help with LED's pls

I have been running some LED lighting for the last 6 months. I am unsure why some of my coral are reacting poorly.

My large brown Zoa colony has stopped growing, it has gotten alot smaller in appearance, and the color is fading..(use to be dark brown..now is very pale)

All my other corals seem fine and unaffected, but my long tenticle anemone has started wandering this last week and has always stayed in one place. It's walking the top boarder of the tank ( like its looking for an escape route out.)

I have turned the light intensity all the way down for the last week and have noticed no difference.

What can do?
is this happening cause the light is too intense? not strong enough? maybe something else??

 

For the zoa, try moving it to a shaded location and increase manual feeding.

As for the anemone, they typically move to find a more suitable location. This could be to maximize food coming to them by way of flow or increase or decrease the amount of light. I would bet on increasing light since it started moving as you started decreasing light.

 

i thought the same for the anemone but am worried turning up the light will burn my softies.

 

The joys of having a mixed reef!

 

Are you sure the changes are due to lighting only? There are so many variables.

 

yeah i am almost positive. No new additions as far as livestock in the last 8 months. My water params are perfect. I think its bleaching from the lights....although my cremesickle zoa colony is alittle higher up in the tank and they seem to be loving it.

I even have a carnation coral that has shown some signs of growth, had it for 8 months now, still looks great.

I would like to keep the brown zoas but i think they will slowly wither away. I moved a small piece of LR with a colony on it that was really in bad shape to a shaded area but all that is left is a white little nub that looks like a skeleton of some sort where each polyp once was.

I might go back to t-5's.....

 

What type of LEDs, what are the settings, what are the tank dimensions.


Water params? Before? now? Any other equipment changes?

 

I hate to say it say it but I think certain inexplicable coral losses are a norm in this hobby. Sometimes you can have colonies that'll flourish,while other meet their demise. And it can happen at anytime in seemingly perfect conditions.

 

I wouldn't jump back to t5s just because one zoa colony slipped away after 6 months. There's a million variables, I doubt its lighting related at all the way you describe it. Diatoms or other nuisance algae can be the cause, zoa eating nudibranches, a fish harassing it. Do you have any emerald crabs or peppermint shrimp that could be picking at it during the night? I too am interested in what LEDs you are running and the specs on your setup.

 

its all in the signature... cree led's 2 x 60w fixtures. I was running both the blue and white at the lowest intensity because it is extremely bright if they get turned up... Now i just run the whites.

I moved a section of the zoas into shade and they are begining to get their color back.. My anemone is bleaching as well. I don't know if its cause my lights ar too strong or not strong enough