Torch, Hammer & Frogspawn Help

[ChitownRomeo]

I recently purchased a Torch, Hammer & Frogspawn coral. I have a 21 inch tall tank. Also I have 3watt LED's on the tank. The torch coral was fully extended and pink and now it's bleached white but still extending. Same goes for the Frogspawn. I feed them brine shrimp and they eat well. Will they ever regain their color and where should I keep them in the tank cause I notice they hate high light and flow. I have them at the top of the tank.

 

[Wrangy]

First off what are some of your water parameters? And secondly did you acclimatise these corals to the light or did they go straight to the top of the tank? If they went straight to the top, you might have overloaded/burnt them with light and I would definitely be moving them down lower and slowly increasing the height over and week or two. Just my opinion

 

[reefer gladness]

Here's the deal IMO. If you don't use a PAR meter you're just guessing about how much light the corals are getting. 21 inch tank, 3 watt LED's etc. are pretty much useless references, the only useful reference is PAR. LED's are capable of producing far more or far less light than needed depending on a variety of factors.

Alkalinity swings are also easily capable of bleaching your corals. For some corals a swing of 1 dKH over a 24 hour period is enough to cause damage.

Yes the corals can recover but it takes far more time to recover than it does to do the damage. When bleaching occurs it's because the zooxanthellae have been expelled and it takes them awhile to recover.

 

[ChitownRomeo]

Here's the deal IMO. If you don't use a PAR meter you're just guessing about how much light the corals are getting. 21 inch tank, 3 watt LED's etc. are pretty much useless references, the only useful reference is PAR. LED's are capable of producing far more or far less light than needed depending on a variety of factors.

Alkalinity swings are also easily capable of bleaching your corals. For some corals a swing of 1 dKH over a 24 hour period is enough to cause damage.

Yes the corals can recover but it takes far more time to recover than it does to do the damage. When bleaching occurs it's because the zooxanthellae have been expelled and it takes them awhile to recover.

Thanks for explaining that to me.

 

[goma]

All good points above! Move them down to the sand and off to the side of the tank.

 

[AC273]

Or dim your lights if the led are dimmable

 

[Reef Commando]

All of these are bottom dwellers and so it could be the positioning that is a problem.

None of mine like to be moved from the sand bed. I have noticed that even a move of 2" along the sand bed can make a difference to them as the flow might vary.

 

[AC273]

My frogspawn is at the top of my tank and loving it. I think they can be pretty adaptable as long as you give them time to adjust. Blasting them( or any coral) with light right away is never a good idea.