AI Hydra HD 26

Ms. Mermaid · Mar 4, 2018

Hi guys I just bought these lights and was wondering how long do you do the acclamation period. 1wk? 2wks? Or 3wks? Right now I just have some fish and a few so called corals. Variegated mushrooms, 2 RBTA's now and 2 green btas but you can't even tell they are supposed to be green, 1 hurricane chalice about the size of a 50cent piece and a red sponge I think. Changing from some very old black box leds that the blues no longer work. Probably have those at 60% maybe 65%.
And what setting levels do you have you Al's set for?
And can you do multiple time settings?
Like have weekend time schedules and Mon thru Fri time schedules settings?

PanchoG · Mar 4, 2018

Hello, probably you should check the AI Hydra Settings Thread in RC. I leave you the link to best settings I know, I am using the SPS AB+ w/respirations

PanchoG · Mar 4, 2018

Here is the link

https://1drv.ms/f/s!Akco_cmvvLNrgZdidaM1bosnUqv21g

SDboatguy · Mar 4, 2018

Depends on your old light intensity and how you plan on running the Hydras. First thing you need to think about are your settings / intensity- there are many options. You can set them by the Kelvin app.,there are several schedules that can be downloaded (BRS and /or AI) as well as asking here. Personally I run a long ramp up(5 hours) a short (4 hour)peak and then 4 more hours ramping down. My peak settings are all channels at 100% except White 60%. Because my peak period is short , I can crank the lights up for that period. Most people don't run the whites that high , but have longer a peak. When I started out with Hydras I used the acclimation mode 50% reduction for 3 months. probably over kill on the 3 months, but there where a lot of people having issues frying their corals. You could start at 4 weeks and see how your tank handles it. As far as multiple settings-times- haven't tried so i'm not sure. But stability is an important aspect in reefing and that does include lighting. The main thing I've gathered is try to pick your settings/schedule and stick to it. Let your animals adapt to the new lights slowly and if/when you want to change the intensity or "color" do it SLOWLY . Its easy to get caught up with all the possibilities these lights offer , try not to tinker to much, find what you like, test it out(par meter would be great) post on here for others opinions. Good luck and enjoy the new lights!

jsker · Mar 4, 2018

Here are my settings link download them and then upload them and you should be pretty good. I found that running my white spectrum to high, I was having cyano, diatom, and burning the tips of my corals. I now keep them at 30% ish and run the whites for 5.5 hours and the algae issue disappeared. I would suggest doing a 3 week acclamation cycle. I use the lunar cycle also, that is a pretty cool feature for the reason one does not have to run the light long to see the tank. The lunar cycle lights the tank depending on where the moon is without affecting the corals.

why do I have the peaks and valleys, just so that I am not blasting the tank for a 8 hour cycle at high setting. The light are very intense and will burn the corals and fish if set to high. I dose vitamin C to help with the coral recovery and also to help with the fish immune systems when I feed my frozen link

Ms. Mermaid · Mar 4, 2018

PanchoG said:
Here is the link

https://1drv.ms/f/s!Akco_cmvvLNrgZdidaM1bosnUqv21g

Maybe it is just my phone but I could not get the link to open right. Will try on computer when I get home.

Ms. Mermaid · Mar 4, 2018

SDboatguy said:
Depends on your old light intensity and how you plan on running the Hydras. First thing you need to think about are your settings / intensity- there are many options. You can set them by the Kelvin app.,there are several schedules that can be downloaded (BRS and /or AI) as well as asking here. Personally I run a long ramp up(5 hours) a short (4 hour)peak and then 4 more hours ramping down. My peak settings are all channels at 100% except White 60%. Because my peak period is short , I can crank the lights up for that period. Most people don't run the whites that high , but have longer a peak. When I started out with Hydras I used the acclimation mode 50% reduction for 3 months. probably over kill on the 3 months, but there where a lot of people having issues frying their corals. You could start at 4 weeks and see how your tank handles it. As far as multiple settings-times- haven't tried so i'm not sure. But stability is an important aspect in reefing and that does include lighting. The main thing I've gathered is try to pick your settings/schedule and stick to it. Let your animals adapt to the new lights slowly and if/when you want to change the intensity or "color" do it SLOWLY . Its easy to get caught up with all the possibilities these lights offer , try not to tinker to much, find what you like, test it out(par meter would be great) post on here for others opinions. Good luck and enjoy the new lights!

Thank you very much. Never thought about the stability for the lights. I just can't wait to get home to get them setup.

Ms. Mermaid · Mar 4, 2018

jsker said:
Here are my settings link download them and then upload them and you should be pretty good. I found that running my white spectrum to high, I was having cyano, diatom, and burning the tips of my corals. I now keep them at 30% ish and run the whites for 5.5 hours and the algae issue disappeared. I would suggest doing a 3 week acclamation cycle. I use the lunar cycle also, that is a pretty cool feature for the reason one does not have to run the light long to see the tank. The lunar cycle lights the tank depending on where the moon is without affecting the corals.

why do I have the peaks and valleys, just so that I am not blasting the tank for a 8 hour cycle at high setting. The light are very intense and will burn the corals and fish if set to high. I dose vitamin C to help with the coral recovery and also to help with the fish immune systems when I feed my frozen link

Thank you very much. I could not get the first link to work right on my phone will try on the computer when I get home. I watched your feeding video. Once you mix all the ingredients together how long does that last?

jsker · Mar 4, 2018

Ms. Mermaid said:
Thank you very much. I could not get the first link to work right on my phone will try on the computer when I get home. I watched your feeding video. Once you mix all the ingredients together how long does that last?

You are welcome
7 to 8 days

If you can not get the first link to work, let me know

Fudsey · Mar 4, 2018

I use @jsker's settings on my 26 HDs as well, just a bit modified for a little more white.

PanchoG · Mar 4, 2018

Ms. Mermaid said:
Maybe it is just my phone but I could not get the link to open right. Will try on computer when I get home.

Good, I believe you can give them a try since the profiles where made following a Coral Lab study. In my 500L tank I have 3 Hydra 26 and it is working very good, the corals are taking very good colors and no bleaching or damage.

If you want to check out more, the AI Hydra Settings Thread in RC is very good.

Fudsey · Mar 4, 2018

There are a few post here that post the settings as well. I have a ton of settings including 2 AB+ ones, a high and a lower.

You can download them HERE

I believe to download and install them, you need to be on a PC though.

Ms. Mermaid · Mar 4, 2018

Thank you everyone... So for this ramping up and down do the lights do that by themselves percentage wise? Or do I have to program how much to ramp up and ramp down?

SDboatguy · Mar 4, 2018

You can do it manually ... BUT if you are downloading a schedule , it should be built in. If you are using just your units , pick your start time and start adding channels (colors) - on mine I have 1 channel come on every 10 minutes starting at 8 am once all the channels are online I slid the time line to 11am and had all channels(except white) come up to 65% then at 1 pm programmed to max out(100% all except White =65%) then reverse the process starting at 5 pm. The Hydras will take care of the rest. If you use the Kelvin app. I think you pick your start time set the color/15000k etc. then program the ramp up / down time.

Jaysushi · Mar 4, 2018

I installed and uploaded @jsker 's lighting schedule. I own one AI Hydra 26HD over my Cadlights Versa 42 tank. I started using his schedule today so I'm excited to see how well it does!

jsker · Mar 4, 2018

Jaysushi said:
I installed and uploaded @jsker 's lighting schedule. I own one AI Hydra 26HD over my Cadlights Versa 42 tank. I started using his schedule today so I'm excited to see how well it does!

do a two to three week acclamation and turn on the lunar mode.

Jaysushi · Mar 4, 2018

Okay, I will. Never used lunar mode but I will try it out

@jsker What should I set the start time and end times to?

jsker · Mar 5, 2018

Jaysushi said:
Okay, I will. Never used lunar mode but I will try it out

@jsker What should I set the start time and end times to?

I run mine for 12 hr, from 9pm to 9am

PanchoG · Mar 5, 2018

Fudsey said:
There are a few post here that post the settings as well. I have a ton of settings including 2 AB+ ones, a high and a lower.

You can download them HERE

I believe to download and install them, you need to be on a PC though.

No problem, you can download the profiles to your iPhone or Android and then share the file to myAI app and load them directly to your lights, it is quick.