I have a coral color issue

For some reason everything that I put in my tank turns into a light pinkish sort of color. Granted some of the corals that I have are naturally this color but others that are supposed to be blue or green all turn pinkish.

I can't figure out what it is. I can only assume it is my lighting but still others I talk to don't have the same problems and they have less or similar lighting. I need help.


My tank is this:

-10 gallon tank
-1 bio-wheel filter
-10-15 lbs of live rock (I forget)
-Few pounds of live sand
-Corlife 96 Watt power quad light fixture (w/ 10K bulb)

Live stock:
- 1 damsel (4-stripe)
- 1 Brittle star
- 2 Red leg hermits
- 2 blue leg hermits
- A bunch of naseriuth snails
- A Mexican turbo snail
- 1 bubble coral
- 1 Zenia (pulsing) - now split into 3 separate stalks.
- 1 Leather coral
- Several sand polyps (red and green)
- 1 trumpet coral with 5 heads (is supposed to be blue outer and green inner)
- 1 rock with several mushrooms that were supposed to be green

The leather and xenia are pink naturally. However the mushroom and the trumpet corals where supposed to have some nice color. As soon as they were added to the tank they turned a reddish or pinkish color. It seems like the only coral able to maintain its color in my tank are polyps.

I can't figure out what it is but I suspect the light. I think I have enough light and that is not the issue but maybe it is the type of light. Maybe the power compact just does not give off what is needed. My guess is that maybe the PC does not put out any UV radiation- therefore the corals lose the protective UV coat that they have which protects them yet also gives them their nice coloring.

Could that be the case?

If so what can I do to get the color back (I really don't want to go out and purchase a metal halide bulb and hood if I don't have to)

Water parameters:

Ammonia = 0.5ppm
Nitrite = 0ppm
Nitrate = 0ppm
PO4 = 0.1ppm
PH = 8.2
ALK = 5 meg/L or around 14KH


Water temperature right now is 82F


Let me know what you all think.

 

How long have the corals been in the tank?

 

Well:

Mushroom - 6 months
Bubble coral - 6.5 months

Polyps - 5 months

Leather coral - 3 months

Zenia - 2-2.5 months

Trumpet - less than a month

 

Well????

 

Ok I did a full tank change- meaning I pulled out all the LF and coral and put it in a new 10 gallon tank with new sand. So my water quality should be great.

Thinking more about my lights I am still a bit confused. I am actually starting to beleive the opposite of what some have said. I think I have too much lighting in my tank. I have a 96W bulb with 2 10K tubes and 2 Atnic tubes. So with that wattage over a 10 gallon tank and that amount of atnic the corals should be gettign more than enough light and more than enough in the atnic range.

So I am starting to htink that the mushrooms are losing coor because the lights are too intense.... What do you guys think?

 

that could be happening, what ever is happening your lighting is causing it, the corals will adapt to best take advantage of whatever light source they have

 

Ok,
To start, Removing your livestock and placing it in a newly set up tank with no cycling or maturation process provided is not the way to go and could prove quite the contrary!

The intense lighting associated with our reefs is often times far from the case as with our tanks. The lux that is accompanied by the sun shinning down a a cloudless sky at noon time is roughly 120,000lux! Even at 15 feet in depth the lux from the sun is still very intense at 20000k. PAR(photosynthetically available radiation) and PUR(photosynthetically usable radiation) should be close to the same level based on available light, pigmentation and clarity of the water. Creating that intensity is pretty hard to accomplish, especially with the many factors that will inhibit this intensity from being met under artificial lighting. Turbidity, dissolved organics and inorganics, tannins and chemicals used in toxic warfare are come into play.
A few things to be aware of:
NOT all corals have pigmentation or use pigmentation to aid in UV reduction.
Corals take time to become comfortable and stress reduction is observed.
Various color bulb/kelvin schemes will offer different color contrasts than the same coral under other intensities and color combinations.
Lighting is only part of the equasion
Time, often times, is a remedy that mother nature gives us and that is often all that is needed.
I'd wait a while to see what happens and if you still think that things are not optimal, try moving the corals around in your tank!

How long has your tank been up anyhow?
You may want to research more about lighting and all that it entails with regards to zooxanthellae, saturation point, PAR and PUR and irradiance. This isn't meant to be a hit or knock on you, just trying to make you successful with a thriving and beautiful aquarium filled with a plethora of living animals is all!
Good luck!

 

You cant explain it better than this. How old are the bulbs? Luna

 

are you telling me that you took everything out of your tank and put everything into a new one and changed ALL the water and ALL new sand? I don't know if i've been informed incorrectly but wouldn't this start a new cycle? But would the existing LR nullify this? I'm a little confused...

but with your corals, I doubt that it's your lighting. Maybe something is up with your water...what do you use for flow?

 

UPDATE

Ok I did a full tank change- meaning I pulled out all the LF and coral and put it in a new 10 gallon tank with new sand. So my water quality should be great.

Thinking more about my lights I am still a bit confused. I am actually starting to beleive the opposite of what some have said. I think I have too much lighting in my tank. I have a 96W bulb with 2 10K tubes and 2 Atnic tubes. So with that wattage over a 10 gallon tank and that amount of atnic the corals should be gettign more than enough light and more than enough in the atnic range.

So I am starting to htink that the mushrooms are losing coor because the lights are too intense.... What do you guys think?