Hydra 26 advice?

sporeefer · Apr 4, 2020

Hello! About 9 months in with a 60g cube (24x24x24), and a single hydra 26 overhead 12in from the water. Any advice on settings for the light? I fear my torch is slowly fading- used to be crazy bright green and growing fast but I’ve decided it’s not as vibrant as it once was. Some zoas aren’t thrilled to be alive either. Acan seems happy enough.

I know there are a TON of things that can be out of whack but I specifically want to check in regarding the light. Should it be closer to the water? I’m running Leon Tan’s settings.Don’t have access to a PAR meter.

Any thoughts, setting suggestions? I just want to eliminate lighting as a potential source of trouble if possible.

Thank you!

Flippers4pups · Apr 4, 2020

Waffen06 · Apr 4, 2020

Hope you get some advice, Im looking for the exact same light for my 60, good luck

sporeefer · Apr 7, 2020

Anyone?

Flippers4pups · Apr 7, 2020

Bump.

Edit: I'll bookmark your thread and bump it again in the late morning to see if we can get some advise. I'll also ask the squad if they can help.
#reefsquad

As you have said, there could be other issues aside from the light setting.

As far as the light, corals mostly respond this way. Too much, they retract and can loose color. Not enough, can brown out or start to bleach with available nutrients. Euphyllia normally with low light will extend up ward to reach more light. Too much, they retract.

SPR1968 · Apr 7, 2020

These are the settings I’ve always used in my Red Sea S650 other than I go ‘blue’ from around 7pm

There basically the Red Sea reef spec settings and I’ve got 4 of the Hydra 26’s on this system

Theres no red or green as they believe this can promote algae growth and I’ve stuck with these since I started that system.

To be honest I don’t have much interest in lighting as long as it’s good for the corals and looks ‘pretty’ to my eyes! Lol

lpsouth1978 · Apr 7, 2020

24" cube you will probably want the light about 12" off the water, give or take. I would set it somewhere in the neighborhood of 80% for UV,V,RB,and B, 8% G and R, and 20% CW. This is roughly where I have my Hydras set. Of course change some settings to get the look you and your tank are happy with, but my torches and zoas seem to like these settings. Put high light corals closer to the middle and lower light toward the edges of the tank. If you have SPS you may need to increase the intensity some.

There really is no right or wrong answer here. You need to find what works for you and your tank. Hope this helps, even a little.