so last time i changed my MH bulbs, i had some serious bleaching happen to my corals. no one seemed to know why, but oh well, another year passes by. i find out when ordering these bulbs the reason for last years bleaching. that phoenix bulbs only last 7-8 mos. (instead of the 1 year i was told when i bought them). so i did some research and found that ushio bulbs last a year. i changed to those last night. i prepared better this time around and put a screen over my tank (3 layers at first, then take off one every once in a while.) but today i look at my corals and the frogspawn/torch/hammer are all half out, the baby scoly had discoloration and some dead skin on it, my toadstool is not even out, its balled up like it was the day i first put it in the tank. so what gives? is there something else i can do? or is this actually normal? and i am expecting more than whats really gonna happen? thanks in advance.

Sounds like too much too soon. Put another layer back on. Screens should be taken off once a week.

i havent took any layers off. lol thats the problem. my tank looks like hell. everyone is unhappy except a couple frags on the VEEERY bottom of the tank. they seem ok. ive even had coralline die off. a lot of my rocks have turned gray:( this sucks. will this happen if i change my bulbs more regular? its driving me crazy cuz i lost a lot of good stuff the first time i did this. now here we go again, im losing stuff because some *&%^@# hole told me "oh, you dont have to change those bulbs but once a year" i mean why bother? if he told me to change them once every 7-8 mos that would only bring more business, and i wouldnt be losing those corals. grrrr!

Interesting. I can honestly say this should not be that big of an issue. I have taken many acclimated corals out of other tanks and put them in mine and vise versa with little to no issue. I would assume the pheonix is 14k, I think that is the only bulb they actually sell. Ushio 14k isn't Pheonix 14k, it should be much whiter. Go with a 20k eliminate the BS LOL your coral will thank you. I think halides should last atleast a year, They may fall of a K or two but really that shouldn't make that big of a difference unless you are WAY overpowered as it is.

Your situation is pretty unique. There shouldn't be this much of an issue with changing bulbs, especially considering that you took the precautions of screening the tank. Coraline bleaching (it's not dying, just white, and it will come back) is pretty normal when increasing intensity in light. Also, a Phoenix at 1 year isn't that big of a deal. Many times the issues you see from running a MH bulb too long is increased algae issues, and some corals looking a little PO'd. There shouldn't be this kind of reaction though. Best thing I can suggest is add another layer, keep up with frequent water changes, and run carbon if you aren't already. The carbon will help stop an other issues from some of the corals being irritated.

how often is often water changes? i do them once a month, or twice a month if i can. and its not really time to do one, but i could if i need to this weekend.

With corals getting PO'd, they release a slime to help protect themselves, and that can be toxic to some other corals. Until things stabalize, I'd do at least once a week water chagnes, but if you can do twice a week (small ones), that will be better. It's a just in case move more than anything.

ill do that, i moved my tank this weekend and changed out the sandbed and did a 30-40% water change. ill try to do two water changes this week and from here on out. about how long do you think ill have to fight this before corals start opening again? (i also still have the screens over the tank, and tested my water. nitrates were a lil high, but everything else looks good. high nitrates may be due to stirring everything up on the move. ill test them again in a few days.)

Keep an eye on it for a while. It may take a few weeks for everything to bounce back. More frequent water changes can help with getting water parameters stable.