I modified my JBJ 24g nano a few years ago and outfitted with a Coralife MH 15K/150W on the back of tank. I've had off and on issues with coral (sps and softies -- softies were always low in the tank). Right now, I have 2 acropora frags, 1 montipora frag, 1 toadstool and 1 ricordia. MY SPS bleached at first but are recovering fairly well. I have always run my MH for 10hrs a day without actinics. My light is 10" above the water and 25" to the sand bed. Does anyone think I am running it too long? And, should I think about somehow adding actinics or cooler light (especially if I should reduce the MH hours)?
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MH Light Time
- Thread starter milehighreefer
- Start date
Another issue is that with the Coralife hang-on, the glass shield that covers the bulb, slides on in a sideways position and leaves a small portion of the bulb exposed. Therefore, I am pretty sure I am getting UV spillage. I recently thought about this when I happened to see an ad for the light and they now say that the light is for use over a glass top. It wasn't this way when I bought it. So reducing the hours seems prudent but wondering by how much.
you seem to have discovered the potential causes pretty well
most acclimate the system into metal halide use of that power, did you do the screen removal trick or raising the light up high then gradually down? 10 hrs full halide is the max I would ever light that system, after its adjusted carefully...do you dose the tank for anything, and can we get a full tank shot even if its just a cell phone pic, I need to see if it looks like you've been meeting the ion demands in the system want to see the coralline and how that grows
not having the cool blue lights won't harm the corals Ive seen great healthy corals just under 10K back in the day. I prefer the look however, and todays LED cannons are your purpler of choice try one~
most acclimate the system into metal halide use of that power, did you do the screen removal trick or raising the light up high then gradually down? 10 hrs full halide is the max I would ever light that system, after its adjusted carefully...do you dose the tank for anything, and can we get a full tank shot even if its just a cell phone pic, I need to see if it looks like you've been meeting the ion demands in the system want to see the coralline and how that grows
not having the cool blue lights won't harm the corals Ive seen great healthy corals just under 10K back in the day. I prefer the look however, and todays LED cannons are your purpler of choice try one~
Thanks for the reply. However, yesterday I mounted a new light: Acan LED - A104AC-12" with 5 programmable timer settings including varying light intensity. My two daughters knew I've been reading about lighting for several months and figured out which light I would buy and then gave me the money two days before Christmas as a gift so I could order it. I bought it and had it shipped overnight.
I will post some pics later today when the full daylights come on. I've been doing this for 3 years and I think I've been mostly lucky than smart so it would be great to get opinions.
With this new light, I set the lighting program as follows:
9am-11am 5% white, 75% blue
11am-1pm 40% white, 100% blue
1pm-9pm 100% white, 100% blue
9pm-11pm 50% white, 75% blue
11pm-7am 100% moon
I read Sanjay Joshi's articles on lighting and a couple others, and somehow came up with this schedule based on Acan's guide for PAR at certain tank depths. I may still be running the 100% daylight a bit too long. At 18" depth the PAR = 389 and at 24" = 260. The new light to sand bed is about 20". When the daylight kicks in today, I'll post a couple pics. Thanks.
I will post some pics later today when the full daylights come on. I've been doing this for 3 years and I think I've been mostly lucky than smart so it would be great to get opinions.
With this new light, I set the lighting program as follows:
9am-11am 5% white, 75% blue
11am-1pm 40% white, 100% blue
1pm-9pm 100% white, 100% blue
9pm-11pm 50% white, 75% blue
11pm-7am 100% moon
I read Sanjay Joshi's articles on lighting and a couple others, and somehow came up with this schedule based on Acan's guide for PAR at certain tank depths. I may still be running the 100% daylight a bit too long. At 18" depth the PAR = 389 and at 24" = 260. The new light to sand bed is about 20". When the daylight kicks in today, I'll post a couple pics. Thanks.
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