Coral browning, too much or too little light?

Title says it all. I have a chalice that has browned out. Does that mean too much light or too little light. I've been trying to find a good spot where it will color back up.

 

i suppose it could mean to little light if it has seemed to get darker. but corals will change colors with different lighting setups. i think it just changed because of that and theres nothing you can try besides switching bulbs or type of lightings

 

you can try giving it a little more light but I wouldn't do too much to it. Chalice can be very light sensitive and don't require a whole lot to thrive.

 

excess nutrients can have a lot to do with browning. as well as flow.

i read and belive with sps flow goes hand in hand with lighting.

at higher flow speeds the rate of photosynthesis increases,

and at lower flow speeds it decreases.

so the stronger the lighting the more flow you should have.


not sure if it works like this but if you have lots of flow hitting the coral, and lil lighting it seems this could cause browning.

 

thanks for the input

 

+1... IME (if it is an old coral you've had for some time) It'll brown mainly from water quality. You can over do it too. Browning means it is not happy and/ or still adjusting. If you move it alot it'll brown until it gets accustomed to that position in your tank. Just like you putting a new one in your tank, it'll be brown until it acclimates to your lighting, water quality and nutrients.

 

I was just talking with a local LFS about my new Monti frags. I have them now about 20 inches under the 150 watt MH bulbs. They were under a Aquatic Life HID Fixture / 20000K bulbs. I was told these are more powerful than the MH bulbs. I asked about using a frag rack to get the frags higher. I was told that I really need a light meter to know how much light its getting now and how much it would get since it would be at the back of the tank not directly under the bulbs. I dont want to do too much light but my rainbow looks a little orange/brownish polyps. Anyone else here use frag racks?


I cannot help on the Chalice coral as I have never kept one. I would think Medium light but they say that any coral that has brighter colors should receive more light

 

That for the most part is true, but a chalice coral is not an SPS

I would have a feeling that it's probably getting too much light. Chalice's like lower light, and moderate to lower levels of flow. Keep it low, and maybe even in the shade a little bit, and see how it does. You can also try and feed it some small brine or cyclopeez at night when its feeder's come out.

 

I will try it lower, see what happens. Thanks

 

I am in the too little light camp....
Chalice do prefer moderate light and slower flow but if it was too bright the color similar to an SPS would fade out.
How long have you had it and how long has it been brown?