Jamaican reefers need you Randy!AB+/ Par/Lux

[Charlie’s Frags]

Why do you only want 250? My Montiporas grow like weeds with crazy polyp extension because they’re getting blasted with 450-550 par. Sps can handle a lot of light as long as your chemistry is correct and stable. Knowing what I know, if I were you, I would set your spectrum to at least 60 watts for each fixture, do a 50% 4 week acclimation period. 3 hour ramps up and down with 5-6 hours of peak time.

Now there a lot of things, especially in my experience, that can cause stress to sps. I absolutely do not recommend gfo, carbon dosing, or any other nutrient media. I had many issues from these kinds of products because I was chasing low nutrients. Now the only nutrient exports I have are my skimmer, chaeto, and my corals.

I don’t think you have enough light for your sps at the moment but it would takes a couple months for it to die. I don’t know how long it’s been showing signs of stress but since it’s a wild piece it could be a number of things. It could be in shock because it came from stable but different chemistry, temperature and lighting. It could also have a pest on it. I would investigate all of these things as well.

I wish you the best

Makes me look forward to my vacation at Oyster Bay, Trewlony Parrish in July

Ya Mon

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Not sure when we could get to something like this, but BIG thanks to the community for stepping up and sharing their settings and readings!!

I actually enjoy helping out when I can, but Randy you’re far more of an expert than I am, so I’m sure we’d all appreciate any feed back, good or bad, from you. I enjoy learning too. Do you agree that the OP probably doesn’t have enough light with his/her current settings?

 

[Saintnovakai]

I’m happy to help. It would be a shame to spend all this money on my par meter and just use it a couple times.

I’ve learned a lot about the hydras from killing thousands of dollars of acros. The 52 HD’s are not nearly as powerful as many users think they are, but they will absolutely fry your corals because the power they do have is very focused. I think they’re a great light, radions produce much more par with a softer delivery. I would recommend raising your lights as high as possible off the water to reduce/eliminate the hot spots. Mine are 16” above the water. I’ll try to get 250 for you.

Great job brother. Great job. Forgot to ask, at what water height exactly? Lights are at 13 inches AWL. What Par do you shoot for Chas? Anyway, Ill set it and put it into acclimation mode and at this rate i can test LUX to see if it holds any truth or more importantly, arrive at a conversion factor! Yes Jah! If anyone would like to also share what Lux they have after eyeballing their light settings, id love to see the numbers. It would definitely be useful to see if a specific light using a specific spectrum can have a relative conversion factor from Lux to Par. Would love to have @saltyfilmfolks take on this as his expertise in film lighting and reefing would be interesting. Also @randyBRS, we wait patiently for some insight. Maybe some personal testing like my dear friend @Chaswood79. Much respect to him.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Great job brother. Great job. Forgot to ask, at what water height exactly? Lights are at 13 inches AWL. What Par do you shoot for Chas? Anyway, Ill set it and put it into acclimation mode and at this rate i can test LUX to see if it holds any truth or more importantly, arrive at a conversion factor! Yes Jah! If anyone would like to also share what Lux they have after eyeballing their light settings, id love to see the numbers. It would definitely be useful to see if a specific light using a specific spectrum can have a relative conversion factor from Lux to Par. Would love to have @saltyfilmfolks take on this as his expertise in film lighting and reefing would be interesting. Also @randyBRS, we wait patiently for some insight. Maybe some personal testing like my dear friend @Chaswood79. Much respect to him.

16” would be ideal but you might not be able to with your tank mounts. I’m currently raising my setting 1 watt every 7-10 days to see how much par my rainbow tenuis can handle. Currently my WD’s and OP’s are getting 500 par for 4 hours of peak time.

 

[Saintnovakai]

Why do you only want 250? My Montiporas grow like weeds with crazy polyp extension because they’re getting blasted with 450-550 par. Sps can handle a lot of light as long as your chemistry is correct and stable. Knowing what I know, if I were you, I would set your spectrum to at least 60 watts for each fixture, do a 50% 4 week acclimation period. 3 hour ramps up and down with 5-6 hours of peak time.

Now there a lot of things, especially in my experience, that can cause stress to sps. I absolutely do not recommend gfo, carbon dosing, or any other nutrient media. I had many issues from these kinds of products because I was chasing low nutrients. Now the only nutrient exports I have are my skimmer, chaeto, and my corals.

I don’t think you have enough light for your sps at the moment but it would takes a couple months for it to die. I don’t know how long it’s been showing signs of stress but since it’s a wild piece it could be a number of things. It could be in shock because it came from stable but different chemistry, temperature and lighting. It could also have a pest on it. I would investigate all of these things as well.

I wish you the best

Makes me look forward to my vacation at Oyster Bay, Trewlony Parrish in July

Ya Mon

Respect Chas!! I limited myself to that because i have been converted to the school of " Corals dont need to be blasted with as much light as we think- Dana Riddle/ WWC BRS mixed reef Par readings. Nothing is dying, just faded. I was getting good growth with 21k Lux with my black boxes before i got Hydras but i think the 120 vs 80 degree lenses made the corals ***** even though i was running much less Lux. Im also guilty of Carbon Dosing vinegar while tryimng to previously fight 20+ppm Nitrates with my API test (I know! I know! but it was a left over test from cycling that didnt run out yet! LOL). Ill ease slowly off carbon dosing and see how it goes.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Great job brother. Great job. Forgot to ask, at what water height exactly? Lights are at 13 inches AWL. What Par do you shoot for Chas? Anyway, Ill set it and put it into acclimation mode and at this rate i can test LUX to see if it holds any truth or more importantly, arrive at a conversion factor! Yes Jah! If anyone would like to also share what Lux they have after eyeballing their light settings, id love to see the numbers. It would definitely be useful to see if a specific light using a specific spectrum can have a relative conversion factor from Lux to Par. Would love to have @saltyfilmfolks take on this as his expertise in film lighting and reefing would be interesting. Also @randyBRS, we wait patiently for some insight. Maybe some personal testing like my dear friend @Chaswood79. Much respect to him.

So.....
With the sun, the par lux constant is a known factor as the spectrum does not change. The levels of each NM of the species set.
SO. If you ask a buddy who has the same depth tank , same light what his spectrum setting is and he measures lux at the same distance from the light , you can replicate his par almost exactly.

Keep in btw the seney par measures lux differently , both should use a Meter with a ball.

In general as rough measurement , leds is about 16000 -20000 Kelvin is a constant of 60. So 6000 lux to 100 par. A more blue color lowers it. So you can do that math at 62 63 65 and see the approximate range you may be in.

Minor tweaks to color in a single channel really don’t matter much as they don’t impact overall brightness or intensity that much.

 

[Saintnovakai]

So.....
With the sun, the par lux constant is a known factor as the spectrum does not change. The levels of each NM of the species set.
SO. If you ask a buddy who has the same depth tank , same light what his spectrum setting is and he measures lux at the same distance from the light , you can replicate his par almost exactly.

Keep in btw the seney par measures lux differently , both should use a Meter with a ball.

In general as rough measurement , leds is about 16000 -20000 Kelvin is a constant of 60. So 6000 lux to 100 par. A more blue color lowers it. So you can do that math at 62 63 65 and see the approximate range you may be in.

Minor tweaks to color in a single channel really don’t matter much as they don’t impact overall brightness or intensity that much.

Much appreciated @saltyfilmfolks. I did my settings to 18k Lux but as Chas measured, i was for some reason way off. Wondering where i went wrong. So im going to test this by copying the settings posted by @Chaswood79 and testing Lux. I dont have a Ball Lux meter but Im using Crunchybyte on my S8+. Ill report back in. Maybe in doing this correlation at different depths we can create a Par/Lux Scale for copied spectrums for specific lights. A lot of us new reefers are completely "at Sea" where setting light is concerned.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

My par meter is the apogee 510 btw, so there is no conversion needed for the blue’r led/spectrum. It, the hydras and the mounts were all purchased from BRS.

Just Sayin’

 

[randyBRS]

I actually enjoy helping out when I can, but Randy you’re far more of an expert than I am, so I’m sure we’d all appreciate any feed back, good or bad, from you. I enjoy learning too. Do you agree that the OP probably doesn’t have enough light with his/her current settings?

You're right, I really should've added some more input here rather than a fill-in-the-blank one liner. I've always had best luck with my encrusting SPS in those lower PAR register places (where I would imagine PAR was in the 100-200 range). That said, I've also had anomalies in higher PAR but I typically aim for that 100-200 range. I've also noticed that some encrusters, Monties in particular, seem to show signs of "bleaching" from other issues in the tank, most notably for me due to low to no nitrates/phosphates. I jumped to this conclusion from seeing the same happen to one of my large monti colonies and then watching them come back in full force after starting daily Red Sea Reef Energy A/B amino acids and foods.

@Saintnovakai from the sounds of it you're coming off the tail end of bringing Nitrates down in the tank with the vinegar dosing? So, I naturally assume that your levels came down but kept up with the carbon dosing?

If this is the case, rather than start playing around with your light intensity, I would take a look at the balance between nutrition input and nitrate/phosphate export. If that means you wean the system off of carbon dosing and control your nitrate and phosphate levels with a balanced approach of food in and maintenance to remove excess, then I would first try to start there.

I think your guess on PAR is likely pretty close and once you find a harmonious balance between input/export, perhaps revisit slight incremental changes to increase the intensity if you feel it necessary.

 

[Saintnovakai]

16” would be ideal but you might not be able to with your tank mounts. I’m currently raising my setting 1 watt every 7-10 days to see how much par my rainbow tenuis can handle. Currently my WD’s and OP’s are getting 500 par for 4 hours of peak time.

I can do that! They are on the Hydra 18inch arms. Let me make the changes and report back

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Much appreciated @saltyfilmfolks. I did my settings to 18k Lux but as Chas measured, i was for some reason way off. Wondering where i went wrong. So im going to test this by copying the settings posted by @Chaswood79 and testing Lux. I dont have a Ball Lux meter but Im using Crunchybyte on my S8+. Ill report back in. Maybe in doing this correlation at different depths we can create a Par/Lux Scale for copied spectrums for specific lights. A lot of us new reefers are completely "at Sea" where setting light is concerned.

Get the ball type. Trust me

You're right, I really should've added some more input here rather than a fill-in-the-blank one liner. I've always had best luck with my encrusting SPS in those lower PAR register places (where I would imagine PAR was in the 100-200 range). That said, I've also had anomalies in higher PAR but I typically aim for that 100-200 range. I've also noticed that some encrusters, Monties in particular, seem to show signs of "bleaching" from other issues in the tank, most notably for me due to low to no nitrates/phosphates. I jumped to this conclusion from seeing the same happen to one of my large monti colonies and then watching them come back in full force after starting daily Red Sea Reef Energy A/B amino acids and foods.

@Saintnovakai from the sounds of it you're coming off the tail end of bringing Nitrates down in the tank with the vinegar dosing? So, I naturally assume that your levels came down but kept up with the carbon dosing?

If this is the case, rather than start playing around with your light intensity, I would take a look at the balance between nutrition input and nitrate/phosphate export. If that means you wean the system off of carbon dosing and control your nitrate and phosphate levels with a balanced approach of food in and maintenance to remove excess, then I would first try to start there.

I think your guess on PAR is likely pretty close and once you find a harmonious balance between input/export, perhaps revisit slight incremental changes to increase the intensity if you feel it necessary.

IMO , one of the reasons MH Zane t5 are so “easy” is less buttons , higher intensity in general.
I treat my Led just like a mh set it and forget it. React to nutrients and alk etc. that’s stability.
Light never changes , nutrients change slowly.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

You're right, I really should've added some more input here rather than a fill-in-the-blank one liner. I've always had best luck with my encrusting SPS in those lower PAR register places (where I would imagine PAR was in the 100-200 range). That said, I've also had anomalies in higher PAR but I typically aim for that 100-200 range. I've also noticed that some encrusters, Monties in particular, seem to show signs of "bleaching" from other issues in the tank, most notably for me due to low to no nitrates/phosphates. I jumped to this conclusion from seeing the same happen to one of my large monti colonies and then watching them come back in full force after starting daily Red Sea Reef Energy A/B amino acids and foods.

@Saintnovakai from the sounds of it you're coming off the tail end of bringing Nitrates down in the tank with the vinegar dosing? So, I naturally assume that your levels came down but kept up with the carbon dosing?

If this is the case, rather than start playing around with your light intensity, I would take a look at the balance between nutrition input and nitrate/phosphate export. If that means you wean the system off of carbon dosing and control your nitrate and phosphate levels with a balanced approach of food in and maintenance to remove excess, then I would first try to start there.

I think your guess on PAR is likely pretty close and once you find a harmonious balance between input/export, perhaps revisit slight incremental changes to increase the intensity if you feel it necessary.

All excellent comments and advice from Randy. It’s important to notice that my high par settings are only for 4 hours, but that seems to work for me. I’m more concerned about my acros than I am my montis, so I’m focused on getting the best possible colors. I do think more par would be beneficial but maybe not as much as I recommended earlier since you don’t have any acros and you’re learning on the job. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you do it slow and steady.

 

[Saintnovakai]

All excellent comments and advice from Randy. It’s important to notice that my high par settings are only for 4 hours, but that seems to work for me. I’m more concerned about my acros than I am my montis, so I’m focused on getting the best possible colors. I do think more par would be beneficial but maybe not as much as I recommended earlier since you don’t have any acros and you’re learning on the job. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you do it slow and steady.

Well ive applied the settings and added two 1hr dips between the 5hr max to give some respiration and ive put the lights in acclimation mode at 40% except green and red, for a month,which leaves me just about the intensity where im at now. Acclimation too long? Can i go faster? I know i just said the one F-word reefers arent supposed to say but i still ask.

Lights have been stretched to the recommended 16 inches and tomorrow at max ill pull a par reading at waterline. Thanks guys.

Quick question. I just got a Galaxy S8+. Any tips on taking reef photos? I mean before i buy the polyplabs filter.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Well ive applied the settings and added two 1hr dips between the 5hr max to give some respiration and ive put the lights in acclimation mode at 40% except green and red, for a month,which leaves me just about the intensity where im at now. Acclimation too long? Can i go faster? I know i just said the one F-word reefers arent supposed to say but i still ask.

Lights have been stretched to the recommended 16 inches and tomorrow at max ill pull a par reading at waterline. Thanks guys.

Quick question. I just got a Galaxy S8+. Any tips on taking reef photos? I mean before i buy the polyplabs filter.

The pics I took earlier were with the polyp labs filter. It’s great for mobile devices.
I’m not a fan of the respiration periods because they usually change the light spectrum during those times. If you want respiration just add a weather pattern during those times.
I would monitor how the corals react of the next 7-10 days and if they respond positively you can start moving up your end acclimation date by 1 day every 5-7 days.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Lord Hassafath..... Mi braddas from the best island in the carribean. We are in Mo Bay Every year. I like the idea of aquaculturing in a secret beach spot, Would be interested to see how tings dem grow.
You have the all the carribean light, Negril sunsets and the best wata dem. You even in the rain have liquid sunshine. I would try a ramping schedule similar to the carribean light of sun-up and sundown.
I can go right now for a Patty, gungu pea soup and mackerel with hard dough bread and cowfoot so.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Not sure when we could get to something like this, but BIG thanks to the community for stepping up and sharing their settings and readings!!

Happy new Years randy !!

 

[Reefs anonymous]

Lord Hassafath..... Mi braddas from the best island in the carribean. We are in Mo Bay Every year. I like the idea of aquaculturing in a secret beach spot, Would be interested to see how tings dem grow.
You have the all the carribean light, Negril sunsets and the best wata dem. You even in the rain have liquid sunshine. I would try a ramping schedule similar to the carribean light of sun-up and sundown.
I can go right now for a Patty, gungu pea soup and mackerel with hard dough bread and cowfoot so.

Bossman, hunu carful wid d secret spot ina d sea, nuh put nuh coral dat neva come from Caribbean ina d wata, you might cause a problem! D coral or live stock you put ina d wata might tek ova cause no natural predator. A do sa, wen you get d above food, get me som yellow heart bread fruit to! Respect!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Bossman, hunu carful wid d secret spot ina d sea, nuh put nuh coral dat neva come from Caribbean ina d wata, you might cause a problem! D coral or live stock you put ina d wata might tek ova cause no natural predator. A do sa, wen you get d above food, get me som yellow heart bread fruit to! Respect!

Oh I LOVE IT !!!!! Can converse All day long suh!!! Miss di beautiful Island - One Love !!!
This made my day !!!

 

[Reefs anonymous]

Oh I LOVE IT !!!!! Can converse All day long suh!!! Miss di beautiful Island - One Love !!!
This made my day !!!

Whey hunu da? Mercia? Dat a whey me day dem days. Dat a whey me liv now. Misa Grossett ad me ina d ja WhatsApp. Lol. Cool runnings!

 

[Reefs anonymous]

Double post.