Blown T5 ballast - low par

pisanoal · 02/09/2018, 02:51 PM

Hello all,

So I recently found that I had a bad ballast on one set of T5's on my 125. Not sure when it happened but I'm guessing several months ago. That is when I noticed things started struggling, and some of you may remember me asking for help on the tank. I ultimately ended up adding nutrients and having a lot of success with that, but certain things never came back including my slimer which is still pale brown skin.

I replaced the offending ballast and bulbs that it blew and checked par levels. 150-200 par is where most acros were sitting for this time. They will be under 250-300 par now that the problem is solved. My question is, how long should I take to ramp back up to this? My lighting period is pretty short right now, only 7 hours. My plan was turn this set on for an hour a day, and increase by an hour per week. Can I go a little faster? A few acros are continuing to decline slowly so id like to get them the light they need as quick as safely possible.

Thanks Folks.

DesertReefT4r · 02/10/2018, 08:42 PM

Your plan sounds good to me. Ramp up about 1 hour ever day or 2 a d see how they do. Keep in mind more ligh too fast or right away may be hard on them.

pisanoal · 02/11/2018, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DesertReefT4r

Your plan sounds good to me. Ramp up about 1 hour ever day or 2 a d see how they do. Keep in mind more ligh too fast or right away may be hard on them.

Thanks for the response. And yes, I definitely have that in mind, hence the question. I was planning on going slower than every day or 2. Was planning on once a week, but I may move that up to every few days, and maybe stop at 4 hours for a week, then continue to ramp up from there.

02/09/2018, 02:51 PM	#1
pisanoal Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 705	Blown T5 ballast - low par Hello all, So I recently found that I had a bad ballast on one set of T5's on my 125. Not sure when it happened but I'm guessing several months ago. That is when I noticed things started struggling, and some of you may remember me asking for help on the tank. I ultimately ended up adding nutrients and having a lot of success with that, but certain things never came back including my slimer which is still pale brown skin. I replaced the offending ballast and bulbs that it blew and checked par levels. 150-200 par is where most acros were sitting for this time. They will be under 250-300 par now that the problem is solved. My question is, how long should I take to ramp back up to this? My lighting period is pretty short right now, only 7 hours. My plan was turn this set on for an hour a day, and increase by an hour per week. Can I go a little faster? A few acros are continuing to decline slowly so id like to get them the light they need as quick as safely possible. Thanks Folks.

02/10/2018, 08:42 PM	#2
DesertReefT4r Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Mesa Az Posts: 771	Your plan sounds good to me. Ramp up about 1 hour ever day or 2 a d see how they do. Keep in mind more ligh too fast or right away may be hard on them. __________________ Tank history 29g tropical ,55g cichlid tank, 20H softy reef, 29g mixed reef, 20H brackish goby & puffer tank, 55g mixed reef, 6g Nanocube softy lps reef, 40B sps reef, 75g sps reef, 75g sps reef in bu Current Tank Info: 75g sps reef build in the works.