corals bleaching out?

[reefaddiction2010]

I have a few acro's and a fiji leather toad stool in my 40gal tall w/ 250 mh lights that are startinng to bleach out and I have a neon yellow goniopora in my 95 gal w/150 mh lights that looks to be turning brownish, I have asked several and I have gotten both too much light and not enough light. What could be causing this and is it reversable?

[ReeferRob]

Whens the last time you tested your water params? Specifically Alkalinity?

[tazzy695]

I agree what are all params specific to each tank

also what types of lighting flow and whatnot on each tank as you have multiple corals in 2 different tanks it could be many different answers

usually bleaching is reversible if the coral isn't too far gone already or dead

[reefaddiction2010]

We tested the alkalinity last week and it was a little low so i added some buffer.the carbonate hardness was ok , the calcium was a little high and magnesium was low. I will be testing everything again tomorrow didnt want to shock the tank too much with changes.

[ReeferRob]

Get the magnesium up first, it will make it easier to stabilize the Alk and Calc.

[tazzy695]

please list the actual numbers little low and little high don't help us much especially if these came from a lfs

also if you don't have your own test kits yet I would recommend investing in some so you can test daily till everything is showing stable

mg is recommended to be around 1400 give or take increase by 100 per day

[thefishgirl]

How old are your light bulbs too?

[Manoj's Reef]

my 0.02.

Concentrate your efforts on water chemistry and bugs

1. Alk
2. Rate of Alk change of the day
3. Look for bugs at day and night time
4. Mag Levels - Required to maintan your alk level
5. Calcium to be in the appropriate range

You lighting does affect corals but I dont think causes death. It causes the corals to loose color or gain color - And under prolonged over/under lighting can cause death.

Untill you identify your root cause dont make too many changes other wise it will cause your SPS to RTN.

I hope it helps.

[weimers75]

Are your other corals turning brown or white? If they're turning white (usually with bright fluorescent polyps) they're getting too much light. Browning usually indicates a water parameter problem or too little light.