Hybrid Reef Lighting for Red Sea Reefer 250 Mixed Reef Using 2 AI Hydra 32HDs and 4 bulb 36" ATI T5 Fixture

[Fishrocker1]

So I am currently running a Red Sea Reefer 250 as a Mixed Reef using 2 AI Hydra 32 HDs and 2x True Actinic/ 2x Blue Plus ATI T5 bulbs. I am pleased to say that my SPS corals including my Acropora are doing awesome demonstrating some great incrusting of the rocks and coloration. However, the same cannot be said about my LPS corals. I love my Euphyllia and lately, they have been showing signs of distress such as receding flesh at the base and some have even straight-up died (including my poor prized 24k Gold Torch which I lost last week ). I am looking for advice from anyone with experience with this setup and or a similar setup. I have a few questions I would also like answered if anyone has knowledge regarding the subject.

1. What height should I have my ATI fixture mounted at? (I am aware that Hydras should be mounted fairly high but I am worried I may lose the effectiveness of the T5s if the fixture is mounted too high.)

2. What spectrum do you run and what intensity of each channel should the Hydras be run at?

3. Should I consider re-scaping the tank so that my Eyphyllia are instead placed along the sand bed? (Most of my torches, hammers, and frogspawns are located in the mid-section of the tank with the exception of one Gold Indonesian torch which is located in the sand bed who seems to be growing faster than the others.)

 

[Fishrocker1]

Bump

 

[DIFish]

How high is the fixture and how far up are your corals? That sounds like a lot of PAR for the tank. I know the T5s alone are probably putting out enough for everything except the acropora by itself.

 

[Fishrocker1]

How high is the fixture and how far up are your corals? That sounds like a lot of PAR for the tank. I know the T5s alone are probably putting out enough for everything except the acropora by itself.

Hey, the fixture is mounted 9 inches from the water's surface, including the T5s and the Hydras. I feel this is too low as I have heard Hyrdas and AI primes have concentrated par levels. I think it's also important to mention that 3 days ago I ordered the USB plug-in apogee par meter to help confirm whether or not there is too much par. I would still greatly appreciate any recommendations on spectrum settings for the Hydras. My Euyphillias are located at the midsection of the tank while most of my Acros and Millies are at the top.

 

[DIFish]

I can’t comment on the Hydras as I don’t own them, but generally you will get a lot of light spill if you go much higher than 10 inches with the T5s. If it were me I would turn down you Hydras until the par meter comes in. It take significantly longer to harm your corals at too low par levels, while too much PAR can have effects fast. If you use the search function here you can probably find a post that discusses optimal height and spectrum for the Hydras. If you would like to do full water test results and post them here I am sure others can chime in and help as that could very well be the problem. Hope you get it solved as losing corals is no fun!