Hydra settings

[SDboatguy]

Just kinda curious how many Hydra owners set their units up using the Kelvin scale and at what intensity? Personally I run my own settings, but I was playing around yesterday and liked what I saw. I've been running mine @ 100% on all channels except white (65-70%) for a year now and like the results. So not really looking for a change , just interested to see what others are doing.

 

[jsker]

I run my own settings

 

[Sgolden]

One of my local shops is running 1 26hd per ft. It's a 5 ftx24x24. He is turning whites down , not sure to what point, then overpowering uv, blues. His is an attempt to mimic the look of radiums.
Close inspection looked very good. Maybe the best I've seen. He thinks as an option could go with 4 units with t5 supplement. It didn't look like it needed anything additiinal.

 

[SDboatguy]

I do have 4 T5s (2 C+,2B+) with 3 26HDs on my 60 x 18 x 20. The hydras are spaced 18" center to center

 

[ReefTeacher]

I have 3 Hydra 52's on my 180 gal. I change the color spectrum during the day, from 12K in the morning to 20K at night. So everything starts at the same intensity and ramps up, but the red, green, and white back off during the day, so the tank is more blue when I get home from work. The morning is sunny, and I think is good for growth; the night is that bluish/violet that we have come to expect from reef tanks; and I think it promotes good color. I'm not sure I would back off the whites and leave the red and green full power. I might do the opposite.

 

[Sgolden]

Other than overall additional par, what are corals getting from whites ? I'm fairly sure he turned them very low but not off. By adding additional units he is achieving a higher par without turning whites up.

 

[ReefTeacher]

Sgolden, You may be very right. I think the whites might be more for our eyes so that we can see the colors of coral and fish better. But I have done some reading that red and green actually can slow coral growth. I am not sure if this is verified, but the red and green are absorbed fairly quickly as you go down in the ocean. Still, we all have a different set of aesthetics.

 

[Sgolden]

I'm not sure what his red /green settings are at. I doubt they are on full. I'm not one of the scientists that you see on most forum posts. Just observation, common sense.
Our sun gives us a wide spectrum of colors. It is so bright that we commonly think of it as a singular daylight color. What I do know is that blue spectrum light has a better penetration without filter as it goes through water. Is why we have blue oceans and skies. There was a good topic recently about this. Basically corals can grow at surface. Meaning they adjust.
Back to the hydra 26hd, I thought u would find it interesting or a different perspective on this fixture. Led in general have spotlight or hotspots. Can burn corals. I think it's because hobbyists are not using enough actual leds to broaden the source. Instead, they use fewer, spread farther apart. Causes hot spots and the silly crystal ball colors on the bottom everyone is worried about. The 5ft tank I mentioned with uses 5 26hd's has his whites turned way low, uv and blues at 105% . Tank is brightly lit, not overly blue, shadows minimized, no crystal ball spots.
I will note, he told me he researched how to use the hydra26hd to be as close in spectrum to a 20k radium as possible. With some search, probably you could find that article.

 

[Finhead]

You wont get the discoball effect if you run them high enough off your WL to avoid it.
I run a shallow reef 42X22.5X12
I run a hybrid fixture with 4 T5's 3 Blue+ 1 True Acrinic, 2 Hydra 26's at 85% peak for 4hrs 10" off the WL. B,RB,V 100% UV 45%, R 70% ,G,W 24% this gives approx a 14-15K color. I tried running it a little bluer by turngin down the whites but it looks like windex when you get above 18K. Colrs and growth are fantastic with the setting I have, I think key is to set it how you like and don't mess with it.