Miyagi tort browning out...

[Cwazy Clown]

I have a miyagi tort that is definitely browning out from the bottom up... with a very distinctive tan line...

I'm using 150watt halide running a 14k pheonix in my 8g sps cube. Its probably 6" from the water line and 9" from the halide. Its also getting medium flow. The origional owner had it placed on the bottom about 18" from the water and 22" from the halide. But he was running a 250 watt 14k bulb.

My water is perfect with 0's all around and 410 Ca and 8.5 dKH

I dont get it. Its browning out quite quickly too... maybe upwards of 1/4" turning brown from the bottom up every 24 hours.

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,

But he was running a 250 watt 14k bulb.

I believe that's your answer. It may or may not return to its original colour once it acclimates to the different lighting.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[Cwazy Clown]

Interesting... although none of his other corals have browned out on me.

So in this case, what determines if a coral will brown out with a change in lighting? all of my pieces have come from people using 250watt mhs in their tanks and none but this one has browned.

 

[kevinpo]

what determines if a coral will brown out with a change in lighting?

It's pretty much random. Some corals (especially Acropora sp.) will brown from sudden changes between tanks but often return to their original color in 2-6 weeks. Many of my corals in my 600 turned brown when I moved it even though I used more than 50% of the same water and the same lighting system. I also placed them in about the same places they were in before the move. Its been 8 weeks and a couple out of the 50 or so still haven't gotten their full colour back. Mostly you just want to leave it alone if your other corals are doing well and give it plenty of time. I usually wait at least 90 days before I start moving Acropora sp.

HTH,
Kevin

 

[Cwazy Clown]

Well now that theres is substantial brown area, I also notice that the brown isnt even all the way around. There is also blotches of very light tan, almost white. Is this still considered browning out? it almost looks like some of it is browning out and some is bleaching..

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,
With sudden changes in environment the coral can panic and allow zooxanthellae to reach high levels which cause the coral to appear brown. This reaction is a safety measure to help it survive. The coral does not have to regulate the zooxanthellae numbers uniformly throughout the coral. If it feels some parts are getting too much nutrition it will begin to expel zooxanthellae in that area. Changes in coral position (left, right, center) of the halide will also have an effect on zooxanthellae regulation by area.

I posted a picture of a Acropora that received early morning natural sunlight from about 8am - 9:30am on one side. The coral was a complete different color from the bottom to top on one side. The coral may go from light to dark a couple of times before settling in. Usually I don't too excited (worried) about color. Tissue loss is another matter, especially if the coral appears to be smoking. That usually means a white skeleton (RTN) in an hour or two if immediate action is not taken. Most often this is caused by a sudden increase in light or UV intensity. If the same brand bulb and ballast are used between tanks then differences in water clarity may be the factor.

HTH,
Kevin

 

[SpecialTang]

I had two millie's that did that, both tanned completely. I got them from someone running 400W lights and mine were only 250W's

Took a few months to get all the color completely back but they came back.

Sounds like Kevin said stress from the move.

 

[sandswhitson]

I would check all your corals very closely for AEFW they will cause browning at the base and aslo the white spots that you are refering to. The AEFW are very hard to see but their eggs aren't. Also you can take a turkiey baster and blast the corals and see if any worms fly off.

 

[Chichas01]

this has happend to me with at least a couple SPS. Lighting from tank to tank can have a big impact on corals. I have good size chunk of blue tort from the Elos system at Barrier that has mostly turned green in my system - they say this has happened to a lot of the folks who have purchased this coral. I also have a sunset monti that took probably 8 months to start getting back a nice deep orange color after it lightned up quit a bit when I first got it in my tank. You may just need to be patient with it