90 Gallon Mixed Reef

[Bubba12]

Hi all, I am working on a 90 gallon mixed reef. I just installed two Hydra 26 HD, and am totally confused by the settings. I have read a few dozen threads on this and spoke with my LFS, but everyone seems to have a different opinion, and they are all over the place. Is there an optimal setting for these lights? Time? Intensity? Ramp up? Also, my LFS gave me their settings but recommended I put the lights in acclimation mode until I am done stocking the tank. I have a feeling I will be adding corals for many many months though, does this make sense? Is there a lot of personal preference on color?
Currently I have no coral but would like to start adding in the next week or so. I don't want to start off on the wrong foot so any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[twilliard]

Well there is a lot involved in led lighting.
As most of us don't own a PAR meter it is an absolute guess.
The first thing about buying coral is knowing what lighting they came from.
Now I do believe your lFS was correct about acclamation.
Start low in the tank depending on the fixture you use.

You may not see the intensity of the led chips but the coral will.

 

[PedroYoung]

I have the regular 26's. The acclimation mode is for when you put a new coral in. You can have it run at say 70% of your normal settings for a couple days. I normally go 70% first day, 80% second day, 90% third. Then full. Of course I put new stuff on the bottom then move it around after full intensity is reached. If your normal full blast intensity is say 50% on white then at 70% acclimation it would be 35% on white (70% of 50%). Be careful because that fixture is strong. I have bleached out LPS at 50% with 2 fixtures on 75G.

 

[Bubba12]

What do you have your settings at? Mine are just a guess, I just found something that looked good to my eye. I don't want to burn anything up though.

DR 40
UV 50
V 50
CW40
G 40
B 62
RB 62

Sunrise at 9am and Sunset at 8pm with a 3 hour ramp up and ramp down

 

[PedroYoung]

Watch out for the UV intensity. To the eye you'll see very little, but it can really scorch coral tissue.