Andre’s Full blown 300Gallon SPS Reeftank up within a week ;-)

PSXerholic · Apr 10, 2020

As before mentioned, this above was the starting point, simply by measuring the PAR throughout the day, every 30 minutes, in a fixed location in the center of the tank at a depth of 9". The PAR meter was fixed submerged so it couldn't move throughout the day.

I run an ATI Powermodule, with 2x T5 Channels with 4 bulbs each, approx 2,5months in use.
Also you see the grey bars representing the 2x ReefBrite Bars installed on the front and back of the tank.
Interesting was that each Reefbrite provided approx 40 PAR each.

The goal of this exercise was:

Comparing the light characteristics against the curve shape of a natural Reef from Dana's articles, concerning ramp up/down and peaks/lows.
Getting an Idea of the PAR throughout the day emmited
Identify the theoretical DLI in the center of the tank
Looking for optimization of the Light intensity curve closer to nature
See if the 12-13 hours photoperiod is somewhat ok to use.

Looking at the above graph, it's already obvious, that there are some things, that can be optimized, concerning PAR.

PSXerholic · Apr 10, 2020

This is how the total PAR measured over the day look like in a graph, thanks to excel these days, it's relatively easy to make some charts for this type of use.

This is the Intensity curve from a cloudy day at a Reef in 10 feet depth.
I'm not trying to compete with the PAR levels the Reef reached, but like to compare how the curve characteristics compare to nature in a variety of views.

This is how the curves compare to each other, based on approximate starting and end points, and aspect ratio of the natural curve been kept. Very clear that I won't be able to reach the high PAR values.

Here the natural curve over the graph, referenced with start and end, as well the peaks at each other.
That is definitely something I can improve to make it more natural.

PSXerholic · Apr 10, 2020

A good and interesting result was the DLI on this spot as per Dana's instructions in his article I used for references.
My DLI is at 13.9 therefore at this spot.

The average Aquarium likely at 8" deep, versus Reef

DLI calculated and measured in the tank..... compared to

and a Reef

PSXerholic · Apr 10, 2020

Next step is now working on optimization of the light settings of the ATI and Reef Brites ;-)

CNDReef · Apr 10, 2020

Very interesting.
Can’t wait to see your results. Wonder if the corals will benefit from the different intensity’s over the course of the day.

dragon99 · Apr 10, 2020

PSXerholic said:
Next step is now working on optimization of the light settings of the ATI and Reef Brites ;-)

Looks like you running all 8T5+LED's for only 2hrs a day?

I have an ATI hybrid now also and have only been running 4T5+LED's. I recently started running all 8 bulbs for 3 hours a day. I don't have reefbrites though. I've found the ATI LED's are plenty (new ver without red/green)

Dana Riddle · Apr 10, 2020

PSXerholic said:
So the next few posts will deal with a bit investigation and analytical work on my light settings which I set up by thumb and gut feelings rather than data collection and evidence.

Inspired by Jamie Craggs and @Dana Riddle I used the time I have currently on hand to investigate a bit of my current light characteristics and bring things into numbers and values.

This below article describes a bit about the Lighting on the Reef, and I focused within the last days less on the Spectrum but more on Light intensity and saturation and potential over saturation. Thx to Dana for this work.

Imitating Natural Light Quality, Intensity, and Dosage in a Reef Aquarium – Do We Really Want To?

When it comes to reef aquariums, Mother Nature has always been the de facto benchmark aquarists aspire towards. Dana investigates in great detail the quality and quantity of light over natural reefs in order to lay the groundwork to answer the age-old question: what is the best light for...

reefs.com

Glad to hear someone actually read what I wrote. LOL. You are one dedicated aquarist - beautiful tank!

PSXerholic · Apr 11, 2020

dragon99 said:
Looks like you running all 8T5+LED's for only 2hrs a day?

I have an ATI hybrid now also and have only been running 4T5+LED's. I recently started running all 8 bulbs for 3 hours a day. I don't have reefbrites though. I've found the ATI LED's are plenty (new ver without red/green)

Yes, correct. All 8 T5 are on for 2 hours most time.

FFJB · Apr 12, 2020

Ummmmm what the heck is dli

PSXerholic · Apr 12, 2020

FFJB said:
Ummmmm what the heck is dli

DLI is a unit to express your daily light integral, means a sort of number that can be used to show the light energy you shot to that specific point over your photoperiod.

So if I change my light, my schedule, my bulbs of whatever, I can now go ahead and compare it. If someone else is measuring the PAR curve in a similar fashion at the same depth of the tank we could even compare the light setups against each other.

In case I bleach my corals from a new settings or like to increase the light energy on my corals, I have a number now I can work with.
PAR alone is not useful really for anything if you don’t count the timely factor in.

Here some more details how to calculate the DLI

Imitating Natural Light Quality, Intensity, and Dosage in a Reef Aquarium – Do We Really Want To?

When it comes to reef aquariums, Mother Nature has always been the de facto benchmark aquarists aspire towards. Dana investigates in great detail the quality and quantity of light over natural reefs in order to lay the groundwork to answer the age-old question: what is the best light for...

reefs.com

PSXerholic · Apr 21, 2020

Trace Elements and new Siporax reactor results in a fabulous working biology with low bacteria count as in the pristine reefs of the world ;-)

greg 45 · Apr 21, 2020

What is a Siporax reactor .
Can you post a picture please .

PSXerholic · Apr 21, 2020

greg 45 said:
What is a Siporax reactor .
Can you post a picture please .

Check this post out.

Large Build - Andre’s Full blown 300Gallon SPS Reeftank up within a week ;-)

You know your corals look good if they look good inside and outside the water ;-) No chance, I had to do a Water change after over a year to get Barium down from a new calcium reactor media likely.

www.reef2reef.com

dragon99 · Apr 21, 2020

The tank has filled in nicely!

PSXerholic · Apr 21, 2020

dragon99 said:
The tank has filled in nicely!

Thanks ;-) Really did. Just looked at pictures from when it's been loaded up with frags a few days after fill.

dragon99 · Apr 21, 2020

I know some people prefer open or fancy aquascapes, but I just love the wall of coral look. Jam packed with SPS top to bottom and left to right!

PSXerholic · Apr 22, 2020

dragon99 said:
I know some people prefer open or fancy aquascapes, but I just love the wall of coral look. Jam packed with SPS top to bottom and left to right!

Tried to convince the wife to a 500, simply keep everything as is, same light fixture and everything, just in a bigger tank, so that this rocky island is surrounded by white sand ;-) That would look even better.

ruhmreef · Apr 27, 2020

Thank you.. i have done all the pages. I would love your sharing about “ Ask Albert thread”

PSXerholic · Apr 27, 2020

ruhmreef said:
Thank you.. i have done all the pages. I would love your sharing about “ Ask Albert thread”

Here the link to the "Ask Albert Thiel Thread", in case you find the original post where he describes the Vitamin-C treatment, please let me know.

THE OFFICIAL ASK ALBERT THIEL THREAD

We are very proud to have Albert Thiel on board here at NR. Many who have been around for a number of years are more than likely familiar with Albert through the number of books he has written. 1) The Marine Fish and Invert Reef Aquarium (over 50K copies sold and still used, Amazon lists used cop...

www.nano-reef.com