# I need help corals are dying



## Turtlekid99 (Apr 6, 2013)

I have several corals in my tank. I have frog spawns, brain, mushrooms, bubble, ext. I had a 1W LED light on them, but I changed recently to a 4 bulb t5 and still my corals are still closing up and dying. I need to know what I need to do to save them.


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

Turtlekid99 said:


> I have several corals in my tank. I have frog spawns, brain, mushrooms, bubble, ext. I had a 1W LED light on them, but I changed recently to a 4 bulb t5 and still my corals are still closing up and dying. I need to know what I need to do to save them.


 
What are your parameters? Most importantly Alkalinity and Calcium.


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## Turtlekid99 (Apr 6, 2013)

I checked my perimeters and they are all fine


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

Turtlekid99 said:


> I checked my perimeters and they are all fine


Can you post the results? What did your alkalinity read (in dKH)? What about calcium (in ppm)?


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## RSully (Nov 22, 2012)

Also, what is a 1W LED? I'm pretty new so this doesn't make sense.


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

1 watt Light Emitting Diode, the power of the bulb in the fixture.

Agree that we need numbers to be able to see the "larger" picture.


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## RSully (Nov 22, 2012)

OK, after getting a few questions answered and talking to a few people, I think I/we know what your problem is. Your corals arent dying, there trying to acclimate to the new lighting. You need to cut your light schedule back for a week or so to 4 hrs a day, then gradually increase it back up to 10 or so hours a day. The lights you were running were not sufficeint to keep the corals you have in your tank.

One question I have now is how long were they under the previous lighting and how were they doing before you switched lighting?


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

Aren't corals extremely sensitive to nitrates?


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

AbbeysDad said:


> Aren't corals extremely sensitive to nitrates?


The stonier corals are. And SPS (Small Polyp Stony) are even more sensitive than LPS (Large Polyp Stony). Are the FrogSpawn, Brain and Bubble having more trouble than the mushrooms?


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## RSully (Nov 22, 2012)

Kinda pointless to keep adding to this thread when the OP hasn't been back to answer any questions. I still stand by my lighting theory. He said his parametars were fine. I guess my way has always been the KISS method. The thing that makes the most sense is his lighting. Based on what he had in there compared to what he switched to, that'd be like taking a newborn baby to the beach and setting them in the sun for 8 hours.


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

RSully said:


> Kinda pointless to keep adding to this thread when the OP hasn't been back to answer any questions. I still stand by my lighting theory. He said his parametars were fine. I guess my way has always been the KISS method. The thing that makes the most sense is his lighting. Based on what he had in there compared to what he switched to, that'd be like taking a newborn baby to the beach and setting them in the sun for 8 hours.


It is, but I was hoping he would post Alkalinity and Calcium. Most people will say that their parameters are "fine" when they do not test the two most important parameters in saltwater. My Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia tests are collecting dust. Only tested when something is out of line with Alkalinity _and_ Calcium. I test pH every so often just to verify my Alk and Calcium results. I just figured that asking him what his results were could spark some good conversation about this.

The increased lighting might cause more bleaching than anything else. You are supposed to ease the corals into new lighting, start with a couple hours, move to four hours, and then six finally to eight when they can handle it. I think that the lighting aspect is probably a contribution to his unhealthy coral, but I would still love to see some test results. ;-)


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

RSully said:


> OK, after getting a few questions answered and talking to a few people, I think I/we know what your problem is. Your corals arent dying, there trying to acclimate to the new lighting. You need to cut your light schedule back for a week or so to 4 hrs a day, then gradually increase it back up to 10 or so hours a day. The lights you were running were not sufficeint to keep the corals you have in your tank.
> 
> One question I have now is how long were they under the previous lighting and how were they doing before you switched lighting?


Mr. Sully woukd be correct here also.


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

Reefing Madness said:


> Mr. Sully woukd be correct here also.


I can agree with that.


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