Led Help. Cant get any corals to grown AI SOL

[blackz151]

I have a db rimless tank 48x24x16. Above it I have 2 ai sol blues. They are 12 inches above the water. I have used every program I can find and I still cant see to get anything to open or grow. I talked to Justin at AI and he told me to try 40% White, 70% Blue and 80% Royal Blue. I have a ramp up of 4 hrs and it runs for about 8 hrs a day. I have messed with that a little and brought the blues up to about 80b and 85 RB. And still nothing.

I have an Aussie gold,torch,Blue clam, and a dragon eye frag and other then the dragon eye the rest really don't open that big no where near what they look like when I got them from my LFS which uses AI hydra 22's.

I have tested my water and had them test it and it where it needs to be so my next thought is the lights.

Does anyone have anything that might help me out before I rip my hair out. Should I move them closer to the water? Any other settings I should use? Would upgrading to the Hydra be any better.

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[Adkins]

A little bit different scenario but it may be of some use.

I have a 24" tall 39g. I have a Reef Breeders 120 Value LED. The light is about 4 inches off the surface. I have white channel at 30% and blue channel at 55%. I have all sps and they are growing out instead of up because of how strong the lighting is.

 

[blackz151]

A little bit different scenario but it may be of some use.

I have a 24" tall 39g. I have a Reef Breeders 120 Value LED. The light is about 4 inches off the surface. I have white channel at 30% and blue channel at 55%. I have all sps and they are growing out instead of up because of how strong the lighting is.

Thanks I may have to come down a little bit or go up going to try both I guess

 

[mrcoffee2]

It is probably your water, but you could crank the CW up more for growth

 

[NvyroMental]

Yeah, i would check first your water chemistry and make sure its clean and clear. For your lights, i would recommend lowering then from 12 inches to less than 6. AI recommends that you mount the lights no lower than 3 inches. But if you did that you might have to decrease your levels but at least you would know that the light is reaching the bottom.

 

[blackz151]

It is probably your water, but you could crank the CW up more for growth

I will check it out again and see if I can find anything

 

[blackz151]

Yeah, i would check first your water chemistry and make sure its clean and clear. For your lights, i would recommend lowering then from 12 inches to less than 6. AI recommends that you mount the lights no lower than 3 inches. But if you did that you might have to decrease your levels but at least you would know that the light is reaching the bottom.

Thats true maybe ill move them down a bit later we run through the water again

 

[LILBUDDHA]

Are you using 70 degree pucks for all the diodes ? They come 70/40 by default . That would mean hot spots. Agreed, to check on water chemistry .

 

[Adkins]

Thanks I may have to come down a little bit or go up going to try both I guess

Oh and just for reference. I am running no optics on mine.

 

[Greenstreet.1]

I would also say check your chemistry I use two ai sol Blues over my 75g sps tank I keep them 10" above water and have no problem growing corals. I have been using them going on two years.

 

[blackz151]

Are you using 70 degree pucks for all the diodes ? They come 70/40 by default . That would mean hot spots. Agreed, to check on water chemistry .

Stock setup on all the diodes

 

[blackz151]

I would also say check your chemistry I use two ai sol Blues over my 75g sps tank I keep them 10" above water and have no problem growing corals. I have been using them going on two years.

Thanks! Ill see whats going on with the water first

 

[ReefLEDLights]

I would also say check your chemistry I use two ai sol Blues over my 75g sps tank I keep them 10" above water and have no problem growing corals. I have been using them going on two years.

Check your water chemistry.

The LEDs are Cree Cool Whites and are close to full spectrum so growth is covered. That said they are only a 175-250 watt mh equivalent in intensity so dont dial them back too much.

Bill

 

[tehachappi32]

I agree with Bill^^^^^

Water is a big part in reef keeping if not everything. The light helps but if the water has issue, no light can help. However no light is not going to work either

 

[Adkins]

I also agree with the above : )

 

[PedroYoung]

I ran sol blues for years before my house burned down. I couldn't go above 35/60/60 white/ blue/ royal without frying my LPS. Had them about 10" above water on 125. I was running 6 fixtures on 6' tank.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

Before LEDs I was growing LPS (Euphyllia) like crazy under 400 watt Mh. It got so bad I had to donate one the size of a 200gal saltbucket to the Shedd.

Acclimation is key. The stronger the light the better as the larger colonies appreciate the extra reflection on their shaded parts.

Some LPS appreciate lower light but hammers, bubble tips and frogspawn do very well under a natural intense light. I like to see at least 200 PAR on the sand bed. The corals higher up will thrive if the water quality is great and they are acclimated properly.

Bill

 

[blackz151]

Thanks for all the help. I have the hanna test kits coming in on Tuesday so I will test it all to make sure its still where it needs to be.

Just got an update on the light I did move them up about 7 inches off the water and turned them down to about 60 across the board and everything seems to be more open then Ive ever seen just in the first few hrs. I like a little more blue in my tank but I can play with it from here. The only thing Im worried about is my clam but we will see how he does