VicSkimmr February 6, 2007 Share February 6, 2007 I've noticed this odd trend in my zoanthids. Its hard to explain, so I'll just post before and after pics of the 2 most drastic changes. Before After Before After Now, I wouldn't be so worried if this hadn't happened in about a weeks time, so its kind of creeping me out. I've never had this happen with zoanthids before with MH or PC lights. For what its worth, they came from Chris' (143Gadgets), so we know the conditions they were in before. My T5 bulb combination is (or was until tonight): Aquablue + True Actinic Blue Special 6500k Actinic + Aquablue + Maybe its not the lighting. I do have a hair algae problem for now, but its waning, and my cleanup crew is quickly mopping it up. The tank is a 75 gallon with 2 nanostream 6045's and a Euro-Reef CS6-2 in the sump. Any ideas? Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal February 6, 2007 Share February 6, 2007 Looks like bleaching to me. Believe it or not, this is not uncommon when moving corals from MH to T5. What brand 6500k bulb are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadgets February 6, 2007 Share February 6, 2007 Yup! That's normal. Remember that my tank only has 20k 250w bulbs. They were also in the middle of the tank so not much light there since MHs are point source. I wouldn't worry about it. If you want them to go back to the color they were before, try putting them in less light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr February 6, 2007 Author Share February 6, 2007 You know, I had no idea that zoanthids even could bleach. I've always thought that was fairly specific to hard corals. I've switched them from PC lighting to a 250 watt DE 14k before without a problem. Oh well, at least its normal. I was afraid they were getting starved of some nutrient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadgets February 6, 2007 Share February 6, 2007 Nah. Nothing to do with nutrients. H-E-double hocky sticks I run a Deltec AP701 on a 75g system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr February 6, 2007 Author Share February 6, 2007 (edited) Nah. Nothing to do with nutrients. H-E-double hocky sticks I run a Deltec AP701 on a 75g system. Lol, very true. I guess I still wasn't convinced that these T5's were really that much brighter than metal halides, but now I have my definitive evidence. That probably also explains why some of the frags are refusing to open all the way, maybe I'll slide them under a ledge for a bit to help them out. Edited February 6, 2007 by VicSkimmr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDBDRZ February 6, 2007 Share February 6, 2007 Good rule of thumb is to place any new coral received on the bottom of the tank and then work your way up. I do that with all corals I get unless I know the person I got them from and exactly where they were placed in the persons tank, even then I usually start them on the bottom and move them up after a couple days or so of acclimation. I run T-5's also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr February 6, 2007 Author Share February 6, 2007 I usually do that too. In fact, I did that with all the frags I got. Apparently thats no longer going to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest seantadez February 6, 2007 Share February 6, 2007 wherever i really like the after... before? beautiful but after wovvvv so exotic zoo's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak February 6, 2007 Share February 6, 2007 they still look awsome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROLL February 6, 2007 Share February 6, 2007 You'll be fine, just place those zoa under crevice or somewhere in shade. My GPE and RPE bleached a bit in the beginning and now, they're doing well- color came back. You gotta move around and make sure they have shade to start with then gradually move them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal February 6, 2007 Share February 6, 2007 You have to be careful even when you relocate coral from a tank of similar size and with identical bulb configurations. Age of bulbs, water clarity and other factors can influence how much light is reaching the corals. The reason I asked what brand of 6500k bulb you are using is that many people have opted for the GE bulb due to much lower cost and higher PAR. These bulbs will bleach coral in no time though unless you take great care to acclimate the coral to the more intense lighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr February 6, 2007 Author Share February 6, 2007 (edited) I think my 6500k was a Giesemann, but either way its off the tank now. I bought a pair of new bulbs and I'm playing around with the configuration to get a look thats closer to 20k. Edited February 6, 2007 by VicSkimmr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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