how long can my corals last?

[beeguiles]

So here's the problem. Four bulbs in my led lighting fixture went out and I have to send it back and am getting a new one sent to me. But in the meantime I have no light....all I have is a normal fluorescent light. Nothing special, it came with the tank when i bought it. Will the corals be okay with this light for a little while. I'm hoping a week but it might be longer. Should i leave the fluorescent light on for longer than I have The led light on? I have lots of zoas. Mushrooms. Frogspswn, hammer coral, Kenya tree, green nepthea, and a maxim mini anemone. Oh and xenia. Nothing that needs crazy bright light but I'm sure it needs some light.

 

[little_fish]

I think you will be fine if its not much more than a week, just make sure adjust your corals to the new lighting.

 

[beeguiles]

How do I adjust them? They are all glued so I cant move them.

 

[Jmck]

If you can dim the lights, thats one way, but if not you need to put them low in the tank to acclimate them, then raise them up

 

[beeguiles]

Well the temporary light will be dimmer than the led until I get the replacement led light.

 

[Smitty]

Since your corals are glued down, you could get a light diffuser/egg crate to acclimate them.

 

[little_fish]

You can also start by leaving the light on for one hour, and then increase how many hours its on every 3 or 4 days.

 

[beeguiles]

I think I'm a little confused. Am I acclimating them to the fluorescent light of the replacement LED lighting?

 

[Northstar24]

They are saying acclimate them once you get your LED lights back. LEDS are much, much much brighter for the corals than Metal Halides or T5's are. I literally melted a Acropora coral I had when I upgraded my tank to the AI LED's - it was over a foot away from the fixutres and it still bleached out with my unites at 30% intensity. At that intensity they looked dimmer than my old fixture to naked eye, but it was putting out a lot more usable light for the corals.

When you get the new LED's back, I'd either raise them up higher over the tank and slolwy move them down so the corals can get used to them, or severly cut back your photoperiod and ramp back up to the normal photoperiod over a few weeks

 

[beeguiles]

Ohh I understand now. Thanks northstar.

 

[Northstar24]

Wow, I just noticed that I totally failed at spelling in that post - but I am glad it helped