Questio about new lights
- Thread starter hebbah
- Start date
Navarchus
Almost smarter than a pig
Congratulations on the new lights! 250 W will penetrate much deeper into your tank and your corals will thank you for it. I assume they are HQI or MH? Are they pendants? What is your photoperiod now? What type of livestock do you have?
In my experience it is always better to err on the side of caution, and if possible acclimate the tank. I have heard of people experiencing acroporoa/montipora bleaching when moving from VHO to MH so there is at least a little concern here.
If the new lights are pendants, you may be able to keep the same photoperiod by raising the lights a couple of feet and slowly lowering them. This is how i handled a 250W to 400W change in my old tank, and I had no problems. If not pendants, you may want to reduce the photoperiod or only run your new 250W for mid day light for the first week or two. At the very least, you should closely monitor your livestock during the transition.
That said, most stores run 250W lights, and I used to buy frags that were used to 250W and put them in my 400W lit tank without incident.
In my experience it is always better to err on the side of caution, and if possible acclimate the tank. I have heard of people experiencing acroporoa/montipora bleaching when moving from VHO to MH so there is at least a little concern here.
If the new lights are pendants, you may be able to keep the same photoperiod by raising the lights a couple of feet and slowly lowering them. This is how i handled a 250W to 400W change in my old tank, and I had no problems. If not pendants, you may want to reduce the photoperiod or only run your new 250W for mid day light for the first week or two. At the very least, you should closely monitor your livestock during the transition.
That said, most stores run 250W lights, and I used to buy frags that were used to 250W and put them in my 400W lit tank without incident.
They are actually T5's. They don't look any brighter than my old lights, is that normal?
We have 4 Reef Chromis, 1 Gamma, 1 anemone, a sunburst coral and a purple passion tree. The lights are not hanging but are mounted on legs. Usually the lights are on for 11 hours with 30 minutes before and after being for the dawn and dusk cycles. Should I run the lights shorter in the beginning or turn only some of them on?
We have 4 Reef Chromis, 1 Gamma, 1 anemone, a sunburst coral and a purple passion tree. The lights are not hanging but are mounted on legs. Usually the lights are on for 11 hours with 30 minutes before and after being for the dawn and dusk cycles. Should I run the lights shorter in the beginning or turn only some of them on?
dustin_P74
Reef enthusiast
you need to acclimate you corals to the light
Navarchus
Almost smarter than a pig
Don't worry that your lights are not brighter than your old lights. Watt is a measure of energy, not brightness. (Actually, the watt is the SI unit of power. Power is the rate at which energy is used. One watt is equal to one joule of energy per second. Brighness is measured in lumens, and color temperature in Kelvin).
To acclimate your tank try placing some sort of screening material above your coral during the first few weeks of acclimation. The screen could be egg crate light paneling or fiberglass mesh. I used to add new corals to the bottom of my tank to avoid light-shock, and then slowly move them up to their final position after a week or two. Also, reduce the photoperiod by a quarter for the first week and gradually add an hour each week to reduce the risk of light shock. Keep a close watch on your livestock. A good indication your coral has adjusted is when it appears fully expanded and displays full coloration.
To acclimate your tank try placing some sort of screening material above your coral during the first few weeks of acclimation. The screen could be egg crate light paneling or fiberglass mesh. I used to add new corals to the bottom of my tank to avoid light-shock, and then slowly move them up to their final position after a week or two. Also, reduce the photoperiod by a quarter for the first week and gradually add an hour each week to reduce the risk of light shock. Keep a close watch on your livestock. A good indication your coral has adjusted is when it appears fully expanded and displays full coloration.
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Bifferwine
I am a girl
Navarchus has the right idea. He/she has good suggestions about using varying degrees of screening or moving corals upwards slowly.
