Help out a Newbie

[RobertTheNurse]

Hey guys. Wondering if I can get some help or direction here. For starters, I've got a 65 gallon salt tank. Have a few small clowns, yellow watchman Goby, and Royal Gamma, and just got my first frag of Zoas. Been reading reading and reading and watching lots of different info on lighting, and still quite confused at what would be the "perfect" (is there really such a thing?) Lighting cycle for what I've got.

I'm currently starting off with a basic Fluval Marine LED.

Gonna post a Screenshot of what I have the lighting at. Feel free to guide me in a direction. I'm only planning on having some zoas and softies at the beginning (don't wanna rush it, been only about 4 months in thus far) eventually down the road want a "nem" for my lil clowns.

Rob

 

[TripleTruble]

I don’t know much about the fluval leds but can you tell us specifically which led you got? How big is it?

 

[RobertTheNurse]

Fluval sea Marine Spectrum LED 3.0
36"-48"
25000K
46 WATT

 

[Phil D.]

I recommend getting rid of the red & greens as they will grow algae.

 

[John Smith]

Hi Robert, I am not sure if there is a perfect setting for everyone. The perfect setting for your tank is the one that makes your animals thrive and you will have to put in a lot of work to find the correct parameters. That said, I use ASTM G173 (American Society for Testing and Materials), which you can google, as a starting point and came up with the following: UV A 26%, Violet 73%, royal blue 98%, blue 100%, green 100%, yellow 100%, orange 99%, red 93%. These are the sun light color intensity measured near the equator. I dial down green and red because these spectra promote algae growth. I run my light from 6am to 6pm, the more light the better for your coral if you don't have algae problem. Lighting probably don't affect your fish. The attached file shows how I ramp up/down to mimic sunrise/sunset.

 

[RobertTheNurse]

Hi Robert, I am not sure if there is a perfect setting for everyone. The perfect setting for your tank is the one that makes your animals thrive and you will have to put in a lot of work to find the correct parameters. That said, I use ASTM G173 (American Society for Testing and Materials), which you can google, as a starting point and came up with the following: UV A 26%, Violet 73%, royal blue 98%, blue 100%, green 100%, yellow 100%, orange 99%, red 93%. These are the sun light color intensity measured near the equator. I dial down green and red because these spectra promote algae growth. I run my light from 6am to 6pm, the more light the better for your coral if you don't have algae problem. Lighting probably don't affect your fish. The attached file shows how I ramp up/down to mimic sunrise/sunset.

Hey thanks for the share. I figured this as much was gonna be a broad question. Great to get peoples feedback. Any little thing helps at this point.

 

[EliVChalk97]

Usually your tank will tell you if the lighting is ok. When you buy new corals they may take awhile to open up fully because they also need to adapt to the light in your specific tank. So, with that in mind, choose the light that you like and see how your tank reacts. Then, if you see positive or negative reactions, then you can play with the settings!

 

[RobertTheNurse]

Usually your tank will tell you if the lighting is ok. When you buy new corals they may take awhile to open up fully because they also need to adapt to the light in your specific tank. So, with that in mind, choose the light that you like and see how your tank reacts. Then, if you see positive or negative reactions, then you can play with the settings!

Thanks! I find im a little anal about everything. It's so uncomfortable not knowing much at this point. I realize I'm so new at this. So its a little frustrating. But that makes sense