+KeeperOfTheZoo Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 All my zoas are loosing their colors!? They were fine, some even coloring up nicer than they were when I got them then I replaced my bulbs and over the last couple weeks all my colonies have started to fade to a tanish/brown color. I replaced 2 bulbs (everything was super happy, several zoas and palys turned brighter colors and I was excited to see things looking better than ever), then a couple weeks later replaced the second set of bulbs and ran them for a shorter time period for a bit hoping I wouldn't shock my corals. I have 4x96w PC lighting, nothing exciting. My old bulbs were *really* old though. Are my zoas just adjusting to the new bulbs? Will their colors come back? All water parameters are good, actually getting consistently better so I don't think that's it. The zoas are still healthy looking, open and several have added new babies. Actually now that I think about it, my mushrooms are kinda irritated too. Several detached and reatached in much lower light/shaded spots. They were at the very bottom of the tank to start with. I really didn't think I had enough light to upset the corals I have by getting new bulbs. The other corals I have are all happy, it's just the zoas and mushrooms. I hope they'll get over it! Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 You need to cut back on the photo period to give the corals time to adjust. I cut mine back to 4 hrs then add 30-60 minutes each week until I reach 8 hours and the corals seem happpy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Definitely sounds like they are reacting to the new light bulbs. I think the key here is you said the old bulbs were "really old". This means the light intensity of your new ones was took a significant jump. I suspect they will change colors back in due time ... but I can't say how long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KeeperOfTheZoo Posted February 18, 2010 Author Share Posted February 18, 2010 Ok, well crud! I didn't realize I had to cut back that much. Poor little light shocked critters. Should I cut back now or just stick with it? Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 It probably wouldn't hurt to cut back the light for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 +1 on cutting back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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