Light died, how long do I have for the corals?

FireViper · 03/14/2019, 09:00 PM

Our Current Marine LED lamp died today, after just 10 weeks of use. Fortunately, it's still under warranty for another 5 days. Seems to be a connection issue with the hub device. Customer service isn't answering and haven't returned my call yet.

My question is how long do I have to replace it before the coral start being impacted? LFS was closed today and I'll be in meetings all day tomorrow, can they survive till Saturday or Sunday. Not a ton of natural light in the area, but there is some.

Also, would it be worthwhile to upgrade the light at this point if I can't get a warranty replacement soon enough? Don't want to spend a ton, but, I want to keep our investments happy.

Thanks!

Kmiller035 · 03/14/2019, 09:03 PM

Coral will be fine for a few days. Just remember they sometimes go for longer periods of time in nature during storm seasons with no sunlight. Maintain good flow and try to get some light on them within 4 or 5 days and you won’t see any changes in the coral.

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dkeller_nc · 03/14/2019, 09:14 PM

Agreed; you can go at least 3 days without replacing the tank light. The corals will survive longer than that, but after 3 days you'll start to get slow acclimation to lower light levels, which is something to remember if you wind up buying another fixture with considerably higher output. If that's the case, start re-acclimating your corals with something around 20% of the fixtures output for the entire photosynthetic period (typically 8 - 12 hours), and slowly ramp that back up at about 2-3% per day until you reach your desired illumination.

Really low light will eventually kill corals, but it takes weeks. Going from really low light conditions to really bright conditions can bleach them in one photoperiod.

FireViper · 03/14/2019, 09:51 PM

Thanks for the help! Will be looking this weekend!

Sk8r · 03/14/2019, 09:56 PM

5 days no problem. It should have the added bennie of stopping any cyano.

scattered · 03/14/2019, 10:15 PM

Give it a year or so and you will have a backup or emergency version of almost everything.

rugerjr81 · 03/15/2019, 05:19 AM

Man. Them Current Orbit systems are way under rated. If I ever go LED again, I'd just have 3-4 Orbit light bars over it. The pucks are winning the race right now. But I think that if more people start to wake up and see the quality Current is starting to achieve and that as with pucks, just one fixture in the world of LED reef lighting, isn't going to cut it. Stack a couple more on, and you have enough light energy to get er done.

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03/14/2019, 09:00 PM	#1
FireViper Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 120	Light died, how long do I have for the corals? Our Current Marine LED lamp died today, after just 10 weeks of use. Fortunately, it's still under warranty for another 5 days. Seems to be a connection issue with the hub device. Customer service isn't answering and haven't returned my call yet. My question is how long do I have to replace it before the coral start being impacted? LFS was closed today and I'll be in meetings all day tomorrow, can they survive till Saturday or Sunday. Not a ton of natural light in the area, but there is some. Also, would it be worthwhile to upgrade the light at this point if I can't get a warranty replacement soon enough? Don't want to spend a ton, but, I want to keep our investments happy. Thanks!

03/14/2019, 09:56 PM	#5
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	5 days no problem. It should have the added bennie of stopping any cyano. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/14/2019, 10:15 PM	#6
scattered Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2019 Posts: 158	Give it a year or so and you will have a backup or emergency version of almost everything. __________________ like lost words

03/14/2019, 09:03 PM	#2
Kmiller035 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 36	Coral will be fine for a few days. Just remember they sometimes go for longer periods of time in nature during storm seasons with no sunlight. Maintain good flow and try to get some light on them within 4 or 5 days and you won’t see any changes in the coral. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

03/14/2019, 09:14 PM	#3
dkeller_nc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Central NC Posts: 5,062	Agreed; you can go at least 3 days without replacing the tank light. The corals will survive longer than that, but after 3 days you'll start to get slow acclimation to lower light levels, which is something to remember if you wind up buying another fixture with considerably higher output. If that's the case, start re-acclimating your corals with something around 20% of the fixtures output for the entire photosynthetic period (typically 8 - 12 hours), and slowly ramp that back up at about 2-3% per day until you reach your desired illumination. Really low light will eventually kill corals, but it takes weeks. Going from really low light conditions to really bright conditions can bleach them in one photoperiod.

03/14/2019, 09:51 PM	#4
FireViper Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 120	Thanks for the help! Will be looking this weekend!

03/15/2019, 05:19 AM	#7
rugerjr81 Registered Member Join Date: May 2017 Posts: 9	Man. Them Current Orbit systems are way under rated. If I ever go LED again, I'd just have 3-4 Orbit light bars over it. The pucks are winning the race right now. But I think that if more people start to wake up and see the quality Current is starting to achieve and that as with pucks, just one fixture in the world of LED reef lighting, isn't going to cut it. Stack a couple more on, and you have enough light energy to get er done. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk