additional MH and acclimation?

[mayjong]

hey all-
finally changing my lighting from one 250W mh to two 250W mh.
(it should have been two MH's from the beginning!)
adding that extra MH, should i be concerned with "burning" my corals?
i have a mixed soft,LPS,SPS and clams.
do i need to cut back on light time, and slowly ramp it up?
thanks for any suggestions!

[crvz]

so I think it's better to lay window screen in layers over the tank in lieu of just getting back the photoperiod, then remove one screen a week to allow the corals to acclimate. But, I'd certainly do something to help everything get adjusted to the new lights, so if photoperiod is your only choice it's better than nothing.

[Entropy]

Are the bulbs on seperate timers? I would probably reduce my light cycle a bit at first, but stagger the bulbs so the photo period is basically the same as original. Then just bring the bulbs together over time. So if you have a 8 hour photo period, start with 4 per side, and then add and hour to each side per week. So to start the right would be on 4 hours, and then the left 4 hours (no overlap). Next week right 5 hours, left 5 hours (1 hour overlap), etc. In 4 weeks you will be back to normal and your corals should be ready for the extra light. When I had two halides I always staggered them anyway so one came on a half hour early, and the other went off a half hour later. It is a neat effect.

[mayjong]

thanks all-
i think i will try that "stagger " method.
i was already planning on staggering the 1/2 hour (to simulate the sun passing over)