beginner coral turning white! ?

skynoverya550 · 07-13-2010, 11:30 PM

Hello,

like 1 month ago i picked up a small zoo of coral, placed it on a rock and it has been doing great, the last 3 or 4 days about 80% of it has turned white. it still develops when my lights come on but its just white. i have 1 30" fixture with t-5 bulbs NON HO, and a 36" acentinic fixture with two bulbs that stays on around the clock.

what would cause this to happen to my coral? any suggestions?

the tank is 120G with about 75lbs of live rock and a 2" live sand bed, my creatures consist of about 20 crabs, 2 clowns, 2 pajama cardinals, 5 green chromis and 2 diamond gobys.

i know this lighting is bare minimum for coral, so that why i started with that small zoo (is what the LFS called it).

THANKS in advance

ZeroSystem · 07-31-2010, 01:52 AM

Zooanthids, I believe are what they are called. I'm not an expert in saltwater by any means, but if I remember correctly corals utilize a symbiotic, photosynthesising algae (or other organism perhaps) within their cells in order to turn light into food. It is my guess, and it is just a guess mind you, that for some reason that algae (for lack of a better word) has died, which would lead me to believe that the zoo's themselves may be dying as well. This is pure speculation at this point, and not only do I know not if this is truly correct, but I also don't know what would cause this to happen even if it was the right answer! Hopefully someone with a little more saltwater experiance will come along soon and help shed some light on this situation.

Judge · 07-31-2010, 11:30 AM

How old are your bulbs? Could be they are not putting out enough for the corals to stay healthy, or losing their photo ability.

cichlidgirl · 08-10-2010, 06:03 AM

What is your water parems ? Do you add in any coral suppliments ? Im new to salt tanks also and bought a bottle of coral vite and when i added it per instructions it shot my calcium up to 580. I had to do major waterchanges to get it back down to the recommended levels. Im not sure if too much calcium would bleach /kill your corals or not (like i said, im new too) but when my levels exceeded the max by 100 im guessing it cant be good. How high up is the coral placed in your tank ? I had mine on the floor of the tank but moved them to ontop of my liverock so they are closer to their light. I think depending on how hot your lighting is you have to watch them for over heating form the lights. You said you leave the lights on overnight, make sure you are not overheating.