Lighting Schedules and Intensity

[SumDimSum]

Hey guys, Im look for some advice on setting my lighting schedule and intensities. I have a 18" current USA orbit marine led on top of a spec v. The tank has been running for slightly more than a year now and ive been using the preset settings ever since. I had lps which have been growing great but I just added a birdsnest in and figured it would be a good time to look at my lighting. Thanks!

[mcgyvr]

Turn them to 100% man... They are too weak to do any harm..

If you want to look at your lighting it should be to replace it :)

But you didn't state the size tank you have so...

In general those lights are not sufficient for corals no matter what their marketing literature says.. Just too weak..
Fine for fish but lousy for corals/growth..

[SumDimSum]

Turn them to 100% man... They are too weak to do any harm..

If you want to look at your lighting it should be to replace it :)

But you didn't state the size tank you have so...

In general those lights are not sufficient for corals no matter what their marketing literature says.. Just too weak..
Fine for fish but lousy for corals/growth..
Thanks for the reply. I have a 5 gallon fluval spec. Would it be too much to have both channels at 100" since my tank is only like a foot tall?

[Joey_bananas420]

Any adjustments you make I would do slowly. I disagree that the lights are two weak to do any damage as it doesn't take a crazy powerful light to do damage. The corals you have in there have adjusted to what the light is now. If you turn it up all the way all at once you will be drastically changing the conditions your animals live in. Nothing good in reefing happens fast. Take it slow when you upgrade your lighting start out low and slowly work your way up. A par meter is invaluable even tho most of us don't have one including me. Anything other than a par meter is just a blind guess cause the human eye is the worst tool to use for measuring brightness.

[SumDimSum]

Any adjustments you make I would do slowly. I disagree that the lights are two weak to do any damage as it doesn't take a crazy powerful light to do damage. The corals you have in there have adjusted to what the light is now. If you turn it up all the way all at once you will be drastically changing the conditions your animals live in. Nothing good in reefing happens fast. Take it slow when you upgrade your lighting start out low and slowly work your way up. A par meter is invaluable even tho most of us don't have one including me. Anything other than a par meter is just a blind guess cause the human eye is the worst tool to use for measuring brightness.

Fair enough. So without a par meter, is it usually just a trial and error sort of process? I guess what I'm still struggling with is how do I determine I have the right settings? My lps have been growing great, but this is my first year keeping a reef and I honestly have nothing to compare it with so I have no clue whether they've actually been having a decent growth rate. Also, is there any sort of guideline as to how long the lights should be on for and how long the moon lights should stay on after? Thanks!

[Ron Reefman]

Your fixture is very weak with 0.25 watt leds. HOWEVER, over a 5g tank which is what, 12" deep? It should be OK (which mcgyvr didn't know in his post above).

Without a PAR meter try this. Place an sps coral, a cheap frag of red cap monti will work, as high in the tank as any coral in the tank. Ramp up your lights by 5% to 10% every week or two. When the monti bleaches (if it will given your fixture) dial it back 10% and you should be fine. It's the 'canary in the coalmine' technique.

[SumDimSum]

Your fixture is very weak with 0.25 watt leds. HOWEVER, over a 5g tank which is what, 12" deep? It should be OK (which mcgyvr didn't know in his post above).

Without a PAR meter try this. Place an sps coral, a cheap frag of red cap monti will work, as high in the tank as any coral in the tank. Ramp up your lights by 5% to 10% every week or two. When the monti bleaches (if it will given your fixture) dial it back 10% and you should be fine. It's the 'canary in the coalmine' technique.

Thanks for the advice Ron. Should I be doing the same for both the blue and the white channels? I've noticed when they are at the same intensity the tank looks as if there isnt any blue at all. Also, how long should the lights be on for each day?

[Ron Reefman]

If your fixture has roughly the same number of blue and white leds (at the same wattage) and most do, then I'd recommend you run 50% to 100% more blue than white. So something like 40% white and 60% to 80% blue. It will give the tank a cool white color and the corals will do better.

The zooxanthellae (algae) that lives in your coral does photosynthesis which feeds the coral for 4 to 6 hours (roughly). So you need 4 to 6 hours of strong light. Sunrise and sunset aren't very significant in your tank or over the ocean on a reef. From sunrise to 9 or 10 am the sun is dimmer and at too steep an angle to penetrate the water, the same is true from 2 or 3 pm till sunset. BTW, the zooxanthellae will not do more than 4 to 6 hours of photosynthesis even if it has intense light, it's in their genetic code and they shut down even if there is good light.

[SumDimSum]

If your fixture has roughly the same number of blue and white leds (at the same wattage) and most do, then I'd recommend you run 50% to 100% more blue than white. So something like 40% white and 60% to 80% blue. It will give the tank a cool white color and the corals will do better.

The zooxanthellae (algae) that lives in your coral does photosynthesis which feeds the coral for 4 to 6 hours (roughly). So you need 4 to 6 hours of strong light. Sunrise and sunset aren't very significant in your tank or over the ocean on a reef. From sunrise to 9 or 10 am the sun is dimmer and at too steep an angle to penetrate the water, the same is true from 2 or 3 pm till sunset. BTW, the zooxanthellae will not do more than 4 to 6 hours of photosynthesis even if it has intense light, it's in their genetic code and they shut down even if there is good light.
Awesome, just what I was looking for. Thanks!

[Ron Reefman]

Anytime, happy to help.