Coral Bleaching... Again!

KrazyPlace · Post by **KrazyPlace** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 7:09 pm

OK... I went on vacation and when I came back I have 4 corals bleaching! I checked the salinity and the nitrates... both are good. I haven't 'lost' any fish or corals either. My lighting is still on the 'correct' cycle so I think I didn't lose power.

What else have you guys seen after a vacation that can cause bleaching?

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 9:02 pm

My wife turned the thermostat up during the summer once when we went off for the weekend. I think the house got too hot and I had a few bleach.

KrazyPlace · Post by **KrazyPlace** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 6:01 am

Scott wrote:My wife turned the thermostat up during the summer once when we went off for the weekend. I think the house got too hot and I had a few bleach.

At what temperature do you think they will start to bleach?

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 7:36 am

I believe that certain sps will start to bleach if the sustained temp is above 86 or there is a temp spike above 92.

Brandon · Post by **Brandon** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 1:31 pm

That's just their way of showing they missed you.

KrazyPlace · Post by **KrazyPlace** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:52 am

I did a 35% water change last night and cleaned out the refuge. Hopefully this bleaching will be self correcting because right now it looks like I might loose most my corals. My big orange Monti Cap and the Purple Monti Cap are also showing signs of bleaching!

Amphiprion · Post by **Amphiprion** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 3:47 pm

What temperature do you normally keep your tank at? Corals that are normally kept under somewhat cooler temperatures (i.e. 77-78 degrees) are actually likely to bleach in water as warm as 82-84 degrees. So, say if there were a spike in temperature during the day while you were gone, which can happen, then even this slight increase could cause the bleaching.

KrazyPlace · Post by **KrazyPlace** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 7:46 pm

I have kept my tank between 80-81 until recently when the really hot weather came along. Now I've seen it spike as high as 84. I just added a fan to my sump today. I'm ordering a temperature controller to run the fan. Hopefully I can drop the temperature below 80 again. I'm starting to think that the temperature spiked really high while I was gone on vacation.

Jahdiel · Post by **Jahdiel** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 9:09 pm

Interesting you have this post, I just found 2 of mine starting to bleach, looks like I need to keep a better eye on my readings for awhile

KrazyPlace · Post by **KrazyPlace** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:42 am

Karen, is your house hotter during the summer than during the winter?

Jahdiel · Post by **Jahdiel** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:58 am

KrazyPlace wrote:Karen, is your house hotter during the summer than during the winter?

Is that a trick question?

No seriously we keep ours set at about 74 year round. Since my post I went in the tank and chipped away the bleached areas and so far it has not spread, so my hope is that possibly it was detruis collection. I'll keep you updated on mine. How is yours doing now, I really hope it has stopped for you. I could not imagine staring at these little guys as well as all your hard efforts fading. My heart goes out to you.

KrazyPlace · Post by **KrazyPlace** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 5:42 pm

**UPDATE**

Most of my corals have colored up. I have one nice coral that still is showing quite a bit of white, but the tips have blued/purpled up pretty good. I think I'm in good shape now.

Still don't know what caused the bleaching, but I still think it was heat. I have added 2 fans to the sump and I think I can keep the day time temperature to 80 F with that running.