fixture is still a big change in lighting terms..

i might have missed it, but how high off the surface were the halides, and how high off of the surface is your new t5 fixture?

 

[salthobby]

My halides were only a couple months old they were 10,000k XM's
And I would think that if I were getting more par now then why are the LPS doing great and the SPS that are not doing well. AS to what is turning white it's starting at the base and climbing up the coral until the whole branch is white, but I don't think that the tissue is comming off. Also I started with the T5's about 8 inches off the water then when I noticed the dying of the Sps I lowered them to just above the water