Glb's going LED!

[glb]

Hi everyone. For my birthday, 10 year anniversary and Christmas I'm getting Steve's LED's for my 12g nano. I'm so excited! I'm looking for tips on how to successfully acclimate my corals to the new lights. I have zoas, Florida ricordea, acan lords, a lobo, gsp's and trumpet coral. Below is a tank shot showing where everything is. Any and all advice is welcome!!

 

[mike007]

Congrads you will love it. Start out with a couple hours a day and every week increase. Watch you corals and see how they are responding and then you can determine wheter to increase photoperiod.

 

[glb]

Thanks! Any thoughts on how much to dim them?

 

[mike007]

If they are dimmable you could start out maybe 25% and increase every week. With that size of tank keep close watch on corals. Also with dimmable lighting you could probaly start out with a longer photoperiod than what i first suggested.

 

[glb]

If they are dimmable you could start out maybe 25% and increase every week. With that size of tank keep close watch on corals. Also with dimmable lighting you could probaly start out with a longer photoperiod than what i first suggested.

Thanks! I plan on going super slow.

 

[mike007]

Good idea that is the way to go.

 

[glb]

Should I customize my fixture? Here's how it comes:

This True 42W LED System Includes:

9- Royal Blue Luxeon ES 3 watt LEDs

5- 5,000K Neutral White Luxeon ES 3 watt LEDs

Are these good colors for most tanks? I have softies and lps only in the tank and like a blue flourescent look, the 'pop' of colors as they call it. Suggestions are welcome!!

 

[glb]

Just ordered my new led's from Steve's LEDs! I got a typhon driver on special and can't wait!!

 

[glb]

Has anyone installed a typhon driver to a Steve's led's retrofit kit? I just bought the 12g nano kit that's 99% complete and also got the driver. Do I need any electrical experience to hook the driver up, because I'm clueless about wiring. Help!

 

[glb]

LED's are in! Pics to follow tomorrow!

 

[glb]

Here they are!

And here's before

 

[glb]

I still have some adjusting to do. How can I tell if the corals are getting too much or too little light? I have them dimmed right now and will keep it that way for a while. I bought a typhon driver but haven't installed it yet. Any help in making this shift would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Eienna]

I still have some adjusting to do. How can I tell if the corals are getting too much or too little light? I have them dimmed right now and will keep it that way for a while. I bought a typhon driver but haven't installed it yet. Any help in making this shift would be greatly appreciated!

I don't know about too little, but from what I understand, if they brown or bleach you've increased the light too quickly.

 

[evan.lundberg4]

I found that corals all adjust differently. Done of mine took to the LEDs immediately while others take months. For me they would bleach out and lose color with the high amount of light so I had to move things around and shade certain corals. It will be easier for you with the dimmable lights. Start low with intensity and take your time increasing and you should be fine.

 

[glb]

Thanks! I have them at about 40-50% I think and the zoas aren't reaching for the light or flattened, so I think that's a good indicator. Instead of running them for 8-9 hours I'll run them for 5 hours per day to see if that works. I have separate dimmers for the white and royal blue. Should I adjust them differently, eg more blue than white or vice versa?

 

[evan.lundberg4]

Thanks! I have them at about 40-50% I think and the zoas aren't reaching for the light or flattened, so I think that's a good indicator. Instead of running them for 8-9 hours I'll run them for 5 hours per day to see if that works. I have separate dimmers for the white and royal blue. Should I adjust them differently, eg more blue than white or vice versa?

Oh right that too is another good way to work with acclamation. Short photo periods of the desired intensity that slowly increase in lengthy over time.

I'm not sure about white versus blue ratios so I would be speculating, but, I have noticed that the corals in my tank would look pretty good under the blues but shrink back when the whites came on. My guess is more blues than whites at first. Purely from an observation standpoint though. Like I said I don't have dimmable so I just shaded things that responded poorly.